St. Louis Catholic School Newsletter | |
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October 27, 2022
Dear St. Louis Families,
I am hopeful your children came home yesterday and told you they were praying an extra Hail Mary and Our Father for you—Fr. O’Hare reminded them that our Blessed Mother Mary and St. Joseph are the patron saints for mothers and fathers respectively. We then prayed for the work you do as parents to support your children as primary educators. As a mother of four, I fully know the challenges and the blessings that come with parenting. The staff and I are grateful for the work you do at home with your children and the partnership we share in helping your children grow into saints—teaching them how to best love, learn, and lead.
Our Running with the Hawks week was a grand success! The weather was beautiful both Friday and Saturday, and we surpassed all goals we set for the week. It was so nice to see many school families and alumni families participating! The good news….Mrs. Calogero and I will be slimed Friday afternoon outside on the basketball court by representatives of each class. Pictures to come!
Next week, Monday, October 31st is an early release day, students will be dismissed at 11:30am. It is a diocesan work day for our staff who will be participating in additional training on executive functioning. Tuesday, November 1st is All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation. Our very own 2nd grade saints will be marching into Mass and then parading around the bell tower after Mass. We invite you to join us for Mass and the Saints’ Parade.
We welcome Mr. John Nagel as our new Security Officer. Mr. Nagel is a retired police officer, having served with both Prince William and Fairfax counties. He has knowledge and training in de-escalation and behavior threat assessment. He continues to be actively involved in many aspects of security. We look forward to having him on our staff and sharing his diverse skill set to keep our community safe.
Parent-teacher conferences are coming up November 10-11. Over the next few days, homeroom teachers will be sending out a sign-up for either in-person or Zoom conferences to try and accommodate busy schedules. These conferences are mandatory as they allow us time to talk through your child’s progress and reflect on the fall assessment data. Know that we are truly grateful and appreciative of you!
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, patron saint of Catholic Schools, pray for us!
Peace,
Anne Dyke
Principal
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Upcoming Mass Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 1 - All Saints Day Mass, 8:45am
Our 2nd Grade "saints" will process around the bell tower following Mass.
Wednesday, Nov. 9 - Veterans Day Mass, 8:45am
Family service members (Active Duty and Veterans) are invited to join us for our Veterans Day Mass. A short reception for service members will be held in McClunn Hall following Mass.
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Health/Sick Policy Reminders
As we work our way to the end of the week, I wanted to let parents know what type of illness and symptoms we are seeing in the school PreK-8th Grade:
- Fever
- GI upset (diarrhea/vomiting)
- Cough
- Cold symptoms such as congestion and runny nose.
- Body aches
- Headaches
- Sore throats
St. Louis sick policy states that students may return to school 24 hours after fever/ symptoms resolves without the use of Tylenol or Motrin. I understand that this is the time of year where allergies may be at their worse and cold viruses are prevalent in any school community. St. Louis staff will work with students to help with any missed schoolwork. Classrooms will be disinfected. Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns by email or phone.
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St. Louis School & Preschool will be hosting an open house for prospective families interested in admissions for the 2023-24 school year. Invite your friends and neighbors to join us and find out more about our wonderful school community!
Sunday, November 6
10am-1pm
RSVP: www.stlouisschool.org/visit/
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2023-24 Re-Registration & Admissions Information
We are looking forward to welcoming prospective families to visit St. Louis School & Preschool on November 6th. For our current school families, please see important re-registration and admissions information for the 2023-24 school year HERE. The sibling priority application deadline for both K-8 and Preschool is December 1st.
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Make-up Picture Day - November 8
Students who missed picture day or will be having their picture retaken may do so on Tuesday, November 8th. As a reminder, students should wear their regular uniform for these pictures; no PE uniforms please.
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Yearbooks! Yearbooks! Get Your Yearbooks!
Don't miss out on the memories, order yours today for only $27! Visit https://buytheyearbook.pictavo.com and enter ID# 710653
We are looking for parents to upload photos from school events to be considered for the yearbook. We are currently seeking photos for:
- First day of school
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8th grade baby pics
- CYO pics of tennis, track, cross country
- Hawk-a-thon / Hawks 5K
- Trunk or Treat
For more information on how to upload, please see the attached flyer.
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Save the date! Parenting Expert Rachel Bailey is coming back via zoom on November 8th at 7pm. If you’ve never attended one of Rachel’s sessions, please make sure you mark your calendars right now. She always provides us with lots of helpful information and tools we can use right now. There are three topics to choose from. Please click HERE to give your input on what would be most helpful.
Save the date for Tuesday Tea with the Counseling Team Tuesday November 1st after the All Saints Day Mass. Please come to the cafeteria after Mass for some goodies and to meet our three counselors: Mrs. Cierra O’Connor, Mrs. Teresa Miller, and Mrs. Jennifer Cotnoir. We’ll be doing a short presentation on what we are teaching your children during our SEL (Social/Emotional Learning) lessons as well as have an opportunity for sharing so we can better support you and your children. We can’t wait to see you then!
IPS Center Presentation - How Parents Can Support Teens and Children Facing Anxiety On November 17th at 7 pm, Ian Masson, MS, LPC, will be speaking on how parents can more effectively attend and respond to feelings of anxiety in their children and teens. The presentation will be on Divine Mercy University's campus and is free of charge. Register to attend here.
The StudyPro Webinar: Parents Guide to the Teen Brain - November 9, 10am
Elisa Nebolsine, LCSW will share the latest research from the fields of neurology and neuroscience to help us gain a clearer picture of the role of the teen brain in emotions, friendships, risk-taking, learning and more. Register here.
