WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS

-WHAT'S NEW AT ST. ANDREW SCHOOL?-

12/6/24

Artsonia

Have you logged in to your Artsonia account yet? If not, you are missing out on viewing and purchasing some your child's greatest art pieces. New works will be uploaded frequently and you can purchase all year long. With every order, our art program will receive 20% of your purchase which will go towards art materials and other supplies for our art room.

Auction

Don't miss your final hours to bid on your favorite items. Our auction closes promptly at 7 p.m. tonight, Friday, December 6th. We have lots of great items up for grabs. Bid early and often to make sure you get what you want. Let's make this a huge success and help us reach our goal of $20,000!

Auction Site

Christmas Concert

We are please to invite all families to our school-wide Christmas concert on the evening of Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 6:30 PM in the school cafeteria. ALL STUDENTS in grades PreK-8 will be participating along with our St. Andrew Band and Choir.

Students should arrive to classrooms between 6:00 and 6:15 PM and should wear their Christmas best. Families can proceed to the cafeteria for seating. We look forward to a wonderful show!

*Students in grades 4-8 will receive a grade for their participation in the show so if you are unable to attend, an alternative assignment will be provided by Mr. Albertson.

Because of the concert, Mr. Albertson would like to hold band and choir together after school on Tuesday, December 17 from 3:30-4:30 PM. Additionally, there will not be after school clubs or choir on Wednesday, December 18 due to the concert. These activities have been removed from our December calendar.

Christmas Lunch

Families with students in grades k,2,4,6,8 are invited to join their children for the Christmas lunch on Thursday, December 19 from 11:30-12:30 PM. If you missed the deadline to rsvp, you may still join your child but you will need to pack a lunch. Guest lunches will be billed to your STS account on Monday, December 9th.

Please understand that this lunch is just for students in the grades listed above. Due to limited seating, we will not be able to invite other students into the cafeteria. Families of students in pk,1,3,5,7 will be invited to dine for the Easter lunch in April.

Our cafeteria staff will need assistance serving lunch on Thursday, December 19. If interested in helping, please contact Nina Miller at nmiller@saintandrewschool.org. This time can be counted toward your ATP volunteer hours!

Counselor's Corner

Check out the latest news from our school counselor, Mrs. Fortney, in her November Edition of her Counselor's Corner.

HSO Happenings

Join us for our next virtual HSO meeting on December 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM. On the agenda is our winter calendar fundraiser and Trivia Night.

Additionally, we are looking for ideas and volunteers. If able, please join us for the next meeting to share with our group. All families who attend our meeting will be entered into a drawing to win a dress down pass for their children. Also keep in mind that all participation in HSO meetings, events, and fundraisers does count towards your ATP volunteer hours.

As we discussed at our last meeting, we are excited to announce that the HSO will be hosting a gingerbread house-building activity for our students on the afternoon of Friday, December 20th. This will be a fun and festive event, and we need your support to make it a success!

We are looking for donations of building supplies, as well as volunteers to help students with the building process. Here are the ways you can help:

Building Supplies Needed:
- Graham crackers
- Royal Icing
- Assorted candy decorations (gumdrops, candy canes, sprinkles, etc.)
- Plastic sandwich bags (for icing)
- Small paper plates (for assembling)
Volunteer Helpers: We need volunteers to help students with their gingerbread houses. Each group will be assigned a time to build either in the library or the art room. If you're available to assist, we would greatly appreciate your time!

Please drop off supplies by Monday, December 16 to the office, and let us know if you can volunteer on December 20th. You can sign up for donations or volunteer assistance via this link.

Thank you for your generosity, and we look forward to an afternoon of creativity and holiday fun!

Inclement Weather Plan

Our days will look a little differently this year for inclement weather. We will include three snow makeup days in the calendar to be followed by three FID days. Once our three snow days ( February 17, March 17, and April 17) are used, St. Andrew will be using the Flexible Instruction Days to allow learners to receive instruction and complete work at home when schools are closed due to inclement weather. Please make sure you keep this information for future reference.

Open Positions

We have a few openings for the 24-25 school year. Please help us spread the word. Applicants may apply by scanning the QR code on the flyer.

Middle School ELA Teacher (Long-Term Substitute)
4th Grade Teacher (Long-Term Substitute beginning in Feb)

Pajama Drive

Once again, our school will participate in collecting pajamas which will benefit the pediatric patients at Penn State Health Children's Hospital. Pajamas may be dropped off to the school anytime between now and Thursday, December 19. If your family participates in purchasing at least one new pair of pajamas, your children may dress down in their own pajamas on Thursday, December 19. Please see the flyer in the Important Papers Folder for details on what to purchase. Below is a message from a family that we helped to support through our donation efforts last December.

"I am writing to thank you kindly for the helpful pajamas we were given at Hershey hospital. Your pajama donation helped turn a very hard situation into something brighter, clean, and cozy. We thank you, the Cub Pack, and all other donors for the kindness and saving the day. You made a difference in Bella's life today and she says thank you.

-Bella & Anne"

Parish Christmas Pageant

Information session for interested new families: Friday, Dec 13 at 5:30 PM

Mandatory practice session: Sunday Dec 15 at 2:30 PM

Mandatory practice session: Sunday Dec 22 at 2:30 PM

Christmas Pageant: Christmas Vigil Mass, Dec 24 at 5:00 PM

All interested parents of children in Pre-K and up are invited. All meetings & practices will be held in the church. Please contact Toni Pagliaro at 240-994-7882 or tonilpags@gmail.com for additional information.

Scrip News

We understand that many families prefer to shop at Martins with their scrip cards. If so, please be sure to follow these directions for ordering so that you receive the correct cards. If ordering on the app make sure to order "The Giant Co". If ordering online via the website, please be sure to select "Giant FOOD", not FOOD(S). Giant Food(s) will send Stop and Shop cards which our Martins will not accept. Scrip cards are non-returnable and we hate for individuals to be out the money since there are no local stores that accept Stop and Shop. If you have any questions, you may direct them to our scrip coordinator, Rachelle Gross, at scrip@saintandrewschool.org.

Volunteering

See the HSO Happenings section above for volunteer opportunities in the coming months. Don't forget to log your hours on the ATP platform. [school website/families/track volunteer hours]

-MARK YOUR CALENDARS-

DECEMBER CALENDAR

12/6/24

Mass 9:30 AM

12/19/24

Mass 9:30 AM

12/10/24

Band 3:30 PM
HSO Mtg 3:30 PM

12/11/24

Choir 3:30 PM

12/16/24

Candy Cane Day- Wear red & white

12/17/24

Reindeer Day- Dress like a reindeer
Band & Choir 3:30 PM

12/18/24

Grinch Day- Wear green
School-Wide Christmas Concert 6:30 PM

12/19/24

Pajama Day- Dress in your pajamas if you donated to the pajama drive

12/20/24

Gingerbread Day- wear uniforms since we have Mass but students build gingerbread houses in the afternoon
Mass 9:30 AM
Nov. Disciple of the Month
Honor Roll

SCHOOL CALENDAR

24-25 School Calendar

SCHOOL OFFICE HOURS

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM

Closed when school is closed

We are a paperless school. All important papers and announcements are linked in a shared Google folder. To view, simply click this link and it will direct you to our important weekly papers.