Weekly Newsletter
January 3-January 5, 2024
From the Desk of Terri O’Daniel, Executive Director
Happy New Year!
Thanks to our families who kindly donated gift cards for our Academy Christmas family. The family wants to thank everyone for our school community’s thoughtful and generous outpouring of support. Knowing the busy, sometimes complicated lives our school families experience, it was uplifting to see so many families spreading Christmas joy in our community.
“Give and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full” ~Luke 6:38
IMPORTANT UPCOMING INFORMATION
Inclement Weather
For school closing due to inclement weather, the Academy will notify families through One Call Now (our automated calling system) and on Channels 2 and 5 School Closure listings.
Clubs
Clubs will begin after Parent Teacher Conferences the week of January 22, 2024.
New Lunch Menu
Beginning January 3rd, Martha’s Gourmet Kitchen will no longer provide a hot lunch program for the Academy of St. Louis. We switched to St. Joesph Manchester for hot lunches and will use their FACTS System for account management. We ask that all families planning to order hot lunches do so in advance for each month using the attached order form. Please complete the form and return it via email
to colleen@acadstl.org or return a printed copy to the school indicating which days you would like to buy.
Charges for hot lunches will be billed to your FACTS account using the Pre-Pay lunch account option. Pricing will remain the same.
K-4 $3.85
5 – 8 $4.00
HS $4.15
Extra Entrée $2.00
Questions regarding this billing option can be directed to Jim Weiskopf at jweiskopf@stjoemanchester.org. Any funds left in your MGK account will be transferred to your FACTS Pre-Pay lunch account. You will receive an email from FACTS with account setup
information in the next few days.
School Photos and Retakes
School photos were sent home before Christmas break to all families that placed an order in advance. If you would like to look at your student’s photo to determine if you would like to purchase, please visit
https://clients.klingsandthings.com/stlouisacademy23-24/
You should be able to enter as a guest, but if it requires a password, it’s “Academy.” To place an order, please contact Christina Kling-Garrett from Klings & Things Photography at christina@klingsandthings.com or call 636-288-2919.
Retakes are scheduled for the morning of Thursday, Jan 11, 2024. Please let Mrs. Cantareira in the school office know if you want a retake.
2nd Quarter Parent Teacher Conferences
Upper School conferences will occur Monday, January 8-Thursday, Jan 11, 2024, before and after school. If your child is in Mrs. Hodge’s, Mr. Houlihan’s, or Mrs. Hartmann’s classes, please use the following link to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FA8AE2CA1FDC34-46932888-2ndquarter#/
Intermediate and Elementary School Conferences
These will occur Tuesday, January 16 – Thursday, Jan 18, 2024, before and after school. If your child is in Mrs. Lewis’ or Miss Hansen’s class, please use the following link to sign up for a conference time.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FA8AE2CA1FDC34-47086309-elementary
Pro-Life Week
The week of January 16, the Academy of St. Louis will be partaking in Pro-Life Week. Each day, the school will have an activity that will honor and promote LIFE in all its stages. Our Lady’s Inn is a maternity home that assists young pregnant moms when they are in need. The Academy of St. Louis will be collecting items to support Our Lady’s Inn. We ask students and their families to consider donating any of the items below to support Our Lady’s Inn. We appreciate your support.
Paper Towels
Toilet Paper
Kleenex
Napkins
Disposable Plastic Containers (meal prep size)
Variety Kids Summer Camp
At camp, Variety Kids are empowered to form friendships, try new things, grow in self-esteem, and explore the world around them with independence and confidence. Summer Camp is for ages 4 – 20 and provides an unforgettable experience for local children and teens with disabilities living in the 30 Missouri and Illinois counties Variety St. Louis serves. Each camper is paired with a counselor “buddy” to ensure their needs are met each day. Campers are split into groups based on age to enjoy activities geared more toward their interests. Activities include swimming, ice skating, fishing, playing games, making crafts, music time, visiting area attractions, and much more, all under the guidance of a caring and enthusiastic staff.
Camp takes place in week-long sessions offered in June and July, Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The location of the camp changes daily to accommodate different activities and adventures, but each is located within the St. Louis region.
NEW for Summer Camp 2024:
A $100 deposit is required to ensure camper attendance.
Campers are allowed to attend camp for ONE week only.
The camp schedule has been changed to the following:
June 3 – 7
June 10 – 14
June 17 – 21
June 24 – 28
July 8 – 12
July 15 – 19
Summer Adventure Camp 2024 Registration will open on Monday, January 8, 2024. When camp registration is full, a waiting list will be open until Thursday, February 8, 2024. Due to the high demand, we recommend that you complete your application as soon as possible to avoid being waitlisted.
Questions? Contact Renee at Renee@VarietySTL.org or 314-720-7718
Skyhawks Basketball and Volleyball Session
Sessions begin on Fridays beginning January 19.
Skyhawks Sports Academy provides sports programs where children discover and develop athletic skills and social values, such as teamwork, respect, and sportsmanship, while promoting a healthy, active lifestyle.
