Parent Bulletin
October 15, 2020

MR. FITZ'S BLOG
We all agree that these last seven months of school closures, distancing from friends, and mandated masks are not good for the current and future mental health of our children. That is why we have been working relentlessly to get students back to school, so some type of "normal" can return to their young lives.

We were happy to have our PreK children attend school in-person from the first day of the school year. We were more thrilled to be able to bring back our grade K-5 students 18 days ago. And now we are excited to be making plans to soon get our grade 6-8 kids back to their classrooms! (Parents of middle schoolers, please read my email I sent you yesterday, informing you of the progress of this return-plan.)

It's not only important the children return to in-person schooling, but it's also important that the adults in the lives - parents and teachers - work in other ways to bring back the feelings of security, happiness, and community to their lives.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness suggests that parents can help their children during these unprecedented times, first off, by not letting their kids see their parents anxious or fearful. Your children will take their cues from you, so if you present an "I'm careful but not scared about a coronavirus" attitude around them, they won't be as likely to develop anxiety. The National Alliance continues with simple suggestions to help youth cope with our current COVID-times such as:
  • Establish routines;
  • Engage in self-care;
  • Stay connected'

in this spirit of these suggestions for easing anxiety and improving the mental health of our students, St. Louise has not only brought back "routines" by reopening our school, but we're working on helping us all "stay connected" by having some fun events with friends and other families.

First of all, our annual celebration of Halloween will take place this year, with grade PK-5 students able to wear fun and silly costumes to school on October 30. See the article below that explains some guidelines we'd like you to follow when helping your children create their costumes.

That same day, you parents can join in the fun by participating in our first ever Trunk-or-Treat event. If you've never done a Trunk-or-Treat, the premise is you back-up your vehicle on the school's soccer field, you decorate at least your car's trunk with some type of theme, and you have candy ready to pass out. Other families walk past all the car trunks to see the fun decorations and to pick up candy.

Trunk-or-Treat makes for a convenient way for kids to have fun the day before Halloween, and as long as we are wearing masks and washing hands before eating any candy, we can all stay safe. If you plan to set up your vehicle and have some Halloween candy in your trunk to pass out, please RSVP HERE. (This is only for those setting up their vehicles; no need to RSVP if you're simply going to visit.) HERE are some decoration ideas - but please no "ghoulish" decorations for our elementary school community.

I hope many of you will be able to show off your creativity and participate in Trunk-or-Treat on Friday the 30th. If you aren't able to set up your vehicle for the event, hopefully you can at least take time that afternoon to walk among the participating cars so to allow your child to join in on the fun. Participating vehicles will need to park on the soccer field between 2:15-2:45 that afternoon. Your children - either under your supervision or the temporary supervision of your carpool driver that Friday - can start walking with you along the trunks starting at the 3:00 dismissal bell.

For more information on St. Louise's Trunk-or-Treat event, please see the special flyer in today's red Family Envelope, which your youngest child is bringing home today.

* Please note: if your child is not attending school in-person today, please stop by the school office today or Monday from 7:30-3:30 to grab your red envelope.

I hope your children enjoy sleeping in tomorrow! The teachers and I are looking forward to enriching our theology knowledge with some video-lessons of our own Friday. This is the program we use on a regular basis for our adult faith formation.

Blessings on your day,

MR. FITZ

p.s.
Congratulations to parent Kelly D'Ambrosio, who last week was the winner of our contest of the first parent to correctly answer the question: When is the date of our rescheduled school Auction? This year's Auction is April 17.

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

Today
  • Charger Cards sales-window is open this morning from 8:15-9:00.
  • School Mass on the Feast of St. Theresa of Avila at 9AM; grades 1-5 will attend in-person; Mass will be live-streamed for grades K, 6, 7, 8 to watch.
  • Parents whose children are only attending school remotely for now, please come to the school office today or Monday from 7:30-3:30 to pick up your family's red-envelope full of important school news.

