St. Pius X / St. Leo School Newsletter August 13, 2021
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OPEN HOUSE UPDATE
We will once again have Open House before school starts. Students will have an opportunity to meet their teachers and find out their homerooms.
Open House in on Tuesday, August 17 for students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.
Please utilize any of the school and church's parking lots for parking. All entry doors to the school will be open. Class lists will be posted near each grade level in the building.
We are asking that everyone (including children older than age two) wear a mask during Open House and try to avoid congregating in groups in the building.
Subway sandwiches, chips, cookies, soda, and bottled water will be available for purchase in the cafeteria, while supplies last. A portion of the proceeds from these sales will go to SPSL. We will have bags so you may take your order to-go. If you prefer to eat in the cafeteria, please eat as a family unit and try to keep space of at least three feet with others. Thank you for supporting SPSL School.
You are also welcome to walk around the entire school. Please stop by the gym to meet representatives from various activities.
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SCHOOL THEME
The school theme for the 2021-2022 year is: Using our God-given gifts to love and serve each other in order to become the best versions of ourselves.“ As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10)
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IMPORTANT TUITION REMINDERS
The 2021-2022 ‘pay in full’ tuition option was due August 1. If you have already submitted payment, thank you. If you have not remitted payment yet, please drop off payment to the school office or stop by and enroll in the SMART payment plan. If you have any questions regarding your balance, please call the school office at 402-551-6667.
Pre-Kindergarten tuition is payable to the school office on a monthly basis. Pre-Kindergarten families remit nine monthly payments, by the first of each month, September through May.
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St. Pius X / St. Leo School is a diverse community forming students in the Catholic faith to excel in academics and service to others. |
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SCHOOL TIME
We ask that students not arrive at school before 8:00 am, nor enter the building unless he/she is enrolled in the Extended Care Program or involved in a school-sponsored organized activity or duty. We ask that students who walk or get a car ride to school do not arrive before students are allowed to enter their classrooms. The teachers and administrators are in meetings many mornings and are not able to supervise students before 8:00 am. It is also unfair to those parents who are paying for babysitters or the Extended Care Program before school if some students are dropped off early. If students walk to school they should arrive sometime between 8:00 and 8:15 am. Students will be marked tardy if they are not sitting at their desk by 8:15 am.
Please remember that school will dismiss at 3:25 pm (3:30 pm for 8th grade) each day this year, unless otherwise noted on the calendar of events on the school website (www.spsl.net). Children need to be picked up on time each day. If this is not possible, the child(ren) needs to be placed in the Extended Care Program.
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ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL PARKING PROCEDURES
During the 2020-2021 school year, adjustments were made to the arrival/dismissal parking procedures due to COVID-19. Procedures are reverting back to the standard practice, in place for many years.
You may drop-off students in the morning in the following parking lots only:
* Church front parking lot. You may not make a left turn from this parking lot when you exit. There will be no way to turn south on 69th Street. When leaving the church front parking lot, the only way you can leave and turn is to turn right onto Blondo Street.
* Lot east of 69th Street
* South church parking lot
Please do not use the lot west of the north school building for dropping off students unless you have a Pre-K student. If you do, you may park in the west lot.
Students are encouraged to use the following doors to enter the building, but we realize some may be walking siblings and entering at different doors:
North doors (church front lot) – Grades 6 through 8
East cafeteria doors – Grades K through 3
South gym doors – Grades 4 and 5
Pre-K doors (lower west lot) – Pre-K only
You may use the following lots for parking if you need to come in the building in the AM:
* Outside area of the lot east of 69th Street
* Outside area of the south church parking lot
Please do not park in the church front (north) parking lot until school has begun at 8:15 am. Then you may use this lot in order to park for our school Masses.
For picking up your children after school you may park in any of the lots except the church front parking lot or the west parking lot. At dismissal time we need to keep the church front lot free of cars as all of the students come out of school directly into this lot. Safety is a major concern, so therefore the lot must be free of cars. The west lot and the small north lot for Pre-K is only for picking up Pre-K students. If you wish to meet your children, you may park in one of the other lots and walk to meet your children.
