Wednesday, September 24, 2014

News for the Week of 9/24/14

Students in Mrs. Jehning's First Grade Class enjoyed stories shared by Molly & Anna's mom.  We are so grateful to all the moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, aunts & uncles, and special friends who make time to share their smiles and talents with us!
Calendar Reminders

Our October School Mass will take place on Friday, October 3 at 9am in the church
.  All are welcome to join us.  Please remember that no physical education uniforms should be worn to Mass.

School will be closed Monday, October 6, for a faculty in-service and Monday, October 13, for Columbus Day.

Hot Lunch Volunteers are Needed! If you have completed your Virtus training and are looking for a great way to share in your child's day, we would welcome your help at hot lunch.  At this time, volunteers are especially needed on the following days -


October 15 - there is only one person signed up

October 20 - there is only one person signed up

October 22 - there are only two people

To sign up to help on these or other days, please click here.


Paul Cryan Photography will be at St. Mary's School on Friday, 9/26/14, to take individual student photos and the class photo for grade 8 only.  Eighth grade students should follow the dress guidelines provided by Mrs. Gillen for these photos.

Again this year, Paul Cryan is available take photos of other St. Mary's students and siblings at photo sessions that will be held on Monday October 20, 2014 at his Avon studio.

Paul Cryan Studios (located next to Riverdale Farms)
40 Avon Meadow Ln,
Avon, CT 06001    (860) 676-1350

Appointments begin at 3:45. Please contact Jennifer Pavlonnis at JPavlonnis@yahoo.com to book your appointments.  ***Photos are of individual students. Offer does not apply to group or family photos.






It's been very busy in Kindergarten! Students in Mr. Cosham's Kindergarten have been especially busy during Guided Reading instruction time! Students have been reading leveled books on their iPads and doing follow up activities (story maps, listing details from the story, illustrating information, etc) to go along with the stories. It is a time when instruction meets the needs of every learner!


"Walk-In Wednesdays" are coming soon!  Do you know someone who is wondering if SMS might be the right place for their family?  Invite them to stop by any Wednesday in October from 9-11:30am to get acquainted and experience a typical day here at school.  No reservation is required but we are happy to make note of expected visitors if people call ahead.  There will also be an Open House for Prospective Families on Wednesday, November 5 at 6:30pm in the Parish Center.  For more information or questions, please contact Angie Connors at aconnors@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.


Students in Mrs. Gore's Fifth Grade learned about the continents, oceans and hemispheres with "Beachball Geography." Students were able to find all of the continents and oceans and determine what hemisphere they were in using globe beach balls.


Lifetouch Photography will return to SMS on Monday, 11/17/14, to take group class photos of grades PreKindergarten, Kindergarten through grade 7.  Formal uniforms will be worn for these group class photos.  On this same day, Lifetouch will take photos of any students that may have been absent on picture day (9/15/14) as well as retakes for anyone not satisfied with their portrait package.  For retakes, please be sure to send in the original photo package.  Students having individual pictures done may bring "business casual" clothes for their photo but will need to be in uniform the rest of the day.



Sign Up Genius for Parent/Teacher Conferences in November is open.  Click here to sign up for your Parent/Teacher Conferences.  Please keep in mind that all conference days are 12:45 early dismissals.  Conference days are Monday, November 10 through Thursday, November 13.  PreKindergarten Enrichment will be available on conference days until 3:20pm but NO AFTERCARE is available.

Grade 8 Fundraising - Thanks to everyone who supported the car wash last Saturday, 9/13/14 - This event raised an astounding $1286 for the Class of 2015!



There's still time to support the Grade 8 bulb fundraiser.  Click here for more information and ordering details.  Your order is requested NLT September 26th.




Sarah Jesses (r), SMS Class of '13
Alumni News - Congratulations to Sarah Jessen, SMS Class of '13!  Sarah, now a sophomore at Northwest Catholic High School, has been selected to participate in the 2014 NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles sponsored by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Sarah will be playing trumpet in the All-National Honor Concert Band. She will join more than 650 of the most musically talented and skilled high school students in the United States to perform at a gala concert on October 29, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee.

If you have alumni  news to share, please send an email to dhatch@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.

Show your St. Mary’s School Pride!  The SMS oval car magnets are back.  They are available to purchase for $5.00 from the school office.  

Home & School Association News



Ladies’ Night Out - Friday, October 3rd!

Registration ends this Friday, September 26th. We hope you can join us for a night of painting and FUN!!  Visit with old friends, make new friends or bring a friend with you.   You will bring home an original wine glass painted by you!  Don't miss out on this exciting night!  
 Click here for more information.




