St. Thomas More Cathedral School
PTO Newsletter - March 23, 2018 - Volume 216
Included in this newsletter:
Best of 2018
Auction Updates
Instant Wine Cellar Raffle Tix for Sale
50/50 Raffle Tickets for Sale
"I [STILL] need Volunteer Hours!"
Important notes about logging volunteer hours
Vacation Bible School
Message from the President
Happy Friday! Happy Spring!
We are three weeks away from the biggest fundraiser of our year - the Spring Auction!! Our Auction Committee has been working very hard to make this an amazing event. I read on Facebook this morning that there will be a live band at the auction this year. Our 1st and 5th grades are sponsoring CAISO, the DMVs #1 steel drum band!
If you still wish to attend, the chairs are asking that you RSVP by April 2nd, or better yet, before we break next week!
Happy Easter.
Have a great weekend.
Kassie Stewart
PTO President
CONGRATULATIONS STM!!
Auction Updates
- Thank you to all of the STM families who have so generously donated items to the auction. The success of the auction truly depends on the donations of parents and our parish community. We are still hopeful that there are other donations on the way. Deadline for donations to be included in the auction catalog is Friday, March 16th. We will gladly accept donations after the 16th but can't guarantee they will be listed in the catalog.
- RSVP's for the Auction are pouring in! Make sure to secure your reserved table as soon as possible. RSVP deadline is April 2, 2018.
- Have you bought your 50/50 Raffle Tickets yet? If not, make sure to get them because the prize amount is already over $4000! That means one lucky winner may walk away from the auction with money IN their pocket - at least $2000! As added incentive, the entire school will receive a dress down day if the sales of 50/50 raffle tickets hits our goal of $10,000. And, the class with 100% participation in the 50/50 raffle will have a pizza and ice cream party! Form is included later further down in the newsletter.
- If you need volunteer hours, you are going to like this! The wine cellar raffle is actively searching for bottles of wine (valued at over $9.99) to be donated to the cellar. For every $15 you spend on bottles of wine, you will receive one hour toward your volunteer hour requirement. How easy is that? Just drop the bottles off at the front office and fill out your hour requirement on AtoZ. As an added bonus, The Italian Place in Alexandria has generously offered 10% off your total purchase when you buy a bottle of wine from their store for the wine cellar raffle. Details will be heading home in backpack mail early next week. Wine cellar raffle ticket form is included later in the newsletter.
- In every crowd, there are people who love to throw parties and people who love to attend parties. And every year, one of the most exciting and sought after auction items are the sign up parties!! STM families host sign up parties that auction attendees "sign up" to attend on the night of the auction. Auction attendees pay a fee per person to attend the parties and that fee is a straight donation to the school. The school gets a donation and you attend a party with other STM families! These parties are held on Friday and Saturday nights beginning the weekend after the auction through early June.
- We are looking for parents to host sign up parties - a chance to get together with your friends and meet new STM parents too. There are countless ideas for parties, anything from an intimate soiree with just a few couples to a blowout bash complete with costumes. Some fun ideas include a decade-themed party (70’s, 80’s, 90’s); TV show themed party; poker night; wine tasting; outdoor BBQ and pool party. The sky’s the limit on these fun nights so feel free to show off your creative side. If you are interested in hosting a sign up party, want more information, or have any questions, please contact Nancy O’Reilly at macreilly@comcast.net. Or, if you are a party animal and already know you want to host a party, please fill out a donor form including theme, quick description, maximum number of attendees, and date you would like to host your party – and return it to the office. You can also use the Sign-up Genius link to provide this information http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040549a4a72ba57-stmauction
INSTANT WINE CELLAR RAFFLE SALE is Open!
The highly coveted Instant Wine Cellar is open! We are up to 40 bottles and still collecting. If you would like to donate a bottle to the wine cellar, please drop it off at the office. Advance discounted tickets to win the cellar are also available, see the attached form to purchase tickets. The drawing will be held on April 14th at STM's Copacabana: An Auction in Paradise.
50/50 Raffle Sales
"I Need Volunteer Hours!" - PTO can help!
1. Pizza Lunches: Even if your child's grade is not listed, that doesn't mean you can't send in Market Day Table donations!! And, on the dates that the SPECIALS have pizza lunch, they are especially in need of (VIRTUS TRAINED) people to help as well as market table donations.