Students will be dismissed at the end of each school day from the following doors:
North doors (church lot) – Grades 3 and 6
East cafeteria doors – Grades K, 1, and 2
Church breezeway doors (south lot) – Grades 7 and 8
Pre-K doors (lower west lot) – Pre-K
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 19 is the first day of school. Students in grades K-8 will attend school from 8:15 am until noon. This same schedule will be followed on FRIDAY, AUGUST 20. Lunch will not be served on these days. Parents, please feel free to send a snack with your children on these two half days. Please ensure that the snack is nut-free. Beginning MONDAY, AUGUST 23, students will attend school for full days - 8:15 am until 3:25 pm (except for 8th graders who are dismissed at 3:30 pm).
NOTE: Five-day and Three-day Pre-Kindergarten students will begin classes Monday, August 23. Two-day Pre-Kindergarten students will begin classes Tuesday, August 24.
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ST. PIUS X FEAST DAY PICNIC |
Welcome back home to this annual celebration of our Patron’s Feast Day on Sunday, August 22 at 12:30 pm. Meat and drinks will be provided by St. Pius X Knights of Columbus. The picnic will be held outside south of the Parish Center. How can you help? Please attend and share in this community meal. If you are able, please bring an item to share. Last names starting with A-K, please bring a dessert and last names starting with L-Z, please bring a side dish. If you want, throw a lawn chair and blanket in the car too. Hope to see you all there. |
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EXTENDED CARE UPDATE
August 19 and 20 are noon dismissal days and Extended Care is available for children that are registered in the program. Lunch is NOT served at school on those days, so please make sure your child brings a lunch. Extended Care only serves a mid-afternoon snack on early dismissal days. August calendars were mailed out in late July. Your August calendar and payment were due by August 9. If you have not remitted payment yet, please send it as soon as possible. If you did not receive your calendar in the mail or are in need of one, please direct your questions to Cat Flores at cat.flores@spsl.net. If you need to register your children for the Extended Care Program, please contact Mrs. Flores. Please note we accept Title 20 if you qualify.
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FUTURE NEWSLETTERS
This newsletter will be the only one emailed before the start of the school year. After school starts, we will email out a school newsletter approximately two times per month. We do not send home paper copies of the newsletter. Please keep us posted with any email changes. The newsletter will also be linked on the school website, www.spsl.net. As you are partners with us in your child's education and since this is one of the main forms of communication we use, we trust that you will read the newsletter on a consistent basis.
As a school our goal is to utilize email communication more and truly send less paper notes home. Information sent previously via paper can be found on the school website (www.spsl.net), including the lunch menu and calendar of events.
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NOTES FROM THE NURSE
All immunization records and physical forms (physical exams are required for students entering kindergarten, 7th grade, or students transferring from an out-of-state school) were to have been turned in to the school office. If they have not been turned in yet, you need to do it as soon as possible - do NOT wait and send them with your child on the first day of school. Your child will not be able to attend classes until the records are in the school's office. Thank you for keeping our school in compliance with the Nebraska school laws.
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IMMUNIZATION RULES
Please note the following requirement for 7th grade students. Students entering 7th grade will be required to provide proof of a booster immunization of diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (Tdap), given on or after your child's 7th birthday. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping your children up-to-date with this immunization requirement.
If your child is fully vaccinated for COVID-19, please send the immunizations dates to the school office. Having this information would help in the event of contact tracing.
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SCHOOL UNIFORMS
School uniforms can be purchased either from Dennis Uniform, located at 726 N 109 Court, or from DiGiorgio's Sportswear, located at 14111 Q Street. Uniform skorts, jumpers, or skirts can also be purchased online from French Toast.
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SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
SPSL School is contracted with Westside Nutrition Services to provide our students lunch.
