St. Thomas More Cathedral School

1. Message from the President
2. Teacher Appreciation Week
3. In the Classroom
4. Parent Volunteer Corner
5. In the Parish and Community
   
6. Save the Dates
   
7. Reference Information

How is it the end of April? I know this year flew by fast. In the coming weeks we have a lot going on - from a Band Trip to First Communion to the Middle School Bash, I know we are all busy. Just a few things to remember:

1. Check your volunteer hours! Volunteer Hours: Please, check your hours and make sure that everything you contributed and participated is accurately recorded in the system.
2. May 7, 2024, is our in person meeting. You are all most welcome to attend. It is here that we will finalize our Board Nominations. I will post the updated slate on Friday, May 3, 2024.

Contact

• Questions, ideas, concerns, even gripes...feel free to contact me.
  
• If you have events to be included here in the weekly newsletter, please let me know by Wednesday of each week.

See the details on how the PTO Teacher Appreciation committee will be 'Raising the Bar' and providing meals, snacks and treats throughout the week.

How you can help your students show our teachers how great they are!

As we approach the end of the school year, we want to provide a final reminder regarding volunteer hour requirements. If you are receiving this email, your family is currently short on their volunteer hour commitments for this school year. All unfulfilled hours after the deadline of May 17th will be sent to the front office for pay out at a rate of $15 per 1 unfulfilled hour. As a reminder, families are required to complete 20 hours of volunteering (10 hours for single parent households).

All volunteer hours must be logged on our self-reporting portal by close of business (COB) May 17th. This deadline is fast approaching, so we urge you to ensure that your contributions are recorded ASAP.

If you are signed up to volunteer at an event after May 17th, please estimate and log your volunteer hours in advance.

The final list of hours contributed by all families will be pulled at COB on May 17th. It's essential to plan accordingly if you intend to fulfill your volunteer hours to avoid a pay out at the end of the school year ($15 for every unfulfilled hour).

We have several upcoming volunteer opportunities that you can take advantage of to fulfill your remaining hours. Please also check out the full list of volunteer opportunities on the PTO website and also reach out to your room parents of any class-specific volunteering opportunities.

• April Recess Volunteers (VIRTUS required)
• May - June Recess Volunteers (VIRTUS required)
• Pizza Lunch Volunteer (VIRTUS required)
• Let Them Eat Cake Event (5/1/2024)
• First Holy Communion Reception (5/4/2024)
• Hot Dog Bash (6/12/2024)
• 6th Grade Greek Day
• In addition to in-person volunteering, classroom donations count as $15 spent = 1 hour volunteer time

Here is a consolidated list of links for your reference:

• STM PTO Website
  
• Volunteer Sign Ups
  
• Record and Check Volunteer Hours
  
• STM Handbook
  
• PTO Newsletters
  

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're here to assist you in any way we can. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to reach out to me at STM.PTO.Volunteers@gmail.com.

Are you ready for the biggest party of the year? See all the details below.

Join us for a parish and school family friendly night of Bingo! Starting at 6:00 pm on Saturday, April 27, 2024 in the school gym with the option to purchase pizza for dinner followed by 5 exciting games of BINGO. There will be prizes for each round and a special grand prize for the full card!

Bingo Cards will be sold in packs - one pack includes - 3 bingo cards per round and five rounds will be played. Each pack is $5.00. Purchase as many packs as you would like. Additional cards may be available for purchase that night.

Water, soda and snacks are free. STM Families may receive Cathedral Service hours for donating a individually packaged snack. The value of the snacks should be equivalent to $15.00 to receive one hour of credit. Sign up below to receive credit.

You do not need to order pizza to participate!

If you have any questions, contact Tara Quaadman at tquaadman@cathedralstm.org.

Exciting Camp opportunities this summer! KSS Programs will operate their summer camps at STM June 24-August 9.

With options like Lego Robotics, Jewelry Making, Chess, Coding, and Soccer, you're sure to find an exciting class for your chid(ren)!

Registration is now open. Visit https://www.kssprograms.com/ for more information.

Flyers were sent home last Wednesday, as well, so please be sure to check your child's folders.

