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Jaunaury 26, 2012

Dear Parents,

As you know, the Gala will be held in two stages this year. There is an on-line auction from today through Feb. 9, and the Gala event at our school on Feb. 11. Some of the items for bid will be closed out on Feb. 9 and a “winner” declared, and others will travel to the Gala for final bidding. As of this morning, we are on-line!

Place Your Bid

Whether you’re looking for something unique for yourself, searching for a gift for a special someone, or looking to add a little adventure to your life, you’re sure to find something in our online auction.  Every bid helps support our cause. Start bidding now at the following link:  http://www.biddingforgood.com/StAmbrose.

Tell Your Friends and Family

The success of this online auction depends on spreading the word to as many people as possible. We need your help. Please refer a friend and encourage them to participate so they don’t miss a single moment of the fun and excitement.  You may send them the following link to get started.  http://www.biddingforgood.com/StAmbrose.

In order to begin the bidding process, you will need to register for a username and password.  In the upper right hand corner of the Bidding4Good website, you may register for this information. Thank you for your continued support of St. Ambrose Catholic School.

May God bless our efforts,

Barbara Dalmut

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Dear Parents,

The White House invited principals and administrators of the Arlington Diocese to be among the guests at their program today — Champions of Change. I will be leaving soon to go to the White House with 25 of my colleagues from the diocese. We received this information this morning:

Here is a little clip from the NCEA you might like to see regarding today’s event: http://ncea.org/news/pressrelease/article.asp?article_id=359.

This meeting is a prelude to the start of Catholic Schools Week. Our Catholic schools offer so much, and it is gratifying to be recognized. We have an awesome faculty and staff here at St. Ambrose, and I feel privileged to be a part of this great community.

God bless,

Barbara Dalmut

PS Today is an 11:30 dismissal!

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Dear Parents,

What a lovely day at St. Ambrose! We are eagerly anticipating the visit from the Sisters of Life. Ms. Koner’s sister and other members of her order will be visiting with the classes and telling them about their vocation. They are in town for the March for Life, and offered to share their experiences with our students. What an opportunity for us!

Monday is the March for Life. Any child who attends the March has an excused absence. Please let your teacher know if your child plans to be absent or leave school early.  Our 8th graders will be attending the March with Ms. Briceno and Father Fisher. (The March goes on, rain or shine — please dress for the weather!) Please say a prayer for the generous parishioner who provides for the bus each year!

IMPORTANT: Monday is a 3:00 dismissal, and Wednesday is an 11:30 dismissal.

If you ordered lunch from Schoolhouse Grill for Wednesday, you will receive it on Monday. We will have Extended Day on Wednesday and you can send in $3 for 2 slices of pizza.  Please send the pizza money in an envelope with the name of the children receiving pizza by Wednesday morning.

This Sunday the Choir is singing at the 10:00 Mass. Please join us, and stay for donuts — the Knights of Columbus are hosting Coffee & Donuts this week.

On Sunday, Jan. 29, we will have our Open House to kick off Catholic Schools Week. I hope you will come for donuts and meet some people who are interested in our school. You are our best ambassadors!

OUTBACK KNIGHT on Monday, January 23.

Catholic Schools Week — The Theme for the year is Faith – Academics – Service. We will have a Living Rosary on Monday, Jan.30 at 8:15am. On Wednesday, Ms. Briceno will show us a video about the mission in Banica where she worked for a year. On Friday, we will have our Spelling Bee at 10am. You are welcome to join us for all of these events.

Each year, we have the excitement of making big plans during Catholic Schools Week, and then rearranging them because of the weather! We have decided to have our Parent Appreciation Day in May instead! On May 4, you are invited to join us for Mass, a seminar on Summer Activities and Opportunities by Mrs. Grace Winslow, and lunch with your children. We hope the timing will be better!

The Gala team is getting together this afternoon. Ticket sales are booming, and donations are rolling in each day. There is still much to be done. Thank you for your generosity and your diligence — please keep it up!

