Between the Lions

PRINCIPAL'S REFLECTION
As the year is winding down, there are a few items I would like to mention: First, I would like to say farewell to Mrs. Klontz, Mrs. McGrail, Mrs. Richardson, Mrs. Elachkar, Ms. Schwenkel. I am sure you join me in thanking them for their contributions and service to Saint Leo the Great School community and wish them will in their future endeavors. On another note, I am happy to announce the following changes for the 2009-2010 school year: Please welcome the following individuals to the Saint Leo the Great School community:

• Mrs. Jo Ellen Merrill, Kindergarten - BS Purdue University.
• Mrs. Kathy Hesse, Kindergarten Instructional Assistant-BS Louisiana State University.
• Mrs. Joanne McCarty-PK AM 4's M-T-W Teacher, T/Th PK Instructional Assistant and lunch/recess moderator. BS Adelphi University, NY
• Instructional Assistants for the Preschool: Mrs. Lisa Sharkey and Mrs. Joanne Khavari.
• Extended Day Director - To be announced
• Assistant Extended Day Director - To be announced
• K-4 Spanish Teacher - To be announced
• Cafeteria Assistant - To be announced

The TerraNova Standardized Test Results will be mailed home tomorrow, Friday, June 5th. They will be mailed to the parents of students in Grades 2-7. These results will be used by the teacher to prepare for the individual and class needs of students for the 2009-2010 school year. If you have any questions about these results, please speak with your child's teacher and/or Mrs. Polan, Guidance Counselor, at extension 649. Teachers will be available for end of year conferences, if needed, on Thursday, June 11th from 8-12 noon and 1-3pm. Please email teachers for conference time.

As this will be the last note of the school year, I would like to thank the parents, students, volunteers, faculty and staff for an outstanding school year. Without the help of many individuals working together, we could not have had such a great year. I know the students have benefited from all the time, positive efforts, and energy that each of you bring day in and day out. In addition, I want to thank all the members of the PTO Board/Development Committee for a great school year. The faculty/staff and most importantly, the students have benefited from all of the activities and educational resources that your hard work has provided. Your time, efforts and positive ideas have greatly contributed to the academic, spiritual and social development of our students. Thank you for continuing to help our students grow in grace and wisdom. Have a great summer break and see you back on Friday, August 28th for our open house which begins at 10-11:30am in the school gym.

As Always, for the children,
Mr. David DiPippa, Principal

THANKS & PRAISE

• To our 5th graders for their generous contributions to the Divine Mercy Center. It was their Lenten promise to assist a Catholic organization. The Director will be here Friday to personally thank them.
• To Mrs. LaBarge, Mrs. Agostini, Mrs. Paul, Mrs. Gritz and Mrs. White for planning our end of the year school-wide mass.
• To the Knights of Columbus for our end of the year field day luncheon.
• To Mrs. Sloboda, Mrs. Cosgriff, Mrs. White, for such a special 8th grade graduation ceremony.
• To Mr. Allen and all parent volunteers and kitchen staff for a spectacular field day - the weather was perfect!
• To Mrs. Betack, Mrs. Klontz, Mrs. Merrill, Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Hesse for all their hard work for a wonderful Kindergarten graduation.
• To all the kitchen staff for their hard work coordinating two graduation receptions in one day.
• To Mrs. Muller, our outstanding room parent coordinator and all of our room parents for an extremely successful school year.
• Special thanks to Mrs. Sharkey, Mrs. Dowd, Mrs. Cronin, Mrs. Gumowski (Barna), Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Collier for their "green" faithfulness this year as part of our recycling program. Also thanks to the NJHS students who collected items each week for recycling and Kathy White and Ann Lyle for coordinating this and other NJHS activities.

Saint Vincent de Paul Pantry-St. Leo's School-Something to ROAR about!!
This year's Catholic Social Teaching of Rights and Responsibilities emphasized the importance of human dignity and that it is our Catholic duty to protect and be responsible for it. Our school has experienced this Catholic Social Teaching by its participation in our SDVP pantry & its many projects throughout this school year.

