Dear Families,

The next few weeks will be very busy at St. Louise. From Catholic Schools Week to Open House and finishing off with our annual school auction, we are excited for all the fun events happening at St. Louise. It is also the time of year when we begin our re-enrollment process for the 2023-2024 school year.

Re-enrollment begins for the 2023-2024 School Year

We are excited that today begins the re-enrollment process with you, current school parents. Today, all school families will receive a hard copy of the instructions for re-enrolling for 2023-24 in the Red Envelope. You will also find the instructions below in today's bulletin.

The deadline to complete your re-enrollment is February 6th – you won’t want to procrastinate since current families who re-enroll by the 6th save $125 on their registration fee and will be guaranteed a spot for next year. Don’t delay because we have many prospective new families wanting to join the St. Louise community and we will begin accepting new students shortly after February 6th.

I know that enrolling your child at St. Louise is a big commitment of both time and treasure for your family. Here are some reasons why St. Louise School is worth it!

Mr. Fuerte’s Top Five Reasons to Re-Enroll in St. Louise School:

#5 – More than just the 3 “R’s” your children learn at any school (Reading, ‘Riting, ‘Rithmetic), at St. Louise they learn a total of 6 “R’s”, as we are able to add Religion, Respect, Responsibility.

#4 – St. Louise graduates are accepted to the finest, college-prep high schools and are well prepared for the rigors of secondary education.

#3 – Paying for your child to be educated at St. Louise is a sound investment in your child’s future.

#2 – The St. Louise teachers and staff are second-to-none in the skills they bring to their jobs and the concern they have for your kids.

And the #1 reason you should re-enroll your children in St. Louise is…

#1 - Christ is the reason for our school. He is the unseen but ever-present teacher in every classroom. He is the model for our faculty and the inspiration for our students.

In addition to receiving your re-enrollment instructions today, I would like to provide information on applying for a tuition assistance grant. Please go HERE for tuition assistance information. We certainly wouldn’t want a family to choose to not return to St. Louise School simply due to the assumption that it might be impossible on the family budget to pay tuition. We purposely work at building up our tuition assistance account exactly for this reason of making sure a family who desires a Catholic school education can get financial help if they are facing a difficult financial situation. Thanks to generous contributions from school supporters such as many school parents, our Father Phil Wallace Tuition Assistance Endowment Fund is around $2,700,000, and thus is generating enough interest income each year for us to be able to provide financial aid to over 10% of our student population.

Besides scholarships helping to make St. Louise accessible, we are proud that our 2023-24 tuition rates continue to be one of the most affordable Catholic or private school educations on the Eastside! With this welcome news, I hope you won’t delay in finishing your re-enrollment paperwork and paying your $125 re-application fee by the deadline of February 6th. Again, please realize that after the 6th, we’ll start filling open roster spaces to newly enrolling families, and the fee increases to $250.

Congratulations in your wise investment in your children’s future through your re-enrolling them for a St. Louise School Catholic education!

Catholic Schools Week

Today you will receive an information calendar in the red envelope that will let you know what fun events will be happening during Catholic Schools’ Week. Below is a sample of what to expect:

January 28th – February 4th

• Special fun-dress days during the week.
• Eighth grade student essays being read at the January 28th and 29th parish Masses. 2nd graders leading CSW Masses.
• A week of Teacher Appreciation for Catholic school teachers.
• Auction Preview Week

We Love our Volunteers

We would like to acknowledge the following people: Karen Garvizu Medrano, Sharon Victor, Karen Ma, Ruth Kerschbaumer, Amilia Munoz, Judy Lau, Annie Dolan, Silvia Yun, Ashley Wojnarski, Yulieta Sanchez, Uyen Higashi, Chris Hairston, Shirley Wu, Yu-Chi Jen, Sara Jordan, Paul Herber, Dana Balajova, Kat Caso, Petra Belford, Lola LeBlanc, Edelmira Solares for braving the weather and helping with the band-aids as recess supervisors. Thank you, Ann Marie Sweeney, Michelle Kujath, Kathy Kirby, and Arlene Isaksen for leading the way and training our volunteers. 

School Auction: Saturday, February 4th, 2023, at the Bellevue Westin

We hope you can join us for a fun-filled evening celebrating our theme, “All the World is my School, and All Humanity is my Teacher”. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click HERE. 

Preview week will be January 30th – February 3rd in the Main Lobby. Here is a glimpse of some items to bid on during preview week and during the auction:

• Class Art Projects
• Teacher Experiences
• Fun Packages
• Instant Wine Cellars
• Wonderful Trips
• International Dinners
• Father Phil Endowment
• Teacher for the Day

Reminder of St. Louise Uniform Policy

It is the policy of St. Louise Parish School for each student to own a complete uniform in good, clean condition and wear it at all times except on designated non-uniform days and certain field trips. Uniform Policy includes haircuts and hairstyles. Please review our Uniform Policy on page 59 our Policies and Guidelines and you may find them here.  Thank you for adhering to our uniform policy. 

Have a Blessed Weekend,

Mr. Fuerte

Principal

A Word From the Office

Fundraisers

Parish

Dear Friends at St. Louise, 

On Monday, January 16, our country will celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year is significant because this August 28 will be the 60th anniversary of his “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., which was pivotal in moving the Civil Rights movement forward in the United States. 

In 2018 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops promulgated a pastoral letter against racism called Open Wide Our Hearts: An Enduring Call to Love. Here is a short excerpt of what they wrote: 

As bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, we want to address one particularly destructive and persistent form of evil. Despite many promising strides made in our country, racism still infects our nation. 

What Is Racism?

Racism arises when—either consciously or unconsciously—a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard. When this conviction or attitude leads individuals or groups to exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity, it is sinful. Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love (Mt 22:39). Open Wide Our Hearts, pp 3-4.

While Dr. Martin Luther King gave his life in doing the “heavy lifting” of fighting racism, the Bishops proclaim loud and clear for us that there is much work still to be done, and that we as Catholics are called to actively participate.

It could be tempting to treat this holiday like any other, as a day to go on an extended weekend getaway, shop, or do chores at home. I would strongly encourage you to do something different. Maybe read the “I Have a Dream” speech or Open Wide Our Hearts, which is available on the USCCB website. Or attend the Mass that Black Catholics in the Archdiocese organize each year to remember Reverend King. This year’s Mass will be on MLK Day, January 16, at 11AM in the St. Ignatius Chapel on the Seattle University Campus. Bishop Frank Schuster will preside and preach. 

Catholics, together with all people of good will, need to make Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream our dream. 

Fr. Gary Zender

“The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner he wills it; and thirdly, to do it because it is his will.”

– St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Go Hawks- PA

Mrs. Hoffman’s class (PA) visited Mrs. Herridge to learn about her pilgrimage and see Gloria the angel. 

3rd grade received a wonderful surprise, when they were learning about K9 dogs and their service to the community. Former K9 officer Zeff and 3rd and 1st grade parent, Officer Hairston came to the class to share their expertise. The second dog, Palay, Zeff's sister, came to visit as well. Thank you, Officer Hairston!

Widodo Karli Family

Morris/Herber Family

Antezana Garvizu Family



Coles Family