Newsletter for June 8, 2010

Saint Benedict Catholic School's WEEKLY NEWS

3100 Grove Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221

June 8, 2010

Please pay all outstanding balances before the end of the school year.  This could include tuition, ASE, Morning Care, library, or other fees.  Grades will not be released to families who still owe money at the end of the school year.

Field Day will be held on Thursday, June 10.  You should have received a sheet outlining how the day will go.  Students have been divided into teams for the day.  Please have your child wear the color of their assigned team on Thursday.  Make sure they wear clothing appropriate for athletic activity (including tennis shoes, not sandals).  Lunch will be provided.  We are still looking for parent volunteers.  Contact Jen Unger at jenunger@cox.net if you are able to volunteer.  All volunteers should plan to meet Thursday morning at 8:15 in St. Anselm Hall.  Parents who will have young children with them may attend field day, but should probably not volunteer.

PTO Note:  The PTO is checking to make sure all parents have fulfilled the volunteer commitment they made at the beginning of the year.  If you did not meet you volunteer commitment, there is a PTO fee that will be charged (everyone had the option at the beginning of the year to pay the fee or volunteer).  If you have questions or need to report hours volunteered, please contact Stacey Nelson-Munro at fourgirlsforme@gmail.com.  There are still many opportunities to fulfill volunteer hours before the end of the year through: field day, the cafeteria, yardwork, and other volunteer activities.

The PTO will have a Used Uniform Sale following the Closing of the Year Mass on June 15 until about 12:30.  Used uniforms are available for $2 per item.  This is a good opportunity to find some "almost new" uniforms for next year.  If you have used uniforms to donate, please bring them by the school office this week.

Also, the donor who gave a week in Pawley's Island, SC for the Gala has offered a second week if someone is willing to make a $3,000 donation to the school.  Please contact Mr. Cruess for details at scruess@saintbenedictschool.org.

Thank you to all who made our First Ever Latin Play, "The Life and Death of Julius Caesar" a great success.  Mr. Massett and many of our students put in a lot of time writing the play, designing the set, and practicing their parts.  The actors and actresses did a wonderful job.  Thank you to all the parents who came out to watch!

Yearbooks were distributed to 8th grade students on Monday.  All other students who ordered yearbooks will receive them on Friday, June 11.

Congratulations to our own Saint Benedict Comets Chess Club in defeating Father Kauffmann last Wednesday afternoon in a very exciting chess match! We thank and appreciate Father Kauffmann for participating! We hope that Father will be willing and able to play our club in a rematch next year! If you are interested in learning more about chess and the Saint Benedict Comets Chess Club please contact Mr. Cruess.

The school calendar for next year is available on the school web site.  At this time, only holidays and early dismissals are posted.  If you are planning vacations for the next year, this may be important information to reference.

We are planning to launch a Scrip program for the 2010-2011 school year.  With everyone's participation, this could be a significant fundraiser with no additional expense to families.  Please read the flyer enclosed in last week's communication envelope.

St. Benedict's PTO is looking for PTO room reps and officers. Parents, you are an integral part of our school and we really need your involvement!!  We need your ideas and creativity!  If you are interested, please contact Lisa Merriman at lisa.m.merriman@altria.com.

Saint Benedict will be offering two exciting summer camps this year.  The first camp will introduce students to acting and theater.  It is open to students of all grade levels.  The second camp is available to students in third grade and up.  It will provide participants an introduction to film and movie making.  For more information check out the website http://www.finalactdrama.com/summer-camps.html.  Sign up before it's too late!

The Richmond Flying Squirrels are offering free General Admission tickets to students for earning A's on their report cards.  Please see the enclosed flyer for details.

This year, thanks to your help, we received a number of gift items through the Kroger Rewards program including:  a camcorder, an external hard drive, ball locker, and various playground balls.  Please help us continue to receive these awards by signing up each school year with the Kroger Rewards program.  Information about signing up will be sent home at the beginning of the school year.

Parents, please remember to check your student's uniform each morning before they leave the house.  It saves teachers valuable instructional time when we don't have to correct students who are out of uniform.  A few things that we are noticing as ongoing problems:  elastic bracelets, boys not wearing belts, socks shorter than crew length, tennis shoes with the summer uniform that are not white, and hair that is too long (gentlemen).  If you have questions, please consult the school handbook.

Up coming events:

June 8              8th grade noon dismissal (all other grades dismissed at 3pm)

June 9              8th Grade Graduation at 5:30pm in the church

June 10            Field Day

June 14            Early Dismissal at 12:30

June 15            Closing of the Year Mass at 10am w/dismissal at 11:00am from St. Benedict Church

June 15            Used Uniform Sale at 11:00 in St. Anselm Hall

"Everyone who listens to the word of God and acts on it will be like a wise man who built his house on rock."         

-Matthew 7:24