Saint Leo the Great Catholic School

PRINCIPAL’S REFLECTION
Dear Parents:
Third quarter progress reports were sent home today, Thursday, February 19th, for all students in grades 1-8. Please review these with your children and return the signed report by Tuesday, February 24th. A reminder…progress reports are not report cards but a way for teachers to communicate the accomplishments and areas of needed growth for our students. If needed, parents should contact individual teachers via email or voice mail to discuss their child’s progress. Together we can help our students to continue to succeed and “Grow in Grace and Wisdom.”

As you know the Science Fair Awards are scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, February 20th at 7-8pm in the gym. Students should come by 6:45pm in their school uniform to prepare for the evening—students should stay with their projects the entire evening. K-6 grade students will be visiting during the morning from 8:30-11:30am. Judges should meet in the gym at 12 o’clock for lunch and instructions for judging which begins from 1-2:30pm. Awards will be presented in the evening as scheduled at 7:30pm. Thank you in advance to Mrs. Kent, and all the judges who have volunteered to take their personal time to help us with such an important part of the curriculum.

As many of you may know, Mrs. Sloboda will be leaving us on Friday, February 27th for maternity leave. Mrs. Chris LeBlanc who retired last year will be covering Mrs. Sloboda’s classes until she returns in May. Mrs. Sloboda has been preparing with Mrs. LeBlanc for this transition which begins on Monday, February 23rd. If your student is in Mrs. Sloboda’s classes and you have any questions, please email those to Cleblanc@saintleothegreatschool.org. For the duration of her absence Mrs. Bolster will be available to answer questions about Student Government and Mrs. White for Shakespeare Festival. Mrs. LeBlanc holds a BS degree from the University of Maryland and has a VCEA teacher certification. We are fortunate to have her back working with our middle school students.

We say farewell and heartful thanks to Luisa Fiadeiro who will be retiring from our Extended Day Program after this Friday, February 20th. We thank her for her many years of dedication and service to the children at Saint Leo the Great School. Starting Monday, the 23rd, Amanda Schwankel, Assistant Director will assume the position at Director of our Extended Day Program. Ann Polan, Guidance counselor, will assume the Assistant Director’s position for the remainder of the school year. Mrs. Figueiredo, former Assistant Director, will be available for this transition. If you have any questions, please email Aschwankel@saintleothegreatschool.org or apolan@saintleothegreatschool.org for any concerns or needs.

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

Thanks & Praise

• To Msgr. Mahler for our fabulous Tuesday Pizza Party. It was very special having him back with us at Saint Leo’s!
• Thank you to the following students for being ambassadors during out open house on Wednesday: Gen Aguila, Laura Kidd, Mark LaBarge, Liam Loftus, Sarah Morillo and Joseph Turner.
• To Mrs. Hardy and Mrs. Schouviller and parent volunteers for a special Colonial Day celebration.
• To Mrs. Lyle, Mrs. White, National Junior Honor Society, students, faculty and staff who helped to collect over $1,000 to date for our Pennies for Patients service project.
• To the PTO Board, Mrs. Dowd and parent volunteers for hosting our exciting Skate Party and dinner at McDonald’s.
• To Mrs. White, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Ball for the very patriotic States program for our parents last Friday.
• To the Jennings Family for the donation of a computer to the school.

ST. LEO STUDENTS OPEN THEIR HEARTS TO OTHERS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY!
Once again the students of St. Leo’s have proven what thoughtful individuals they are. On Friday, February 13, students were asked to bring a dollar donation to dress out of uniform. The collected money was equally divided & donated to both St. Vincent de Paul’s “Kidney Kid” drive and to our on-going February charity, “Pennies for Patients”. We are proud to announce that $260 was given to both organizations. Thanks for opening your hearts to others in need, St. Leo’s students!

THANK YOU TO ALL THE ST. LEO'S STUDENTS
who donated money for the Dress Down Day on Friday. Thanks to your generosity, $260.00 will be donated to Pennies for Patients and $260.00 will be donated to The Kidney Kid Fund! We appreciate all the families who came out for a fun afternoon of skating at Fairfax Ice Arena and for a bite to eat at McDonalds. Again, thanks to your support, St. Leo's will receive $85.50 from the McDonalds fundraiser and a donation of $85.50 will be made to The Ronald McDonald House Charities on our behalf. Way to go, St. Leo's families!

LAST OPEN HOUSE
is going to be held at Saint Leo the Great School on Wednesday, March 18th - 10am in the Guadalupe Room with Principal’s Welcome
A tour of the school will follow all presentations. Please call 703-273-1211 x645 for a reservation. Please let your friends and neighbors know our new dates. Applications are available for pickup during the day at the school from 9am-2pm, at the Open House and online at www.saintleothegreatschool.org. All completed applications with copies of supporting documents may be sent through the mail or hand carried to the school at the above hours. Acceptance letters for the 2009-2010 will be mailed once completed applications are received. Financial Aid packets are available in the front office or online at www.factstuitionaid.com.

CRITICAL RESPECT LIFE ALERT:
Virginia’s legislature is debating three bills to boost state biotechnology investment. While saying they are not interested in using the legislation to pursue life-destructive research, biotech organizations have repeatedly resisted including bioethical safeguards. It is critical that provisions be included in all three bills to make sure they do not become vehicles on aborted babies.

