We teach what we believe...
and live what we teach.
Thursday, October 26
Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 Field Trip
Grades 6th - 8th Virtual Gathering with Ms. Gillespie -- 5:00 pm
Friday, October 27
NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS -- Professional Development for Staff
Trunk-or -Treat -- 6:00 pm
Monday, October 30
Winter Uniform Begins -- Please see handbook pages 36-42 for questions
Early Dismissal with aftercare -- Pre-K 11:30 am K-8th 12:00 pm
Tuesday, October 31
Halloween Parade K-3rd Grade -- 1:30 pm
Wednesday, November 1
Middle School Honor Roll Assembly -- 10:00 am
All Saints Day Mass Grades K-8 10:30 -- am
Friday, November 3
Early Dismissal NO AFTERCARE -- Pre-K 11:30 am K-8th 12:00 pm
Last day to order Chick-fil-a for November CFA Day https://stpiusxschool.h1.hotlunchonline.net/
BEING MINDFUL OF OUR NEIGHBORS
As part of a Catholic School Community, St. Pius X Regional School fosters a respectful relationship with the homes and families in its vicinity. It has been brought to the attention of administration that we have adults in the carpool line that are entering the yard of neighboring houses and helping themselves to the homeowner's produce grown in their garden. We would like to remind all families that trespassing on private property and taking anything that does not belong to you, in addition to being against the law, does not represent the behavior we want modeled to our students. Please be mindful that in all areas of our life we should be modeling acceptable behavior for our students, but at all times while on school property all families are required to adhere to all school policies as well as the law.
NEW STAFF SPOTLIGHT
St. Pius X Regional School has welcomed Mr. Frank Baxter as our Technology Teacher. He comes to us with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science Technology from Bowie State University. Mr. Baxter is taking over the Technology Teacher position from Mrs. Carpenter who has transitioned to the temporary role as 5th Grade Small Group Teacher.
This change comes with both sadness and joy as we will be saying goodbye to Mrs. Carpenter before the Thanksgiving Holiday as she and her husband embark on their next adventure in Mr. Carpenter's military career. Mrs. Carpenter will be missed by all of us in the St. Pius community and we will continue to keep her and her husband in our prayers as he bravely serves our country.
NEW TARDY POLICY
FEES WILL BEGIN ACCRUING MONDAY, OCTOBER 2
NEW THIS SCHOOL YEAR-- Please note our new late arrival (tardy) policy which can be found in our handbook - "Each student will be allowed 5 unexcused tardies each quarter, after the 5th tardy, parents will be charged a $10.00 fee per family for each time their child is late. This fee will be charged through TADS."
PICKING UP ITEMS
Friendly Reminder
Once a child has been dismissed from the classroom, he or she is NOT permitted to return to the classroom for forgotten items.
Student supervision can not be guaranteed after 3:30pm as faculty and staff have other duties and may not be available to accompany students. Because many of the classrooms are used for other purposes they should not be interrupted. We strive to provide students with responsibility opportunities and a forgotten item is a great lesson to learn.
NEW ATTENDANCE POLICY
NEW THIS SCHOOL YEAR-- All absences must be reported to the school by 8 am. If your student is absent you MUST call the school and/or email Mrs. Fay at pfay@stpiusbowie.org. Any non confirmed absences will be verified by phone from the office. If a student is absent for 3 or more consecutive days a doctor's note is required for the student to return to school.
CONFERENCES
Pre-K3 - 5th grade conference slips will be sent home this week. Please sign and return the bottom portion of the form to your classroom teacher.
Middle School and special teachers' conferences will be available via a Sign-Up Genius link. The link will be sent out on Monday, October 30th.
Conferences are being held on November 10, 2023.
Middle School and special teachers' conferences will be available via a Sign-Up Genius link. The link will be sent out on Monday, October 30th.
Conferences are being held on November 10, 2023.
Join Your SPX Community for our Annual Trunk or Treat
St. Pius X Regional School will host a Trunk or Treat on October 27th, 2023.
TIMELINE
6:00 pm Front Parking lot opens for set-up
6:30 pm Group Picture by the front entrance of the school
6:30 - 7:30 pm Trunk or Treating
7:30 - 8:30 pm Clean-up
Kids must stay with their parents during set-up and clean-up as there are cars moving around the parking lot and it is not safe.
Families who participate in this event are expected to decorate their car and have enough candy for all participants.
Families cannot just come to trick or treat.
There is a $5 fee for each participating car. There will be no sales at the door - all participants must have pre-paid. Each family / car will be sent home a wristband to show as proof when entering the parking lot.
There will be a BEST in TRUNK award.
Children are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes. Please be sure that they are Catholic School appropriate.
Volunteers are needed to help as Parking Assistants & Clean-up.
Please direct your questions or concerns to sarahkrandle@gmail.com.
