Saint Leo the Great Catholic School

PRINCIPAL'S REFLECTION - Mr. David J. DiPippa
Congratulations go out to Mr. Barry Ward for the outstanding performance last night of our beginning and advanced bands. Special thanks to Mrs. White and the 3rd and 4th grade music classes for their special recorder performance. This was an evening to remember. Tomorrow, our band travels to Hershey Park, to compete in the annual band festival and competition. Good luck and thanks to all of our parent volunteers who will be chaperoning and make this trip happen yearly….we couldn’t do it without you! Special thanks to Mrs. Khavari for organizing all the details for our band students and parents.

I was very proud of our 8th grade class as they presented the play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the annual Diocesan Shakespeare Festival held at Paul VI High School today. Special thanks to Mrs. Sloboda, Mrs. White, Mrs. Bolster, Mrs. Craven and Mrs. Cosgriff for preparing our 8th grade students so well.

Be on the lookout for the distribution on Thursday, June 3rd, for the Summer Reading List. This reading list is for Grades 1-8 and students will be asked to complete the materials prior to their return on August the 30th.

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

THANKS & PRAISE

• Congratulations to Jerome T., winner of the 8th grade supplement cover contest. Great Job!
• To Mrs. Doss, Ms. Capen, Mrs. Hish and Mrs. Holleran for their preparation of our second graders who received First Holy Communion these past two Saturdays. Also for a wonderful 2nd grade field trip last Tuesday to George Mason thank you to all the parent volunteers.
• To all the parents, faculty, staff and students who have given donations for Mary’s Children to benefit the food pantry at St. Vincent de Paul. Final total will be given next week.
• To all the faculty and staff that provided over 18 huge bundles of clothing for The Barn in Bristow, Virginia.

REMINDER FOR ARRIVAL PROCEDURES FOR AREA I:
When the bell sounds at 7:50am, only drivers already in place in Area I carpool lines may unload students. Drivers arriving after 7:50am enter the parking lot and follow the direction of faculty and staff members on duty. These drivers may NOT allow students to disembark until they are directed to do so.

FROM THE PTO

• The PTO sponsored Carnival Is Coming to Saint Leo's!!! May 22nd 11am to 3pm (rain Date June 5th). Fun for the entire family! Rides, Games, Dunking Booth, Popcorn, Cotton Candy, Make your own Pucker Powder, Snow Cones, Drinks and more! All day pass (pre-purchase) $10.00 per person or $15.00 at the door. All Day Pass includes all rides, games and dunking booth--Come and see who you can dunk! Tickets for concessions, drinks, souvenirs, and rides (if you do not want to purchase the all day pass) are $1.00 each. They will be available pre-purchase and at the door. Ticket/All Day Pass Orders--RETURN by May 14th, 2010. Questions??? Contact Silvia Neves at silviamn@verizon.net or Katie Blanchard at Katie_blanchard@verizon.net. Click here (PDF) for a copy of the flyer that was sent home.
• VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! The Carnival is coming to town on May 22nd! Be among the first to sign up for the first-ever event of its kind at St. Leo's. We ask for your help in order to make this a fun-filled time for the entire family. Both moms and dads are needed. To volunteer, email Lori Swanberg at LMSwanberg@gmail.com. In advance, we thank you for making this a memorable event for all of our children.

SAINT VINCENT de PAUL’S SUMMER DRIVE
Money for Mary’s Children – May 7th through May 28th

May is the month of our Blessed Mother, Mary. During this month, we are practicing the virtue of FAIRNESS. This teaching involves practicing justice, equity, and equality towards others in a respectful and Christian way. Saint Leo’s students have proven to be responsible members of God’s family, by showing how aware they are of the needs of our community members and by how they have assisted others throughout this school year. With generous donations of food items to SVDP’s Autumn, January, and Lenten food drives this school year and Christmas gifts offered during our gift-giving Mass, our students have demonstrated their concern and generosity for the Church’s community.

Our last SVDP fundraiser, our “Money for Mary’s Children” drive begins on May 7th and continues until Mary 28th. By bringing nickels, dimes, quarters, or dollars and placing them in your classroom’s HCA globe, your donations will be used by the Pantry to purchase necessary food items throughout the summer months of June, July and August. Last year donations totaled over $1,350 and were used to buy food items like flour, rice, sugar, bread, peanut butter, jelly and fruit drink mix, bread and spaghetti which helped to feed others during the summer of 2009.

Remember all you need to do is place your coins into the HCA globe found in your classroom. Let’s honor our Blessed Mother by serving the children she loves!

PTO SUPPLIES
It is that time again to order your school supplies for 2010-2011.  Make your life easier and support the PTO by ordering through Saint Leo's.  Letters and order forms will come home this week. You can also download a copy on the school's website.  If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Sharkey at 703-279-7809.  Thanks for your support!!

