St. Thomas More Cathedral School

1. Message from the President
2. In the Classroom and Academic Reminders
3. In the Parish
4. Volunteer Corner
5. Lunch Information
6. STM Auction 2024
   
7. Save the Dates
8. Reference Information

Highlight of the Week: Catholic Schools Week!

CSW is our school spirit week! And it is next week! It was CSW years ago that brought our family to STM! We met some really cool middle schoolers who loved this school and the teachers (likely Mrs. Stocker) were extremely patient answering all of our questions for then kindergartener and preschooler.

This year that spirit continues some amazing activities from accessory day to the Book Fair! The school is ready for the spirit and fun! Continue reading below for all details for CSW.

Upcoming Events

• Catholic Schools Week
• PTO Board Meeting - February 6 @ 6:30 pm Virtual

PTO Business

• PTO Board Nominations are forthcoming - we will start sending out interest feelers in the next few months.

• 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.

The Book Fair is coming! It’ll be open:

• Sunday. Jan. 28 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
• Monday, Jan. 29 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
• Tuesday, Jan. 30 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
• Wednesday, Jan. 31 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
• Thursday, Feb. 1 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
• Friday, Feb. 2 8:00 am - 9:00 am

It’s a great chance for your child to browse, purchase and enjoy independently!

The book fair will be open during the school day, and each class will have assigned browsing times. It will also be open after school until 6 pm if you would like to accompany your child. Your child can bring cash and visit during their lunch or recess as well. We want this to be a positive experience. Please have a talk with your child about what is okay to buy or not buy, since the librarian and teachers cannot be responsible for purchases that students make. If it’s not in the budget this year, that’s okay too, and you can let your child know that there will be other opportunities. We will have blank paper wish lists available if your child would like to preview the items. The book fair accepts cash and credit/debit card and eWallet (a brand, not venmo or apple pay).

I am very excited about this program, and we hope you will be, too. If you have any questions about the book fair or any library program, please feel free to contact me at spacheco@stmschool.org .

Volunteer Sign Up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E4BACAF2BA75-47136512-book#/

Do you know of any families interested in Catholic Education? STM's Open House will be January 28 from 10 am to Noon.

Little League Baseball is the largest youth sports organization in the country, providing baseball instruction to kids of all ages. The Arlington, VA program is open to kids ages 4 - 13; it also offers baseball programming to athletes ages 5 - 22 who have varying disabilities.

We have opportunities at all ages but are especially interested in growing our program at ages 4 and 5.

Registration for our Spring 2024 program is open now, and prices are at their lowest level in more than a decade!

Practices will start in mid-March for a season that runs from the beginning of April to the end of May. Teams are forming now!

Arlington Little League runs a paid Junior Umpire program, and we would like to offer kids in the middle school ages (13 and up) a chance to get started with that. It's been a great first job experience for many and has led a few who have come through the program to a lucrative, portable, in demand side gig in college and beyond.

Currently, we have needs for the following roles:

1. *Recess Monitors - signups are on Membership Toolkit; and
2. *Lunch helpers because little hands need help opening lunch boxes and yogurt squeeze tubes.
3. */**STM Book Fair
4. STM Auction (see the post on the Auction!)

*As a reminder, all volunteers must be VIRTUS trained to volunteer at school events during school hours, including field trips*

** For parents who can volunteer outside of school hours, the Book Fair is open for volunteers. Please see the post above for signup opportunities.

We anticipate a February 5, 2024 launch.

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

We should anticipate a January 22 email blast inviting parents to create profiles for the 2/5/2024 launch. Exciting and the days of crying about crusts will end (it is in sight folks).

Please continue to loop in on daily lunch logistics and until then, please arrange for your student's lunch.

With the Snow Day today, January 19, 2024, we will be rescheduling the missed Friday Lunch. And drumroll please…FEBRUARY 1, 2024! We get the amazing double blessing of a Thursday Lunch AND a rescheduled pizza lunch during a school spirit. Mark those calendar parents, no crazy lunches that day (no judgement here either).

Do you love to host? Do you have a hobby or talent you'd love to share with other fellow STM parents? Then a sign-up party is just the way for you to contribute to the Auction! From tea parties to barbecues, from poolside Pilates to wine nights, these events are a unique part of our Auction offerings. If you are interested, please contact the Auction Committee members below!

Teacher/Staff Donations Lead: Khuyen Mai

Parent/Sign-Up Parties Lead: Carla Plaza

We continue to seek sponsors and donations for the Auction. Check out the Auction website for more details on sponsorship opportunities and how to donate.

For questions, please reach out to the following Auction Committee members:

• Sponsorship Lead: Elizabeth Doherty
• Business Donations Lead: Mimi Kifle
• For general questions, please email stmschoolauction@gmail.com.

Thanks for supporting this major STM fundraiser!

STM (School) Calendar

• January 28: Catholic Schools Week Begins; Open House: STM Mass
  
• January 31: Coffee with the Principals
• February 2: Early Dismissal w/ Extended Day
• February 3: First Reconciliation (2nd Grade Families)
• February 6: PTO Meeting (Virtual)
• February 7: February Birthdays DDD
• February 8: Parent University
• February 9: Pizza Lunch
• February 14: Ash Wednesday
• February 16: No School - Teacher Development Day
• February 19: No School - President's Day

***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

Want to get out of the house and see some cool sports stuff (listen of all the sports, hockey is not mine)? But the Washington Capitals know that STM loves our hometown team. The Washington Capitals has generously offered discounted tickets for STM families for the remainder of the season.

Please use this link to make your purchase: https://fevo-enterprise.com/group/capsyouthhockey

LET'S GO CAPS!

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.

We keep talking about volunteering but 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.

There is an application, background check, and training you must complete but once you are done - volunteering is more accessible. Each parent/guardian must be VIRTUS compliant in order to volunteer within the school. Please reach out to the STM Office for further information.

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.

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