In The Loop

As we head into the holiday season, I know this time of year brings so many opportunities to give back. Between the Box of Joy program, Adopt-A-Child for Christmas, and the many other ways we try to make the holidays brighter for others, there is certainly no shortage of wonderful causes to support. It’s one of the things I love about this time of year and our SPX community!

This year, I’d love for you to consider adding one more tradition to your year-end giving: the Emmaus Road Scholarship (SGO).

I know we’re all juggling family expenses, holiday shopping, and plenty of requests to help others. The thought of another donation can feel overwhelming. But what makes the SGO so special is that it’s not necessarily about spending more money; it’s about redirecting Ohio tax dollars you’re already going to pay. Instead of those dollars simply going to the state, you have an opportunity to direct them toward helping families afford a Catholic education right here at St. Pius X.

And here's something else I want you to know: your family could one day benefit from these scholarship funds, too! While you can't designate your donation specifically for your own child, the more money we raise, the larger the pool of scholarship funds available to distribute to St. Pius X families. That's really our goal: to grow that pool so we can help more students and families. Whether your family needs assistance today, might need it in the future, or is in a position to help someone else, this program benefits our entire school community.

Even if you aren't in a position to participate yourself, I'd encourage you to think about the people in your life who might be! Grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, coworkers, or anyone who pays Ohio income tax might appreciate knowing about this opportunity. I know it can feel awkward bringing up donations, but sharing information isn't the same as asking someone for money. One simple conversation could make a real difference for a child and their family.

Between now and December 31, you'll hear quite a bit about the SGO from us. We'll share school-wide goals, reminders, announcements, and fun incentives along the way. And I promise…we're not trying to annoy you!

We're talking about it because we've seen what this program can do. Before the SGO, St. Pius averaged about 14 students receiving financial aid each year. Since the SGO began, that average has grown to 131 students each year! That's an incredible difference, made possible by people willing to help.

So, the next time you see an SGO email or announcement, please remember that behind those dollars is a real child and a real family. The more we grow this scholarship fund, the more opportunities we create for the families in our St. Pius X community.

I also realize that when we start talking about taxes, some people may immediately think, "This sounds complicated," or "I'm not sure this applies to me." I get it! Taxes aren't exactly the most exciting topic, and you may wonder whether you would even qualify to participate. Please don't feel like you need to understand all the ins and outs before learning more. That's why we've put together a video (Created by Natalie Siefert) and an SGO Resource Hub to help explain everything in simple terms. You might be surprised at how straightforward it can be! And as always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions. I’d be happy to help!

Thank you for being part of a community that looks for ways to support one another. Together, we can make an incredible difference!

Michelle Dennett, School Accountant

Friday, October 16: Last Day for Winter Sports Registration (See Info Below)

Tuesday, October 20: 8th Grade Visit to Bishop Hartley

Tuesday, October 20: School Advisory Board Meeting (7:00, Library)

Wednesday, October 21: Donut Reward for Miss Camp's Class for Most Attendance at Parent Academy

Thursday, October 22: Kindergarten at Pigeon Roost

Thursday, October 22: All-Diocesan Rosary

Friday, October 23: 3rd-8th Jump Rope Club (7:00 a.m., Gym)

Friday, October 23: 3rd Grade Grandparents Day

Friday, October 23: Trunk or Treat (6:30-8:00, Parking Lot)

Tuesday, October 27: Finance Council Meeting (6:30, Library)

Tuesday, October 27: Mod Pizza Fundraising (Show Flyer Below When You Order)

Wednesday, October 28: Dress Down Day

Wednesday, October 28: Coffee Truck for Parents and Staff - See flyer below

Wednesday, October 28: Coastal Wilds Assembly for PreK-6th Grade

Thursday, October 29: Halloween Parade (8:30, Gym)

Thursday, October 29: Halloween Parties PM (Open Only to Room Parents Running Parties)

Friday, October 30: No School

Monday, November 2: No School (Teacher Professional Development)

Tuesday, November 3: Bishop Hartley at SPX for Donuts and Dropoff (8:00 a.m., Parish Center)

**See Flyer Below**

Wednesday, November 4 6th Grade NET Ministry Retreat

Thursday, November 5 5th Grade Field Trip to Wildlife Center

Friday, November 6: 3rd-8th Jump Rope Club (7:00 a.m., Gym)

Tuesday, November 10 Serra Club Vocation Luncheon (8th Grade Boys are Invited)

Wednesday, November 11 Veterans Day Program (8:30, Gym)

Wednesday, November 11 Report Cards Sent Home

Wednesday, November 11 Home and School Meeting (6:30, Library)

Friday, November 13 5th Grade Friends Across Time (10:30, Parish Center)

Monday, November 16 Poinsettia Sale Ends

Tuesday, November 17 Book Fair Begins

Tuesday, November 17 School Board Meeting (7:00, Library)

Thursday, November 19 EARLY DISMISSAL FOR ALL STUDENTS (Fast Pass Dismisses at 11:20)

Thursday, November 19 Latchkey Offered Beginning at 11:20

Thursday, November 19 Parent - Teacher Conferences (12:30 - 7:30)

Friday, November 20 Trimester 1 Assembly

Saturday, November 21 Drama Club Performances

Monday, November 23 Game Truck for Top Candy Bar Donations

Monday, November 23 Parent-Teacher Conferences (3:10 - 7:30)

Tuesday, November 24 1st & 2nd Grade Balloons Over Broadway Parade (11:15, Gym)

Tuesday, November 24 National Jr. Beta Club Induction Ceremony (1:30, Gym)

Tuesday, November 24 SPX Family Night at PINS Mechanical at Easton (Details Coming Soon!)