School lunches will be free again this school year due to a governmental program. If anything were to change, we would notify parents. If a student only needs a milk, there will be a milk charge of $0.60.
Free/Reduced Lunch Applications will be provided to families at Open House. Eligible families are still encouraged to complete the application in the event the "free lunch" government program ends.
The cafeteria staff is still in need of volunteers to help serve the lunch. Please contact Jon Lanphier at jon.lanphier@spsl.net if you are interested. It also is a great volunteer opportunity for grandparents.
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ASSIGNMENT NOTEBOOKS
Student assignment notebooks are available for purchase in the school office. The price for each notebook is $5.00. The books will be available at Open House outside of the office. Students purchasing assignment notebooks on the first day of school should bring their money to their homeroom teacher. Students in grades 4-8 use these assignment notebooks or similar ones.
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SPIRIT WEAR
The St. Pius X / St. Leo School Spirit Wear Store will open just in time for back to school! Visit the Spirit Wear store by clicking here now through August 29 to place your order online. Orders will be delivered to SPSL School by September 20. Questions to Michaela Smith at michaela.smith@spsl.net or 402-551-6667.
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The SPSL Annual Fall Fundraiser, Heroes Among Us!, will be held on Saturday, October 16, 2021 at Creighton Prep. The SPSL Fall Fundraiser is the biggest fundraiser of the year for our school. Funds raised support our school operating budget, teacher education, technology, capital improvements, and the SPSL endowment trust fund. The goal is to raise critical funds needed by SPSL in the amount of at least $137,000. We hope that all who are able will join together to support our amazing faculty, staff, and school.
You are also invited to a Fundraiser Pre-Party and Welcome Back to School event on Friday, August 27, 2021 at 7:00 pm at the Wharton home (5104 Cuming Street). You will have the opportunity to reconnect with SPSL friends and learn more about the Heroes Among Us! fundraiser. This event is hosted by SPSL parents Max and Beth Engel, Eric Gautschi and Colleen Hoarty, Stacy and Norah Morris, and Marc and Martha Wharton. To attend, register here.
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CALENDAR FEATURE
SPSL has an interactive calendar through our website. Click here to see what events are going on at school. If you want to add an event to your personal calendar, click on it and pick your platform. The school calendar is set up to sync with Apple Calendar, Google, Outlook, Outlook.com, and Yahoo.
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ASBESTOS
As most of you are aware, we removed all of the friable asbestos in our school many years ago. We do have some non-friable asbestos in the floor tiles of a few of our rooms, most of which are covered with carpet. In addition there are two secured and plainly marked heating chases on the second and third floors of the main building. We also have two cubbyholes with locked doors that have asbestos on the heating coils. These are located on the second and third floors of the main building. We are not required to remove these tiles or the asbestos on the coils but to inform you that we do have a management plan available in our office concerning the care of these tiles and coils if you wish to inspect the plan. As part of the asbestos management plan, the campus buildings are inspected by a certified asbestos abatement service.
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IMPORTANT MEDICAL BULLETIN
SPSL School is in compliance with the state mandated “Emergency Response to Life-Threatening Asthma or Systemic Allergic Reactions (Anaphylaxis) Protocol.” The protocol involves the use of an IM EpiPen and nebulized albuterol and calling 911.
The protocol is to be administered by trained responders to ANY student showing life-threatening asthma attacks or other allergic reactions. Responders will be available during the course of regular school hours.
This protocol and its emergency medication is not meant to replace the health care provider's plan for students with a diagnosis of asthma and/or anaphylaxis. The emergency medication (such as inhalers, epinephrine) prescribed for students with known asthma and/or anaphylaxis is provided by the student's parents to the school according to the school's Medication policy.
IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR DAUGHTER / SON TO BE TREATED FOR THESE LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCIES YOU NEED TO SEND CORY SEPICH, PRINCIPAL, WRITTEN NOTIFICATION PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.
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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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p:402.551.6667
f:402.551.8123
6905 Blondo St, Omaha, NE 68104
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