St. Thomas More Cathedral School

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

Highlight of the Week: We are cooking now! The final push to June has begun! In terms of other parents, the April PTO Meeting was great. Thank you so much for your participation! We had a great wrap up of the auction and upcoming events including Let Them Eat Cake - details of that event are below!

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.

Volunteer Hours: Please, check your hours and make sure that everything you contributed and participated is accurately recorded in the system.

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.

As you may have heard (sorry if this is the breaking news), Robcyn's is closing which leaves only Flynn & O'Hara as our vendor for uniforms. From our meeting Tuesday, we will be pushing any news from the STM if additional vendor is located. As of right now, no major changes to the uniform are expected.

As promised, here is your tentative slate. I will post this again May 3 prior our May 7, 2024 meeting which will be in person at 6:30 pm.

PTO Executive Board

• President: Katie Burch Nolte
• President Elect:Allison Nicholson
• Vice President, Events: Vacant
• Vice President, Fundraising: Mimi Kifle
• Secretary: Allison Rabin
• PTO Volunteer Coordinator: Amy Hughes
• Treasurer: Steve Parente
• At Large, Pre K to 2nd Grade: Janay Podraza
• At Large, 3rd Grade to 5th Grade: Vacant
• At Large, Middle School: Genevieve Kelly
• At Large, DEI: Jennifer McIntyre
• At Large, CYO: Ceasar Enriquez
• At Large, Room Parent Coordinator: Michelle A.

Unelected Committee Chairs

• Teacher Appreciation: Tessie Caulfield, Meredith Lay, and Carolyn Hickey
• Race for Education: Summer Menchero, and James Whiteside
• Oktoberfest: Olivia Devereaux
• Trunk or Treat: Janay Podraza, Ashley Kealey, and Katie Nolte.
• Country Christmas/Breakfast with Santa: Rosalinda Wolfe-Bertling
• Uniform Committee: Vacant
• 2025 Auction Chairs: Elizabeth Doherty, Sumner Menchero, Allison Nicholson, Mimi Kifle
• Hot Dog Bash (June 2025): Vacant
• Restaurant Coordinator: Robin Capetto
• Pizza Lunch: Jessica Paska
• Chick Fil A Lunch: Goldie H.

Please note that help is needed everywhere so if something interests you, and you can provide support - let's go! Pitch in! Every bit counts and helps to make this community grow.

As discussed during this week’s PTO Meeting, there will be some changes to the Parent volunteer requirements. The changes will be provided in the 2024/2025 School Handbook as well.

The main changes to the requirements are as follows:

• Increase in Annual PTO Dues: All STM families are required to participate in the PTO by way of a $125 (previously $100) dues payment per household (charged to FACTS at the beginning of each school year)
• Event Requirement: STM families are also required to volunteer at least 20 hours of service for the 2024 – 2025 school year (10 hours for single parent families). As part of that 20 hours of service, at least two (2) hours of the household volunteer hours (1 hour for single parent families) must be provided at one of the following events (this may include set up, volunteering at the event, or clean up):
• Thankful Thursday
• Country Christmas
• Boo-Hoo Welcome Breakfast
• STM Auction
• Race For Education
• Hot Dog Bash
• Trunk or Treat
• Lunch/ Recess Duty
• Communion/Confirmation/Retreat (2nd & 8th Graders)
• Oktoberfest

• Exemption: Parents who: 1) volunteer for the PTO Executive Board, Room Parent positions, or Teacher Appreciation Committee; 2) serve as Co-Chair of a PTO event listed above or other fundraiser or committee (such as Chik-Fil-A or Pizza Lunch); 3) coach CYO sports; or 4) serve as troop leader to the Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts/Girls Scouts are not subject to this 2-hour “Event Requirement.”
• Increase in Buy-Out per Hour: Families that are unable to commit to the entire 20 volunteer service hours (10 for single parent families) may pay a service fee of $22 per unfulfilled hour for the 2024-2025 school year. Please note, however, that you cannot buy-out of the “Event Requirement” listed above. You must volunteer at least two (2) hours at an event throughout the school year.

Registration is now open for track

The much anticipated LETC fundraiser is ready for take off! All students will have an opportunity to walk through the library to view the creative cakes baked and decorated by the 4th grade students. Students with raffle tickets will have the opportunity to drop their tickets in for a chance to win their favorite one.

All winners will be announced on Wednesday May 1 and cakes will go home the same day.

Secure your child’s/children’s chances to win a cake by placing your raffle ticket order via this online form by Wednesday, April 24: https://payit.nelnet.net/form/D5cxzFvA.

We want to make sure your current volunteer hours are properly recorded, so please take a moment to check and record your hours on the Volunteer Hour Reporting Portal. This is where the hour totals are being pulled from, so please make sure this is up to date.

To help you fulfill any remaining volunteer hours, here are some upcoming opportunities! Check out the full list on our Volunteer Sign Ups webpage.

Recess Volunteers: Come join the fun on the playground, give our teachers a needed break and help ensure our students have a safe and enjoyable recess experience. You'll need VIRTUS training for this. Sign up for February here!

Pizza Lunch Support: Come help out in the cafeteria each Friday to help distribute pizza slices. VIRTUS training is required. Sign up here!

Classroom Support/Donations: Assist with classroom activities, donate materials for classroom activities, every little bit helps! Donations are calculated as $15 = 1 hour volunteer time! Record your donations here!

Field Trip Chaperones: Volunteer as a chaperone for one of our upcoming field trips. It's a fantastic opportunity to create lasting memories and bond with our amazing students. Check with your teacher and room parents on upcoming opportunities!

Hot Dog Bash: The final event of the year and will be scheduled in June. Check out the PTO newsletter and website for more info!

Grade-Specific Activities: Support upcoming grade-specific activities. Typically parents in the corresponding grades assist with these events. Reach out to your room parents or teacher for more information!

• 1st Grade: First Holy Communion Reception (donations & event help)
• 4th Grade: Colonial Day, Iditarod Race, Let Them Eat Cake
• 6th Grade: Greek Day, Pi Day

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

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to reach out to me at STM.PTO.Volunteers@gmail.com.

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

• April 17: Coffee with the Principals
• April 19: Pizza Lunch
• April 26: Early Dismissal w/ Extended Day
• 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.

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