Let us continue to pray for one another.

Barbara Dalmut

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Dear Parents,

I hope you enjoyed your weekend! I thought the long weekend would help with the spread of germs, but we seem to have a pretty busy clinic. There are several viruses going around.

I had the privilege of seeing our young athletes in action this weekend. I made it to see 5 of our 8 basketball teams play. Every game was close, and the only one we lost was by a very small margin. Although winning is fun, it isn’t everything! I have had four children play JCYO basketball for 5 years each, and one played four years of varsity high school basketball, so I feel as though I am an expert spectator! I can honestly say that I saw a wonderful display of sportsmanship and teamwork this weekend. I am very proud of our teams and our coaches. Our fans were exemplary too – thank you!

HELPING CHILDREN WITH HOMEWORK – SEMINAR WEDNESDAY at 7pm: Mrs. Grace Winslow, a speaker for Fairfax County Public Schools, will present a seminar on how to help your children with homework. This is the first of three sessions on different parenting topics. The second will be help Feb. 23 at 7pm, and the third on May 4 at 10am. Please RSVP to this email so that we will have an idea of how many people to expect tomorrow night.  I hope you can join us! Thank you to the PTO for sponsoring this worthwhile series.

PLAYGROUND/ LUNCHROOM DUTY:

We had such a tumultuous beginning to the school year that we lost some momentum in scheduling playground and cafeteria monitors. Every family is responsible for helping in the lunchroom or on the playground ten times a year. If you prefer, you may opt out, and pay $230 so that others will be hired to help. The attached form should have been returned the first weeks of school. If you did not return your form, please do so right away. We will send you a reminder on Wed. Jan. 25 if we haven’t heard from you. Thank you!  You can send questions to Ms. Erika Garcia at egarcia@stambroseschool.org.

The SISTERS OF LIFE will visit our students on Friday afternoon. They will be in town for the March for Life, and volunteered to talk with our students about their vocation. Ms. Koner’s sister is a Sister of Life and will be here! If you would like to hear more about their works and charism, please come to the parish gathering after the 9:00am Mass on Saturday, Jan. 21 in the Parish Hall.

SCIENCE FAIR NEWS FROM MRS. THOMASSON:

It’s that time of year again and the Science Fair is just around the corner.   The St. Ambrose School Science Fair will be held on Friday February 10 from 8:30-11:30 AM in the Parish Hall.    No experience is needed — just a willingness to spend a few hours asking students about their projects.

You can volunteer through Signup Genius which can be accessed from the school website under Parent – Volunteers – then by clicking on the Signup Genius button to view all active signups. You may click here: http://www.signupgenius.com//index.cfm?go=c.SignupSearch&email=volunteer@stambroseschool.org.

If  you have any questions you can contact Mrs. Cindy Thomasson at cthomasson@stambroseschool.org.   Thank you for your support.

Just 9 days until our Auction goes online! Have you bought your tickets? Made a donation? Volunteered to get involved?

God bless,

Barbara Dalmutattached form

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Dear Parents,

Last night the PTO Board had our monthly meeting. With the event one month away, the main topic of discussion was the Gala. I am writing to solicit your help and to update you with our plans. I love the Gala!

First, let me tell you why the Gala is so important. The Gala is the main fundraiser of the PTO. The Gala funds are a major portion of the PTO budget. With this money, the PTO (you) support our faculty with classroom supplies and equipment, continuing education funds, and gifts that show our appreciation at Christmas and at the end of the year. Many worthwhile projects are supported – the Safety Patrols, Shakespeare for our 8th graders, social events, parent education seminars, cultural arts programs, and field trips. The PTO funds the receptions for the sacraments and graduations.  I am very grateful for the generous support of our PTO, and it would not be possible without a successful Gala.

Now, here is some news about the Gala. You know the details – Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6pm in the Gym. The theme is A Knight for the Kids, so you can imagine the wonderful ambiance that knights will provide!  The Gym will be transformed into a lovely venue once our Decorations Committee is finished. I am always overwhelmed by the transformation!

