St. Louis School Alumni Newsletter

St. Louis Catholic School Alumni Newsletter

Greetings from Your Elementary School Alma Mater!

FALL 2022

I am so grateful to be able to connect with the alumni community through our St. Louis Alumni Newsletter. Each of you has fond memories of your time spent here, teachers and students that you connected with and each of those memories has helped create a wonderful school community, rich in traditions and academic excellence. St. Louis Catholic School is now in its 66th year of ongoing Christ-centered education here on Popkins Lane!

For our 66th year, St. Louis is spending this year celebrating joyously all that makes our school excellent! Our spiritual theme: Be Joyful in Hope serves to inspire, motivate, and guide faculty, students, and our community this year. Hope sustains us. Hebrews 6:19 defines hope as an “anchor for the soul;” it is the light in the darkness, the joy that coincides with the peace and happiness when we trust that God has a plan. When we choose to live as a community of faith, we choose to live with joyful hope, looking forward to the possibilities of what God may choose to do as we trust him. Our 66th this year is focused forward with some hefty goals to improve our academic learning space and our physical infrastructure.

We are committed to our academic mission focused on the whole child, empowering our students to love, learn, and lead others to Christ. Our challenge ahead is to help our future saints grow, learn, and thrive. Our instruction provides appropriate rigor rooted in the Gospel values. As the school year began, we welcomed many new military connected families to our school community. We celebrated our birthday in September and are getting ready for our 9th annual Hawks 5K race October 21st—there are lots of wonderful traditions that continue to define St Louis.

I am proud to share with you that the gift of Catholic service continues to be a central part of the school’s charism. No matter what part of the last 66 years you were a part of St. Louis, it has a special place in many people’s memory: friendships were made; Catholic values and faith were taught and lived; family life was strong; education was excellent. The same can be said in our current setting too. We are blessed with a strong, collaborative faculty and active PTO; our Catholic faith is taught, celebrated, and lived; and the classroom curriculum is comprehensive and challenging.

Our building has experienced some updates throughout the years, and the most current technology is now available in our classrooms, with interactive white boards, computers, iPads, chrome books and the newest software. Our preschool (threes and fours) has added a robust enrollment to our K-8 program, and our extended day program continues to flourish. With 515 students, we are blessed with the challenge of being at full capacity. We continue to look for opportunities and funding to make needed capital improvements, and we continually work with the parish to find space for all.

Thank you for your support, near and far, of St. Louis School. Drop by for a visit any time! Please pray for our students, our teachers and staff as we all work together to continue the tradition of maintaining a vibrant, growing, faith-filled place to learn and celebrate all God’s blessings.

Peace,

Anne M. Dyke, M.S.Ed, M.Ed

Principal

Alumni Spotlight

School News

Our Catholic identity continues to be nourished in so many ways: Monday morning school prayer assembly, daily opening and closing announcement prayers, weekly Mass, schoolwide rosary opportunities, Food Drives for our Parish Food Pantry and in support of Catholic Charities’ St. Lucy Project, and community service projects throughout the year. Recently, students participated in our annual “Walk for the Homeless” where students walked to raise funds for Christ House while faithfully praying the rosary.

Technology continues to propel and enhance both teaching and learning. St. Louis curriculum innovations include: the addition of IXL Math and Language software accounts for Preschool-8th grade; the continuance of Google Apps for Education and Google accounts as a learning platform for students in grades 3-8; the implementation of Seesaw as a learning platform for students in Preschool-2nd grade; a growing resource program led by Special Education and Counseling specialists; a STEM enrichment program for all students; Discovery Education, Brain Pop, Reading A to Z and Epic software access for all K-8 classrooms; and online data-driven assessment to track academic progress for all K-8 classrooms.

