January 15, 2026

Dear School Families:

On Tuesday, January 20, we will begin the annual Pro-Life Baby Bottle Challenge. During the weeks of January 20 and 26, we are asking children to bring in donations for the Respect Life Apostolate. All funds raised are given to organizations supporting expectant mothers and babies – organizations such as Birthright and Our Lady’s Inn, etc. The money will be tallied, and a dress-down day will be awarded to either all the boys or girls in the school. Thank you for supporting such wonderful organizations.

The students did an excellent job in the Spelling Bee yesterday! We would like to congratulate all of the students who participated: Catelyn Autry, Sean Ayres, Vivienne Crisanti, Ben Eller, Emme Ferguson, Faith Ferguson, Henry Ferguson, Baneet Jassal, Sam Kriegesmann, Josh Lampe, Maria Lemkemann, Noah McCoy, Megan Nikodem, Tyler Pezold, and Nolan Siergiej. After numerous rounds and some very difficult words, Josh Lampe was declared the winner. The runner up was Ben Eller. Josh will represent St. Cletus in the Regional Qualifier Round of the Post-Dispatch Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, February 28, at St. Louis University. If for any reason, Josh is unable to participate, Ben will represent St. Cletus. Our thanks to Mrs. Kerkemeyer for organizing this event! Congratulations to all of the participants on a job well done!

Next Thursday, January 22, we will host our first annual Alumni Happy Hour at St. Cletus from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. What a great way to kick off Catholic Schools Week. Please share this with alumni you may know – it will be wonderful to gather and catch up with our St. Cletus family members!

Next Friday, January 23, at 1:00 PM, our 5th Graders will complete their S.T.A.R.T. Program (Substance Tobacco Alcohol Resistance Training) course with a Graduation ceremony. Their efforts throughout the semester have been wonderful! We are very proud of them for the focus they have shown. We are also grateful to Officer Sanginiti and the City of St. Charles Police Department for their commitment to the children of our community.

Please note the school calendar for the end of January and beginning of February - it states that Friday, January 30 will be a Noon Dismissal and Friday, February 6 will be a full day of classes. We are having the February Faculty Meeting on Friday, January 30 and NOT on Friday, February 6. This was listed on the calendar at the beginning of the year, but I wanted to point it out since it is not the typical schedule. There will be no noon dismissals in the month of February. Thank you.

There is still time for children in Kindergarten through 6th Grade to participate in the Academic Fair. Children can obtain a packet from their homeroom teacher or in the front office. The Academic Fair is an excellent opportunity for students to choose a topic they are interested in and complete a project for the yearly fair. Teachers will have additional guidelines for the categories of Creative Writing and Inventions. Academic Fair projects will be judged the evening of Wednesday, February 11. We are looking forward to the children’s projects.

The Beyond Sunday on-line scholarship application opens next Tuesday, January 20 at 8:00 AM. Information for families can be found at the following link - ttef-stl.org/info-for-parents . Please note scholarships are filled on a first come first serve basis so it is important to apply early – the application process ends on February 28. This is a wonderful opportunity for all families interested in Catholic Education to have the opportunity to apply for a variety of scholarships. On the same site, you can find information regarding the MOScholars Program – another wonderful opportunity. The application process for MOScholars is currently open. Please check into both programs! Families currently receiving scholarships from the Today and Tomorrow Foundation must complete the requalification application. I ask everyone to review the criteria necessary in order to apply and take advantage of the opportunities if possible.

In no time at all we will be registering for the 2026 - 2027 School Year. With that in mind, there will be three opportunities for families to visit an Open House within the coming months. Our Open Houses will be scheduled on Sunday, January 25, from 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM, Thursday, February 12, from 6:00 – 7:30 PM, and Sunday, February 22, from 10:30 – 1:00 PM. Please share this information with families you know who may be interested in St. Cletus School. Word of mouth is our best advertisement! Individual tours are also available upon request.

Since we are soon beginning the season for registration, we would like to ask families to place a St. Cletus yard sign in their yards from now through February 19. Yard signs are available in the school office. In order to be able to use the signs from year to year, we ask that you return them on February 20 for us to store. When you return the sign, your name will be placed in a drawing for a $50.00 STP certificate. Thank you very much for assisting us with this project!

It’s time for all St. Cletus Comets who are interested in Baseball, Softball, T-Ball (Deadline for signing up is February 1), and Golf (Deadline for signing up is January 31) to register for the coming season! In the packet this week you will find information regarding the sign-ups. Mark your calendars – please note the different deadlines for signing up..

There is still time to attend the St. Cletus Trivia Night being held next Saturday, January 24, with doors opening at 6:00 PM. This is a wonderful evening to spend with friends, having fun, and sharing in the St. Cletus Spirit! We would appreciate your help in supporting this fun-filled evening!

Please join us on Wednesday, January 28, from 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM for St. Cletus Day at Raisin’ Cane’s. Mention the fundraiser at the restaurant or apply code RCFUND96 to online or app orders and 15% of the sales will be donated to the PTO. Our thanks to the PTO for sponsoring this event!

In the packet this week you will find information regarding the Father Daughter Evening on the Red Carpet being held on February 7, from 6:30 – 9:00 PM. This is a wonderful evening for our Dads and Daughters to Dance the night away!

Please share the news of Our Help Pave the Path to Play Program! We have 90 bricks which is a wonderful start for our program. I would like to thank those individuals who have purchased a brick already! Please know that bricks can be purchased by individuals going together, by classes, in memory of or as a challenge between different groups, etc. Individuals can also donate without purchasing a brick. We appreciate everyone’s commitment to helping us provide a new playground for the children.

The STP Program is in need of volunteers to sell certificates after the Saturday, 4:00 PM Mass. If you are available to sell STP Certificates, please contact Jess Lister through Fast Direct to be added to the schedule. We appreciated your help!

This week’s STP Tip of the Week: The cut-off to receive credit towards this year's Commitment Fee is quickly approaching. You have until Tuesday, January 27, to receive credit towards your 2025-2026 Commitment Fee.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Rosann Doherty

Monday, January 19
No Classes Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Tuesday, January 20
Theme Shirts Worn
Pro-Life Baby Bottle Fundraiser Begins
Exploratory Classes 2:00 PM
5th Grade Band 3:00 PM
6th – 8th Grade Intramurals 3:00 PM
Lego Club 3:00 PM

Wednesday, January 21
K – 2nd Grade Intramurals 3:00 PM

Thursday, January 22
Dress Down Day
6th – 8th Grade Band 3:00 PM
3rd – 5th Grade Intramurals 3:00 PM
Alumni Gathering 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Friday, January 23
All School Mass 8:15 AM
5th Grade START Graduation 1:00 PM

Saturday, January 24
Trivia Night 6:00 PM

Sunday, January 25
Catholic Schools Week Begins
Open House 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM