Weekly Newsletter
3.20.2024
Calendar Reminders
Thursday, March 21st - Saturday, March 23rd: GREASE!
Thursday, March 21st @ 7pm
Friday, March 22nd @ 7pm
Saturday, March 23rd @ 11am & 7pm
Thursday, March 21st
World Down Syndrome Day: Wear Silly Socks!
Friday, March 22nd
Noon Dismissal Day for All Students
Grandfriends Luncheon: Mass @ 11am, followed by lunch in Victoria Hall
Monday, March 25th
Social Awakening Parent Presentation @ 6pm - Register here!
Tuesday, March 26th - Wednesday, March 27th
Middle School Science Fair
Thursday, March 28th
Spirit Day: Wear your Tiger Gear!
Friday, March 29th
Good Friday
Stations of the Cross, led by 7th grade @ 11am
Noon Dismissal for All Students
No After School K-8 Extended Care
No Full Day or PM Pandas Preschool Program
Monday, April 1st - Friday, April 5th
Easter Break!
No School for All Students
St. Catherine Presents: GREASE!
From the School Office
Parent Volunteer Opportunities
We are looking for 1-2 parents to help with a project of printing and framing images of St. Catherine of Siena for all of the learning spaces on campus. We will have the images selected and purchased so volunteers can work on printing and framing them. We would like this to be completed by April 22nd. Please contact Caitlin Elsner if interested.
We are also looking for a few parents to help paint new recess games in the parking lot this Spring. If you are interested in helping, please contact Kathy Cox.
Finalsite Billing Ledger Updates
We are pleased to announce some exciting enhancements to the Billing Ledger within your Finalsite (formerly SchoolAdmin) Parent Portal. This new and improved update provides you with more clarity and information about your current balances, upcoming payments, and billing history! See below for an explanation of the changes that you'll see and please refer to the Parent Portal Help Center for additional resources and FAQ’s, including a video tour of the new Billing Management Page!
Explanation of Changes
The top summary section has 2 additional lines of information explained below:
- Next Installment: The total amount for that billing period by your billing date
- Total Due: The sum amount due on your next billing date as displayed
Dogs on Campus Reminder
With sunny days increasing, we know lots of families love walking their dogs. Please remember to adhere to our campus policy of no dogs on campus during drop off and pick up. You're welcome to wait in the parking lot or outside the campus gate.
LAST CALL - YEARBOOK PHOTOS!
Please send any pictures you take throughout the school year to yearbook@stcatherineschool.net to be included in the yearbook. This year, we are excited to include a Summer Adventures page! Please send us pictures of your student or family during the summer of 2023. We are in particular need for photos of CYO Basketball, Volleyball, Ski Bus, 7th/8th Grade Camp, 5th/6th Grade Camp, and GREASE! The last day to send in photos is Friday March 29th.
Order Yearbooks Now!
Order forms for the 2023-2024 school year are now available in your SchoolAdmin/FinalSite Parent Portal under the Optional Checklist section. Yearbooks are $30 each and you will be charged at the time of your order. Last Day to order yearbooks is March 29th!
2024-2025 School Calendar: Key Dates
First Day of School: Tuesday, September 3, 2024 (Noon Dismissal Day)
Last Day of School: Friday, June 13, 2025 (10:30am Dismissal, after Moving Up Mass)
No School Days
October 11, 2024: Accreditation Work Day
October 31-November 1, 2024: Preschool-8th Grade Fall Conferences (K-8 Students Only)
November 8, 2024: Archdiocesan In-Service Day
November 11, 2024: Veteran’s Day
November 28-29, 2024: Thanksgiving Break
December 23, 2024-January 3, 2025: Christmas Break
January 17, 2025: Accreditation Work Day
January 20, 2025: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February 7, 2025: Archdiocese In-Service Day
February 17-18, 2025: President’s Day Break
March 7, 2025: Curriculum Development Day
April 21-25, 2025: Easter Break
May 26, 2025: Memorial Day
The full calendar for the 2024-2025 school year, as well as the specific preschool calendar, will be released in the coming weeks. Be on the look-out for it here in the weekly newsletter!
Study Hall Announcements
Celebrate our Eighth Grade Graduates!
We're excited to continue the tradition of celebrating our graduating 8th graders at STC! You can volunteer to "Adopt-an-Eighth Grader" for the last few weeks of school. Each eighth-grade student will be paired with a K-7th grade family who will provide three special gifts, including a special lunch.
We are looking for a few more families to sign-up! Please email Tammy Matusak requesting participation. We'll send you the name of your adopted 8th grader, their likes & favorites, and a calendar so you know when to deliver three surprise gifts. Each gift should be at most $20 for a total of $60. Every 8th grader will be participating. The deadline to sign up is April 8th. We'll email you with additional information after the April 8th deadline.
Thank you for participating in this great tradition! #thetigerway
Social Awakening Presentation
Please join us on Monday, March 25th at 6pm as we welcome Max Stossel and Social Awakening to Victoria Hall at St. Catherine School.