Tomorrow/Friday - NO-SCHOOL DAY
  • No in-person or online school today; all PreK-8th grade classes canceled; Kids' Club is closed; school office is closed.
  • Teachers are available to meet for optional Parent-Teacher Conferences; contact your child's teacher(s) in advance if you would like to set up a conference for this day - which may be held virtually over Microsoft Teams.
  • Teachers are also participating in theology classes today for their professional education and faith formation; see article below.

Monday, October 19
  • Parents whose children are only attending school remotely for now, please come to the school office today from 7:30-3:30 to pick up your family's red-envelope full of important school news.

Tuesday, October 20
  • Free parenting webinar, 7PM; see article below.

Saturday, October 24
  • Our last Saturday Spruce-Up of the season begins at 8:00AM.

Thursday, October 29
  • Open House for prospective new school families; please encourage your neighbors, co-workers, and friends with school-age children or toddlers to attend; have them contact Mindy and Tracy in the school office prior to the 29th to be assigned a time in the late afternoon or evening for a private tour of school and a chance to meet teachers

Friday, October 30
  • Fun Dress Day - Halloween Costumes! Grade PK-5 students may wear costumes today; please see the article below for restrictions.
  • Trunk-or-Treat event on the soccer field after school! All families welcome to set up their vehicle on the field from 2:15-2:45 and pass out candy at 3:00; if you are setting up your car, please RSVP HERE; students with their parents may walk the field at 3:00 to participate in Trunk-or-Treat; please see the flyer being sent home today


CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE SCHOOL CALENDAR HERE
Today There Are Envelopes; Tomorrow There Is No School
Tomorrow - Friday the 16th - is a NO-SCHOOL DAY. All classes are canceled - whether in-person or distance learning. Kids' Club will also be closed tomorrow, as will our school office.

Our teachers will be taking Friday as a day to hold optional parent-teacher conferences and to participate in their own faith formation by taking an online theology course.

By the way, please note that November 23-24 are required conference days, so all teachers will be contacting all parents prior to that week to set up individual parent-student-teacher conferences.

Today, the school office is sending home a red-colored Family Envelope via the youngest child in each family. This red envelope contains some important information and forms, including a directory of contact information and a Field Trip Drivers' form. Thank you for completing the Field Trip form in anticipation of field trips opening up for participation later this school year.

If your youngest child is not currently attending school in-person, we ask those parents to come to the school office either today or Monday - between 7:30-3:30 - to obtain your family's red envelope.

For all parents, thank you for immediately returning the empty envelope to school next week.
Thanks to Our Saturday Spruce-Up Volunteers! Next Event Is Oct. 24
Thanks to the over two dozen school parents and parishioners who helped us weed, prune, rake, and spread bark around the school and parish campus last Saturday! The grounds looked so nice on Monday morning when school resumed!

If you would like to earn volunteer hours by helping with our next Saturday Spruce-Up, it will be on Saturday, October 24, from 8-11 AM. This will be our final Spruce-Up of the Fall; we will resume these events in the spring.

If you like yardwork and would like to continue to earn volunteer hours throughout the year by helping spruce-up our landscaping, you don't need to confine yourself to these specific Saturdays. Our Adopt-A-Garden program is a year-round opportunity for St. Louise parents to choose a small section of the grounds to keep looking nice throughout the seasons. Please contact Jonathan Taasan if you would like to have you own area to tend to on your own time.
Seventh graders Aliana and Ocean were two of our volunteers last Saturday.
Friday, October 30, St. Louise School will hold our first ever Trunk-or-Treat event! Participating vehicles are to arrive between 2:15 and 2:45, setting up on the soccer field with their decorated trunks. Thanks for having your candy treats easy for children to cleanly grab from your trunk. Please RSVP HERE if your will be setting up your trunk.

