December 2021

Welcome to Saint Pio Regional Catholic School!

I want to officially welcome you with open arms to our beautiful school! Thank you for allowing Saint Pio Regional Catholic School to help you grow in prayer, scholarship, and charity! Every child is our joy! As part of our school community, not only will your child receive the highest quality education in math, science, reading, writing, and various other subjects, such as Spanish, but they will also be afforded the opportunity to explore their interests in many extra-curricular activities such as band, STEM, liturgy committee, media club, theater club, CYO sports, and many more! We do all of this while staying rooted in our faith and living out our virtues.

Mrs.  Russo’s Notes!
Weekly Update, December 12, 2022

Dear Saint Pio Parents and Guardians,

We are reminded of the joy and happiness that only Jesus can bring us this Advent Week. I hope that each of us can feel Jesus’ love for us during this time. May this week remind all of us of the Jesus’ miracles. Through prayer may we come to know the happiness that only Jesus can give to us in each of our lives. I have attached the Advent calendar given to us by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to serve as another resource to bring us closer to Jesus during this season of Advent!

Thank you to everyone who was able to support our Saint Vincent de Paul Society in their final efforts to collect gift cards, socks, and underwear. All donations received today in school will be given directly to our St. Vincent de Paul Society.

We have very exciting news to announce… I have received word from the Neumann Scholar Association that one or more of our 8^th graders who sat for the Neumann Scholarship test have won this prestigious honor! In September, three of our 8^th Grade students sat for the test, Matthew Gargano, Shane Porchia, and Steven Vanore. It is already an honor to just be asked to sit for the test as a student must meet extremely high academic and behavioral standards including high standardized test scores. These boys competed with students across all 102 Archdiocesan Elementary Schools. Tomorrow, the announcement will be made as to which of our boy(s) received this scholarship which is a full 4-year scholarship to any of our Archdiocesan High Schools! This honor is a true testament to our students, our teachers, our parents, and our curriculum! Please help me in congratulating Matthew, Shane, and Steven for all of their accomplishments thus far and to come!

Our School will cheer the boys on in an assembly tomorrow as we watch the announcement together live!

School Christmas Tree and Angels to Remember Loved Ones
Thank you to Natalina Argondizza and her family for donating our Christmas Tree again this year. We are so touched by their generosity every year! Please continue to decorate your family Christmas ball and angels. We look forward to hanging them up on our tree and in our main foyer!

Report Cards
Thank you to everyone who came in for report card conferences. I was very proud of our children’s hard work. Please return signed report cards in their envelopes by end of this week.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR HONOR STUDENTS!
Honors are given to any student in fourth through eighth grade who meets the following criteria:

➢ Silver Honors: Students with a general average of 88 to 92, with no grade lower than an 85 in each subject, and a 3 or above in all minor subject areas.

➢ Gold Honors: Students with an average of 93 or above, with no grade lower than a 90 in each subject, and a 3 or above in all minor subject areas.
 

 

CYO Caroling Night
Our CYO is holding their annual Christmas Caroling Night on Friday, December 16^th. Please see the attached flyer to sign up and for more details.

Regular Arrival and Dismissal Times 
Arrival and dismissal times are as follows:
 

Please note that supervision of the students in the school yard begins each day at 7:40 a.m. and, therefore, should not be dropped off any earlier than 7:40 a.m.

The late bell rings at 8:00 AM for grades Kinder to 8^th Grades. If your child is late, please ring the door bell at the main glass doors. You will be directed to the main office where you will need to sign your child in for the day. Please do not leave children unattended at the glass doors. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and help to keep our children safe.


Please make sure that you have completed the Google link which informs our staff which line your child should be in for dismissal. 2022-2023 DISMISSAL LINE FOR MY CHILD(REN)

Supplies/Summer Assignments
All supplies and summer assignments are due by this Monday, September 12^th.  Seat Sacks, Bibles, and Calculators that were purchased last week will be distributed on Monday, September 12^th.

2022-2023 School Year Forms
All school forms that were sent home last week in the Saint Pio folder are due tomorrow, Monday, September 12^th. Thank you for your help with these forms.

Morning (Before) and After Cares
Attached is the registration for our CARES Program. You may also click this link to register, if you have not done so already: CARES Registration

The fee to register is $25.00 per family and will be charged through Parish Giving after we have received your completed on-line form. Please note that by registering you do not need to commit to any minimum days of attendance. You will be only charged for the mornings and afternoons that your child physically used at the end of each month through Parish Giving. Please see the attached letter for additional information.

Nurse/Medical Information
Please be sure that you read this following message from last week:

Our school is blessed to receive school nursing care once again from our nurse, Karen M. Finkelstein MS, BS, Certified School Nurse.
 

• Student Emergency/ Medical Form

Both the school nurse and I are asking that this link be completed for each of your children by Sunday, September 4^th. This form is updated yearly and is imperative to complete so that the health and safety of your child(ren) always remains first. It is imperative that we know any chronic conditions or allergies that our students may have. Student Allergy and Medical Conditions Form
 

• Medications/ MED 1 Form

Any student who has a need to bring medicine to school must have a MED 1 form completed by their
physician and signed by a parent/guardian. All medication brought to school must be in the container and label that was received at the pharmacy. The label confirms the order on the MED 1 Form. Completion of the MED 1 Form yearly is required. Please see the attached form, if needed.
 

• Immunizations:

All students must have current immunizations records on file. Last March, you should have received the list of required immunizations from the State of Pennsylvania. For children entering Kindergarten, a second MMR and Varicella as well as a Polio vaccine are required after the child’s 4th birthday, in addition to their earlier vaccinations. For students entering 7th grade, a TDAP and Meningitis vaccine are required. Please feel free to contact Nurse Finkelstein via email, kmfinkelstein@philasd.org with any questions that you may have. Emails will be answered during the school week hours.

Uniforms
Formal Summer Uniforms for grades K-8 will begin starting this Monday, September 12^th and will remain the uniform until Friday, November 4^th. We anticipate the Formal Winter Uniform to begin on Monday, November 7^th.

EVERY Wednesday and Thursday throughout the school year, students may wear their gym uniforms. Students that do not wish to wear their gym uniforms on these days may wear their formal uniform; however, GYM UNIFORM MUST BE WORN ON GYM DAY.

As a reminder, students may not wear jewelry or boots on gym days. Please follow uniform codes that are given in the student handbook.

Students in grades Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 wear the Gym uniform year-round.                        

Weekly Highlights
Please continue to submit any special intentions that you may have and would like our school to also remember in daily prayer using the following link. Prayer Intentions

Looking forward to our week ahead! May God Bless all of our families!

All my best,
Mrs. Russo

 

At the start of each week, our families receive a newsletter with important information for the week. Here are some highlights from this week's update:
Catholic Schools Week 2022 Kicks off Sunday, January 29th at the 11:30 AM Mass!
Students will spend the week honoring community service workers, celebrating our nation, studying vocations, and practicing their faith!
Students will be celebrated on Tuesday, January 31st! Students will have classroom celebrations and  get to dress in their Spirit Day Colors! Of course, it goes without saying that tonight our students will enjoy a night of No Homework and No Tests for tomorrow! We love our students! Thank you for your choice of Catholic Education!

Private Tours are available by appointment only. Please call 215-467-5430 to schedule your tour today!

We look forward to seeing you welcoming you into our school! 

Wishing you all of God’s Blessings,
Mrs. Francesca Russo, M.Ed.
Principal