25th Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon

Posted on by Janis DeVore

On Monday, November 19th we will host our annual Thanksgiving Luncheon. All parents are cordially invited to attend this special event with their child(ren).

For the fourth year in a row, we are linking this celebration to an outreach effort to benefit the St. Lucy Project, a large warehouse in Manassas where staff and volunteers process and distribute donations to numerous food pantries in our region. This initiative is in
support of Catholic Schools Care about Catholic Charities Week which is scheduled for the week of December 2nd. Again this year, donations may be included with your Thanksgiving Luncheon payment. Please see the order form from the cafeteria for more details.

Additionally, the NJHS will set up a collection station at the entrance to the cafeteria. We invite your participation again as we work together to support the mission of Catholic Charities and to make a positive difference in our community of Manassas.

House of Blessed Chiara

Posted on by Janis DeVore

Today is the Feast Day of Blessed Chiara Luce Badano. Our middle school “House of Blessed Chiara” is honoring their house saint by writing and placing stickers with kind messages onto lollipops and distributing them to each of our students in middle school. The lollipop theme ties into a leadership video the House of Chiara watched earlier this year and supports Blessed Chiara’s focus on love and kindness.

Facts about Blessed Chiara:

  • She was born in Sassello, Italy. Her parents had prayed and hoped for a child for more than 10 years.
  • Blessed Chiara is known for her big heart. From the age of four, she began giving away her favorite toys, inviting those less fortunate into her home, and visiting the elderly and sick.
  • She died of bone cancer at the age of 18. Before she died, she said, “I have nothing left, but I still have my heart and with that I can always love.
  • Pope Benedict XVI declared her “Blessed” in 2010.

Join us at Ticonderoga – Friday, Oct. 26

Posted on by Janis DeVore

Don’t miss our upcoming PTO Spirit Event at the Ticonderoga Fall Festival on Friday, October 26 at Ticonderoga Farms (26469 Ticonderoga Road, Chantilly).

Visit any time between the hours of 10:00AM – 5:00PM for a day of fall fun, including pumpkins, hayrides, jumping pillows, slides, a bamboo maze, and much more. When purchasing your tickets at the blue Farm Market, tell them that you are visiting from All Saints and Ticonderoga will donate a portion of the ticket fee back to our school.

Friday, October 26 is a professional development day, so school will not be in session. Come out and enjoy this family-friendly, special fall event!

Ticonderoga Farm Website

Ticonderoga Farm Fall Festival Flyer

Middle School: House of Blessed Frederic

Posted on by Janis DeVore

Today we highlight the Middle School House of Blessed Frederic (1813-1853) who was beatified on August 22, 1997. His feast day is September 9.

Quick Facts: 
Blessed Frederic was born into a family of 14 children, He devoted his life to the poor, establishing a newspaper called “The New Era” dedicated to securing justice for impoverished people. In 1833, he founded the St. Vincent de Paul Society which provides support to people in need in over 131 countries.

Members of the All Saints “House of Blessed Frederic” are planning a service project in October to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

VIRTUS Requirements

Posted on by Janis DeVore

As part of the diocesan initiative to maintain a safe environment for all of our children, all volunteers with children are required to complete a background check prior to working in the school and to complete VIRTUS training within 45 days of commencing service.  To register for an upcoming training, please visit www.virtus.org.

As we begin a new year, in accordance with diocesan policy, only those parents who have completed the criminal background check are eligible to volunteer in the school.  Those who have not yet completed the background check process may request a packet of forms from the front office.

Middle School Announces House System

Posted on by Janis DeVore

The mission of the All Saints Catholic School House System is to create a middle school community where students work together and support each otheras they grow in their Catholic faith.  The purpose of each house will be to guide and support the spiritual, academic, social and personal development of each student during their time in middle school.

Our middle school will be comprised of ten houses, each named after a saint.  Each house will be facilitated by a faculty advisor and include students from grades six, seven and eight.  Students will be assigned to a house at the beginning of the year and will remain a member throughout their middle school years at All Saints.

