IN THIS ISSUE

We are so excited to announce that Catholic Schools Week 2025 is being held January 26 - February 1 this year. To kick off this week full of fun events, we are inviting our students to represent our wonderful school and earn a TAG day. 
To earn this TAG day, students wear their school uniform to Mass (or their church service) on January 25th or 26th, take a picture of themselves in church or in front of church, and send a copy of the picture to HSAPresident1@stpiusbowie.org. All pictures must be received by noon on Monday, January 27. Those students who submit these uniform pictures by the deadline will receive a free TAG day on Wednesday, January 29! We can't wait to see you represent our school at Mass!

Date:  January 26, 2025

Time:  12:30 pm to 2:30 pm******( NOTE THE TIME CHANGE)*****

It is time for our annual SPX Open House – Volunteers are needed!

SPX will host our annual Open House welcoming the community and prospective families to tour the campus. This event showcases the best of St. Pius and kicks off our celebration of Catholic Schools Week.   

Sign-Up Genius for all volunteer opportunities can be found below:
Tour Guides - Parents and alumni only please (4 VSP hours)

Open House Hospitality support:

Set-Up/Service/Clean-up - Nelson Hall (VSP hours based on time)

Food Donations for Nelson Hall Activity Fair (VSP hours based on donation)

RSVP as club representative to staff club/activity table during Activity Fair in Nelson Hall (3 VSP hours)

The Golden Apple Award was created by the Pittsburgh-based Donahue Family Foundation whose founders, Jack and Rhodora Donahue, sent their 13 children to Catholic schools. Eager to express their deep appreciation to Catholic school teachers, the award was created to honor teachers for providing a quality academic and faith-filled education.  The Golden Apple award is awarded in five dioceses across the country.

The Golden Apple award is given annually to ten (10) Archdiocese of Washington Catholic school teachers for teaching excellence and dedication to Catholic education.  The award includes a Golden Apple, certificate, and a check.

To nominate a St. Pius X Regional School teacher, parents, students, or colleagues must complete the Golden Apple Nomination form.  Please return the completed application to Ms. Gillespie no later than Friday, February 7, 2025.

The general HSA meeting scheduled for February 3, 2025 has been rescheduled for Monday, March 10th at 7 pm (to be held virtually).  The presentation of the 2025-2026 budget and tuition rates will take place virtually on Tuesday, February 10th at 7 pm on Google Meet.

The link to the Monday, February 10, 2025 budget and tuition rate meeting follows:

2025 Budget Meeting - Virtual
Monday, February 10 · 7:00 – 8:00pm
Time zone: America/New_York
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/dso-krto-cvn
Or dial: ‪(US) +1 727-755-0651‬ PIN: ‪502 936 019‬#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/dso-krto-cvn?pin=1179686848536 

The link to the Monday, March 10, 2025 General HSA meeting follows:

March 10 link
General HSA Meeting - NEW DATE - Virtual
Monday, March 10 · 7:00 – 8:00pm
Time zone: America/New_York
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/wcz-dzpz-qbr
Or dial: ‪(US) +1 443-671-8343‬ PIN: ‪883 109 373‬#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/wcz-dzpz-qbr?pin=3616372213125 

Passion Play Announcement

Reminder for all 8th graders:

The Passion Play auditions are next week! The Passion Play is a religion class requirement for all 8th grade students. We are so excited to continue this beloved St. Pius tradition.

The permission slips and role selection sheets went home on Tuesday, January 21, 2025. If you have any questions, please email ccavanagh@stpiusbowie.org or kparks@stpiusbowie.org. 

One of our best SPX traditions is the annual Faculty & Staff Appreciation Luncheon that we host during Catholic Schools Week!  This feast of soups, chilis, sandwiches, salads, desserts, and more is a favorite among our faculty & staff - especially because we always provide to-go options for an extra treat on the weekend!

The luncheon is being held Friday, January 31.  We need your help to make this happen!   You can donate items, food, and your time!  Please sign up today to help thank our faculty & staff for all they do!

Please see the Sign-up Genius here -https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944A4A82AA1FE3-54250539-2025 
Questions?  Contact Katie Skerpon at hsapresident1@stpiusbowie.org 

The 7th and 8th grade dance will be held in Nelson Hall on Friday, January 24, 2025 from 7 pm to 10 pm.  The theme of the dance is "Y2K".  Online tickets cost $10 per student; tickets may be purchased at the door for $15 cash.   Parents must register and pay for each student individually.  

Please use this link to purchase tickets for the January 24, 2025 7th and 8th grade dance:

https://forms.ministryforms.net/viewForm.aspx?formId=1a4268ae-98ad-4613-89b4-939618c98b3f.  

SPX CYO NEWS
ADW CYO plans to have the following spring sports: Soccer, Track/Field, Flag Football, and possibly Pickleball.
The spring season (games) will occur ~ 5 April - 18 May 2025.
The plan is to open Flag Football and Pickleball to the 10U—14U age groups. We will post more details when they are available. In the meantime, please advise if your child is interested in either or both of the new sports.

** NOTE: If ADW CYO can make the season happen, registration will have a short timeline, so please read the news notes.
We will need Virtus-certified coaches and a commissioner. If you are interested, please advise. We will send the volunteer job details for the position.
SPX CYO will open registration for the soccer and track/field season in the next few weeks. Practices are expected to start ~ 15 March 2025. We will need Virtus-certified coaches.
Lastly, to have a spring track/field season, SPX CYO will need a new Commissioner to run the program. If you are interested, please advise. We will send the volunteer job details for the position.

Please see the CYO flyer below for information regarding the Spring 2025 CYO sports offerings (Track/Field and Soccer).

Inquiries can be made to spx.cyosports@gmail.com, or m_bogley@hotmail.com 

We are looking for parents and/or friends of parents who wish to share their amazing career/academic path choices with our students.

Please see the attached flyer for more information and to sign up.  

A Spirit Day to support St. Pius X School will be held on Friday, January 31, 2025 at the Bowie Raising Cane's Chicken location from 12 noon to 4:30 pm.  The Bowie Raising Cane's is located at 16401 Heritage Boulevard, Bowie, MD 20716 (behind Lowe's Hardware); the phone number is 301-296-7035.  Please mention that you are from St. Pius X Regional School when you visit the restaurant.  If you order online or order using the app, use promo code RCFUND96 to ensure that our school gets credit for your order.  Raising Cane's will donate 15 percent of net sales to Saint Pius School.  Please attend this event to support our wonderful school community!