St. Louis Catholic School Newsletter | |
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February 1, 2024
Dear St. Louis Families,
Happy Thursday! Tomorrow is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and we give thanks for our Holy Family. It is also Ground Hog Day, and the students are eager to see if we will have six more weeks of winter.
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We are fully immersed in our Catholic Schools Week and having a blast! We had such a great turn-out for Sunday Mass and delicious goodies from the bake sale. Monday‘s Saints Alive and Faith Friendly Feud hosted by our very own St. Louis of France provided a fun engaging way to infuse our faith into the day. We also went deep into our spelling list until we crowned a top speller—congratulations to Lincoln Jetton (7) for winning the bee and Luke Willette (5) for placing 2nd in the bee. The winning word was ferocious! Tuesday, we had an eclectic Wax Museum of characters that walked around campus sharing their life history to the classes. Wednesday, students assembled backpacks of school supplies to donate to United Community, and UC was overwhelmed with gratitude for the donation. Today, we had Hawk spirit with a schoolwide Divine Mercy Chaplet led by Fr. O’Hare where we prayed for our community, and an afternoon of relays and dance.
Tomorrow, we end the week with pajamas, prayers in the morning, and fierce competition between 8th grade and our faculty. We are blessed and humbled by the ability to celebrate our school, the gifts of Catholic education, and the talents of one another. A special thank you to the PTO and the committee of staff members who planned Catholic Schools Week 2024.
Next week is a full learning week, and we look forward to it. Every day we seek to open our students’ hearts so that they may see love in one another. #BeOpen
Blessings and Peace,
Anne Dyke
Principal
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A reminder to families that morning carpool drop-off begins at 7:30am. Students may not get out of cars and line up at the door until Mr. Nagel gives the signal to do so. Thank you for cooperation! | | |
2024-25 Re-Registration Important Dates
TODAY! February 1, 2024 - Re-enrollment Opt-out/Hold Form due from families who will not be returning for the 2024-25 school year, or active duty military families who may be awaiting orders.
TODAY! February 1, 2024 - Last day to contact Mrs. Fiesel (pfiesel@stlouisschool.org) with special re-registration payment requests.
February 16, 2024 - Re-registration fee automatically posted to FACTS.
March 1, 2024 - Open spots released to new applicants.
March 13, 2024 - Financial aid applications due through FACTS. (Note, if you have a student enrolled in a diocesan high school, your financial aid deadline was January 5, 2024.)
April 1, 2024 - Last day for military families to notify the school of intent to stay or release spots being held. The non-refundable re-registration fee will be automatically posted to FACTS in April if we do not hear from you.
April 8, 2024 - Annual Parish Acknowledgement Form due from all current school families.
April 8, 2024 - Proof of Active Duty status due from military families wishing to be considered for a Catholic tuition rate.
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Coffee with the Principal - February 7
Bring your coffee and join Mrs. Dyke for conversation on Wednesday, February 7th at 8:15am in the school library. Bring your questions, concerns, and kudos too! Younger siblings are always welcome!
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Shrove Tuesday Pancake Lunch
The Knights of Columbus and St. Louis Dads will be helping us serve a Pancake Lunch on Shrove Tuesday, February 13th.
Please note, Fairfax Food Service will NOT be serving hot lunch on this day. If you do not purchase the pancake lunch for your child, please send in a brown bag lunch.
ORDER ONLINE by noon, Wednesday, Feb. 7th.
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Just some quick reminders on our sick/injury policy here at St. Louis. I can fully appreciate the challenges that come with missing work or finding childcare. However, it is important that as a community we try to mitigate the spread of illness in school.
The Sick Child: Students who are ill do not focus well on academic instruction and risk infecting their classmates. Do not send your child to school if they have the following symptoms: fever (100.0) or low grade fever (99.8 F and above); signs of the flu: cough, chills, muscle aches and malaise, vomiting, diarrhea; exhibiting red eyes with discharge; untreated head lice; or unexplained rash not related to plants. It is best to contact your child’s pediatrician for guidance when your child is experiencing these symptoms.Students may return to school if:
- they are fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medicines
- they have had at least three doses of antibiotics for strep throat or other infectious disease with no fever
- they have not vomited or had diarrhea for twenty-four hours. If you feel your student has vomited due to non-infectious reasons, please contact the school nurse for guidance.
Students Who Become Ill or Injured at School: Students will be given medical care in the clinic. The nurse will notify parents (or emergency contacts) should the condition of your child’s illness or injury require rest at home or further medical attention. Any child who is exhibiting symptoms of illness that has not previously been discussed with the school nurse BEFORE coming to school or without a documented medical history will be sent home. Students are to be picked up from the clinic within 30 minutes of being notified.
Students Who Have Sustained an Injury: If your child has sustained an injury and requires the use of an orthopedic device (sling, boot, cast, crutches, etc.), parents must provide a physician’s note upon the student’s return to school, detailing the nature of the injury, the device needed, any precautions to be taken while at school (refraining from PE and recess, elevation, etc.), and the anticipated duration of recovery.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at nurse@stlouisschool.org or 703-768-7732.
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Vaping Program Parent Zoom (5th-7th Gr.)
We are happy to announce that we will be offering the Catch My Breath Vaping Prevention Program again this year. Students in grades 5-7 will have four weekly lessons with Ms. Lauren Hitz, a prevention specialist from Fairfax County. We are blessed to be among other Catholic Schools in our Diocese to offer this important program for our students. There will be a parent zoom session on Tuesday, February 13 at 6:30pm. It will last about 30 minutes and will include an overview of the lessons followed by a Q and A session. Here’s the zoom link for February 13th:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82353557171?pwd=enRjT2RlbjVhMWtoZ1IybnNBSCtMZz09
Meeting ID: 823 5355 7171
Passcode: 786391
Coffee with the Counselor February 13
Please join us for our FIRST Coffee with the Counselor meeting at the Little Way Café on Tuesday February 13th from 8-9am. Mrs. Cotnoir will be sharing her top two tips for parenting with confidence for ALL ages. Coffee will be available for purchase. Can’t wait to see you there. Please email jcotnoir@stlouisschool.org with any questions.