Each of the houses will focus on four specific areas: Advising of Students; Faith & Service; Leadership; and Community Involvement.  Students will be provided opportunities to grow in these areas through weekly meetings during which they will complete team-building exercises and service projects.  Additionally, through a Points System, student efforts will be recognized and a good-natured rivalry among the houses will be fostered.

Cafeteria Updates

Posted on by Janis DeVore

Thank you to those who participated in the cafeteria survey that we conducted last year. The feedback that you provided has been very helpful and inspired the following changes:

  • In addition to providing the option of a garden salad as a main entree, a small salad will also be available as a side option instead of potato chips, potato salad, etc.
  • Ham or turkey sandwiches will now be available as an alternative entrée on days when a hot lunch is served.
  • Fresh fruit will be a more frequent menu item.
  • Some of our side items, i.e. potato salad, chips, etc. will now be available for separate purchase as a la carte items at a price of $.50 each.
  • Due to the increase in food costs and in consideration of the fact that we have not adjusted the price of lunch for a number of years, the cost this year will be increased to $3.50. There will be no change, however, in the price of milk or juice at this time.
  • Additionally, this year pretzels will only be available for purchase on special occasions and for redemption of prize cards following the Race for Education in the spring.

We look forward to rolling out these changes and to providing our students with a greater variety of nutritional options in the year ahead!

Eagle Pride Cafe

As we are always working to improve our cafeteria process, we are continuing with a program that was piloted with our 3-5 graders last spring. We are fully implementing the program in kindergarten through fifth grades this school year. The Eagle PRIDE Cafe will be a positive reinforcement of “restaurant manners” in the cafeteria.

PRIDE stands for: P-Practicing, R-Responsibility, I-in, D-Daily, E-Example The teachers and cafeteria staff will be working closely with students to encourage positive behavior in the cafeteria and earning “Eagle Dollars” as a class. Please see the link to the Cafeteria Expectations. Included is an explanation of the program and student expectations for behavior in the cafeteria. Classes will earn Eagle Dollars together and each week, the top earning class will receive a reward such as extra recess or free draw/talk time. There is no punitive consequence when a class earns zero dollars. It is simply an opportunity for the cafeteria staff and teachers to redirect to the expected behaviors. Again, this system is based on positive reinforcement.

We are very excited for the positive direction the cafeteria is continuing to take this year. The classroom teachers, cafeteria staff, and administration have worked together to review our current cafeteria procedures and made changes together to create the most wholesome and positive learning environment for our students. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

Eagle Pride Cafe: Cafeteria Expectations

 

Race for Education Results

Posted on by Janis DeVore

Yesterday we celebrated the success of the 13th Annual Race for Education, our largest fundraiser of the year.  I am pleased to share with you that, to date, we have received $49,396.29 in contributions.  In the week ahead, the PTO will process the paperwork to generate a check for 10% of the proceeds which will be donated to St. Jude’s.  Once again, thank you students, parents, relatives and friends for your wonderful support of All Saints!

The following is a list of winners from the 2018 Race for Education. 

Lap Winners:
K – 2: Eli Sorbet (20 laps)
  Keira Reynolds (15 laps)
3 – 5: Sedemm Agbolosu-Amison (17 laps)
  Aoife Haggerty, Carmenita Bright, Cecilia Vazquez (18 laps)
6 -8: Joey Munsell, Will Foster, Chris Mills (19 laps)
  Amara Collins (19 laps)
Class Winners – $100 in Educational Materials
PK-2: Mrs. Pryor – 2B (Total Contributions – $2,964.33)
3 – 5: Mrs. Honkus – 5A (Total Contributions – $3,906.33
6 – 8: Mrs. Cottingham – 6B (Total Contributions – $2,748.00)
Raffle Ticket Drawings – $50 Checks
PK – 2: Jack Volkert (2A)
3 – 5: Ahtziri Ramirez-Ramos (3A)
6 – 8: Joey Munsell (6A)