Dear Parents,

Welcome back to school and a normal routine. Though the snow was beautiful I sure got a bad case of cabin fever by Friday! I couldn't wait to get back to school.

Some of you may be concerned about the affect this will have on our school schedule. Because St. George has longer instructional days compared to the public and other Catholic Schools, we are still well above the state mandated minimum instructional hours requirement. Even with that in mind, the staff still wants to recoup some of the instructional time lost. Instead of adding to the end of the school year, we felt that the time would be more effective for students sooner rather than later. Thus, we will ADD BACK into our school schedule, Friday February 17th. It was originally taken off for an extended holiday weekend. That day will now be a regular school day with all regular programs running including the Enrichment Program. An up dated February calendar is included in today's communication envelope. If you have already made vacation plans, please feel comfortable to maintain your plans. We appreciate your flexibility. Our first priority is the safety and education of our students.

Fulcrum Tuition Assistance Grants are due Friday, February 10th. No families will receive tuition assistance for next year unless they first complete this application. See web site for instruction.

Eligibility Forms for In-Parish Tuition Rate are enclosed in this FCE. This eligibility form must be completed by your parish pastor or his designated representative and turned in with your March registration Package. Please follow the directions on the form.

The Vita Bella Auction donations are being accepted now in the forms or products, gift certificates or cash donations. Each family can earn up to $150.00 in fundraising by donating or procuring items. Even if you have already fulfilled your fundraising commitment, we ask for your continued support. Remember the tuition cost for each child does not cover actual expenses. All proceeds from the auction go directly to our school's operating budget for academic and other school programs. This year we expanded both our music and Spanish programs. In order to maintain them and build additional programs we need everyone’s support! The Vita Bella Auction Committee will be announcing soon other ways you can help in our biggest fundraiser of the year and earn service hours, too.

Bingo Night Friday at 6:00pm, January 27th 2012
All school families are invited to Family Bingo Night for an evening of bingo, food and fellowship. Volunteers are needed. Contact Elissa Martino if you’d like to help for service hours.

• All students who wish to attend BINGO Night must be chaperoned by an adult.
• NO CHILD will be dismissed to Bingo from the Enrichment Program without the release signature of a parent or guardian. Please plan accordingly

Catholic Schools Week begins this Sunday with our Family Mass at 10:30!
We invite all school families to kick off this weeklong celebration by worshipping together as one parish school community. We especially encourage those of you who worship at different parishes or churches to come to St. George this Sunday and be apart of the national celebration. Students are asked to proudly wear their school uniforms to Mass. The Children's Choir will be singing, students will be readers and greeters and the intermediate classes will be hosting a bake sale. Let's gather together and thank the Lord for all the blessings he has bestowed on our St. George community. Here is the schedule for the rest of the week's events. As always, students who do not wish to participate in the dress up activities are to wear their regular uniforms.

• Monday is WACKY TACKY Day. Students can come to school in their craziest mixed up outfit ever. We celebrate our parents.
• Tuesday is Sports Day. Dress up in jerseys and t-shirts honoring your favorite sports teams.
• Wednesday is Ethnic Dress Day. Show us the beauty of your cultural heritage by dressing in traditional clothes of your families' native country. Join us for our first annual Scripps School Spelling Bee at 10:15 am. Two students from each grade 1-8 compete. The top speller from grades 6-8 will continue on to the next level at Seattle City Hall. We also celebrate our teachers with a special lunch
• Thursday is the all time favorite Student Appreciation Day with the wearing of the PAJAMAS! Be sure to bring your favorite pillow, stuffed animal or blanket for your class READ IN. This is also the day we will be watching a movie celebrating our magazine sale success. K-4 will be watching Toy Story (G) and Grades 5-8 will be watching Akeelah and the Bee (PG). If you have any objection to your child watching a movie, let us know and we can make other arrangements for them.
• Friday is Sue Byrd School Spirit Day. We honor the senior members of our parish with a breakfast after the 9:15 Mass. Students come dressed in blue and yellow. Parents are invited to attend our zany spirit assembly at 11:00 and watch the 8th graders try to take down the teachers in a game of volleyball!

In promoting the St George Spirit, Mr. Rittman will be taking orders for our hoody sweatshirts at the 10:30 Mass and through the FCE. They come in all sizes including adults. Get your order in this week so you can show your dragon pride!

Lastly, a big THANK YOU to our traffic dads Mr. Serquinia and Mr. Juguilon who are outside every morning, rain or shine, at drop off. Their purpose is to ensure the children's safety and your smooth flow for your exodus to work. Please do your part and FOLLOW our traffic FLOW. Drive SOUTHBOUND on 13th and WESTBOUND on Dawson. If you are going against traffic, you are interrupting flow and endangering students.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the 10:30 Mass this Sunday.

Proud to be a dragon!
Monica Wingard