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St. Louis School Family Directory
There has been some recent confusion about the St. Louis School Family Directory that we hope to clear up.
St. Louis School (K-8) publishes the online family directory through DirectorySpot each school year. This is the official school family directory. All families have the option to opt in or out of having their personal contact information published. Every parent has a unique user name and password to this e-directory. For more information, please visit our website.
This year, the PTO introduced Connect 1 which also publishes any personal contact information you provided when you set up your profile. This Community Directory does not come from the school. Please know that if you opted out of the school directory that does not carry over to Connect 1, and you may have unintentionally published your contact information in Connect 1. You do have the capability to turn off the sharing in your profile.
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Hawk Happenings: Feb. 2 - 9, 2024 | |
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Friday, February 2
Monday, February 5
- Lunch: Chicken Patty
- All School Mass
Tuesday, February 6
- Lunch: Chicken Nuggets
- Ice cream available
Wednesday, February 7
- Lunch: Beef Nachos
- Shrove Tues. Pancake Lunch Orders due
Thursday, February 8
- Lunch: Meatball Sub
- Ice cream available
Friday, February 9
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FULL SCHOOL CALENDAR
Did you know you can subscribe to our school calendar for real-time updates, convenient links to SUGs and flyers, and more? Subscribe to auto-populate your iCal, Outlook 2007+ or Google calendar
*Hot lunch must be ordered monthly in advance.
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Order hot lunch HERE.
March lunch orders due
February 28, 9pm.
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Tickets may be pre-purchased to redeem for ice cream on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Order ice cream tickets HERE.
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Extracurricular Activities | |
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Girls on the Run and Heart & Sole
Hello St. Louis families. We are happy to announce Girls on the Run (4th & 5th grade) will be back this year along with the middle school program which is called Heart & Soul. These programs are a 10-week positive youth development program. Participants will have fun, make friends, increase their physical activity, and learn important lessons to last a lifetime! There is a celebratory 5K event to end the season - open to friends and family! Practices will be after school on Tuesday's and Thursday's until 5pm. Practices will start March 5th. You can register online at www.gotrnova.org. Registration ends February 27th. Hope to see your girls there!
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Catholic Schools Week Bake Sale - Round of Applause!
Thank you to all of our amazing St. Louis families for making this weekend's Bake Sale a HUGE success! It was a wonderful event that could not have been possible without all of your beautiful contributions and hard work! A special thank you to Mrs. Dyke, Mrs. Calogero, the Development Team and our fabulous PTO for helping us every step of the way. Blessings to everyone, and we hope you are having a wonderful Catholic Schools Week! Annemarie & Monica
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Spirit Dinner @ Olympians - February 20 & 21
Keep that spirit high! Our January Spirit Dinner was a tremendous success, and we have a great location lined up for February! Dine in or carry out ALL DAY on Tuesday, February 20th and February 21st at Olympians Family Restaurant! See the flier for more details - you can also order online, just be sure to note the St. Louis Spirit Dinner for credit. All proceeds benefit the St. Louis PTO. Questions? Contact kgodburn@gmail.com.
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Rewind to the 90's - AUCTION - Feb. 10, 2024
There’s still time to get your tickets to the Auction: Rewind to the 90s on February 10th, but last call for Tables! Individual and couples tickets will still be available after this week, but if you'd like a seat, consider purchasing a table sponsorship with your friends before they’re gone!
The auction is the only place to be if you want to bid on your children’s class pottery, a catered party for 20 at Little Way Cafe after 8th Grade Graduation, some super cool class baskets, or the coveted front of line carpool spot, in addition to lots of other amazing items.
Get your tickets HERE.
Can’t make it February 10th? Don’t worry, you can still participate in the online auction, which is going live next Wednesday, February 7th. More details are coming next week, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, we need some help to make the auction a success. Check out Connect 1 for some volunteer opportunities, including setting up the auction and overseeing the wine pull and mystery box stations. It’s going to be a ton of fun! Thanks for your support!
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Current Opportunities in Connect 1
Lunch Room Monitors
Library Volunteers
PTO Auction Volunteer
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From Inclusion to Belonging Conference - February 17th
The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, invites all school personnel and parents to a full-day conference that seeks to bring together individuals involved in all aspects of parish life and equip them with the tools necessary to make inclusive communities that are accessible to all. The conference also seeks to bring together mental health professionals and persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families to discuss ways that professionals can better serve these individuals and their families.
The conference will be held at St. John Paul the Great High School on February 17th. Register here.
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Saint Louis Parish CYO Hawks Take the Court!
Come out to McClunn Hall on Saturday, February 3rd and watch the Hawks take on basketball teams from around the diocese!
- 6th grade boys at 12:15pm and 1:30pm
- 5th grade boys at 2:45pm and 4pm
And good luck to the Hawks playing away from the nest this week!
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Hawks on Stage
Mount Vernon Community Children's Theatre presents The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. You may think you know the story of Robin Hood, but you’ve never seen one quite like this! Join MVCCT on an unforgettable journey through Sherwood Forest!
Showtimes:
7pm: February 17, 23, 24
3pm: February 18, 25
Tickets available here: www.mvcct.org/tickets
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