Max Stossel is an award-winning artist, the Founder of Social Awakening: an organization dedicated to helping young people survive and thrive in the modern world, and the Youth & Education Advisor for the Center for Humane Technology, a group working to realign technology with humanity (as featured in The Social Dilemma).
Before working in this field, Max was a media strategist with an extensive background in social media. He ran social media for big brands, and later worked for a social media company where he designed some notifications to distract people.
He has spent the past seven years speaking with 100,000+ students, parents, and educators around the world about social media's impact on our lives, and creating resources to help manage that impact. Max provides a unique and much-needed perspective on the role of technology in our homes, schools, and in our society.
Max will illustrate some of the specific ways technology is designed to be addictive & distracting, highlight how that's impacting our kids’ minds, and give recommendations on how to address some of the challenges you and your family are facing. This presentation concludes with open space to discuss what’s working and not working in our households.
Please register to attend this presentation here. This presentation is for parents only. Students in 5th-8th grade will attend a presentation with Max earlier in the school day.
We look forward to all of you joining us!
DAZZLE: St. Catherine School Auction
Dear St. Catherine Community,
Thank you for all your support, donations, and volunteering efforts in planning this year's auction! We can't wait to see you at the main event on April 20th!
But wait...there's more!
We need your superpowers to make the event even more awesome! Our teachers, faculty, and staff are the true DAZZLING stars of our community, INSPIRING THE JOURNEY of our children. Let's get them their seats at the Auction!
THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO HAVE PURCHASED TICKETS & SPONSORED A TEACHER!
Will you consider sponsoring a Teacher Ticket?
Questions? Reach out to auction@stcatherineschool.net
CYO Track & Field
Calling all Tiger Track and Field athletes ...
Track and Field Registration is open for 2024! When registering you will have the option between picking K- 3rd Grade or 4th - 8th Grade for St. Catherine. Seattle CYO Athletics (teamsideline.com)
Our first practice will take place right after school on Monday, April 8 at Maple Leaf Park. We will practice on Monday's right after school through the end of May. 4th - 8th grade will have two additional practice opportunities each week at the Roosevelt High School Track. Last year the practices were on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7pm. I will confirm shortly, but we are shooting for those days/times again this year.
The 4th - 8th grade Track and Field Meets will take place on the following days - Times TBD
Preliminary Meet: Saturday, May 4th - Highline Stadium
Relay Meet: Saturday, May 11th - Highline Stadium
Qualifying Meet: Saturday, May 18th - Highline Stadium
Championship Meet: Saturday, June 1st - Renton Memorial Stadium
We will host a K-3 meet at our last practice of the year to celebrate their hard work!
Please contact Dave Mayer at dmayer25@hotmail.com with any questions or to let me know that you are interested in helping out at the practices!
STC Spirit Bags: Order Now!
St Catherine Spirit Bag orders are now open! Please complete the Spirit Bag order form below and return it to Tammy Matusak. Orders will be processed once we hit a minimum of 24 orders.
Parent Club News
- Volunteers: we could use a few more for helping with the event (roaming, directing students and grandfriends) and set up if available. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0B4AA9A828AAFA7-47648907-grandfriends#/
- Pictures: we are still accepting photos for the slideshow! Please email photos to stcatherinegrandfriendphotos@gmail.com
Volunteering at St. Catherine School
Volunteer Hours Reporting
Each family with students in grades K-8 are asked to contribute 40 volunteer service hours (single families contribute 20 hours) during the school year. Five of the total hours are required to be given to the auction. The school auction is on April 20th and you can find volunteer opportunities in the upcoming weeks.
If you haven't submitted any volunteer hours, please complete a Volunteer Hours Summary Sheet and email it to cvanhollebeke@stcatherineschool.net. If you have any questions regarding Volunteer Hours please email Charlotte Van Hollebeke.
Safe Environment Program
The Archdiocese of Seattle requires all school volunteers to take part in the Safe Environment Program, through VIRTUS, in three ways. In order to be a Safe Environment approved volunteer you need to:
- Register at http://www.virtusonline.org/virtus/
- Read and approve policies
- Complete a background check
- Take the Introductory class, Protecting God's Children
All components of the Safe Environment Progam MUST BE COMPLETED before volunteering in any capacity at St. Catherine School.
If you have any questions about the Safe Environment Program or the requirements, please contact Charlotte Van Hollebeke at cvanhollebeke@stcatherineschool.net
Mission & Philosophy
St. Catherine of Siena Parish School is a welcoming, Christ-centered community, rooted in the Catholic faith and inspired by Gospel values. As an extension of the parish and with Jesus as our model, we are dedicated to lifelong growth in faith, love, and learning.
We recognize that the care and education of the child begins with the family and that parents are the primary educators of their children. In partnership with parents, we work to promote our students’ achievement and spiritual growth. Together we are committed to developing responsible, ethical leaders who think critically, act justly, communicate effectively, and serve willingly.
Vision
We are committed to providing a faith-filled, inclusive, and welcoming learning environment for all our students. Through our rigorous academic programs, our students will gain the cognitive, technological, and social skills necessary to become ethical, innovative leaders who successfully navigate the complex challenges of today’s world.