From the Principal's desk - St. Thomas The Apostle School

ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE SCHOOL
1331 N. MAIN STREETELKHART, IN 46514
OFFICE: 574-264-4855
WEBSITE: STSELKHART.COM

From the Principal’s desk…                                                                      February 21, 2018
Happy Wednesday Parents,

I hope everyone is staying dry! Though the weather is tumultuous, student learning and engagement in
classrooms remain steady at St. Thomas. As we move closer to next week and the beginning of ISTEP please
take a few minutes to say a prayer that our students will have clarity and peace of mind as they take their tests.

In your students white envelope is a breakdown of tuition for next year. Next years calendar will be distributed
tomorrow. Please review these documents as they are made available to you. Registration for current families
for the 2018-2019 school year will begin in the next two weeks. Please read my weekly communication carefully
so as not to miss important dates for current families.

I’m excited to close my weekly letter to you highlighting two fellowship opportunities provided by the PTO.
First, our roller skating night is tomorrow! Bring your families and lets have a great time turning left! I’m going to
make an attempt, though I’m much more in my element when on a sheet of ice. Also, if you haven’t already,
grab your prom tickets for next weekend! This 80’s themed night promises to be a wonderful opportunity for
fellowship.

This Week:
February 21, 2018                     School Board Meeting, 7:00 pm
February 22, 2018                     Casual Day—Free
February 22, 2018                     Eby’s Pines Roller Skating, 5:30 - 8:00 pm
February 23, 2018                     Mixed Bag Order Forms due for our Washington trip

Looking Ahead:
February 26, 2018                     ISTEP Testing Begins
March 1, 2018                         PTO Meeting, 8:15 am
March 1, 2018                         Yearbook order deadline
March 3, 2018                         Adult Prom

Are you, or is someone you know, a St. Thomas alumnus? Take a moment to complete our Alumni Update Form
at bit.ly/STSalumni so we can keep in touch! We'd love to keep STS alumni engaged in the school community by
providing opportunities for student mentoring. Don't forget to share the link with anyone you know who is also a
STS alumnus!

Chris

Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.
~Rev. King

Students scheduled to be altar servers this weekend ar e:
Saturday: February 24, 2018
5:30 pm: Lilly Day, Ethan Bryant, Gavin and Elsa Frick
Sunday, February 25, 2018
7:00 am: Volunteers

8:45 am: Zach Brenneman, Kennedy and Zoey Ortiz, Mason Szymanowski

11:30 am: Ethan Leazenby, Alyssa and Braeden Messenger, Carson Nickel

6:00 pm: Danny and John Gropp, Simon Smith

SCRIP Seller for Masses this weekend …………..
Saturday: February 24, 2018
5:30 - Kathie Kontowsky

Sunday: February 25, 2018
7:00 am - Paula Wood
8:45 am - Mayra Hernandez
11:30 am - Amy Spurgeon
6:00 pm - Ann Madden

                          Tiger Cubs
                          Mark your calendars……………..

                          The St. Thomas Tiger Cubs will be sponsoring a food drive for the
                          Food Pantry after the 8:45 am Mass on March 4.

                            Please be a part of this important collection to help those in need.

Hello, STS!
Since we are on an "off year" of the Champs & Scholars Auction, we are having our
Art & Experience Auction this spring. It is scheduled to take place the week of April
23. For any who may not have been around for the last one, many on staff
donate experiences for STS families to bid on. Everything from a Cubs game to meet-
ing for an ice cream treat. No matter the scale, the students and families love bidding
on these experiences with you. If you choose to use it, PTO will help cover the cost
for your experience. Please let me know by March 23 what you plan to
donate so we can get the details ironed out and have it listed in plenty of time.
Thank you for your continued support of PTO!

Sincerely,
JJ Weaver

   Closings & Delays                     Closings & Delays                          Closings & Delays
           Please be aware. We DO NOT follow Elkhart Community Schools closing and delay schedule.
                        We DO NOT follow Marian High Schools closing and delay schedule.
     If you are receiving calls from Elkhart Community Schools, please let us know and we will try to have that
                                                        corrected.
                                                      Cancellations
You will receive notification around 6:00 am regarding closures (our notification system takes some time to get
through all families). I will post at or before 6:00 am on STS Facebook (facebook.com/stselkhart) and Twitter
(@STSElkhart) feeds that we are closing. Information on the closing will be provided – built in day or eLearning
(I’ll send more information on this later).
                                                           Delays
You will receive notification around 6:00 am regarding delays (our notification system takes some time to get
through to all families). I will post at or before 6:00 am on STS Facebook (facebook.com/stselkhart) and Twitter
(@STSElkhart) feeds that we are delaying. The day will be pushed back 2 hours. Drop off begins at 9:00 am.
School will begin at 10:05.
Also, if your contact number has changed, please let the office know so our system can be corrected.

         Box Tops for Education Update:

Please send in all of the box tops you have collected! The deadline for the spring submission is
March 1st! We need to get them all counted and mailed in. Thank you for saving them!
Every clip counts!

Each white envelope today contains a brochure for the Mixed Bags. There is a display in the commons
if you are interested to see what these bags are all about. There are samples of sizes and different
designs. These may also be ordered online if you would prefer to do it that way.

Please help our 7th graders work to pay for their 8th grade trip!!

St. Thomas
                                    Lunchroom News Letter

      Starting in March we will now be offering along with the hot lunch and the chef salad option a lunch sack
       option. This lunch sack will include: yogurt, carrot sticks, string cheese, gold fish and they also have the
       salad bar and milk. So if your child does not like the hot lunch for a day or the chef salad, you can now
       order them a lunch sack.
      March’s lunch menu will be open to order on February 19th.
      If your child would like to purchase chocolate or white milk they can, we have milk for sale for $0.50 at
       each lunch period.
      We have noticed that a lot of unopened food is getting thrown away each day from students that have
       cold lunch. So with that in mind we will now be offering “Feed a Friend.” If your child does not want an
       item in their lunch that is sealed for example: applesauce, Jell-O, crackers, etc. they can give those items
       to a lunch staff member and we will place it in a cabinet instead of throwing it away. Then when a
       student that has forgotten their lunch we can offer the student 2 items that has been donated and a
       peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Together we will be feeding a friend.
      Students in grades Kindergarten thru 3rd grade have started the “Race to Succeed,” it has been going very
       well. The race is for the best behaved table or tables that receive the most busses at the end of the
       week, will receive a treat Monday at lunch. The students have all been using their lunchroom etiquette.
       So far all the tables have received a treat on Monday at lunch.
      Lunch room walls are no longer bare. We have added 6 posters that deal with nutrition to the walls.
       Each month we are planning to have 2- hot dog fundraiser. This fundraiser is used to help gather money
       for 8th graders field trip to Washington, DC.
      Remember to order hot lunch by Friday’s before noon.
      Web site to order hot lunch: http://www.boonli.com

If you have any questions or concerns or need assistance with our ordering system please feel free to contact me
at ivaracalli@stselkhart.com (Immacolata Varacalli- Director of the Lunch Program)