• With both the Autumn Food Drive, held in November & our Lenten Food Drive in March, Saint Leo the Great School collected over 4,500 food items during this school year
• Continuing in this generous spirit, at our December "gift-giving Mass", over 400 gifts were collected for our SVDP families.
• Finally, our drive for "Money for Mary's Children" held in May, where money collected is given to the pantry to purchase food items for our parish families during the summer months, brought in a grand total of $1,200!

The Saint Vincent de Paul Society & our school's SVDP pantry committee sincerely thank you all for your generous donations throughout this 2008-2009 school year.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 2009-2010:

• SPANISH TEACHER - Kindergarten through 4th grade Spanish teacher needed. Approximately 20 hours per week. Please email resume and transcripts to: Ddipippa@saintleothegreatschool.org
• EXTENDED DAY DIRECTOR and ASSISTANT DIRECTOR POSITIONS AVAILABLE- applications are being accepted for Extended Day Director starting late August. The hours are Monday through Friday, 2:15-6:15pm.
  Assistant Director's hours are 2:45-6pm, Monday through Friday. Please send resume to front office or email: Ddipippa@saintleothegreatschool.org
• KITCHEN ASSISTANT- applications are being accepted for one Kitchen Assistant Monday through Friday, 10:30-2pm. Please send resume to Kitchen@saintleothegreatschool.org

FROM THE CLINIC

• Any medications that have been brought for your child during the school year, both prescription and over the counter must be picked up on or before the last day of school. No medications are kept at school during the summer months. Any medications not picked up will be discarded. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Ferlotti RN at 703-273-1211 ext 646.
• Important reminder for rising 6th graders: All sixth grade students who have turned 11 on or before the first day of school for the 2009-2010 school year, must receive a Tdap booster as required by the Virginia Department of Health. Documentation of this immunization must be on file on or before the first day of school. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Ferlotti at ext. 646.
• Walk Across America- Together our families and faculty walked just over 2000 miles in the month of May. That's almost to Salt Lake City Utah! Keep up the great walking this summer!

FROM EXTENDED DAY

• If you have not returned your prepay forms to the office, please do so as soon as possible to avoid paying the emergency rate. Please note that if you do not pay any outstanding bills by the end of the school year, your child will not receive his or her report card until payment has been remitted. Also, please do not put your prepay money and your bill money together as the money goes into separate accounts. Thank you.
• All invoices for the end of the year have been finalized and sent home. Payment is due in full upon receipt. Please call Mrs. Jones ext.621 should you have any questions regarding your account. All accounts must be paid in full in order distribute report cards on time. Thank you and have a safe and happy summer.

2009 HIGH SCHOOL CHOICES

PTO 2009-2010 EVENT CHAIRS!
Cultural Events: Dana Schlindler, gdschindler@verizon.net
School Directory: Kathy Johnson, greggkathyjohnson@cox.net
New Friends/Old Friends Coffee: Kathy Johnson, greggkathyjohnson@cox.net
Used Uniform Sales: Lesli Kraiger, lkraiger@msn.com
Innisbrook Fundraiser: Marian Hartzell, tjhartzell@verison.net
Family Fun Night: Vacant - please contact Larry McGrail, Larry.mcgrail@verizon.net
Quiz Bowl: Kristin & Evan Bolster, kbolster@saintleothegreatschool.org
Spring Fun Run: Katie Blanchard, Katie_blanchard@verizon.net
Golf Tournament: please contact Larry McGrail, Larry.mcgrail@verizon.net
Volunteer Luncheon: Mary Beth Crosson, crosson46@yahoo.com
PTO Diocesan Representative: Sylvia Neves, Sylvia.g.molinaneves@verizonbusiness.net

Mrs. White recommends a great new theater camp for ages 6-14. A great value and looks like a lot of fun - check it out at http://fairfaxcitytheatre.org/CFTC/Summer_Drama_Camp.html

St Leo The Great Mini-Hoopsters Basketball Camp: June 22 -26 / July 13-17 for Girls & Boys going into 1st - 3rd grades.  $100 Single Camp Fee /$175 for both.  Boys 9 am-12 pm / Girls 1pm - 4pm (Mon - Fri).   Please contact Scott Allen at Coachsallen@aol.com (703-856-7157) to sign-up.  Camp is filling up fast.

