Dear St. Giles Families,
This week is a busy week for teachers and families! We look forward to our annual PTO Book Fair beginning on Wednesday. The Gleeson conference room will be transformed into a personalized bookshop where teachers creat their wishlists and parent and students purchase books for their enjoyment. Additional information can be found in the PTO Newsletter. Teachers will bring their classes to the Book Fair during the day on Wednesday. Students will need to bring money to purchase books. Please be mindful of the amount sent with your Lion. We don’t want any money lost! Thank you to Brigette Nold for all of her work getting the Book Fair set up and all of the volunteers for your help!
We are excited to welcome parents in McDonough Hall on Thursday for our Fall Parent-Teacher conferences. Progress Reports were sent home on Friday. If you have not received yours, please get in touch with your child’s teacher. Please scroll down for sign up information if you haven’t scheduled a time yet to meet with your Lion’s teachers. We encourage students, especially those in grades 4-8, to attend conferences with you. The Book Fair will be open throughout conferences on Thursday from 12:30 pm - 7:00 pm. Stop in before our after your conference. If your conferences are virtual, please be sure to stop by on Thursday and check out the offerings! Thursday is an 11:45 am dismissal for all students and there is no school on Friday due to virtual conferences. Afternoon Kids Klub is not available on Thursday.
PreSchool Open House
Do you have a little Lion at home? Do your friends or neighbors? Tuesday, October 17th we are having a Preschool Open House from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm. Please stop by and encourage your neighbors to come and see the magic that happens with our littlest Lions each day.
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School Photos
On Wednesday this week, the Archdiocese will be visiting us to take photos for us to use in both their’s and our marketing materials. Please double check your Lion’s for proper uniforms on Wednesday so that we all look our best in the pictures. Please be sure to check hemlines on uniform skirts and lengthen as needed. Students who have PE on Wednesday still wear their PE uniform. We want to show St. Giles at our best!
Communications
We know, especially at this time of year, that parents have questions for our teachers. Given their teaching schedules throughout the day, they often do not have access to email. Teachers are asked to reply to emails within 24 hours of receipt, not including weekends. When sending an email, please know you may not receive a reply until the next day. If your message needs an immediate response, please copy the office at office@stgilesschool.org. If you are not receiving replies to your concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Have a wonderful week,
Meg
Scroll down for details regarding:
Parent/Teacher Conference Details
PTO Newsletter
Enrichment Update
New Teacher Spotlight
Athletics
High School News
Parish and Community news
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Traffic Safety Reminders
As the weather turns colder and soon snow may be on the ground, we ask that you please use extreme caution and follow our traffic patterns, especially around our littlest Lions in Gleeson and on Linden Ave. With our rolling drop off in the morning, traffic flows smoothly but it has become a safety concern at pick up in the afternoon.
Please review our traffic patterns map to understand how the flow of traffic works on Linden Ave. We have students being dropped off and picked up from three different doors on Linden Ave and that requires all parents and caregivers to follow the procedures outlined by the school. Our protocols for drive up drop off and pick up require all drivers to remain in their vehicles at all times. Mr. Siwek and our middle school patrol guards are on Linden Ave. at dismissal to assist with students getting into cars at the curb. Please do not ask students to cross between cars if you are in the 2nd line away from the curb. This is a serious safety concern that we have observed and concerned parents have noted and shared with us in the past two weeks. Cars need to pull up against the curb for students to enter vehicles. Students may only enter their vehicle in front of their dismissal door. Our patrol guards will walk your student to your vehicle at this designated spot.
Please remember that the flow of traffic on Linden Ave begins at our kindergarten door with some of our littlest Lions. Remember that these students often take a little extra time to exit their vehicles. If you prefer to exit the vehicle to assist your child, you must park on an adjacent street, in the church parking lot, or in the three designated spaces near Berkshire Ave and walk to his/her door.
Parents of our older Lions, please remind them to only cross at the crosswalk and not between cars. Students who ride their bikes or scooters to school must wear helmets and need to use extra caution when going into the street to go home.
While we all have places to be, let’s be mindful that a little bit of patience and understanding can go a long way. Dismissal typically is over in a matter of 8-10 minutes. What’s most important is that our students and their families get to and from school safely.
Thank you for taking the time to review our traffic patterns and for implementing them promptly. Please share this information with any caretakers who help to transport your child to and from school.
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The St. Giles Book Fair is October 17th, 18th and 19th!
All proceeds from the book fair will be used to continue to restock and refurbish our school library. Look for a flyer to come home with your student next week to check out some of the books available for purchase.
Click on the graphic and go to the site for more information.
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Yard Signs to Save Tax Credit Scholarships
Yard signs are now available to promote saving the Tax Credit Scholarships. Stop in the office or pick one up at conferences this week!
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Parent Teacher Conferences – October 19th & 20th
Mark your calendars for the first conferences of the school year to discuss your Lion’s progress and touch base with his/her teacher. Mid-Trimester Progress Reports will be sent home this Friday, October 13th. As always, please check PowerSchool to monitor your Lion's progress.
All conferences are by appointment only; we are offering both in-person and Zoom options.
Thursday, October 19th IN PERSON
**11:45 am Dismissal**
Conferences in McDonough Hall
12:45 - 7:00 pm
Afternoon Kids Klub is not available.
Friday, October 20th via ZOOM
NO SCHOOL
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Teachers will send Zoom links prior to Friday.
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Important Parent Volunteer Compliance Reminder
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COMPLIANCE UPDATE: Deadline to submit is Oct. 20
Thank you to those of you who have completed your compliance requirements! For those that have not, we will be inactivating accounts that are not compliant on Oct. 20 and will not be reactivating them until after Nov. 5 while we work through our Archdiocese mandated audit. If you would like to volunteer for Halloween parties, please submit your completed requirements by Oct. 20. Check Virtusonline.org to check your status or check the family portal for the detailed requirements. Contact Heather with any questions.