Saint Leo School, in partnership with the PTO
is seeking volunteers to become “welcome family buddies”. These families would be partners for new St. Leo Families who either transfer or begin Kindergarten for the first time. As you may remember, coming to a new school it is often difficult learning the ins & outs and we would like to do as much as possible to make new families feel at home quickly. If you volunteer, your family will be paired with a new family by the school. We provided some suggestions and guidelines to working with a buddy family in the attachment on this email to understand what volunteering entails. If you are interested in being a welcome family, please fill out the volunteer form in PDF or Word 2003 and return it to school to Mrs. Washington. You may print it out or email it to cwashington@saintleothegreatschool.org. Thank you!

SAVE THE DATE!!!!
PTO Fall Golf Outing will be held on Thursday, October 7th at the Westfield’s Country Club, starting at 11:30am. For sponsor opportunities, as well as a link to register for the event, please go to www.golfdigestplanner.com/14251-stleogolf.

EXTENDED DAY:
Please remember to make separate check when paying your monthly bill and the Prepaid Period. April bill went home last Thursday in your student's folder. Please make sure you ask your child for it. The Prepaid form for the month of June went home last week. You need to fill it up and send it back with the check by May 14th so we can process it in time for your child to be included.

BOX TOPS:
The Box Tops for Education runs year around. That means that I collect coupons year around and submitted them twice yearly. Please keep them coming!!

PRESCHOOL
If you or your friends are still debating where to send your child to Preschool or not, please, hesitate no more. Saint Leo the Great Preschool is dedicated to the growth and success of the whole child. Our primary objectives are:

• To promote a Christian attitude and basis for spiritual development.
• To provide an environment conducive to cognitive development.
• To encourage social interaction and peer relationships.
• To promote physical activity and exploration.
• To provide an atmosphere of acceptance and warmth for emotional growth.

Call us for an appointment! We'll be glad to give you a tour and answer all your questions.
Bianca Figueiredo, Director - (703) 273-1211 ext. 652.

FROM 5TH GRADE TROOP 763 - Lately we have been working on our bronze award. For our bronze we have been cleaning up the creek behind the school. If you don’t know where that is, it runs on the back side of Van Dyck Park.  For the past two years we have been working very hard to protect our local town and animals. At the beginning last year, we cleaned up for the first time. Wow, there was a lot of trash! Later that year we went back but this time with a little help from one of our school’s brownie troops. In total, my troop has collected 1,800 pounds of trash and recyclables. We have put in 360 towards our Bronze award.
The girls who have been involved are Schuyler C., Danielle B., Alyssa B, Alexis B., Madeline C., Madeline C., Kylie F., Stephanie N., Emma P., Sharon P., Christina S., Libby S., and Zoe S. Also our leaders, Mrs. Jule Baradi, and Mrs. Monette Corrigan, helped out too. To keep our creek clean we need your help. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanupproject at: http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=home&cvridirect....

St Leo the Great Mini-Hoopster Basketball Camp T-Shirt Sponsors Needed
Mr. Allen is looking for business sponsors on his basketball camp T-Shirts this summer at Paul VI and St Leo’s. This is a great way to advertise your business on the back of over 350 camp T-shirts plus hand-out information at each camp registration to over 400 campers and parents. Please contact Scott Allen at 703-856-7157 or coachsallen@aol.com for further information.

• MAY 20- 2pm A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Amphitheatre at City Hall, Fairfax. Three Saint Leo’s students are in the play. Renee R., Colleen L. and Antonio DeM. Please come out and support their performance!
• JUNE 2 –7-8pm. Preview night at John Paul the Great for 5-7th graders. Learn more about the new high school! Contact Ms. Cole 703-445-0300 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.
• JULY 1- 9- 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
• JULY 12-23 - Summer Experience for Middle Schoolers - Expand your horizons this summer with one and two-week programs for rising 7th, 8th, and 9th graders at O'Connell HS. Signup for the Leadership Academy, The World Around Us, or the Performing Arts program. For more info, visit http://www.bishopoconnell.org/summerexperience or call 703-929-3519
• SPORTS CAMPS AT PAUL VI - includes: Boys & Girls Basketball, Cheer, Dance, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse (girls), Boys & Girls Soccer, Softball, Volleyball and Wrestling. Go to www.paulvi.net website under current students and parent link and go camp brochures/information.
• SPORTS CAMPS AT JOHN PAUL THE GREAT HIGH SCHOOL – includes: Cheerleading, Football, Men’s soccer, Field Hockey, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer and Women’s Basketball. For more information please go to: camps@jpthegreat.org or call Rachael Wright: 703.445-0305
• SUMMER ENRICHMENT CAMPS AT JP THE GREAT HS: Theater, Acting, Introductory Rocketry, Applied Chemistry and Biology, Ceramics Studio, Spanish Recharger, Creative Writing Fantasy Workshop, Introduction to Computer programming. camps@jpthegreat.org.
• SUMMER BASEBALL CAMP AT DJ O’CONNELL – for boys 8-14. Questions to Coach Hart at www.bishopoconnell.org/uploaded/Summer/Scan-baseball.pdf.