PAUL VI

• Girls & Boys Summer Basketball Camp: 
  June 15-19 / July 6-10 for Girls & Boys going into 3rd - 9th grades
  (9am - 4pm).  $180 single camp fee/ $300 for both.  Please
  contact Scott Allen at Coachsallen@aol.com (703-856-7157) to sign-up.  Camp is filling up fast.
• Soccer Camp Summer 2009 - June 22-26, 9-3 pm - all day - ages 7-15 are welcome to attend. For more information call 703-352-0925.
• Parade Band Camp to any rising 8th-12th graders on afternoons during the week of August 17-21. Cost is $50 per student (early bird special of $40. if registered before June 1!). Payment includes camp fee, snacks/drinks and t-shirt. Curriculum includes parade fundamentals video and basic commands, sectionals, full band rehearsal, and outdoor parade practice. Questions/applications may be directed to Mrs. Jan Siegfried at jsiegfried@paulvi.net.

BISHOP O'CONNELL

• SOCCER CAMP:  Tuckahoe Park, Arlington, VA - June 29-July 2,    9:00am - 3:00pm (8-14 year Olds, $195* includes t-shirt)  Morning:
  Skills, Tactics, Contests and More – Afternoon: Small and Large Sided Play - 1 hour lunch break (bring your own lunch ). For more information, please contact DJOsoccercamp@verizon.net or call 703-894-8844.
• BASEBALL CAMP: June 15-19th 9am-2pm. Questions? Please call Coach Hart at (571) 238-9447. $225.00 (Make Checks Payable to Richard Hart)

Brass & Percussion Music Camp at Bishop Ireton High School

Can students learn to play brass or percussion in just three weeks? Yes, they can! Sign up for the Brass & Percussion Music Camp! All instruments are provided (tubas, euphoniums, trombones, French horns, trumpets, percussion instruments)! Participants need only bring their positive "can-do" attitude and their "yes, I can" enthusiasm! August 3 - 21, from 1 to 3:30 pm (Monday thru Friday for 3 weeks) Cost: $400. Download the Registration form. Open to all rising 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. Teachers: Dr. Randall Eyles, Director of Fine Arts at Bishop Ireton High School, plus professional musicians from the service bands.

NEW Math Mania with Word Problems - Interest Inquiry (4th and 5th graders ONLY - after school activity) - Does your child shy away from math word problems? Teaching kids to solve word problems is one of the most challenging tasks faced by math teachers and parents. A big part of that challenge is adjusting kids' mind-sets towards these tasks. Most kids are intimidated by word problems and give up easily. Having the right strategies to tackle these word problems can make all the difference in the world. Many problems are multi-step and require some type of systematic approach or procedure. Problem solving requires practice! The Math Mania program, offered by Student Advance Learning, is an after school course (for 4th and 5th graders) that will focus on providing students with the tools needed to collect the appropriate information, identify a strategy and to use the strategy appropriately to solve the problem! Student Advance Learning will be in constant communication with the 4th and 5th grade math teachers to ensure that the word problems chosen for that week's session focus on the math topic the kids are learning for that week. Dates and Times: To be announced at the start of school year 2009. Sessions will be held once a week for one hour after school. Materials: Provided with the fee. Place: Saint Leo the Great Cost: $115.00 per student per quarter (8 weeks).Total $460 per student for full year (total 32 weeks) (If interested or need further information please send an e-mail to StudentAdvanceLearning@yahoo.com or call us at 704-776-1723