School News for May 23-29, 2024

A Note from Mr. Fuerte

Dear Families,

Science Showcase – Thursday, May 30, 2024, from 9:00am-3:00pm

Today is our Annual Science Showcase in the Parish Hall. Parents are invited to attend with their child's homeroom classroom.

SCIENCE SHOWCASE VISIT SCHEDULE

Times for classes to visit displays in the Parish Hall

Volunteers needed – Field Day with Mr. Evans

Mr. Evans needs parent and/or high school volunteers to help out with Field Day on June 11. If you would like to help out, please contact Mr. Evans at chrise@stlouiseschool.org and sign up at the following link FIELD DAY.

Congratulations, Class of 2024 – We are going to miss you!

A week from today, Thursday, June 6, we celebrate the graduation of our eighth-grade class with a Baccalaureate Mass at 9:00am and Commencement at 6:00pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the journey of these 14-year-olds and how their lives have been shaped by their parents, their teachers, their classmates, and by Jesus Christ.

Our area high schools are so very fortunate to welcome such exemplary young adults as their newest students this September. We are confident that the St. Louise Class of 2024 will be fine servant leaders, setting high standards for excellence, not only academically but morally as well. Just as similar graduating classes have done in the past, these young men and women will be guided by the values - learned at home and at school - which are embedded in our Catholic faith and traditions. They are ready to embrace this next chapter of their lives with trust in themselves and in God. In this new chapter, each will take a different path but will always be united by one strong common thread... St. Louise Chargers!

I want to thank for one final time, parents of these 8th graders who will be graduating their youngest or last child on the 6th, as the faculty and I are so appreciative of their years of support and will miss them:

Blank, Charles, Herber, Kagetsu, Miller, Miller, Muller, O'Loughlin-Britt, Omusoru, Reed, Ryan, Soligon, Stefanus, Sweeney, Antezana Garvizu, Belford, Cam, Guattare, Nguyen, Nicolaides, Nightingale, Ryan, Stowe, Sturgill, Victor

Have a Blessed weekend!

Mike Fuerte

Mark your Calendar!

Meet our New Principal - John Black

We are thrilled to welcome our new Principal, Mr. John Black, to St. Louise starting July 1st! He has shared a video to introduce himself and share more about his background.

Announcements

Dear Saint Louise Families,

We are encouraged that approximately 20% of our families have fulfilled their procurement commitment for our upcoming auction - a lot of exciting items are coming together. Your contributions are vital to the success of this event, and we truly appreciate your support.

However, we still have a way to go to reach our goal, and we need everyone’s participation. Our auction is a crucial fundraiser that supports essential programs and initiatives that enrich our children's education and school experience.

The deadline to fulfill your procurement commitment is June 14. If you haven’t yet contributed, please consider the following ideas:

Donate an Experience: If you are thinking about donating an experience (such as a cabin or timeshare, hosting or co-hosting a dinner/party, music or sports lessons, tickets to sporting events, or concerts/productions), you don’t need to have all the details finalized right now. Just submit your idea under item procurement, and we can follow up and help with organizing/finalizing it.

We Need Hosts! Do you have a cabin or timeshare? Do you like to cook? Would you like to host or co-host a party with a few other STL families? Here are some themed dinner party ideas:

o   Tracksuits and Tequila

o   Tacos and Margaritas

o   Backyard Bohemian

o   DIY Pizza Party

o   Beach BBQ

o   Retro Dinner Party

o   Sushi Extravaganza

o   Whiskey and Steaks

Charger Cards: We have reached our goal of Schwartz Brothers/Daniel's Broiler and Tutta Bella Charger Cards, so we will no longer be accepting these. Please refer to this updated list for needed cards: Disney, Dave & Busters*, Top Golf*, Amazon, American Express, Visa, and Red Robin.*Limited amounts remain

Enter your procurement here!

Chargers C.A.R.E. - Mass of Gratitude

Last week we celebrated our outgoing teachers and staff at the Mass of Gratitude. One of the highlights was the candlelighting ceremony led by Mrs. Herridge.

Gallery - Pioneer Farms, 6th Grade Camp, 2nd Grade Zoo Trip & 1st Grade Publishing Party!

Our 5th grade students practiced their pioneer skills on their overnight field trip last week.

From candle making to blacksmithing, wood carving, to doing laundry with a scrub board and old-fashioned wringer, caring for the farm animals and learning about the plant life that sustained the pioneers, all while visiting and sleeping in historic buildings, these kids made roughing it the coolest activity ever! Yep! They’ve got what it takes and here are the pictures to prove it!

6th Grade Camp returned from Environmental Camp at Mr. Rainier last week - check out this slideshow of some of their activities.

2nd Grade went on their annual zoo field trip last week and as evidenced in these pictures had an awesome time!

The Squiggly, written and illustrated by Miss Dullanty and Mrs. Portolese’s first grade students, is a fictional story about a squiggly line and all the magical creations it can become! Students used their imagination to create animals, mountains, and even stores the out of the same squiggly line! This fun story asks readers to use their own imagination to think about what else this simple squiggly line could be. The first graders went through the entire writing process including, prewriting, drafting, editing, revising, and finally publishing!

