Letter to Parents

August 2011

Dear St. Leo the Great School Families,
Welcome to a new school year! Although we still have a few weeks of Summer left, the new academic year is around the corner and your PTO is already planning several fun activities for the school community.
While the teachers and administration are hard at work educating our children, the PTO will focus on the "lighter side" of learning.

As most of you know, Welcome Back Day is the occasion where students get to meet their teachers for the new school year and see their new classrooms. Kindergarteners may arrive at 9:15 AM for a special "Meet and Greet" just for them before the rest of the students arrive at 10:00 AM. Welcome Back Day will last until 11:30 AM for all. In the gym, parents may pick up pre-ordered school supplies and purchase the supplies sold through St. Leo's. Parents may also buy lunchroom milk for the year. Please note that a lunchroom milk form is enclosed in this packet and can be turned in at the Kitchen Window on Welcome Back Day or brought to school during the first week of classes.

Please don't forget to turn in your PTO membership form and fee to the volunteers at the PTO table. The information provided on these forms is used in our school directory, and the fee is required in order to receive a directory for your family. Also, the PTO will be selling spirit wear and other items for the year. We will have order forms available if your desired item is not in stock, and we will contact you when the shipment arrives. In addition, please check out the various tables around the gym regarding other clubs and school organizations. This is a great time to sign up for or get information about new activities.

In order to make your family's trip through the gym easier, please be sure to bring the following with you:
* Welcome Back Day Itinerary / Checklist provided by Mr. DiPippa
* Lunchroom Milk Purchase Form
* PTO Membership Form
* Volunteer Opportunities Form (only if you were unable to fill in the form online)

In addition to the opportunities in the gym, there will be a Used Uniform Exchange in St. Mark's Room in the Olde Parish Hall from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. You can purchase secondhand uniforms at a great price or exchange one of your old items for the same type of clothing in a different size.

Welcome Back Day is always filled with excitement as we anticipate the coming year. We all want to catch up with friends and make new acquaintances. This year, to give us all a chance to visit longer, the PTO and Brion's Grille offer the opportunity to have lunch with friends and support our school at the same time. Please join us for lunch at Brion's Grille anytime between 11:30 AM to 4:00 PM. St. Leo the Great School will receive 10% percent of all the proceeds spent by St. Leo families during that time. We hope you can join us for a fun afternoon at this fantastic local restaurant!

As always, your PTO is pleased to offer several fun-filled events throughout the year. We'll start the year by combining our school festival with the Parish Picnic on September 10th. The Parish Picnic is open to all school families, and this year it will include some of the rides from last Spring's school festival. We'll have the trampoline, climbing tree, moon bounce, and the ever popular dunking booth. Of course, the children's train will still be there, too. So, please start your year with this great opportunity to mingle with other St. Leo families from school as well as the parish. More information will be coming your way shortly.

Family Fun Night in October and BINGO Night during Catholic Schools Week are two more terrific events for St. Leo families to visit with each other throughout the year. We also have several opportunities just for parents to socialize and have fun. The Auction Gala/Casino Night hosted by the Development Committee will be in February; the Quiz Bowl is in March; and this school year, the Golf Tournament is returning to the Spring.

While the Auction and Golf Tournament are fundraisers for our school, the other events are not. To be able to provide these fantastic activities as well as other school needs that come up during the year, the PTO needs to have fundraisers. We plan to organize several lunches and dinners with various restaurants around the area again this year. These are beneficial because they are enjoyable for our families, connect St. Leo's to the greater community, and provide essential fundraising at the same time. In addition, some of the services that your PTO provides, such as spirit wear, used uniform exchanges throughout the year, and pre-ordered school supplies in May, raise money; but we need more than that. Our first big fundraiser of the year will be the selling of Innisbrook wrapping paper. This drive begins the first week of school and requires immediate volunteer assistance. In addition, we will launch our first "Race for Education" this May. During the school day, the students will participate in a walk/run to raise money for St. Leo the Great. Detailed information regarding this effort will be sent to you later in the school year. The Race for Education provides a simple and engaging way for students and their families to help our school, and the PTO Board is very excited about this new fundraising effort that we hope to continue for many years.

All of these great activities require the help of many parent volunteers. Parent volunteers in the classroom and at other school events are integral to maintaining St. Leo's reputation as an outstanding school. St. Leo's has a Parent Participation Program that requires each family to volunteer 20 hours per school year; 10 hours for single parents. If you will not be able to contribute the required hours, please contact Mr. DiPippa by note or email to request a waiver.

In order to facilitate the organization of volunteers and the tracking of your volunteer hours, the PTO is moving forward with our online volunteer software program, "HelpCounter." We launched HelpCounter as a pilot program last February and received positive comments from many parents. We are enthusiastic about this software and believe it will aid in the volunteer process for all of us. All families will soon receive an email from your PTO with the subject, "An Invitation from St. Leo the Great PTO." This email will provide you a direct link to HelpCounter where you can sign up for your areas of interest, update your contact information, and log and track your volunteer hours. First click on "Update Your Volunteer Interest Form." Then, read through the list and check off your interests for the 2011/2012 school year. All names and contact information will be sent directly to the event coordinator. The event coordinator will contact the prospective volunteer with more information and event details. With this software, we will eliminate the middle man and reduce the risk of a volunteer getting lost in the crowd. Also, as volunteer needs arise during the year, we can quickly update our database and thus provide information to the entire school. There are so many wonderful ways in which we can all participate in our children's education and we want everybody to have a chance to do so.

For your reference, a copy of the online volunteer information sheet is enclosed. If you have trouble using the online system, please simply fill out the enclosed paperwork and return it to the PTO membership table on Welcome Back Day. We will input your requests and help you set up your account with HelpCounter. Once the school year begins, you can input your actual volunteer hours either at home or by using the laptop at the front entrance to the school. If you use the school laptop, click on your name and your activity when you arrive. When you leave, click on your name and the system will ask you if you are finished for the day. If so, click "yes" and the system will automatically log your time and your activity. It's that simple. It is important to note that your PTO is asking all volunteers to use this system to log their hours, as we are trying hard to determine just how many volunteer hours are needed to run our school. Please also be aware that, in order to get credit for your volunteer hours, you must input your time yourself. Entering and tracking volunteer hours online is a positive change for our school and we thank you all in advance for your volunteer efforts and for your participation in our new software.

Listed at the end of this letter are some key dates to remember for the beginning of the school year. For a complete PTO calendar as well as other PTO information, please refer to the PTO section of the school website. To see the school calendar filtered by PTO sponsored events only, click on PTO, then Events. Of course, all PTO information is also listed on the school website's main calendar.

Your PTO is truly a combined effort of parents and teachers to enhance the education of the students and to provide a warm community spirit. The PTO Board attempts to represent and support all facets of our community. The Board this year is very excited about our community programs and school-wide events as well as our new fundraising initiative and sophisticated online volunteer program. Please join us as we work to have an enriching educational year for all. On behalf of the Board, I welcome you all back to school and to a fantastic 2011/ 2012 year at St. Leo the Great!

Sincerely,
Teresa Ketron
PTO President
saintleopto@saintleothegreatschool.org

Early Dates to Remember
New Parent Orientation - Wednesday, August 24
Welcome Back Day - Friday, August 26
New and Returning Band Parents Meeting - Wednesday, September 7
Back to School Night for 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade - Thursday, September 8
Parish Picnic and Festival - Saturday, September 10
Back to School Night for Kindergarten through 5th Grade - Tuesday, September 13