Dear St. Giles Families,
This weekend marks the 2nd Sunday in Advent where we light the second purple candle called the Bethlehem Candle. This candle represents love and symbolizes Christ's manger. As we move closer to Christmas, we try not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of shopping lists and running from here to there but enjoy the grace of the season and reflect on our many blessings. This year we are hopeful to be together with family and friends again, masked when needed, but together. We missed so much last year and pray that this year will be better.
While this new COVID variant is of concern, we have been through this and know how we need to respond. We will continue to follow our protocols and if any changes are made will let you know as soon as possible. As a reminder, please keep your Lion(s) home if they are exhibiting any symptoms. While it may just be a cold, we want to be as safe as possible for everyone and avoid any possible exposure. Students who are fully vaccinated, 2 weeks post 2nd shot, are not required to quarantine due to exposure unless they are symptomatic. In order to manage any possible quarantines, while not required, you may submit your child’s vaccination card via this form St. Giles Student Vaccine Data. They will be kept in their confidential health record in our files.
Lastly, I would like to ask that we all work together during drop off and pick up, on both Columbian and Linden. We know that mornings and afternoons are hectic but we want everyone to be safe and model actions for our students. Please adhere to our traffic pattern and remember these few safety items:
- Linden is one way North during drop off and pick up, including morning Kids Klub drop off
- Columbian is one way South during drop off and pick up
- Please do not drive around the do not enter signs
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Please drive SLOWLY and carefully as cars are exiting the lines and children are in all areas
- Please do not exit your cars to let kids out in the middle of the street or on the street side in the morning or load them in at pick up in the afternoon
- We have patrol students out to help our little Lions get into cars each afternoon
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We ask everyone to use the crosswalks and not cross the street in the middle of the block heading to the parking lot or across Linden.
Soon we will have snow that may block the view of drivers and we want everyone in our community to be safe!
Have a wonderful week!
Stay safe,
Meg
Christmas at St. Giles
Our teachers and Lions are working hard to prepare special presentations and projects in the classrooms for celebrating Christmas at St. Giles! We will have a special eNews the week we get out for our break sharing all of our events for parents to see in lieu of our annual Christmas pageant.
Empower Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship
The Archdiocese of Chicago has once again secured matching donors for the Empower Illinois Scholarship Program. St. Giles will receive an additional $2 for every dollar that you contribute between Dec. 1, 2021, and Jan. 10, 2022 (when funds typically run out). This year we were able to fund XX scholarships for our families. Please see below for additional details on how you can receive a tax credit and help our families.
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This week we welcomed Mr. Glines who joined us as our new Music teacher. Mr. Glines has an extensive music background and has taught in private music schools prior to coming to St. Giles.
He holds a BA in Music Performance and Cognitive Science from Northwestern University and an M. SC in Human-Computer Interaction from DePaul University. Mr. Glines was also the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship to study in Ireland and a Gavin Lew Grant to facilitate research in music education technology. We are glad he is here to work with our Lions!
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2:1 Empower Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship
Matching Donation Program Begins Dec. 1, 2021
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The Archdiocese of Chicago has once again secured matching donors for the Empower Illinois Scholarship Program. St. Giles will receive an additional $2 for every dollar that you contribute between Dec. 1, 2021 and Jan. 10, 2022 (when funds typically run out).
Here's how the program works:
1. REGISTER with the State of Illinois at mytax.illinois.gov, unless you already have an online account. It usually takes 10-14 days to receive a letter with the ID number required to set up an account, so click on the "Sign up Now!" button in the Login box to start the process as soon as possible.
2. RESERVE your tax credit for the current calendar year (2021 if you donate in Dec and 2022 if you donate in Jan.). Once your account is set up, log into your online account at mytax.illinois.gov (Empowerillinois.org will eventually take you to the same page.). Click on the link to your individual account under the "Accounts" tab. Then, under "I Want to" in the top right corner of the page, select "Contribute to Invest in Kids". Navigate through the form, selecting Cook County, Empower Illinois as the scholarship granting organization, and the amount you will be donating (to all schools). You will have the opportunity to select St. Giles when you make your donation. You will then receive your Contribution Authorization Certificate under your mytax.illinois.gov account correspondence tab almost immediately.