STM (School) Calendar

Note: For MASS times for specific classes, please consult the school calendar for details

• May 1: Let Them Eat Cake
• May 3: Band Trip
• May 3: Pizza Lunch
• May 4: First Communion
• May 7: PTO Meeting (hybrid) including elections
• May 9: Parent University
• May 10: Pizza Lunch
• May 13: Fine Arts Nigh
• May 15: Battle of the Books
• May 17: Pizza Lunch
• May 22: Shakespeare Play
• May 24: Early Dismissal with NO Extended Day
• May 27: No School
• May 31: Pizza Lunch

***Note: PTO Board Meetings (beginning in September)– anyone is welcome to attend AND you receive 1 hour of volunteer participation time for attendance. Plus you know all the details (usually the first Tuesday of every month). We will work on a mix of in person and hybrid meetings so that you all can participate.

Parish Calendar

• April 27: Bingo - Final one for the school year
• June 17 -21, 2024: Vacation Bible School (registration and volunteers needed) details

Please visit https://ordernow.myhotlunchbox.com/login if you have not already to get yourself in the system and lunches for your students squared away.

• Monday - Tropical Smoothie
• Tuesday - Noodles & Co
• Wednesday - Chick-fil-A
• Thursday - Which Wich

NOTE:

1. Lunches can be cancelled up until noon THE BUSINESS DAY BEFORE delivery.
2. If you have sick students, please let STM know so that your lunch can be donated or sent home with a sibling.

Starting now, we are excited to introduce self-reporting for volunteer hours. While the majority of the hours have already been recorded in our Membership Toolkit system, we want to ensure that every contribution is accurately reflected. This will also allow families to check their volunteer hour balance. We will still continue to use the volunteer sign-ups for volunteer coordination and tracking purposes, but all volunteer hour balances will be managed via the new portal.

To access this new portal for self-reporting hours, please utilize the following steps:

1. Navigate to the STM PTO Website’s new Volunteer Hours page (LINK) and log into your account.
   
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and verify the “Previously Reported” hours that have been recorded for your family.
   
3. Review the hours logged for your volunteering/donations and verify that they are accurately represented in the system. If you find any discrepancies or if there are additional hours that haven't been recorded, please take a moment to submit them through the system.

Please be as descriptive as possible with any submitted entries because all self-reported hours will undergo thorough cross-checks with sign-up sheets and event chairs to guarantee accuracy and completeness.

If you encounter any challenges or have questions about the self-reporting process, feel free to reach out to stm.pto.volunteers@gmail.com.

• Visit our website and register for an account at https://stmpto.membershiptoolkit.com!
• Here is a video primer on MT for your reference.

If you have questions, please contact Amy, our PTO Volunteer Coordinator at stm.pto.volunteers@gmail.com.

Let’s take a few steps back and talk about how to get to volunteer during school hours. Want to sling some slices of pizza or attend an amazing field trip as a chaperone? You will need VIRTUS Training and an account with the Diocesan Office of Child Protection.

• Go to www.arlingtondiocese.org
• Click on Protecting our Children at top of the page
• Scroll down and click on background check-this will take you to the online paperwork
• Once the paperwork has been approved please go by the office to pick up your background check form and take it to the diocese building located in front of the school.
• After the paperwork is approved you will also be prompted to sign up for a VIRTUS class if you haven't taken one already

Retail locations to purchase new uniforms can found here:

1. Flynn & O’Hara (650-19 Main St, Fairfax, VA 22031)

2. Robcyns (3660 King Street, Alexandria VA 22302)

3. Land’s End (Preferred School Number: 900077975) - PE Uniforms Only

If you need to change how your children are picked up, please use this dismissal form by 2:30 pm.

Reminder on Drop Off: While not a new policy, STM is enforcing the 8 am start time. As a reminder, if you are IN the car line by 8 am, you will be able to drop your children off as normal. If you arrive to the car line AFTER 8 am for any reason, you should proceed to the Cathedral parking lot and WALK YOUR CHILD IN. Please DO NOT just drop them off in the Cathedral lot - this is a huge safety issue with cars driving in all directions at that time. If a STM faculty or staff member directs you to the Cathedral parking lot, please follow directions and address any issues or disputes later.

STM Handbook

President - Kristen Wright

President-Elect - Katie Burch

Secretary - Allison Rabin

Treasurer - Hannah Maloney

Vice President of Fundraising - Wege (Mimi) Kifle

Vice President of Events - Sara Harrington

At-Large CYO - Cesar Enriquez

At-Large PK -8th - Genevieve Kelly

At-Large DI - Jennifer McIntyre

At- Large Room Parent - Allison Nicholson

Email: stmptopresident@gmail.com
Website: https://www.stmschool.org/
Location: 105 North Thomas Street, Arlington, VA, USA
Phone: 703-528-6781