The Virginia Catholic Conference, which is the legislative advocacy office of Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde and Richmond Bishop Francis DiLorenzo, has prepared an alert to provide parishioners throughout the Commonwealth a very easy way to play a role in this critical debate. To let your state Delegate and Senator know of your strong support for bioethical protections to uphold the sanctity of life, please visit the Conference’s website, www.vacatholic.org. At the top of the site is a link to an alert that includes a pre-written message that could be sent “as is” or edited to suit your own style. Upon clicking “Send Message,” your message would be automatically routed to your own Delegate and Senator in the Virginia General Assembly (through a system that uses your residential address to determine your House and Senate districts).
Taking action takes just a minute or two and provides very important input to those who represent you. Please act on the alert between now and February 289th and encourage many other to do so as well.

NEWS FROM ART
The next art club session will be for students in grades 5 - 8. The session will begin March 16th, 2009 and run until May 4th, 2009. Students in the spring art club will be exploring the many different types of printmaking. A one time fee of $40.00 will be required for each student to cover the cost of consumable materials. The club will meet on Mondays after dismissal in the art room and last 1 hour and 15 minutes – 3:00 to 4:15. As promised, priority will be given to those students who missed out this fall session, however all interested students will need to send the completed registration form and fee to the school office. Look for registration forms to come home Thursday February 26th. Forms will be due by Monday, March 2.

THE STRIVE FOR FIVE CHALLENGE
will be occurring this year between Monday, February 23 - Friday February 27. Your child will be receiving the information next week from the homeroom teacher in K-5 and from Theresa Ferlotti during middle school science on the 17th and 18th. All information and forms can be found on the School Website under the Parent Resources heading: Health and Wellness. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the school nurse at 703-273-1211 extension 646.

SAVE THE DATE!!!
Mark your calendars for this year's Auction Gala and Parent Social "Welcome Spring" to be held April 24, 2009 from 7:00pm to 11:00om at International Country Club. The tickets will go on sale March 2, 2009. The cost will be $65.00 per person. If you have any questions, would like to donate and item or service to the Auction, or would like to help please contact Leanna Furey at furey5@aol.com or 703 352-2313. More details will be coming home soon.

FROM THE PTO
Let's Dish!.... Would you like an easy and convenient way to put healthy, homemade dinners on your table -- and raise funds for St. Leo's? Let's Dish! can help you do that and will donate 10% of the proceeds back to St. Leo's from February 1 - April 30th. Go to www.letsdish.com to view their delicious menu offerings by month. Then simply book an in-store session or select their pick-up Dish-n-Dash service using the promotion code F9-STLEO when you enter your billing information. Remember, the more the merrier, so invite friends and family to "dish" with you and use the promotion code! Please note that other coupons may not be used at the same time as the fundraiser code. Click here for a flyer.

QUIZ BOWL NEWS:
Start forming your teams for the 2009 Saint Leo the Great PTO Quiz Bowl! Be prepared for a night of fun trivia!!

• Date: Saturday, March 14th 2009
• Place: School Gym
• Time: 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm.
• Cost: $12 for individual ticket or $100 for table of 8/10 players

Questions: contact Vicki Holleran at hollerantj@aol.com. Sign up flyer can be downloaded from school website

FINANCIAL AID – SCHOOL YEAR 2009-2010-DUE MARTCH 16TH
The Diocese of Arlington is please to provide a Tuition Assistance Program for parents of students attending our Diocesan Catholic schools. Interested parents are asked to submit the student aid application form, as well as a processing fee of $20 to FACTS Management Company. FACTS is the company contracted by the Diocese of Arlington to provide a confidential and objective financial analysis in determining a family’s ability to pay for Catholic School education.

In order to become eligible for receiving funds from this program, K-12 students (preschool is not eligible) must satisfy all of the criteria described below:

• A baptized Catholic or convert officially received into the Church
• Family resides within the boundaries of the Diocese of Arlington
• Family is registered and an active member of the parish or
• Family belongs to a military post parish
• Student attends or is accepted by a Catholic school in the Diocese of Arlington.

The funds from the program will be paid directly to the school that the qualifying student attends. Schools will then credit the tuition accounts for those families who have been approved to receive aid for that school year. When submitting your application, please be sure to answer all the questions on the student aid form and include all the documentation requested in the instructions. Applications can also be completed online (www.factstuitionaid.com). The deadlines for filing an application are February 6, 2009 for the first round, and March 16, 2009 for the second round. A packet of information and its program will also be available in the front office.

PENNIES FOR PATIENTS
Pennies for Patients- Week three is underway! I hope you have been encouraging your children to search out those long lost coins and bring them into their classrooms. Unfortunately for many, patients are asking more financial assistance due to the economy. In fact, the request for Patient Aid at LLS is up 15% from the same time last year. At this rate, LLS is in danger of running out of funds before the end of the fiscal year in June. So, anything you can donate will be greatly beneficial to the 2,500 patients living in our area. If you have any questions or want to help, please contact Kim Perry at 703-92-7105 or deemerkr@aol.com.

AROUND THE COMMUNITY

• 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.
• 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.