New this year:

Biddingforgood.com will be the location of our on-line bidding. Items will be placed on the website on Jan. 26, and the bidding will close on Feb. 9.

—- Some of the items will be declared “sold” when the bidding closes on line.

—- Some items will take the highest bid and move to the Gala venue (St. Ambrose Gym) for further bidding. If no one places a higher bid, then the item goes to the online bidder. But those in attendance will have a chance to bid on these items.

—- Other items (like Principal for the Day) will first appear at the Gala venue on the 11th. These will be items that are particular to our school – teacher donations, local merchants, class baskets, and some one-of-a-kind items. There will be both live and silent auctions.

Our auctioneer for the live auction is Fr. Peter Nassetta, YA (Youth Apostles), a well-known personality in the diocese. He has hosted many auctions for charity events. He is currently the Campus Minister at George Mason University. He has a love for youth and youth ministry. A little-known tidbit: Fr. Peter was a parishioner at St. Ambrose. He was ordained as a deacon right here in our church! I was there when he starred in St. Mark’s Summer Youth Ministry production of Fiddler on the Roof, performing an amazing Tevye!

Are you wondering what you can do to be a part of the biggest event of the year? We could use your help with following up with the hundreds of merchants who have already received our letters. You won’t have to “cold call” – they have already received a letter from us. All you need to do is call and ask if they received the letter and ask whether they can help us this year. Ask when and where we can pick up the item. We have a lot of followup calls, and need people to take our list and just start calling. Please call or email Irene Miller if you can help with calls. (Irene@avipm.com)

Attached to this email are two documents that will help you to tell people about our Gala. Please print them out and take them to your favorite merchants and see if they will support our school. Often businesses will respond to a request of their client or customer, even though they might not respond to our letter. These documents are also accessible on our website at http://stambroseschool.org/activities/gala-2012/. I would suggest that you talk to your family or a few friends about what you would like to bid on at the auction. Then make some calls and see if you can get it donated! If you have an idea, but don’t know how to proceed, please email Veronica Howard (vhoward1@live.com).

If you don’t like to talk on the phone, would you be willing to pick up a few items? Many hands make light work. Please call or email Julie Jeffrey if you can pick up a few items. (jaj225@cox.net)

As Chair of the Gala, Julie has a million little jobs. If you are willing to pitch in, please give her an email and let her know when you are available and what you can do. She will find you a small job! Ask a friend to join you, and have some fun – it really is a great way to get to know people.

If you are not attending the Gala, you can make a contribution by check, or by sending in an item for auction. You could offer to babysit for another family who would like to attend the Gala. There is a way for everyone to help.

If you did not receive an invitation, please call Mrs. Smith and tell her. They went out this week via email. You may send your check (made out to St. Ambrose PTO ) to the office.

We have one month. Every year we start to panic when we reach the one-month mark. And every year the wonderful people of St. Ambrose ensure that the Gala is a huge success. Please plan to be a part of this!

May God bless our efforts,

Barbara Dalmut

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Dear Parents,

A quick note — and expect a longer email later today.

No Crochet USA today! The club meets every other week, so they will meet next Thursday.

Dare to Dream video shoot is tomorrow. Bring your projects to school first thing tomorrow. The video will be done right after Mass.

Remember no school on Monday — Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday!

Thank you,

Barbara Dalmut

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Dear Parents,

Today was very exciting — our first real snow! Please remember that we will follow Fairfax County Public Schools — if they open 2 hours late, we will too. The only time we send out our own information via email is when Fairfax County Schools are closed and therefore they do not make a statement. So please check fcps.edu for an Emergency Announcement, or check your radio and tv stations.