  • Only students ACCOMPANIED BY PARENTS will be able to walk the field (beginning at 3:00) and participate in getting candy.
  • If you are not decorating your trunk and passing out candy, but you want to walk the field with your own kids to go "trunk-or-treating," please park in the south parking lot or basketball court starting at 2:45.
  • Meet your child outside the school where your child typically exits or meet your child at the carpool waiting sidewalk at the 3:00 bell.

Thanks for everyone following health-safety guidelines during the event.
Volunteer to Help at Our Upcoming School Masses
In November, we will have two school Masses - November 2 (All Souls Day) and November 11 (Veterans' Day), both at 9AM.

Because of the restrictions of how many people can be in the church at one time, and needing to have 6-feet of distance between all attendees, we will only be having a select number of classes attend each school Mass, rotating classes so all get to attend on a sporadic basis. Grades 3-5 have been selected to attend Mass on All Souls Day. For those classes who are not attending a school Mass (and for those students doing distance learning from home), the Mass will be live-streamed. Teachers will show the Mass live in their classrooms.

In order to welcome some of our students to church to attend each school Mass, we need to have volunteers help with greeting people at the door and then leading them to their unique seats in the church. These greeters/ushers will also be helping parishioners and school parents who are attending the Mass.

We need at least 4 parent volunteers for the Masses on November 2 and 11. You will be trained for this simple but important task; no experience is necessary. We'd ask our volunteers to arrive at 8:30AM and remain until 10:00. You will be able to participate in Mass yourself! If you can help us with this vital volunteer position on both dates in Novemb, please email our parish's liturgy coordinator, Lynette Basta. Thanks!
We Might Not Hold Parties...but Yes...We Will Celebrate Halloween
All grade PK-5th grade students are allowed to come to school on Friday, October 30, wearing a Halloween costume. When helping your child decide what his/her costume will be, please take into account these guidelines:
 
  1. Costumes must be appropriate for an elementary school and as importantly, a Catholic elementary school; therefore, themes or dress that are disrespectful, impious, and/or too “adult” need to stay home.
  2. Violent themes are not allowed; this includes no weapons, no bloody makeup, and no costumes depicting devils, vampires, or evil characters such as “Scream”, “Freddy Krueger”, “Dementor”, "Chucky," etc.  
  3. Mr. Fitz and Mr. Fuerte have the final decision on which costumes are inappropriate. If you wonder if your child’s costume will be considered appropriate or not, you may ask an administrator, or better yet — if you have to wonder, then the answer probably is you should choose another costume.

Thanks for keeping the “Happy” in “Happy Halloween” by making this a fun day with no hassles.

Please note that due to our COVID-precautions, students still have to wear a cloth mask with their costume. We recommend the costume not be so cumbersome that it creates difficulty for your child to safely keep the mask on or easily maneuver around the classroom and at recess.

Also due to COVID-precautions, we will not hold Halloween class parties this year. Instead, teachers will work with their room parents to have some treats and perhaps a game to play or video to watch at the end of the day that Friday as we celebrate All Hallows Eve.

Thanks for your cooperation, parents, as we try to get things as "normal" as possible for your kids, so they can ....be kids!


BONUS:
Any student whose costume on October 30th depicts a holy Saint is to come up to Mr. Fitz in morning carpool to show him the costume and name the Saint. Mr. Fitz will then have a theater-sized box of candy to give the student for being so creative and so "Catholic" on this "All Hallows Eve." Here are some ideas for Saint costumes.
Any
Open House for Prospective School Families on October 29
St. Louise School's first Open House of the season for prospective new school families is set for Thursday, October 29. If current school parents know of neighbors, co-workers, and friends with school-age children or toddlers, please tell them about our Open House. Prospective school parents are to please contact Mindy and Tracy in the school office prior to the 29th to be assigned a time in the late afternoon or evening for a private tour of school and a chance to meet teachers.

Remember, we have a special referral program! If a current school family refers a new family to St. Louise, and that family ends up enrolling, the referring family gets one month's free tuition the following school year! For more information on our referral program or admissions, please contact our admissions dynamic duo, Mindy and Tracy.