3. DONATE: Make your donation between Dec. 1, 2021 and Jan. 10, 2022 (So that we can get our 2:1 matching funds).
You will receive 75% of your donation that can be used as a tax credit on your Illinois tax bill. Last year, we were able to secure $50,000 in matching funds due to our generous donors which helped 17 children in need! Our goal this year is to secure the full $100,000 in matching funds available to each school. Here is a step by step guide to make your donation
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Upcoming holiday party or need to do some shopping? Book a sitter!
We have several 8th graders and alumni who would love to work around the holidays watching your children. If you would like the list of sitters, please email Kelly Richard. Sitters live in many neighborhoods around St. Giles - call one today!
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Mark Your Calendars: Black & Gold Pride Is Coming!
Save the date (and lock in your sitter now!) for Black & Gold Pride on Saturday, March 19, 2022 from 7:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. We hope to gather in-person once again in McDonough Hall for our largest, adult-only fundraiser.
What is Black & Gold Pride? Click here.
Want to help plan the school's biggest party of the year? We're looking for people to lend their talents to several event committees. Keep your eyes peeled this week for a Special eNews with details on how YOU can help!
Would you like to donate to Black & Gold? Auction planning is underway and we are looking for items to include in the live and silent auctions. If you are able to donate or have a connection, please email Susan Donahue, this year's Black & Gold Pride event chair. Items on our wish list include sports tickets, vacation homes, unique experiences, services or sports memorabilia.
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Winter Enrichment is back at St. Giles!
Infinity Arts, Chess Ed, Giving Artfully, and Legacy Sports will return, along with some new programs. Registration is now open. Enrichment for Winter starts the week of January 10th and goes until the week of March 7th.
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Just in time for holiday gifting, the spiritwear store's virtual shelves are stocked with new gear! Check out new pennant hoodies, water bottles and black and gold pom poms -- perfect for bringing your cheering A-game to the next Lions game! In addition to finding them in the online store here, you can pick up spiritwear at our pop-up store on Monday, Dec. 13 at all basketball home games in the gym, from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
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The last December Fun Lunch is this week!
Place your orders here for 12/10.
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Calling all St. Giles Families!
In the spirit of getting to know our Parish and School community better and growing in faith together, we are hoping to feature one or two families a week in the PTO Newsletter, St. Giles Parish Bulletin and Facebook pages. More specifically, we would love to share what your faith mission statement or vision of faith is for your family, what you like to do as a family, who is in your family, and anything else you would like the St. Giles Community to know about!
How can you participate?
With love and Spirit,
The Faith and Family Committee
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Please join the CCW Christmas Celebration:
Friday, December 10 at 6:30pm
CCW would like to invite all of the women of St. Giles School to join the upcoming Christmas Gathering on Friday, December 10 at 6:30pm. Please join us for an evening of appetizers, desserts and a specialty cocktail.
Details are in the link below. Please sign up by Tuesday, Dec 7. We would love to see you there!
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Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe:
Grotto Walk and Rosary on Saturday, December 11 at 8:30am
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Please join us! We will meet at 8:30am (after 8am mass) on the steps of St. Giles Church and walk to the Grotto at Dominican University located at Thatcher Ave & Greenfield St.
Upon arrival, around 9:15am, all are invited to pray the Rosary together - no prior experience necessary!
(We will walk rain or shine - or snow! - since she is there for us rain or shine).
The grotto is a beautiful place to pray, reflect, and listen whether you participate on the walk, drive over to meet us, or journey there yourself another time.
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Teen Mental Wellness Program
Dec 1-31
Together with Oak Park Township, we are inviting teens to participate in the Mental Health Wellness Challenge! For $5, the entire month of December, teens can participate in wellness activities including:
- yoga classes
- art lessons
- a meditation workshop
- a one-on-one with a certified nutritionist
- and MUCH more!
All participants will be gifted a wellness travel bag with a journal, a gift card to Buzz Café, as well aswellness items and resources.
There are only 20 spots available, so register today!
Register Here!
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