We have had a number of absences recently, so I would like to clarify the homework policy. When a child is sick, we do not expect them to do their homework that day. They can collect their assignments when they return to school. If your child has a planned absence (vacation or shadowing at a high school), the student should bring home the books that they normally use for homework and check the teachers’ websites for homework assignments. Teachers are not available during the school day to gather books and assignments for the students. Special arrangements will be made for extended absences due to illness. The handbook should be clarified to read:

Attendance/Reporting Procedures

Absence

Parents are asked to call or email the school office by 9:00am to notify the school of their child’s absence or late arrival. If the school is not notified of an absence, the school administrative assistant will contact the parents. After an absence, it is the student’s responsibility to make up all missed work.(Delete: “Homework for the day the student is absent may be requested if the school is notified by 9:00am. The homework may be picked up after 2:50 until 4:00 in the office by a parent or sibling.”) Students should check the teachers’ webpages for homework assignments.

January Calendar Notes:

Friday, Jan. 13: Videotaping of projects for Dare to Dream — bring your projects in the morning and we will video them right after Mass.

Greek Festival for Grade 6 — classes will have a chance to learn from our 6th graders about the fascinating ancient Greeks!

Monday, Jan. 16: Holiday — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Wednesday, Jan. 18: 7pm — Homework Strategies Parenting Seminar — how to help your child succeed in homework and study skills

Friday, Jan. 20: The Sisters for Life will visit with us at 1pm.

Monday, Jan. 23: MARCH FOR LIFE; this is a 3:00 dismissal (recent change to the schedule). Attendance at the March is an excused absence. Come to our OUTBACK KNIGHT that evening!

Wednesday, Jan. 25: 11:30 dismissal (recent change to the schedule). Teacher work day for Curriculum Mapping

Friday, Jan. 27: Junior High Dance at St. Ambrose:)

Sunday, Jan. 29: Beginning of Catholic Schools Week — Open House 10:00am – 12 Noon; Donut Sunday — in the Gym. Come meet parents and students who are considering enrolling in our school

Please see the attached flyer about the Grocery Gift Cards. I enjoyed having mine over the holidays! We now have a supply so delivery will be quick!

God bless you all — stay safe in this snowy weather!

Barbara Dalmut

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January 4, 2012

Dear Parents,

If your child has been working on their Dare to Dream project, the day is drawing near! Students should bring in their project on Friday, January 13. We will set up the projects at the beginning of the day. Ms. Athey will be here to videotape the projects at 10am. The students will be taped, and their projects will be displayed later for the entire student body.

Remember, your child must bring:

1. their project

2. the parent “homework” — what you have done or will do to help your child’s dream cone true 3. the completed entry form

I hope you have enjoyed this project. It is always good to dream! My dream when I was in 10th grade was to buy the white house on the hill and turn it into a school. I had spent a lot of time reading Louisa May Alcott! Thank you for encouraging your children — they are precious!

God bless,

Barbara Dalmut

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Dear Parents,

The Knights of Columbus are sponsoring the Free Throw Competition again this year. Last year a St. Ambrose School student was a State Champion! Please see the attached flyer for more details.

BASKETBALL FREE THROW COMPETITION.  The Ambrose Council of the Knights of Columbus will host a basketball free throw competition for children ages 10 – 14 who attend St Ambrose Catholic School, CCD, or are home schooled and live in the Parish.  The competition is on Tuesday, 10 January 2012, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the school gymnasium.  Children do not have to be on a basketball team to compete.  There will be certificates for all competitors and awards for age-group champions.  Call Brian Frank, 703-503-2851, for additional details.

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January 3, 2012

Dear Parents,

The Diocesan Tuition Grant Program provides financial assistance to families in Catholic schools in the diocese through the Rooted in Faith ~ Forward in Hope Capital Campaign Endowmment.  Our parish is very generous in providing additional aid, but all families who request any assistance must apply through the Diocesan Grant Program first. We would like to take advantage of this diocesan opportunity!

Please see the information on the Office of Catholic Schools website: http://www.arlingtondiocese.org/catholicschools/tuition_grant.php. You can apply directly for the aid at : www.factstuitionaid.com.

The deadline for applications is firm — January 23 if you have students in high school and elementary school, and March 19 if you only have elementary school students.

Thank you,

Barbara Dalmut

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