For more information on the open house, please see the flyer in today's red envelope.
Charger Gear Unveils Brand New Friday-Wear Tops
St. Louise Parents' Club oversees the CHARGER GEAR program, which consists of uniform and non-uniform items with the St. Louise logo, that are sold for the purpose of raising school spirit ... and at the same time, raising some funds for the Parents' Club.

This fall, CHARGER GEAR has unveiled some brand new items with more variety of styles, colors, and logos! We are teaming with SquadLocker.com to offer St. Louise families some great, new products!

  • FRIDAY WEAR - St. Louise-logo hoody sweatshirts, track jackets, and other tops - may be worn by all students on Fridays during the school year in place of the regular school uniform sweater.

  • ADULT WEAR - Moms, dads, and grandparents can purchase St. Louise-logo tops to wear at CYO games and around town.

  • BAGS & PACKS - Great ways to carry sports practice gear or to hold your PE shoes/clothes.

Go HERE to order CHARGER GEAR and FRIDAY GEAR and see all the new fall 2020 styles!

Note that you can click on whichever available logo you want, as well as which color you want! Design your favorite top! Here are the easy directions for ordering:

  1. Open the St. Louise link for SquadLocker.  
  2. Click on any selection. For clothing, if there is more than one color, select your color.
  3. Below color choices there are logo choices; select your logo.
  4. Most articles may have personalization and you can select the name you want to use.
  5. Purchases are made online and are sent directly to you.

Please contact Kelly & Grant Kenn at chargergear@stlouiseschool.org if you have any questions on ordering.
Check Out the St. Louise Instagram Pages
Do you know the St. Louise CYO program has its own Instagram page? Go to instagram.com/stlouiseathletics/ to see the latest news and photos for our Charger sports programs.

And while you're following Charger Athletics on Instagram, don't forget to also follow St. Louise School on Instagram. You'll find us at instagram.com/stlouiseschool/.
Charger Cards Bonus Fest When You Order Online in October
Note: Since there is no school tomorrow, the sales-window is open THIS MORNING from 8:15-9:00.


Earn Up to 20% During Bonus Fest on ShopWithScrip.com

Celebrate the rest of October with 2-day bonuses every Friday and Saturday on shopwithscrip.com. Whether you’re updating your home, shopping for fall clothes, or stocking up on holiday gifts, you can earn up to 20% on your shopping list. All card types are included.
  • Brands and bonuses change every weekend.
  • Check every Friday on www.shopwithscrip.com so you don’t miss out.



Many Ways to Use Charger Cards This Halloween
 
Halloween night is coming! Whether you are trick-or-treating or not, use Charger Cards to make Halloween night a fun night:
  • Halloween candy and decorations – Target, QFC, Walmart, Safeway
  • Pizza for your kids at home while you are out - Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa John’s, Papa Murphy’s, Little Caesar’s



Buy and Use Charger Cards from Your Smart Phone

Learn how to use Charger Cards from your phone and increase your support for St. Louise! Our online website has an app and mobile website! The app makes it easy to purchase, use, and track online Charger Cards!
  • Shop online using MyScripWallet.com or check out the online app on RaiseRight.com
  • Login with your ShopWithScrip® online account (what we call your online account)
  • Purchase ScripNow® and Reload brands
  • Pay securely with PrestoPay™ or credit card
  • Redeem right from your Apple or Android device
  • Manage eCards and Reloads
  • Keep earning rebates on the go!


 

The Friday morning sales window (in the central wing hallway of the original school) opens from 8:15-9:00 each Friday school-morning. For more information on additional brands/cards available for purchase 24/7 please go to shopwithscrip.com.

Please email Marsha at chargercards@stlouiseschool.org if you have questions or if you'd like to join her sales team.
Thursday's Theology: October Is the Month of the Rosary
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