St. Mary's Gardening Club

 Do you have a green thumb? Come help make St. Mary's as colorful on the outside as it is inside! Our first meeting is scheduled on October 16th at 9:00 a.m.  We will be doing a clean up, planting bulbs and sharing our friendship.  Contact Jennifer Pavlonnis at jpavlonnis@yahoo.com if you are interested in being involved!


Trail Walking/Running

We had a great turnout for our first walk and would love for you to join us! Do you like to run or walk on trails, but need a partner to go with while the kids are at school? We meet on Wednesdays right after drop off (8:50 am) at McLean Game Refuge on Salmon Brook Road in Granby (Rt. 10 - Hopmeadow Street becomes Salmon Brook Road when you cross into Granby). We hope to have several groups running and walking various distances and paces. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Lillis at amylillis73@gmail.com.



Thank you to the St. Mary’s School Class of 2013!  We would like to invite you to the dedication and blessing of our new school and parish center sign.  On Sunday, October 26th after the 11am Mass, Father Matera will bless our beautiful new sign.  Please mark your calendars now and join us.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

News for the Week of September 17th

Kindergarten went on a Teddy Bear Hunt!
Searching in 2nd Grade



Graphing those Gummy Bears!
Searching in the office
 On Friday, 9/12/14, Kindergarten formed a search party to look for their missing teddy bears.  Their search took them throughout the whole school building! They searched high and low throughout the classrooms and the main office until they were directed outside where the teddy bears were having fun on the new playground! They shared a picnic lunch with their stuffed animal friends outside on a beautiful day! 


After the picnic lunch, the kindergarteners worked with a math partner and sorted gummy bears into groups and worked together to fill out a graph to show how many of each color gummy bear they had!



Happily Reunited with Teddy Bear Friends

Hot Lunch begins on Friday, 9/19/14.  Hot lunch will be served on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to those that preordered and paid for lunches.  No lunch orders can be accepted at this time.  The next ordering period will occur in December for hot lunches beginning in January 2015.  For more information about our hot lunch program, click here.



Hot Lunch Volunteers Needed!  On our second day of hot lunch, Monday, September 22nd, we only have one person signed up to help!

If you can spare a couple of hours (and have had your Virtus training) please consider signing up for Monday. Please click here to sign up!!





School Board News - The Saint Mary’s School Board is excited to begin our work during the new school year. Our first meeting is scheduled for September 24th at 7:00 pm in the Lower Church. All are welcome to attend our school board meetings. We are looking to enhance the development of our meeting agenda items. With that in mind we would ask that members of the Saint Mary’s community that would like to address the board during the meeting submit those inquiries to the School Board Chair, Claude Howard (claudeoh@gmail.com), for review one week before our scheduled meeting. This will allow us to plan our meetings accordingly. Click here for a list of our upcoming meetings and our current board member roster. 


"Walk-In Wednesdays" are coming soon!  Do you know someone who is wondering if SMS might be the right place for their family?  Invite them to stop by any Wednesday in October from 9-11:30am to get acquainted and experience a typical day here at school.  No reservation is required but we are happy to make note of expected visitors if people call ahead.  There will also be an Open House for Prospective Families on Wednesday, November 5 at 6:30pm in the Parish Center.  For more information or questions, please contact Angie Connors at aconnors@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.


Sign Up Genius for Parent/Teacher Conferences in November is open.  Click here to sign up for your Parent/Teacher Conferences.  Please keep in mind that all conference days are 12:45 early dismissals.  Conference days are Monday, November 10 through Thursday, November 13.  PreKindergarten Enrichment will be available on conference days until 3:20pm but NO AFTERCARE is available.

Show your St. Mary’s School Pride!  The SMS oval car magnets are back.  They are available to purchase for $5.00 from the school office.  They will also be available for purchase at the St. Mary’s HSA Fall Festival. 



Students in Mrs. Gore's Fifth Grade  are learning about the ancient Native American tribes called Mound Builders of the Upper Mississippi River Valley, the Anasazi of the desert southwest and the Inuit of present day Alaska.  They are constructing models of their homes.


Grade 8 Fundraising



The 8th Grade is also having a car wash on Saturday, September 20th from 9am-2pm in the North (Playground) parking lot.  The rain date is 9/27.  Your car will thank you and so does our 8th grade!





Home & School Association News

Fall Festival 

The Fall Festival is this Friday - September 19 from 5:30-8pm!  There will be food, games, arts and crafts and other fun activities.  This is a great opportunity to meet new friends and socialize with our school community.  We will be collecting non perishable foods for the Simsbury Food closet.  They are in need of the following:

toilet paper
coffee and tea (Reg & Decaf)
canned chicken
canned stew
canned or bottled juices
canned fruit
spaghetti sauce
crackers
maple syrup
pancake mix
cereals and oatmeal

Ladies’ Night Out

Registration ends Friday, September 26th. We hope you can join us for a night of painting and FUN!!  Visit with old friends, make new friends or bring a friend with you.   You will bring home an original wine glass painted by you!  Don't miss out on this exciting night!  
 Click here for more information.