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Band Registration is Open!
Mr. Gloppen will start the week of October 16th, but sign up will still be available after that date.
Additional information can be found on the family portal here.
Ceramics 2
S pots are still available for Ceramics 2! Take advantage of this fun opportunity for your Lions!
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New Teacher Spotlight
Miss Ericka Johnson, Middle School Science/Religion
BA. Mary Baldwin University, MA/ED. Depaul University
Favorite Movie: The Revnant
Favorite Vacation Spot: Virginia and Washington D.C
Fun Fact: I grew up on a horse farm in Texas. Both of my parents retired from the United States Army.
My name is Ericka Johnson. I have been teaching for ten years around Chicago. I am a first generation college graduate. Science is my favorite subject. My career goal in life is to open my own school. I also want to start a few programs that would change the narrative for low income families. My fiancé is also a teacher and we live on the Southside with our dog (Marshall) and two cats ( Boots and Socks).
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Hello Lion Families!
A big THANK YOU to all who were able to join us at Pack the Park! It was great to see so many Lion Families out there cheering our kids on! We were all treated to a couple of fantastic games between our Lion student-athletes. A special THANK YOU goes out to all who donated food/beverage and time to make the event a fun and successful one!
The Soccer teams are moving into the home stretch of their seasons! All four levels are looking great as they prepare for the playoffs, which begin on Oct. 20th. Home games are played at Field and Taylor Parks - Come on out and support our Lions!
Schedules/Calendar can be found on the Athletic website: TeamSideline
Girls and Boys Basketball Registration are both OPEN!
Girls Registration is open until Oct. 18th. Boys Registration will be open until Nov. 17th.
Basketball Open Gym
We will be conducting Basketball Open gyms the following five Sundays from 1pm-3pm in the St. Giles Gymnasium:
10/15; 10/22; 10/29; 11/05; and 11/12
The Gym is open to 4th - 8th Grade students - Members of the girls and boys coaching staff will be on hand to facilitate!
Extra Points:
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Please consider becoming a member of the Athletic Advisory Committee (AAC). Contact Sean Clancy or Kristen Reale for more information.
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If you have not signed up to receive text alerts from the Athletic Program, please do so here: Notifications Sign-up
- The St. Giles Athletic Program always welcomes your feedback! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me!
** ALL student-athletes require a Sports Physical in order to participate in athletics this year - Please submit completed physicals to: medicalrecords@stgilesschool.org
STUDENTS WHO DO NOT HAVE A PHYSICAL ON FILE MAY NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE OR GAMES. Thank you for your understanding in helping us be compliant with this IHSA mandate! More information about Physicals can be found on the Athletic website: TeamSideline
Thank you and Go Lions!
Sean Clancy
The Week Ahead in Athletics
Soccer
- Mon. 10/16 4:00 pm Taylor Park Giles 5 v Marys 5
- Tues. 10/17 5:30 pm Veterans Field, FP Giles 6 v Giles 5
- Tues. 10/17 4:15 pm Taylor Park Giles 7 v DP Var (Make-up)
- Wed. 10/18 4:00 pm Taylor Park Giles 7 v Marys 7
- Thur. 10/19 5:30 pm Lindberg Park Giles 6 v Marys 6 (Make-up)
- Thur. 10/19 7:00 pm Veteran’s Field, FP Giles 7 v Ascension 7
- Fri. 10/20 8:00 pm Veterans Field, FP Giles 8 @ Lukes 8
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Sat. 10/21 3:00 pm Veterans Field, FP Giles 5 @ FP (Make-up)
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If you missed last week's newsletter, you can find it here.
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TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE
Hello, Future! From the minute a student walks through the door at Trinity she will be on a path to her future. She will plan, discover, collaborate, and develop confidence to become the best version of herself! Join us for Trinity's Open House and see how, after four years, a student will confidently be able to say, Hello, Future!
Sunday, October 15 ~ Noon
Click the image below to register!
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SCIENCE WORKSHOP
Join Trinity's Science Faculty for a Halloween-themed Science Workshop! #FutureBlazers will partake in a variety of challenging and spooky science activities! This event is for 7th and 8th-grade girls. Trinity offers 34 science and math courses, this workshop will introduce a variety of science disciplines to participants!
Saturday, October 21
10:00AM - 12:00PM
Click on the image below to register
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Fenwick High School News
Future Friar Events
Check out the Expressive Arts Workshops coming up at Fenwick. Click on the image below for details and registration information.
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St. Patrick High School News
Shadow Days are now available! Click on the graphic below to register for an upcoming shadow day and be sure to check out our Open House!
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DePaul Prep High School News
DePaul Prep Open Houses
DePaul College Prep will host two open houses for prospective 6th-8th graders this upcoming fall on October 12 from 6-8 PM and November 5 from 12-2 PM.
The form to Register for our open houses is open on our website. Link below!
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Willows Academy News
6th, 7th and 8th grade girls and their families are invited to our Open House Sunday, October 15th. Please click on the image below for additional information.
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The weather is perfect for cleaning out closets and finding coats that we no longer need! Save them for the annual CCS Coat Drive, November 2nd to 5th. Bins will be available at school and church. Are you able to help with the coat drive? Please sign up here!
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Volunteers Needed! Can you spare an hour or two and help set up for the St. Giles Rummage Sale? Please get in touch with Carol Rossi at 773-237-5804 or cg12345b@yahoo.com or Marlene Panebianco at 708-431-8115 or Marlene117@att.net for location details and additional information.
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