Parents' Club News - Charger Shop & Parents' Club Board Openings

Join the St. Louise Parents' Club: Enriching Education and Building Community Together!

The funds raised by the Parents' Club at St. Louise support a wide array of activities and enhancements that directly benefit our school community.

Through various events such as the Father/Daughter Dance, as well as fundraising initiatives like the Walk-A-Thon and Charger Cards, we generate resources that enrich the educational experience for both students and staff.

Specifically, our funds provide enrichment grants for teachers, enabling special field trips and inviting expert educators to conduct workshops for students and parents. We also organize hospitality events, including teacher appreciation lunches, and maintain emergency supplies for the school. Additionally, the Parents' Club funds annual holiday gifts for teachers and staff.

During our Annual Fundraiser, we make significant contributions towards new curricula and essential classroom supplies. We also support a variety of initiatives including the installation of new security systems, such as cameras and intercoms, to enhance the safety of our school.

Ultimately, our efforts help create an outstanding and affordable educational environment at St. Louise, benefiting all students and families.

We are currently looking to fill several positions on the Parents' Club Board. If you are interested, please email Marta Masferrer at masferrer@gmail.com. The open positions are:

President-Elect:

• Represent PC on STL School Commission 
• Plan Parent Education Workshops
• Shadow and support President in order to take over the position the following year
• Take meeting notes publish to the web

Volunteer / Enrichment Grants Coordinator:

• Connect STL parents to a variety of volunteer opportunities
• Answer miscellaneous questions about volunteer hours
• Help administer the school-wide Sign-Up Genius account
• Coordinate the Enrichment Grant Applications in the beginning of the school year

Committee Liaison:

• Manage fundraising goals and budgets for Committee Chairs
• Check in with each Chair to understand “what’s working and what’s not” and work with PC to discover solutions

St. Nicholas Chair:

• Spearhead the St. Nicholas school community gathering. Fun event that centers around pastries, coffee, hot cocoa, and pictures with St. Nick. This past year students were invited to set up tables and sell holiday gifts! Fun event that you can bring your own creativity to the table and make your own.  

Social Chair:

• Help support the Parents' Club by coordinating a couple of outings throughout the year.

We LOVE our Volunteers!

The St. Louise Chess Club is looking for parent volunteers to manage the club next school year.

Chess club has partnered with Excel with Chess who provides coaches and are responsible for all activities during the session. As manager for Chess club the main activity is to coordinate with Excel with Chess to setup the dates for upcoming sessions, and to support before/after chess class with student check-in and check-out directly or through parent volunteers. Parents need to be present 10 minutes before class at 1:50 p.m. and stay until last student is check-out, typically about 15 minutes after class ends around 3:15 p.m. No chess knowledge is required.

Please reach out to Mrs. Jaster if you are interested and you will be contacted by one of our chess managers for an information session.

Notes from Fr. Gary and Parish Happenings!

Dear Friends of St. Louise,

Happy Feast Day of the Body and Blood of the Lord! We know that the Mass is the center of our Catholic life, or, as the documents of Vatican II say, the Mass is “the summit and source” of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ. It sounds great, until we look at the lived reality, especially in recent years – already a trend before the pandemic, and so much worse afterward. On any given Sunday, far more Catholics stay home or find something else to do than actually go to church.

Why is it important to come to Mass not just occasionally, but every Sunday? There are lots of reasons. These are the ones that most inspire me:

The very Word of God instructs us to do so. People often say that they are too busy to go to church, yet the Word of God repeatedly teaches that we need to set aside our “to do” list and put the worship of God first – not because God needs our worship, but because our human hearts do. How about the Third Commandment? “Remember the Sabbath day—keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8). Moses repeats this teaching in chapter 35: “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the Lord.” While sharing a sabbath meal with his disciples, Jesus, who came to fulfill the Law of Moses, said, “Do this in memory of me.” Since the days of the Apostles, the Christian community has gathered on the “first day of the week,” Sunday, the day of the Lord’s resurrection, to “break bread” (Acts 20:7). In faithful response to God’s Word and the teaching of the Church, in loving response to God’s great love for us, we do the same.

The Eucharist commits us to the poor: “To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1397) It is no coincidence that at Mass we bring gifts of food for the poor to the altar along with our gifts of bread and wine. When we commit ourselves to live for Christ, and to make the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist the center of our week, it will naturally follow that we also let go of self-centeredness in other areas of our lives.

In the Eucharist we are united with one another and with all believers as the body of Christ: In and through the Eucharist, Christ lives in us, and we live for Christ. In the 5^th Century St. Augustine instructed the newly baptized, “You reply ‘Amen’ to that which you are, and by replying, you consent. For you hear, ‘The Body of Christ,’ and you reply, ‘Amen.’ Be a member of the body of Christ so that your ‘Amen’ may be true.” In receiving communion we take into our bodies the very Body and Blood of the Lord, so that we may become truly more and more what we receive – truly members of his Body, the Church, of whom he is the Head. And this year, we have all the more reason to rejoice in our union with Christ and one another, as St. Louise and St. Madeleine Sophie begin to grow together into one parish family.

May you be blessed in Eucharist!

Fr. Gary Zender

Thank you St. Louise Sponsors!

Antezana Garvizu Family