St. Pius X / St. Leo School Newsletter May 14, 2021
SERRA CLUB
VOCATIONS MASS
       
The Serra Club of West Omaha invites you to join them for a very special Mass on Monday, May 17, at 5:30 pm at the JPII Newman Center, 1221 S 71st Street, to pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life within the Archdiocese of Omaha. Mass
will be celebrated by Rev. Frank Baumert. Youth discerning a religious vocation are encouraged to attend. Parents and all the faithful are welcome to attend. Meet the dedicated Serra members and enjoy light refreshments. After the meeting, JPII Student Ambassadors will be available for tours of the Newman Center. For questions, contact John Lingo, Serra VP, 402-290-4670 or John@JLingoLaw.com.
("Hawaiian" themed spirit day fun!)





("Future Career" themed spirit day!)

It's time to thank your Race sponsors! 

SPSL School is excited to report that we have exceeded our Race for Education fundraising goal for 2021! With your help and the generous sponsorships of many friends and families across the nation, the net profit for the 17th annual Race for Education is over $70,000! Students and parents are encouraged to thank their sponsors with a note, email, or call. To receive a list of your child's sponsors, please email Michaela Smith.
St. Pius X / St. Leo School is a diverse community forming students in the Catholic faith to excel in academics and service to others.
2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR

Please reference the school website (www.spsl.net) for information pertaining to the new school year (e.g. calendar, supply list). The information can be found here. We will update the website as new information becomes available regarding the new school year.

If your child(ren) will not be returning to SPSL for the 2020-2021 school year, please let us know by emailing kathy.graney@spsl.net.
Joy of Giving is a 24-hour day of giving set for Wednesday, May 19 to benefit the schools, parishes, ministries, and organizations of the Archdiocese of Omaha. This event replaces Omaha Gives!. Joy of Giving seeks to unify and amplify the significance of our Catholic community and its impact. St. Pius X / St. Leo School cannot wait to participate in this brand new tradition.

You can make your Joy of Giving gift to SPSL on May 19 here. Thank you for your support!
EXTENDED CARE

Registrations for Extended Care for the 2021-2022 school year were already mailed to families currently in the program. The return deadline has passed to hold your place in the program for the next school year. For any parents new to the program, please email Cat Flores at cat.flores@spsl.net and she will send you registration information.
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BRIDGE THE GAP

Bridge the Gap is a new school initiative which encourages SPSL families who can contribute more than the tuition price to make a gift to help cover all, or a portion of, the actual cost to educate your child(ren) at SPSL School.  

As with virtually all schools, the tuition price charged per student does not cover the entire cost to educate a student at our school. The difference is almost $3,000 per student for the 2021-2022 academic year. A subsidy is provided to every student to account for the difference.  The subsidy is funded by the strong support of St. Pius X and St. Leo Parishes, along with generous gifts from those in our school community. 

Will you help Bridge the Gap?  Gifts can be made payable to SPSL School and sent to the school office (noting Bridge the Gap in the memo line). If you have any questions, please email Michaela Smith or call 402-551-6667.  
SPSL GOLF CLASSIC

We would like to thank American National Bank and MCL Construction for their Platinum sponsorships supporting the 2021 St. Pius X / St. Leo School Golf Classic set for Monday, May 24 at Field Club of Omaha.  

This year the tournament will mark it's 17th anniversary! The tournament's long time success is due in part to the dedication of community partners like American National Bank and MCL Construction who believe in the mission of St. Pius X / St. Leo School.   

We look forward to hosting our families, friends, and other corporate sponsors at this time-honored event. If you would like more information on the Golf Classic, please email Bernadette Martens Chapman.
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OPEN HOUSE FOR THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR

It is the hope that the Open House for Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade will be held as scheduled on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. The Open House will be from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. If there are any changes to the event due to COVID-19, the school will communicate those changes to parents over the summer. Typically at Open House the classroom lists will be posted near the classroom areas that evening for students to find out who their teacher will be for the 2021-2022 school year. Families are also invited to stop by the gym to check out clubs, visit the classrooms, and visit with teachers. Students may bring their school supplies to their homeroom either this night or the first day of school.

The first day of school for Grades K - 8 will be Thursday, August 19. School will begin at 8:15 am and will dismiss at noon (no lunch served) on August 19 and 20. Students will attend school full days, 8:15 am until 3:25 pm, beginning on Monday, August 23. Three day and five day Pre-Kindergarten classes begin on Monday, August 23. Two day Pre-Kindergarten classes begin on Tuesday, August 24.

