Dear St. Giles Families,
As we move through the holiday season, and with 2022 on the horizon, it’s time to look toward the 2022-2023 school year and re-registration.
Registration will again be automatic for all current families, meaning your student(s) will automatically be re-registered unless you notify us otherwise. The non-refundable family registration fee of $200 will be applied to your FACTS account in February.
Additionally, we are now opening registration for any siblings of current students that will be joining us next year as well as PreK 4 scheduling choices for current PreK 3 students. Sibling registration/PreK 4 scheduling choice selection can be found here. Current families have the first opportunity to register new students; please do so by Sunday, January 9, 2022. Registration will open to the public on Monday, January 10, 2022.
We know all that goes into choosing a Catholic school and the many sacrifices our families make for a St. Giles education. We are so grateful and blessed that you choose us as partners in the education of your child(ren). Please know that great care goes into determining tuition each year and we take several things into consideration.
For contributing parishioners, tuition for one K - 8 student for 2022-2023 will be $7,070 and will be $8,395 for non-parishioners. These numbers represent a 4% increase from last year. The increase was calculated to help cover the expected increase in faculty and staff pay as determined by the Office of Catholic Schools, as well as the annual increase to benefits, which is typically 4-5% each year. Faculty and staff salaries and benefits are the bulk of our school’s expenses each year, and therefore a raise in tuition typically matches those increases.
As always, we offer financial assistance and support to families who qualify, and below you will find important scholarship deadlines. Concerned about your family’s ability to pay tuition? Please reach out to me directly to discuss your options. I am here to help.
Finally, a special thank you for your support of the many fundraising events and student activities that are part of belonging to the St. Giles School community. The gifts of your time, talent and treasure are critical resources that ensure the vitality of our school and enable us to keep tuition below the actual cost of educating each student. If at any time you would like to meet to discuss your St. Giles experience, please do not hesitate to contact me.
We look forward to welcoming your family back for the 2022-2023 school year.
Sincerely,
Fr. Carl and Meg
Financial Assistance
- St. Giles Scholarships will open January 5, 2022 through FACTS
- Big Shoulders Fund Scholarships will open on January 13, 2022 at 8:00 am
- Empower Illinois scholarships will open on January 12, 2022 at 7 pm (with the portal opening at 6:30 pm so you can get started on entering your information).
A special eNews will be sent with more information after we return in January.
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Reminders
Early Dismissal Friday for Christmas Break
Friday, December 17th will be an 11:45 dismissal for all students to begin our Christmas break. Students may be out of uniform in red and green, Christmas sweaters and Christmas accessories on Friday.
Kids Klub will not be available in the afternoon.
Offices will close at 12:30 and remain closed until our return on Tuesday, January 4th.
Nut-Free Policy
Please be mindful of our nut-free policy for lunch and snacks. This includes all nuts, not just peanuts. As you or your Lions pack lunches, please note what snacks are included and be sure they are nut-free. For this reason, we do not allow sharing of food at any time in order to avoid cross-contamination. We have seen an uptick in food sharing, and, although thoughtful, it is not safe. Please remind your children that their food needs to remain with them at all times.
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Upcoming Calendar Dates--note 2 additions!
The Archdiocese recently added January 3rd as an official holiday given the New Year's holiday falls on a Saturday. Since we have that scheduled as a staff development day, we will take this holiday on Friday, January 14th.
Additionally, the Archdiocese has granted mental health days for our schools to be added to the calendar for this year. We will add a day to our Easter vacation and take Thursday, April 14th as an additional non-school day.
Our original at-a-glance calendar listed March 14th as a day off school. That date was changed in August--please be sure your calendars reflect the correct date of Monday, March 21st as a school holiday.
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St. Giles Christmas Card Contest Winner! |
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Thank you to all of our Lions who submitted their beautiful artwork for our annual Christmas card. This year's card was designed by Grace Moroney in 8th grade. Congratulations, Grace and thank you for sharing your beautiful work! |
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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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Mark Your Calendars: Black & Gold Pride Is Coming!
Watch for a Special eNews this week about how you can get involved and volunteer!
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.
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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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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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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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