St. Mary's Gardening Club

 Do you have a green thumb? Come help make St. Mary's as colorful on the outside as it is inside! Our first meeting is scheduled on October 16th at 9:00 a.m.  We will be doing a clean up, planting bulbs and sharing our friendship.  Contact Jennifer Pavlonnis atjpavlonnis@yahoo.com if you are interested in being involved!

Trail Walking/Running

Do you like to run or walk on trails, but need a partner to go with while the kids are at school?  Come meet at McLean Game Refuge on Salmon Brook Road in Granby (Rt. 10 - Hopmeadow Street becomes Salmon Brook Road when you cross into Granby) on Wednesday mornings right after drop off.  We hope to have several groups running and walking various distances and paces.  Our first walk/ run will be on Wednesday September 17th at 8:50 a.m.  Hope to see you there!  If you have any questions, please contact Amy Lillis at amylillis73@gmail.com




Save the Date - Mark your calendars - Saturday, November 8th is St. Mary's second annual wine and beer tasting event with silent auction. More information to come at a later date.








Students in Miss Kane's PreKindergarten combined the flavors of the season with science to create apple volcanos!  Apples, baking soda, vinegar and cinnamon led to an autumnal eruption!


Help our School Earn Free Educational Equipment - Again this year, we invite you to register your Shoprite customer card designating SMS as your school of choice.  Your purchases help our school earn free educational equipment.  You do need to complete a new registration each year to continue particpating in the program.  Click here to register your card.  Our school code is 18436.




It is also time to register for Stop & Shop's A+ School Rewards.  Click here to complete the annual registration required for this program.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Reminders for Next Week - Monday, 9/15 - Friday, 9/19



A Happy Update - Maggie Domashinski and Father Mike are recovering wonderfully! They may be released as soon as today.

The Domashinski family could use some assistance while Maggie recovers from her incredible gift to Father Mike. St. Catherine's church has a group called Comitas that is handling meals for the family beginning on September 15th. They do not need our help there for now. 

Where they do need help is providing rides for the children as follows:
Transportation home from St. Mary's School in the afternoon will be needed as of 9/15 (Dad will bring the girls to school in AM).

Transportation to & from school will be needed beginning on 9/24 on mornings and afternoons.
If you can help, please email Jennifer Pavlonnis at jpavlonnis@yahoo.com.

Individual Student Photos for Students in Prekindergarten, Kindergarten - Grade 7 will be taken by Lifetouch Photography on Monday, 9/15/14.  A photo will be taken of every student in these grades for publication in our school's yearbook.  Students in grades K-7 may wear "business casual" attire, appropriate for school, on picture day. You do have the opportunity to purchase a photo package if you choose.  An order form was sent home with each student on Friday, September 5th.  If you are purchasing a photo package, the order form and payment should be brought to school on picture day - Monday, 9/15/14.  You may also order and pay online  Click here.    For additional information regarding retakes, make-up photos if a student is absent on Monday and group class photos, click here.
NOTES - Eighth grade students will have their individual student pictures and group class photo taken by Paul Cryan Photography on Friday, 9/26/14.  Group Class Photos for grades Prekindergarten, Kindergarten - 7 will be taken by Lifetouch Photography in November when the formal uniform is being worn.



School Board News - The Saint Mary’s School Board is excited to begin our work during the new school year. Our first meeting is scheduled for September 24th at 7:00 pm in the Lower Church. All are welcome to attend our school board meetings. We are looking to enhance the development of our meeting agenda items. With that in mind we would ask that members of the Saint Mary’s community that would like to address the board during the meeting submit those inquiries to the School Board Chair, Claude Howard (claudeoh@gmail.com), for review one week before our scheduled meeting. This will allow us to plan our meetings accordingly. Click here for a list of our upcoming meetings and our current board member roster. 


Fall Festival 

The Fall Festival is quickly approaching!  Please mark your calendars and save the date for this years event on September 19, 2014 from 5:30 - 8:00 p.m.  There will be food, games, arts and crafts and other fun activities.  This is a great opportunity to meet new friends and socialize with our school community.  We will be collecting non perishable foods for the Simsbury Food closet.  They are in need of the following:

toilet paper
coffee and tea (Reg & Decaf)
canned chicken
canned stew
canned or bottled juices
canned fruit
spaghetti sauce
crackers
maple syrup
pancake mix
cereals and oatme

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

News for the Week of 9/10/14



"Back to School Night" for Parents is tonight - Wednesday, 9/10/14, beginning at 6:30pm in the parish center.

