Between the Lions - March 25, 2010

CALENDAR REMINDERS-  MARCH
PTO fundraiser – Five Below-FFX & Chantilly locations

PRINCIPAL'S REFLECTION
Congratulations to the school community for our third and final Saint Vincent de Paul Food Drive. Special thanks to the Saint Vincent de Paul committee (Mary Byczek, Scott Allen, Carolina Agostini and Blanca Figueiredo) for organizing this event. As a reward for three outstanding food drives, students, faculty and staff, will be given an additional spirit wear day on Thursday, April 1st. Thank you for the generosity of all the parents and guardians for making this goal a reality for our needy in the community. By your example, you have shown your children the values and virtues of your Catholic Faith.

Next Thursday, April 1st, marks the end of Third Quarter. Students in grades 1 through 8 will be receiving their report cards after Easter break on Friday, April 16th. Please review these reports with your children. Praise their accomplishments and encourage them in areas of needed growth. Please have these signed and returned to their teacher no later than Tuesday, April 20th. If you have any questions about individual grades, please contact the teacher for a meeting. Together we can help our students grow, “In Grace and Wisdom.”

It has come to my attention that there are some parents who have not been using the designated PM carpool lines. For clarification, unless the student is a walker or a CUE bus rider, all children should exit the rear of the building to their respective carpools. No student should be walking up the sidewalk of the school building to enter cars unless they are a walker with walking permission on file in the front office. If you need to pick up your child early from school, please come to the front office no later than 15 minutes before dismissal so you can leave before the school children are dismissed. Thank you for your cooperation as we try to provide a safe and efficient PM carpool dismissal.

Safety and security is always primary in our school. To date, we have had eleven fire drills, two tornado drills (one individual class and one school-wide), and one lock-down drill. As a school we will continue to practice safety drills with our students, faculty and staff in the event there is any emergency event that would create a change in our normal routine. If you are in the building during these drills, please follow instructions from the main office, or the teacher in whose class you are volunteering. Thank you for your cooperation.

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

THANKS & PRAISE

• To Mrs. Gormley, Mrs. Ketron, Mrs. Baldacci, and Mrs. Clinch who helped to organize our successful Ice Cream Social this past Saturday. Special thanks to all the 8th grade student volunteers, as well as parent volunteers and the PTO Board.
• To Mr. Torma and 6th grade parent volunteers for their help in the castle-building activity for Medieval Day.
• To Mrs. Schindler and the PTO Cultural Arts Committee for sponsoring our K-5 science assembly. Students seemed to enjoy this fun-filled assembly while learning science.
• To Mr. Torma and the 6th grade parent chaperones for the successful field trip to Medieval Times in Maryland. Students got a first-hand view of a medieval festival.
• To Mrs. McCarty and Mrs. Crosson for sponsoring our after-school Yearbook Club.

St. Leo the Great 2010 Auction
Tickets are now on sale for this year’s “Bringing the World to Our Children” Auction Gala. This year’s Dinner, Silent and Live Auction will be held Friday, April 30 at the International Country Club in Fairfax, time to be announced. For tickets and registration please visit the auction website: https://stleosch.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/BRINGINGTHEWORLDTOOURCHILDREN/tabid/191480/Default.aspx. Questions regarding donations or sponsorships should be directed to Patty Dudley at StLeosAuction2010@verizon.net.

RICE BOWL LENTEN COLLECTION
The Rice Bowl Lenten Collection through school will continue until Friday March 26, 2010. If your family has participated in the school rice bowl collection, please have your student return his/her rice bowl to the classroom on or before TOMORROW, Friday March 26th. Thank you.

FROM THE COMPUTER LAB
Mr. Hedderson and Mrs. Allis heartily thank the PTO Board for funding the purchase of new equipment for the computer lab. With the funds, we were able to purchase 18 new computers, monitors, keyboards, and mouses. The computers are small but quite powerful – 2Gb of memory, 80Gb hard drives, 3 gigahertz Core 2 Duo processors, and upgraded video graphics. Your students are already experiencing faster response times and increased software, video, and graphics capabilities. The former lab computers are slated to supplement computers in the classrooms, or replace outdated systems.

In addition, we were also able to purchase eight new computer tables for the lab. The tables are adjustable, and were set about an inch lower than the old tables. In combination with the smaller system units (the computer boxes themselves), these new tables allow the students to see me and the ActivBoard more easily, and I can see their bright, shining faces! Like the computers, the old tables have been given to some of the teachers for their classroom needs.

We are thoroughly enjoying watching the children's eyes and faces light up when they walked into the “new” lab for the first time. We overheard comments such as, “Hey! Did you get new computers?” “Wow! These new computers are great!” “I like the new computer lab!”

