That's Amoré!

For the gala last Saturday, the gym was transformed into Venice at night, and the many parents, parishioners and friends who were there enjoyed a was a wonderful evening with delicious food, beautiful music, great silent and live action items, and good conversation and fellowship. Preliminary results show an excellent profit. Thank you to all who worked very hard to make this evening so successful, especially the coordinators, Cecily Miner and Katherine Adelmann.

School Open House is this Sunday, February 13

The school open house for prospective new students and their families will be this Sunday, February 13 from 1-3 p.m. Interested families will be able to meet Mrs. Connell and the teachers, visit the classrooms, examine the textbooks and curriculum materials, and talk with current students and their parents. Be sure to let friends and neighbors know about this special event.

We need 7th and 8th grade students to act as tour guides, and parents to share information with interested families. Let Ms. Link, Ms. Weiss or the school office know if you can help.

Lent Begins Today

Needlepoint crosses All students have been given a purple needlepoint cross to wear during Lent. These crosses are a St. Ambrose school tradition. They help us remember our Lenten duties of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in preparation for Easter. Thank you to Mrs. Frank, Mrs. Ryder and Mrs. d'Alelio who made the approximately 40 crosses we needed this year so that we would have enough for everyone.
Rice Bowl Boxes Each family should receive a box today to collect money for Operation Rice Bowl, Catholic Relief Services' Lenten collection to finance self-help projects around the world. Children can contribute part of their allowances or do chores to earn money for the boxes. Because of the tsunami in Asia, the need is especially great this year, so encourage your student to be generous.
School Stations of the Cross The students and faculty will pray the Stations of the Cross each Thursday during Lent at 2:30 in the church. You are invited to join us.
Lenten soup dinners: Beginning this Friday, February 11, Lenten soup dinners will be served each Friday in the school gym starting at 6:00 p.m. The dinners will be followed Stations of the Cross in the church at 7:30. All school families, parishioners and friends are welcome. There will be no charge for the dinners, but donations will be accepted to cover the cost. Any surplus will be sent to Catholic Relief Services' Operation Rice Bowl Lenten collection (last year, these dinners raised almost $700 for CRS!).
Daily Mass during Lent: One excellent family Lenten practice would be to go to the parish's daily 7:15 Mass once a week. This Mass finishes at about 7:45, so students would be on time for school.

Valentine's Day Dress Down Day on Monday

Student Council is sponsoring a dress down day on Valentine's Day, Monday February 14. Students are to wear typical Valentine colors - red, pink and white. Student Council representatives will collect a small fee of $.50 per student on Monday morning. The money will go to help the Ronald McDonald House, so mark your calendars, and don't forget to dress down!

International Food Sale raises "Bucks for Banica"

Many thanks to all students and parents for the great success of our International Food Sale last week. We raised $266 for the diocesan mission to Banica in the Dominican Republic! The food was delicious and so interesting, and the children really enjoyed learning about different cultures' cuisine. It was a great treat to be able to taste delicacies from all over the world. I you donated something and have a minute, please write the recipe down and send it to the office. We will publish them in the next PTO newsletter. Thank you!

Spelling Bee Winners

Congratulations to Maria McGlade, winner, and Laura Hollcraft, who finished in second place, in today's Spelling Bee. Well done!

Brief Announcements

Basketball thanks to all the fantastic parents who played basketball with the 4th - 8th graders on Friday. A good time was had by all. We are grateful for your tireless kindness to the children - they could have played you all day!

Scrip Update
The next Scrip order will be placed Friday, February 18. Please have all orders and payments in by that morning.

Scrip Additions
CompUSA: $25 @ 4% Talbots: $25 @ 8%
RiteAid: $25 @ 4% Staples: $25 & $100 @ 5%

Snow Emergency Closings and Late Openings Just to reiterate, since there has been some confusion: St. Ambrose School follows the announcements of Fairfax County Public Schools for emergency closings and delayed openings of school (announced on channel 21 and many other TV and radio stations). If there is snow on a day when the county schools are not open (such as last Monday), St. Ambrose will announce its decision on WUSA, channel 9, on WTOP (1500AM and 107.7 FM), and on our web site. Please be sure to check on mornings when there is wintry weather - often there is a delayed opening when it has snowed the previous day.