St. Louis School & Preschool will be hosting an open house for prospective families on November 6th. If you, a family member or friend are interested in admissions for the 2023-24 school year, please plan to join us! Our open house format allows for individual and small group tours led by members of our administration, parent volunteers and student representatives. Children are always welcome to attend our open houses. We ask that all guests RSVP to attend. Applications for Preschool - 8th Grade will be accepted beginning November 1st. For more infromation, please visit www.stlouisschool.org/Admissions/

Job Openings at St. Louis School

SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS:

St. Louis Catholic School is hiring qualified substitute teachers for the 2022-2023 school year. Interested candidates must have an earned bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, experience working with children, and be available for a minimum of 8 hours per week. Qualified candidates should be able to implement lesson plans provided by the classroom teacher and have or be willing to learn classroom management skills. Please send a current resume, including references, to Mrs. Anne Dyke, principal at adyke@stlouisschool.org.

RECESS MONITORS & EXTENDED DAY STAFF

Seeking energetic, enthusiastic staff to help care for and supervise school children ages 5-13:

Recess Monitors supervise outdoor play for 1-2 hours during the school day.
Extended Day Staff monitor homework completion, activities, and supervise outdoor play after school.

Positions starting at $16/hour. For more information and to apply, please contact Mrs. Anne Dyke, adyke@stlouisschool.org.

You're Invited! Upcoming Events

Hawks 5K & Fun Run - Saturday, Oct. 22

There's still time to register or just come out for some fun at the Post-Race Pit Stop! The big event is this Saturday morning starting at 8am. For the competitive folks, there will be Age Group Awards for the top male and female 5K runners in each age group. For the rest, it’s sure to be a wonderful fall morning to share with friends and family. So don’t delay! Register NOW!

Note: Packet pickup is Friday Oct. 21 in the Parish parking lot from 2:30-5:00 PM or on Race Day from 7:00-8:00 AM at the registration table.

And don’t forget to join us for the Pit Stop after the race. Runners, walkers, cheerers - ALL are welcome! There will be Zen Press Juice, pupusas, beer, balloon twisting, and ice cream! This year the Pit Stop will have lots of special guests too! Visit with two furry Alpaca friends, feed them and shop socks made from alpaca wool. The Bomb Squad will be set up and FCPD vehicles are stopping by, including a special helicopter landing at 10am! The Knights of Columbus will also host all the Soccer Challenge finalists. Be sure to check out the fun!

Coming up...

Veterans Day Mass

November 9 | 8:45am

St. Louis Church

Please join us as we prayerfully honor the military family members of our school community.

December 10 | 6:00-7:30pm

St. Louis School and community

Join us for our 3rd annual holiday event - lights, tinsel, Santa, cookies and carolers! Look for details next month!

Annual Fund

The goal of our 2022-2023 Annual Fund Campaign is to raise funds to help cover the growing costs of maintaining a 66-year-old building. We continue to incur expenses for the HVAC with the added expense of a much needed new roof. The support of our families, parishioners, alumni and community at-large will ensure we meet our $90,000 goal. Over the course of this campaign, there will be multiple opportunities to give from our Giving Tree to our March Madness-themed participation challenge. We are thankful for your generosity and prayers. Donations are accepted online via Faith Direct or the PayPal Giving Fund, or may be sent directly to the school, attn: Annual Fund, 2901 Popkins Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306.

St. Louis School is a 501(c)(3) organization.

CLASS NOTES

Thank you to our alumni families who have shared family news with us. Do you have a life event or photos to share with the school and fellow alumni? We love to hear from our alumni - where you are now and your memories of your time at St. Louis. If you would like to be featured in our Alumni Spotlight, let us know!

Email your updates to development@stlouisschool.org

ALUMNI DIRECTORY

Currently our online Alumni Directory has listings for more than 1,000 Alumni from 1963-2020 for whom we have some contact information.

Don't see yourself? Please take a moment to register, and if you've moved, please be sure to update your contact information.

Looking for an old friend? Our Alumni Directory allows you to search for and be located by former classmates. If found, you may be able to connect through a web-based email form.

ALUMNI SPIRITWEAR

Available through Lands' End, the St. Louis School Alumni logo is available on a variety of clothing and gear items. Order yours online today!