January 3, 2021

Weekly enews

Dear St. Giles Families,   I hope everyone was able to enjoy these past two weeks with family, rest, and relaxation. While it did go by quickly, it is good to have 2020 in the rearview mirror. Our wish is for all the best for everyone in 2021! We are all ready for our next two weeks of remote learning, beginning tomorrow. Teachers will be sharing their schedules and expectations for class participation with you. If your Lion is not able to attend school, please email the office first thing in the morning. Attendance will be taken as we usually do at 8:20 am. The school office will remain closed until January 19th but we are all available remotely via email during the school day between the hours of 8:00 am - 3:00 pm. If for any reason your travel plans over Christmas break delayed your return home beyond January 4th, please let us know. Per the Archdiocese guidelines, all community members are required to quarantine for 14 days after traveling. We will work with families to facilitate continued remote learning beyond January 19th.  As we shared before the break, re-registration for the 2021-22 school year will be automatic for all families this year. Information can be found in this special enews. Please contact us prior to February 1, 2021, if you are not returning to avoid the registration fee charge to your FACTS account. Happy New Year!    Stay well, Meg Empower Illinois Reservation Night 2021 We are excited to announce that families can make a reservation for a 2021-2022 Empower Illinois tax credit scholarship on January 13, 2021 at 7pm! Contact Michele Bibbey with any questions.

The new year is a wonderful time to add new habits to your life. It is a time of year when people naturally take time to reflect on changes they want to implement into their daily lives. At school, we take time to introduce goal setting with the students. We practice setting academic, social, and behavioral goals. We reflect on what worked last calendar year and what didn’t work. We direct the children to list specific time limited steps to reach their goals.  Action for Healthy Kids states goal setting is a powerful tool that can be used at school and at home to empower children’s autonomy in decision making and promote self-awareness. Set a goal for yourself to engage in healthy social emotional discussion with your children once a week this year.

PTO Family Cooking Event There are still spots left for next Friday's virtual cooking class... Cheryl Munoz from Sugar Beet Schoolhouse will guide us in preparing gnocchi from scratch! We will begin at 4:30 so that you can enjoy this meal as your dinner. Ingredient list and zoom link will be sent to the first 25 households to register. This event is free of charge! Please register here. Reach out to Laura Milder with questions.

Owen's Bench Service Project - Collect Those Caps!! We are happy to introduce a community project - Owen's Bench Service Project. This special cause is to honor the memory of a very special boy from our community, Owen Shaker-Petrzelka, who tragically lost his battle with brain cancer this past fall. We are joining Mann School in Oak Park in collecting plastic bottle caps to build a Buddy Bench in Owen’s memory.  It's easy to help!! Most plastic bottle caps can be used. Click here for the specifics on acceptable plastic. Caps can be dropped off at St. Giles (bin is under the archway between parish center and Frawley) anytime OR at the Mann School Vestibule from 8am-3pm on school days. Caps will be collected through the end of January - let's see what we can do to help! Please contact Kristen Reale with questions.

2:1 Empower Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship Matching Donation Program How does it REALLY work? A donation to Empower Illinois is like making a small donation to the school and also redirecting a larger portion of your tax dollars to our school. Here's an example: You donate any amount to Empower Illinois. We will use $1000 as an example. $250 of your donation is your direct out of pocket contribution to St. Giles. You will receive $750 in credit applicable to your Illinois tax bill. You would be required to pay the $750 on your taxes anyway. Due to your donation, you are paying this $750 upfront and then receiving a credit on your tax bill. In summary, you are redirecting that $750 to St. Giles for scholarships. 2.St. Giles receives $3,000! Your $1,000 donation plus $2,000 due to the 2:1 matching donations available through the Archdiocese of Chicago. Here is your step by step guide to get started! Contact Michele Bibbey with any questions!

Parent Leadership Training Starting, Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 7:30 PM (Zoom) Training helps parents and families:  Set goals for themselves, their family and the community  Breakdown the goal setting process into actionable steps while getting the support of their peers and the training facilitators (all the facilitators are parents from Oak Park!) More information can be found here.   Learn more on Facebook. RSVP here: http://evite.me/YywuBNTH9F or email: FamiliesFirst@collab4kids.org

Follow and like us on social media. Stay up to date with what's going on at school and see pictures of your children engaging in educational activities with their classmates during the school day.

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