SAVE THE DATE: KIDS NIGHT OUT
Sorry, grown-ups, but you’ll have to find something to do because this is KIDS ONLY! SPX students and siblings are invited for a super fun night out with friends filled with magic, food, dancing, crafts, face painting and so much more!
Who: PK3 - 5th Grade SPX students and siblings (Please note this event is open ONLY to SPX students and siblings)
What: Pizza, dancing, crafts, games, magic show, face painting, snacks and friends!
Where: Nelson Hall
When: Friday, November 17, 6:00 pm-9:00 pm
Cost: $20 for one child, $10 each additional sibling
Registration will open on Thursday, November 2.
TUITION ASSISTANCE
- Important Dates:
- Tuition assistance applications open: October 2
- High School TA application closes: December 15 (Applies to 8th Grade Students Only)
- ADW Elementary/Middle Schools TA application closes: February 16
UNEARNED VSP HOURS
All unearned VSP hours from the 2022-2023 School year will be billed in your November tuition.
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WAR’S SPONSORED
PATRIOT'S PEN ESSAY CONTEST FOR 6TH-8TH GRADERS
Conducted nationwide, this VFW-sponsored youth essay competition gives students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on an annual patriotic theme. We invite you to join the more than 73,000 students in 6-8th grade who participated last year in this Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest. Prizes and scholarships will be awarded to winners at the Post, District, State and national level. Department (State) winners receive a portion of $55,000 in national awards. National Winners will receive at least $500. The first-place national award is currently $5,000. The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word
essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW
Commander-in-Chief. The 2023-24 theme is: “How are you inspired by America?”.
The entry deadline is October 31, 2023.
If you would like to apply, please contact Commander Megan Bogley, Bowie Memorial Post #8065, Bowie, MD 20715. Her email is m_bogley@hotmail.com or (301) 974-2676. She will provide the rules and eligibility requirements and the entry form.
SANTA NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Our annual Christmas Bazaar is almost upon us. This year, the Bazaar will be held on December 4 and 5, in Father Nelson Hall. This very special event provides our children with the opportunity to do their holiday shopping for their families. More details to come.
In the meantime, to prepare for this wonderful event, several of Santa’s Shops need additional helpers. These helpers or table co-chairs are responsible for procuring inventory for their table, setting up their table for each day of the Bazaar and selling on the Bazaar days. Chairs must be VIRTUS certified since the bazaar takes place during school hours. If you would like to help, please send an email to spx.christmas.bazaar@gmail.com. Please see specific table requests below.
Raffle Ticket Table
Please reply to Chrystal Hunter at chrystalfhunter@gmail.com. Raffle Ticket Table needs:
- at-home assistance with organizing the tickets prior to filling raffle ticket orders. Organizing includes sorting tickets in quantities of 5, 10, 15, and 20 tickets. Definitely a task that can be done while home watching a good movie!
- volunteer(s) to help fill the raffle ticket pre-orders during school, between 1:30 and 3 p.m., a few days per week leading up to the event. This needs to be done at school, which requires the volunteer(s) to be VIRTUS certified.
Thumbprints Ornament Table
Please reply to slsweeney@kepro.com. Thumbprints Table needs:
- 2-3 volunteers to sand, drill, and paint the ornaments. At lease 5 VSP hours will be provided, this is dependent upon how many ornaments a volunteer completes.
ST. PIUS X CYO
Winter basketball registration is now open! Please see attached flyer for details.
- Registration Link (SportsPilot):https://backoffice.sportspilot.com/register/family/default.asp?asoid=106236
- Basketball Commissioner: Ron Thurston, (443) 506-4602, rt0216@yahoo.com
- High School students can play as long as they aren’t playing for their HS team (i.e. JV or Varsity Basketball)
SPX CYO Fundraiser: There’s still time to purchase your Football Mania tickets if you haven’t already done so. You can purchase through October 30th. The class that sells the most tickets will win a pizza party (and) the individual / family that sells the most tickets will win a free CYO registration (family must sell a minimum of 15 tickets to qualify).
COVID- 19 INFORMATION
- If your child/ren are sick please stay home, if showing signs of COVID-19 please take a test. (please contact the school, we can send home a test with your child)
- If your child/ren tests positive please stay home, email your child’s teacher and the school nurse (mbenson@stpiusbowie.org)
- If your child is positive our protocol is to have them stay home for 5 days from the date they tested positive. The date of positivity is DAY 0. Upon the student’s return to school they may continue to mask until all symptoms have improved or until 10 days from positive test.
- If you have siblings who may be a close contact: test if they are negative they may continue to attend school. If they begin to show symptoms, students will be sent home and asked to retest.
- You may choose to send your child in with a mask at any time. Please supply extras in their bookbag and inform their teacher that you would like them to wear a mask.
More information: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/isolation.html
COVID-19 Symptoms :
cough, shortness of breath, fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell