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Hawk Happenings - Oct. 28 - Nov. 4, 2022 | |
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Friday, October 28
- Hot Lunch: Pizza*
- Hawk-a-thon Prize Day
- Trunk-or-Treat
Sunday, October 30
- November Lunch Orders Due
Monday, October 31 - 11:30 Dismissal
Tuesday, November 1
- Hot Lunch: Pizza Pasta Bake*
- Ice Cream available
- All Saints Day Mass, 8:45am
- Counseling Team Tea
Wednesday, November 2
- Hot Lunch: Chicken Nuggets*
Thursday, November 3
Friday, November 4
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FULL SCHOOL CALENDAR
Did you know you can subscribe to our school calendar for real-time updates, convenient links to SUGs and flyers, and more? Subscribe to auto-populate your iCal, Outlook 2007+ or Google calendar
*Hot lunch must be ordered monthly in advance.
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Order November hot lunch HERE.
November orders due Oct. 30
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Order Ice Cream tickets HERE.
November dates: 1, 8, 16, 29
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First and foremost, thank YOU for your support during Running with the Hawks week! With more than 1,000 donations and 550 5K runners, it truly was a community effort. With so many moving parts, we were lucky to have a wonderful committee of volunteers to make everything happen.
Notably, we’d like to recognize:
Katye North, Lindsay Alexander, Brittany McMaster, Lauren Iannito, Michelle Tranquilli, Bob Sanders, Matt Spierenburg, Kelly Roman, Michelle & Paul Boling, Natalie Salisbury, Maria Driggers and all on-site Hawk-a-thon and Hawks 5K volunteers. We couldn’t do it without you!
A very special round of applause goes to Laura Carlson for seamlessly organizing a record-breaking 9th Annual Hawks 5K/FunRun and to Kelly Roman for coordinating all the fun at our PitStop (helicopters, bomb squad, pupusas, ice cream, alpacas – oh my!).
Finally, thank you to Mrs. Dyke, Mrs. Calogero and the entire faculty for their support, encouragement, and enthusiasm!
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Hawks 5K & PitStop
Big thanks to the St. Louis School and Parish community for another successful and fun Hawks 5K and Fun Run! Special thanks to Joe Doherty (Lead Course Marshall) for marking the course and keeping us safe, the St Louis cheerleaders and Trail Life Troop for hosting the water stations. Also, thanks to 8th grade parents Officers Melissa and Joe Wallace, FCPD and Company 11, Penn Daw for their support.
Congratulations to 8th grader Jackson Cope coming in 1st overall and St Louis alum Corinne Sheedy 1st overall female. Our fastest students this year also included Jason Day, Maddalena Howard, Jack Beier and Alyssa Rice. For a full list of results, check out the Race Results page.
Hopefully you saved your blue St Lucy Project bags and have started filling them up with supplies. St. Lucy Project is currently collecting Standard-Size Hygiene
Items, including deodorant, toothpaste shampoo, baby wipes, liquid dish soap, disposable razors and laundry detergent (30-50 oz bottles) and diapers (sizes 4-6). Please no “trial size” items as these do not meet the needs of families. Send in your bags to St Louis School or Parish by October 28th.
The Hawks Pit Stop was also an enormous success! Huge thanks to the Holm family for sharing their furry, friendly Alpacas; to the Spanish Ministry Group for delicious Pupusas; to the FCPD Bomb Squad and Helicopter Teams; to Mrs. Aguilar for providing medical support; and to the Knights of Columbus for their generous support! It was a beautiful day with many smiling faces!
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Spirit Dinner @ McAlister's - October 24
Please join the St. Louis PTO for Spirit Night Dinner on Tuesday, October 25th between 2-8 p.m. at 7704 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306. This family-friendly restaurant has a very affordable kid’s menu and delicious sandwiches, salads, baked potatoes and more! Please be sure to bring this flyer with you or use the code CHARITEA when ordering online, and McAlister’s will give a portion of the evening sales to our PTO!
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*Save the Date* Trivia Night - Holiday Edition
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022 6:30-9:30 p.m.
PTO Contacts: Meghan Roberts meghans.roberts@gmail.com
Laura Cheney laura_pyzik@hotmail.com
Trivia Night is back and this time it’s happening holiday-style! Put together a team, sign up as a couple or an individual and we will have some Standard Trivia for you with some Holiday categories too. Whether it’s St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas or even Flag Day, we are going to be celebrating all holidays. Stay tuned for additional details and registration information coming soon.
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November Spirit Dinner - The Italian Place
Love Spirit Night dinners, but find it hard to rally your troops to eat out on a Monday night? We've got you covered! Please join the St. Louis PTO and The Italian Place for a Spirit Night Dinner Pick Up! Place your order now until noon on Sunday, November 13th. It will be ready for you to grab on Monday, November 14th at the carpool parking lot between 1:45-2:45 p.m. Please look for the canopy set up in the parking lot.
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Diocesan Cookbook Submissions
As part of the Golden Jubilee, the Diocese is developing a cookbook: “Gather at the Table: Multicultural Cooking for Liturgical Living”. It will be made up of recipes submitted by diocesan locals. Favorite recipes may be submitted here.
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MVCCT Presents "The Spongebob Musical"
The MVCCT adaptation of the hit Broadway musical is based on the popular kids TV cartoon starring the adventures of the underwater yellow sponge and his friends and frenemies; Patrick, Squidward, Plankton and more. St. Louis students Elena Kokinda and Annabelle Russell are cast members. Performances will be held Nov. 11, 12, 18, 19 at 7pm and Nov. 13 and 20 at 3pm at Bryant High School, Popkins Lane. Tickets can be purchased here.
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