Wednesday, November 25 - Friday, November 27 NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break

Monday, November 30 Donation Dress Down Day for "Adopt a Panther Family" Christmas Collection

IMPORTANT EARLY DISMISSAL REMINDER

Due to Parent-Teacher Conferences, we will begin dismissal by 11:20 on Thursday, November 19. Bussing and Latchkey will be offered.

According to the City of Reynoldsburg, Columbia Gas will begin their work on October 21, and the work will continue for four to six weeks. Access to Waggoner Rd. will remain the same, but you may experience delays in the work zone closer to Broad Street. From one of their comments, it appears the city won't begin their construction until the spring.

An Ohio Appeals Court has affirmed a lower court decision that ruled the EdChoice program

unconstitutional. Despite this ruling, the EdChoice program remains in place as the case

proceeds to the Ohio Supreme Court. Attorneys defending the EdChoice program are very

confident that the constitutionality of the program will prevail at the Ohio Supreme Court. No

changes in scholarships will occur during the current school year.

For more information, please watch the video in the Principal Letter above. Please contact mdennett@spxelementary.com or nsiefert@spxelementary.com with questions.

In order to have another INCREDIBLE event, HSA needs the following:

1. More Decorated Trunks -- We typically have over 30 trunks. So far, we only have about half!

Earn credit for 2 volunteer hours for hosting a trunk!

2. Candy Donations -- Please send bags of candy to the Welcome Center! (This allows us to supplement the candy donated by our trunk hosts.)

3. A Few More Volunteers -- A hall monitor and help with clean-up are still needed!

Please click here to sign up to work the event, or email fayegabbard85@gmail.com to decorate a trunk.

Thanks to Mrs. Hennessey for offering an experience that enables students to be involved in a fun AND healthy activity!

The Greatest Lunch on Earth was a BIG TOP success! Hats off to our amazing School Nutrition Team for serving up an incredible 1,551 delicious, circus-themed hot lunches during a week filled with surprise and delight!

A standing ovation goes to Manager Jennifer Schorr, Christina Himmelberg, and Cathy Bowman, who went above and beyond to make this special week happen—even while short-staffed! SPX is truly blessed to have such a dedicated, hardworking team. Their hustle, heart, and commitment shine through every day as they serve our students healthy, delicious, and often homemade meals with a side of love!

🎟️ Step Right Up! Volunteers Needed!

Our School Nutrition Team could use a few more helping hands! We are looking for volunteers who can assist with serving lunch weekly or monthly between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. It's a wonderful way to support our school, lend a hand to this incredible team, and catch a glimpse of your child(ren) during their school day. Grandparents are welcome, too!

Interested in joining the fun? Please email jschorr@spxelementary.com with questions or to volunteer.

In honor of the Month of the Rosary, many of our classes have been spending special moments in our beautiful Rosary Garden, outdoor classroom, and Mary Grotto while learning more about our Blessed Mother and praying the Rosary (or Hail Mary) together. Our kindergarten students even created bird feeders to hang in the Rosary Garden to help care for God's creatures.

Top: Our 8th grade ELA students brought The Outsiders to life with a Celebration of Life for Johnny, sharing heartfelt eulogies and reflections. This meaningful experience encouraged empathy and deeper connections to literature.

Middle: Our 3rd grade students traced their own body outlines on large butcher paper and used everything they've learned about the human body to map out major organs, systems. and more!

Bottom Left: Our 8th grade science students put their engineering skills to the test by designing earthquake-resistant structures and testing them on a shake table. This hands-on challenge sparked creativity, problem-solving, and one big question: Did their LEGO people survive?

Bottom Right: Learning was popping in 6th grade science when their classroom was transformed for their hands-on Popcorn STEM Lab. They put their math and science skills to the test exploring popped and unpopped kernels before enjoying the perfect snack to celebrate their hard work!

Our kindergarten teachers transformed the parish center into an autumn wonderland last week to provide a day of surprise and delight for our students! From hands-on learning and creative activities to imaginative play and fall-themed adventures, our kindergarteners spent the day exploring, discovering, and making lots of sweet autumn memories!