The above schedule assumes school resumes in the fall as outlined on the 2021-2022 school calendar. If any details change, parents will be notified well in advance.
MILLARD NORTH
SPEECH MEET

Seventh grader Helen Christen and sixth grader Violet Christen competed in the Millard North Speech Meet on Friday, April 23. The two placed first in Duet Acting. Congratulations to Helen and Violet on this accomplishment!
("Zoom Meeting" themed spirit day!
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STRAIGHT FROM
THE HEART

Many thanks to all families who contributed monetarily to Straight From the Heart this school year. Straight From the Heart is a parent run group that provides special treats and goodies to the teachers and staff over the course of the entire school year. The following are some of the ways the teachers and staff were treated this school year:
  • Candy bar days
  • Soda days
  • Weekend beverages to go
  • Health and wellness goodie bags
  • Mittens and candy goodie bags
  • Snacks during remote learning weeks
  • Snacks for teachers during fall conferences
  • Lunches for teachers during winter conferences
  • Candy jars
  • Travel mugs with goodies
  • Lunches for teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day
  • Lunches for staff on Staff Appreciation Day
  • Two new faculty/staff t-shirts
  • Cookie day
  • Popcorn day
  • Donut day
Thank you to Erica Williamson for coordinating all of the Straight from the Heart fun days! Our teachers and staff were well taken care of this school year.
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLS' SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

The following eighth grade students were awarded with scholarships from local area Catholic high schools in February. Representatives from each of the high schools listed below presented the following students with academic scholarships: Duchesne Academy - Maria Buechler, Grace Caskey, Natalya Jones, and KatieAnn Strehle; Marian High School - Heidi Hans and Margaret Hiatt; Mount Michael High School - Nathan Bluvas and Connor Smith; and Roncalli Catholic High School - Abraham Camp, Josie Gorczyca, Sidney Kitto, Monica Matthews, Tommy Novotny, and Tanner ten Bensel. Congratulations to all of these students and their parents who support them in their academic endeavors!
RONCALLI CATHOLIC
'PRIDE' SCHOLARSHIPS

Congratulations to the following eighth grade students on receiving the Roncalli Catholic PRIDE Scholarship: Abraham Camp, Samuel Elias, Josie Gorczyca, Sidney Kitto, Brigid McGill, Tommy Novotny, Ashley Tchibozo, and Tanner ten Bensel. These scholarships are awarded based upon the leadership qualities the individual has shown and developed in combination with the applicant’s score achieved on the Roncalli Catholic Placement Exam.
(Eighth grade students are counting down the days until graduation.)
ROTARY AWARD WINNERS

Four of our eighth grade students were selected as Rotary Club Honor Roll students. This award is given to students in the eighth grade for their outstanding achievements in leadership, presence, scholarship, and character. This year's worthy recipients of the Rotary Honor Roll award are: Ellie Brabec, Maria Buechler, Tommy Novotny, and Lauren Schmidt. Congratulations to these students! The students and their families were treated to a special lunch here at school during the virtual celebration since the typical luncheon was not held downtown due to COVID.

MARIAN HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS
On Thursday, May 4, Marian High School's president, Mary Higgins, and assistant principal, Jen Christen, presented two scholarships to two of our eighth grade students. Alongside Marian's leadership were Tim and Maryanne Rouse who presented Sarah Mohammed with a four-year, $40,000 scholarship. This scholarship will cover almost all of the tuition for Sarah's four years at Marian. Sarah had to apply for the scholarship. The scholarship is funded by the Rouse family, who awarded the scholarship to Sarah because of the family's commitment to religious diversity at Marian High School.

Marian leadership was also joined by Sister Helen Rau to present the 'Sister Helen Rau Scholarship' to eighth grader Valeria Banderas. This award is a four-year, $20,000 scholarship, which Valeria had to apply for. This scholarship is in honor of Sr. Helen Rau, who was a counselor at Marian for many years and also taught at St. Pius X / St. Leo School.

Congratulations to these girls on the incredible accomplishments!
LAW DAY ESSAY COMPETITION

For the sixth consecutive year SPSL eighth grade students participated in the Omaha Legal Professionals Association Law Day Essay Contest. The OLPA awards cash prizes for the top three entries. Once again, our students performed quite well. Six well-written essays were submitted by Mr. Greg Gorski, U.S. History teacher, that he thought answered the topic "Celebrating the Rule of Law in our Country."  Olivia Camerer's entry won third place and a $125 prize. Over the past six years that SPSL students have competed in the event, they have earned 10 awards out of the 18 that have been given during that period. To read this year's winning essays, click here.
Want to learn how the every day things you do – eating, reading, traveling, surfing the web, shopping, can earn money for St. Pius X / St. Leo School? Click here for a list of all our on-going fundraising efforts.
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6905 Blondo St, Omaha, NE 68104