We'd like to see your eyes and faces light up, too, and hear your comments. Feel free to come by the computer lab and see our new look! A very special thanks to Mr. Tom Hedderson for spending a Saturday wiring the computers and components through the tables!

FROM THE LIBRARY
Thank you so much to all of our mother volunteers and to our parent and student customers who made our book fair a success.  We have many new titles in the library thanks to your generosity.

Thank you to Jeffrey K. (3rd grade)  for his donation of "Becoming Father Bob" the story of how a priest chose his vocation and to Rachel S. (kindergarten) for her birthday book donation of "My Garden" by Kevin Henkes.

ATTENTION AFTERNOON CARPOOLS
Some concerns have arisen regarding pets/dogs being brought out of cars at carpool time. I would ask that all pets be kept in cars at all times, to maintain a safe and orderly dismissal. Thank you for your cooperation.

SCHOOL PICTURE DAY
is scheduled for TOMORROW Friday, March 26th. DRESS UP!!! Equal to or better than the uniform-ties required for boys. School pictures are provided as service to our school parents and are also a valuable fundraiser for the school. Please return the Picture Form to your child's homeroom/homebase teacher. Extra flyers are available at the front office.

FROM THE PTO
THERE'S A CARNIVAL COMING TO TOWN! Mark your calendars and save the date: Saturday, May 22. Watch this space for more details to follow!

HAVE A GOOD IDEA? Send your suggestions for making St. Leo's a better school for our children to saintleopto@saintleothegreatschool.org. Please include the word SUGGESTION in the subject line.

PTO Fundraisers - please remember that flyers are also available on the school website under PTO/Fundraising

• Chick-fil-a Cheesecakes - Don't miss out on your chance to get these scrumptious cheesecakes -- perfect for Easter, dinner parties, and gifts. Cheesecakes are $25 each, and St. Leo's will earn $5 for each one sold. You can place your order between March 15-25 for delivery at the school on March 31 or April 1 or for pickup at the Fair Oaks Mall location on April 1, 2, 8, or 9). If you are going away for spring break, please remember that the cheesecakes can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months...so you can enjoy it when you return home.
• Five Below - Looking for little goodies and toys to fill those Easter Baskets? Five Below has everything that you need and is donating 10% of dollars spent by St. Leo's families and friends back to our PTO. Shop at the Fair City Mall and Greenbriar Towne Center locations from Saturday, March 27 through Saturday, April 3, and remember to bring your flyer!
• Fuddruckers End of Season Basketball Competition - Let's celebrate our coaches, players, and the basketball season with some fun & fundraising at Fuddruckers. Once again, they will donate 20% of sales from St. Leo families, friends, and fans back to our PTO. Join us anytime on March 20, 21, 25, 27, or 28. To keep the competition going and show support for your favorite Grade's Teams (4th - 8th grade), please tell the cashier which Grade/Team you want to support. The Grade with the most in total receipts will win a prize from Fuddruckers!

PRESCHOOL OPENINGS
Tell a friend, tell a neighbor that Preschool still have a few openings available. Please contact Mrs. Figueiredo at 703-273-1211, ext. 652.

BOX TOPS
Last day to send in Box Tops coupons is Tuesday 3/30. Please clip, clip, clip!!

• MARCH 30 AND APRIL 2 Fairfax City Police & the Optimist Club are offering a Safe Assured Identification Kit between 10-3:30 at the Fairfax City Police Department right next to Saint Leo’s. Parents will receive a full color photo ID and a mini-CD that contains digital fingerprints, a digital photo, video showing movement and mannerisms—general physical description, vital personal information and a family code word. Private information is encrypted and accessible only by law enforcement. A missing person poster can be created and printed from the mini CD. These kits are free and an appointment is necessary. Please call Sergeant Pam Nevlud at 703.385.7966 for further information.
• JUNE 21-25/JULY 26-30 - Paul VI Boys & Girls Basketball Camp $190.00 per camper -- Camp is for rising 3rd - 9th graders. Please contact Scott Allen at coachsallen@aol.com for further information and registration. Camp discounts available per camper for attending two or three camps.
• JUNE 28-JULY 1/JULY 19-22 - St Leo the Great Basketball Camp for Boys & Girls – Mini Hoopster Camps: Boys 9 am - 12 pm - Girls 1 pm - 4 pm....$100.00 per camper. Camp is for rising 1st - 3rd graders from all schools. Please contact Scott Allen at coachsallen@aol.com for further information and registration.
• JUNE 28-JULY 1- Bishop O’Connell Soccer Camp, for ages 8-14,at Tuckahoe Park, 9am-3pm $200. Questions or registration: djosoccercamp@verizon.net or 703/894.8844.

• JULY 12-16 – St Leo the Great Basketball Camp for Boys and girls rising 3rd grade to 9th grade from all schools. $190 per camper. Please contact Scott Allen at coachsallen!aol.com for further information and registration