💙💛It was so heartwarming to see so many current and former SPX staff and students at Violet Springs to surprise our beloved retired teacher, Mrs. Canfield. For months, she has dealt with a number of serious health issues which resulted in her leg being amputated, so she definitely needed some Panther love to lift her spirits! We appreciate everyone who came out to show her how much she is loved and appreciated! 💛💙

We are so grateful to Miss Kamerer for sharing her beautiful voice and gift of music to introduce many of our students to another meaningful form of prayer through praise and worship. Her joyful witness reminded our students that there are many ways to lift our hearts to God and grow closer to Him. We hope to incorporate praise and worship into one or more of our upcoming Adoration days, too!

We were thrilled to welcome Dr. Renee Mattson, author of A Child in Bloom, for a special day of learning with our teachers and an evening presentation for parents! Both teachers and parents shared overwhelmingly positive feedback about her practical, relatable, and easy-to-implement strategies. If you weren't able to attend, we encourage you to check out her book for valuable parenting insights and tools you can put into practice right away.

Check out what one of our SPX parents of three had to say about her presentation!

I attended the Child In Bloom parenting presentation with Dr. Renee Mattson. I was highly impressed by her experience working with children and her framework. She talked about the importance of setting clear rules for our children, connecting with them, and using “pausitive” parenting. Dr. Mattson discussed her process of Teach-Model-Practice-Praise-Hold Tight. Her strategies truly seem effective and also bring our Catholic Faith into parenting. I have already ordered Dr. Mattson’s Book, Child in Bloom, and cannot wait to read it. I highly encourage everyone to read her book to become even better parents to our sweet children!

Michelle Gromofsky

Click on the link below to check out nine short videos from Dr. Renee Mattson!

💙 💛 If you're cheering on runners at the Columbus Marathon this weekend, be sure to look for SPX 2nd grader Luca at Mile 26! After 26 miles, we can't imagine a sweeter face to help runners find that final burst of energy and cross the finish line with a smile!

Way to spread some Panther joy, Luca! 💙 💛

Rain or shine, you'll see Mrs. Louiso greeting our school community in the Safety Zone each morning. As our receptionist in the Welcome Center, she helps keep our days running smoothly while making students, families, and visitors feel right at home. Her list of responsibilities is endless! She enters car numbers for dismissal, welcomes and signs in visitors to help keep our building safe, and answers most of our phone calls—with an answer for just about everything. She coordinates student deliveries of orders to classrooms, manages candid photos for the yearbook, fills in when the nurse is absent, and completes countless small tasks for teachers. She also loves collecting fun little items that bring big smiles to students’ faces. Beyond her "day job," Mrs. Louiso has a servant's heart, so it was no surprise when she was the recipient of the Barb Sharpe Service Award for her many years of volunteering. She is the rock star behind our super cool book fairs, and she was even the mastermind behind our staff kazoo band, which is just one of the many ways she brings surprise and delight to our students. She is truly a heartbeat of our school!

Show this flyer and Mod Pizza will donate 20% of your total to SPX!

We are so thankful for SPX Parent, Kristin Evans, for hosting this special morning treat for our school community!

Join in Praying with Students from All Over Our Diocese on October 22nd at 10:00 AM

We are pleased to bring to you live coverage of the third annual All Diocesan Schools Rosary with Bishop Earl K. Fernandes on St. Gabriel Radio AM 820, online at www.StGabrielRadio.com at 10:00 AM on Thursday, October 22nd. As we listen, students from across our diocese will join with Bishop Fernandes in praying the Rosary. At this time, all students and staff in our schools throughout the diocese have paused their day to join, united in prayer via livestream with their bishop.

Our specific intentions for this year's All Diocesan Schools Rosary are: for greater respect for the dignity of the human person; for vocations from among our students; for the spiritual and temporal needs of all the members of our school communities, especially the sick and suffering; and for the bishop and clergy of our diocese and their intentions.

We encourage all parents, grandparents, family members, and friends to unite in prayer with students from schools throughout the Diocese of Columbus as they pray the Rosary with Bishop Fernandes! Be sure to tune in to St. Gabriel Catholic Radio AM 820 or online at www.StGabrielRadio.com.

https://www.stpius.printphase.com/

New and returning families who send in screenshots showing their Kroger accounts are currently linked with St. Pius X School & Church will earn a Dress Down Day Pass for their child(ren).

Register here: https://columbuscyo.teamsidelinesite.com/st-pius-x

Members of the Hartley Admissions Team will be available in the Parish Center, directly after drop off, for coffee and refreshments to discuss what makes Hartley the right fit for your student and family. Donuts & Drop Off is open to all families in grades K-8 looking to learn more about Bishop Hartley. Register HERE today!

Follow us on social media for a peek into your child's school day!

Click on these links and follow us:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SPXSchoolReynoldsburg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spxreynoldsburg/?hl=en

Email: contact@spxelementary.com
Website: https://www.spxelementary.com/

Location: 1061 Waggoner Road, Reynoldsburg, OH, USA
Phone: 614-866-6050
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SPXSchoolReynoldsburg