This 6-week, multi-sport program will teach the basic skills of basketball and volleyball, with multiple weeks dedicated to each. The last week of each sport will consist of a scrimmage and/or skills competition. The cost is $85.00, with a 6-week class starting on 1/19 and ending on 3/1, skipping 2/16. Here is the link to the registration page.
https://register.skyhawks.com/pd/22290/multi-sport-basketball-and-volleyball?source=search&returncom=productlist&zip=63021&cid=2441
St. Joseph Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary
Pancake Breakfast
A portion of the proceeds are donated to the Academy!
The Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary are having a special Pancake Breakfast fundraiser here on Sunday, Jan 14, from 7:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the cafeteria.
You will not go home hungry, as the breakfast is the best!
In addition to three kinds of pancakes, there will be scrambled eggs,
sausage, fruit, coffee, tea, milk, and juice.
$10 adult, $5 child (12 & under)
Carry-outs available
PARAQUAD
Starting Jan.19, 2024, and continuing until March 22, Paraquad will offer a Virtual Presentation entitled Healthy Relationships. This will be offered on Fridays from 5-6 pm. If interested, please contact Stephanie McDowell at smcdowell@paraquad.org or 314-289-4265.
Upcoming Events
- Monday-Thursday, January 8-11 – Parent Teacher Conferences
- Thursday, January 11– Picture Retake Day
- Friday, January 12- No School
- Saturday, January 14- St. Joseph Manchester Pancake Breakfast 7:45 a.m-12:30 p.m.
- Monday, January 15- No School, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Tuesday-Friday, January 16-19-Parent Teacher Conference
- Tuesday-Friday, January 16-19- ProLife Week
2024 Family Auction Contributions
Goal: Sign up for (3) bottles of liquor (Bring Liquor in January to Ann Dunn’s house)
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0548A8AF29A4FA7-44421570-2024
NOVEMBER:
Goal: Obtain $250 in gift cards.
Please send gift cards to the office marked “Auction.”
DECEMBER–
Goal: Sell 25 $10 Raffle Tickets
All tickets are online at the link below. Please have your friends and families note your family name in the box when they purchase the raffle tickets. This will give your family “credit” for the tickets sold.
https://Acadstl24.givesmart.com
JANUARY:
Goal: Obtain 3 Ads/Sponsorships (See Donation Form)
FEBRUARY:
Goal: Obtain items for 5 Silent Auction Baskets
($150 min/basket) and 1 Extraordinary Item (>$250)
Click below to purchase items off the Amazon Wish List
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/OCL1222TGWW4?ref_=wl_share
MARCH:
Goal: Sell (2) $100 “Best of Live” Raffle Tickets
https://Acadstl24.givesmart.com
This year please note that ALL Silent Auction Baskets and Extraordinary items MUST be turned in by February 28 or you will be asked to purchase $1000 worth of items on the Amazon list to fulfill the February Auction Expectations.
Happy New Year! We began our week with a celebration, toasting the new year. As we toasted the new year with our sparkling grape juice, we listened to the well-known song, ‘Auld Lang Syne’, written centuries ago. We used noise makers and made plenty of joyful noise! We enjoyed meeting our new teacher and counselor, Mr. Foley. We are excited to spend more time with him. A special thank you to our friend, Lila, and her family for hosting such a fun cookie party! It was special seeing our friends outside of school and having so much fun
decorating cookies.
We were so excited to see all of our friends again this week! We played games to hear what everyone did over break and learned more about our classmates. To start off the New Year, our class made New Year’s resolutions to help us set goals for the year. We discussed how resolutions can be tangible things we want to accomplish this year, or they can be goals to make ourselves and other people feel better through our kindness. We spent this week readjusting to the school environment by reviewing our classroom expectations and procedures. In science, we took a virtual field trip to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia! The students enjoyed seeing another part of the world, learning about the various animals that live there, and sharing their previous knowledge of the reef. It was so much fun getting to see everyone again this week! I am looking forward to the new semester with all of your students.
Our first week back from winter break was very successful in ELA and Science, especially with the new changes students faced in our upper groups! This week, we focused more on reviewing classroom routines and expectations to help everyone ease back into school. The theme of the week was New Year’s Resolutions in ELA. We talked about what resolutions were, the history behind them, and why people notoriously fail at keeping them. Students were able to choose their own goals for some of their classes for the remainder of this year, and we developed objectives to help support those goals more successfully. In science, we briefly looked into the importance of Biodiversity before beginning our unit in Chapter 4 next week. All three groups have been invited into new Google classrooms. Please look for an invite from Mrs. Hodge for Science and ELA. Also, our class pet Peeps has acclimated to our school environment and is ready to venture into the care of others. If your family wants to be in rotation to care for him over the weekend, please contact Mrs. Hodge. There will be a sign-up sheet with available dates during our conferences.
Independent Living/Cooking
The first week back following the Christmas break was productivel. This semester, I’ll teach your students about independent living and cooking. During this initial week, we delved into the concept of independent living, focusing on essential needs rather than mere desires. We plan to explore more foundational topics in the upcoming weeks and engage in simple, easy-to-follow cooking activities. I am looking forward to working with all my students this semester! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at lhartmann@acadstl.org .
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