New Tax Benefit for Catholic School Parents

Catholic school parents may benefit from the recent changes to the federal tax code. The recently passed federal tax law allows parents to make contributions to a child’s Missouri 529 MOST account for K-12 tuition, in addition to expenses for higher education that are already permitted.

The Missouri 529 MOST account is an investment program sponsored by the Missouri State Treasurer’s office. Anyone can open a MOST account, including parents, grandparents, or friends of K-12 or college-aged students. In this way, if parents lack financial resources, others can contribute to the family’s MOST account.

Interest earnings on contributions made by parents to MOST accounts are not subject to state or federal taxes. Furthermore, qualified distributions from the account (those for higher education expenses, and now K-12 tuition) are also not taxed. Parents can withdraw up to $10,000 annually for private K-12 tuition per student as an eligible distribution from a MOST account. Parents can elect to make contributions to the MOST account according to their own timetable, such as monthly.

Funds contributed to a MOST account are deducted from the parent’s taxable income. For example, if a Catholic school parent contributes $5,000 during the year to their child’s MOST account, $5,000 will be deducted from their taxable income for state tax purposes. Larger contributions to MOST accounts will further reduce taxable income.

Reducing taxable income, in turn, will reduce the state tax bill parents pay. (Other factors may affect the tax benefit realized, but this change in federal law will provide a real state tax benefit to Catholic school parents.) 

Parents may want to consult with their local bank or financial advisor regarding the advisability of setting up a 529 MOST account.

Calculate My Family's Tax Benefit

Set Up a Missouri 529 MOST Account

Everyone needs a buddy

"My buddy has a sister just like me!" announced a preschooler. "I love drawing and playing with my buddy!" From the earliest ages St. Roch creates an atmosphere of belonging. Starting in preschool classes (pre-k through 1st) pair up with 6th through 8th grade students. They work together on a variety of projects throughout the school year.  The preschool and their 6th grade buddies discussed their similarities and differences (pictured above). Last month, the Kindergarten and 8th grade pairs created snowmen together. In early December, the 7th grade created Christmas stories for their 1st grade buddies. They gathered together to read to the students and reveal the personalized Christmas tales. In October, the Preschool and the 6th grades traveled to the pumpkin patch together. "I loved playing chase with my buddy at the pumpkin patch!" revealed one 4 year old. 

These opportunities allow the students to witness what happens outside of their classroom and build relationships with older students. "As a parent I love that my children are not intimidated by the big kids because they have an ally in an older class. The relationships they build with the older students make it easier to understand growth and differences as they progress through school." The close-knit atmosphere of St. Roch is reinforced on many levels but the buddy program strengthens the familiarity of the entire school. 

St. Roch Council Update

From the desk of the Vice President...

Last Tuesday, October 17th, the St. Roch Student Council executive officers went to the Cardinal Rigali Center for a STUCO workshop. While we were there we learned a lot about how to keep our student council on task, how to use brainstorming to get new and fun ideas for the school, and how to use our time wisely and efficiently so we can get lots done for the school.

The first half of the day had multiple team building exercises and lectures that were very beneficial. We worked on ways we can be great leaders, we were taught the communication ladder of success, and we were taught a new motto for the STUCO.

Good, better, best. I will never rest, until my good is better and my better is my best. That’s the secret of success!

After lunch we were separated into eight groups mixed in with STUCO members from all the other schools to learn about their ideas and to see if we wanted to use any of them here at St. Roch. We were given a handout that had a spot for us to write in eight ideas, all for different reasons i:e for school spirit, for athletics, for academics…

Overall we found this to be a very helpful workshop and highly recommend it for future STUCO executive officers. For now, we will get to work. We hope to impart the skills we gained onto the rest of the council over the course of this school year.

Helping the Hurricane Victims

St. Roch students, parents and parishioners did what they could to help those in need in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico after hurricanes devastated these areas. 

Roch Council, the St. Roch student government, launched a school-wide "Penny Challenge" Monday, September 25th. All students were encouraged to bring in their change to make a change in the lives of hurricane victims. 

The Women of St. Roch hosted an evening of blanket making and book swapping. The group donated diapers and wipes for the hurricane victims and handmade blankets to be sent south. The Women of St. Roch made 20 warm no-sew blankets. An attendee summed up the evening and effort nicely, "I love the opportunity to gather with like-minded women to discuss what's going on in our community and our world while helping others who need our help. This is what we as a group do." 

St. Roch Graduates Soaring

St. Roch Boy Scout Troop 98 celebrated three new Eagle Scouts on Sunday, August 6th. Elia Barker, Christian Boxdorfer, and Eric Webster marked this accomplishment with a gathering of friends, family, and mentors at Joe's Cafe. Congratulations to all three young men and to the troop. All three scouts attended St. Roch School with Christian and Eric graduating in 2013. Only 4-5% of scouts make it to the rank of Eagle, so this is quite an accomplishment. Not many scouts make it to the rank of Eagle (only 4-5% of all scouts). Troop 98 has a rich history spanning over 100 years and to date has had 127 Eagle Scouts. Anyone interested in learning more about joining Troop 98 should contact Scout Master Paul Winter at 314-971-7265.

Heading to the Opera

On August 25th, the first, second and third-grade students enjoyed their first field trip of the year as they traveled to the Union Avenue Opera for the performance of Hansel und Gretel. Needless to say, for many students, this was probably their first exposure to the opera. It was good to introduce them with a story that they could understand and had already studied in school. We thank Mrs. Morris for coordinating the field trip as well as the teachers and parent /drivers for making the experience possible.