- 4/13 - 4th Grade
- 4/20 - PreK
- 5/4 - 3rd Grade
- 5/18 - Band
2. Volunteer for Classroom Parties/Events: Individual dates are not listed, but if your child has a Valentine's or St. Patrick's or some other "special" event in their classroom - VOLUNTEER! (virtus-trained only for in-class). Send in craft materials or food items and log those under, i.e. FEBRUARY CLASSROOM PARTY, MARCH CLASSROOM PARTY, etc.
3. Classroom Field Trip: If your child's grade plans a field trip this Spring, or if you've already chaperoned a trip (individual dates are not listed; search for FIELD TRIP CHAPERONE in AtoZconnect), click on the event and log your hours under your child's grade. Virtus-trained parents only.
6. Spring Auction - April 14: The Auction Committee is in need of many hands (and DONATIONS!) to help make this year's auction another success!! Please visit the Spring Auction event listed in AtoZconnect for a list of ways you can support the auction AND earn volunteer hours. The list is LONG and virtus-training is not required.
7. First Communion Reception: (3rd Grade Parents only) - Help set-up, clean-up, manage & serve the 2nd Grade Families after their children receive their First Holy Communion in Burke Hall on Saturday, May 5th.
8. Choir Rehearsal Snack/Drink Donor (Choir families only) - Provide the snack/drink for Thursday afternoon rehearsals. At Press Time: Volunteers are needed for the next 9 of 10 weeks. If you've already sent in a snack for the year, log your hours under the 2/15 event in AtoZ connect called CHOIR SNACK DONOR.
9. Band Field Trip Chaperone (Virtus-Trained Band Parents Only) - The Band trip to Hershey Park is scheduled for June 1. This is an ALL-DAY event. Volunteer and you will fulfill 15 hours of service hours.
10. Graduation Reception (7th Grade Families ONLY) - Parents needed to help set-up, clean-up, manage & serve the 8th Grade Families after their children graduate. Reception held in Burke Hall on June 6th.
11. Field Day - May 29th. Typically for parents with children in the lower elementary grades. Commitment is from 7:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Run games, set-up & clean-up. Serve water. Virtus-Trained parents only.
12. Hot Dog Bash - June 4th (6 p.m. - 8 p.m.) - Set-Up, Clean-Up, run games, crafts, snow-cone machine and serve food.
13. Kindergarten Graduation Social (for 1st Grade Families only): Parents needed to help set-up, clean-up, manage & serve the Kindergarten Graduation Reception on June 6th at 8:00 a.m.
IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT VOLUNTEER SIGN-UPS!!!
- If you volunteered for something throughout the year via a Sign-Up Genius, THIS DOES NOT COUNT AS LOGGING YOUR VOLUNTEER HOURS FOR YOUR 20-HOUR COMMITMENT. Sign-Up Genius is only helping out the planner of the event you signed up for.
- Emails or personal excel spreadsheets do not count as logging hours. All hours must be submitted via AtoZConnect. If you need help, contact Mike Schiller or Kassie Stewart.
- You must commit to and log all hours prior to May 1 or you will be billed for the balance of unfulfilled/logged hours. Final #s of hours will be pulled at that date [in order to give the STM office time to process FACTS payments prior to Kinder/Pre-K's last day], so there will not be an opportunity to go back and add after the fact. Basically, we are asking you to PLAN AHEAD, but please keep in mind....
- If you volunteer for an event that is scheduled after May 1, you are committing to the planners that you will be there to fulfill your obligation. #goodfaith #honorsystem #catholicschool
Each Friday during Lent beginning on February 16, 2018, the Women’s Council serves a delicious meatless meal in Burke Hall from 5:30-7:30pm. This is an excellent opportunity to have dinner with friends and family, and very convenient for those who wish to participate in Stations of the Cross at 7:30!
Our menu during Lent:
- March 23 — fish and chips
Salad will be served with every meal along with coffee, tea, lemonade and water.
Peanut butter and jelly and fruit cups will be available at every meal for our little parishioners!
All meals are free — donations are welcome.
What a wonderful way to prepare for Easter!
Official Dates/Info for Vacation Bible School
STM Cathedral School PTO
Email: kassiestewart2000@gmail.com
Website: www.stmschool.org
Location: 105 Thomas Street Northwest, Washington, DC, United States
Phone: 7035286781