News from Mrs. Gannatti - Mrs. Gannatti has sent out a letter via the family email distribution today (9/10).  If you did not receive this email, please advise Donna Hatch at dhatch@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.


First grade students have begun their Family Life series. Working in cooperative teams, students brainstormed about the qualities of "family" and about what families "do". 

 Individual Student Photos for Students in Prekindergarten, Kindergarten - Grade 7 will be taken by Lifetouch Photography on Monday, 9/15/14.  A photo will be taken of every student in these grades for publication in our school's yearbook.  Students in grades K-7 may wear "business casual" attire, appropriate for school, on picture day. You do have the opportunity to purchase a photo package if you choose.  An order form was sent home with each student on Friday, September 5th.  If you are purchasing a photo package, the order form and payment should be brought to school on picture day - Monday, 9/15/14.   Please do not send in your order and payment before picture day.  You may also order and pay online  Click hereNOTES - Eighth grade students will have their individual student pictures and group class photo taken by Paul Cryan Photography on Friday, 9/26/14.  Group Class Photos for grades Prekindergarten, Kindergarten - 7 will be taken by Lifetouch Photography in November when the formal uniform is being worn.



Senora Puerta's  Spanish Blog is now available.  Click here to access this blog or use the link on the right navigation bar.  Please consider subscribing by email so that you receive a copy of all of her blog posts.


Virtus Training for New Volunteers - All volunteers at SMS are required to complete the Virtus "Protecting God's Children" program and have a background check completed in order to volunteer for any activities at St. Mary's School. This is an Archdiocesan requirement. If you have already done this and submitted your paperwork to the school office, you should be all set. If you have completed this at a previous school, we must have a certificate on file in our office.

If you need to attend a training session, Mrs. Ginny Gore will be holding a training class on Wednesday, September 17th at 6:00pm in the Grade 5 classroom. You may RSVP for this class through Mrs. Gore at vgore@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net or Tammy Budnick at tbudnick@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net. If you are unable to attend this class, you must go to the archdiocesan website (http://www.virtus.org/virtus/) and find a class that is more convenient for you. 

You must provide proof of attendance at a Virtus session and the completed background check form before you can volunteer at school. If you do come to volunteer and you have not obtained the training, we will have to ask you not to volunteer at that time. Please understand that we must follow the guidelines put in place to protect our children.

Show your St. Mary’s School Pride!  The SMS oval car magnets are back.  They are available to purchase for $5.00 from the school office.  They will also be available for purchase at the St. Mary’s HSA Fall Festival. 


Grade 8 Fundraising



The 8th Grade is also having a car wash on Saturday, September 20th from 9am-2pm in the North (Playground) parking lot.  The rain date is 9/27.  Your car will thank you and so does our 8th grade!




School Board NewsThe Saint Mary’s School Board is excited to begin our work during the new school year. Our first meeting is scheduled for September 24th at 7:00 pm in the Lower Church. All are welcome to attend our school board meetings. We are looking to enhance the development of our meeting agenda items. With that in mind we would ask that members of the Saint Mary’s community that would like to address the board during the meeting submit those inquiries to the School Board Chair, Claude Howard (claudeoh@gmail.com), for review one week before our scheduled meeting. This will allow us to plan our meetings accordingly. Click here for a list of our upcoming meetings and our current board member roster.

Home & School Association News

Minutes from the September 4th Home & School Association have been posted to the school's website on the HSA page.  Click here to access the minutes.

It's almost time for the Fall Festival!




Volunteer Handbook - Click here to review the helpful handbook for HSA Volunteers.





Fall Festival 

The Fall Festival is quickly approaching!  Please mark your calendars and save the date for this years event on September 19, 2014 from 5:30 - 8:00 p.m.  There will be food, games, arts and crafts and other fun activities.  This is a great opportunity to meet new friends and socialize with our school community.  We will be collecting non perishable foods for the Simsbury Food closet.  They are in need of the following:

toilet paper
coffee and tea (Reg & Decaf)
canned chicken
canned stew
canned or bottled juices
canned fruit
spaghetti sauce
crackers
maple syrup
pancake mix
cereals and oatmeal

Ladies’ Night Out

We hope you can join us for a night of painting and FUN on October 3rd in the Parish Center!!  Visit with old friends, make new friends or bring a friend with you.   You will bring home an original wine glass painted by you!  Click here for more information.





Collecting Box Tops

Box Tops is such an easy way for parents to get involved in their child’s education. When you purchase Box Top products, simply clip the Box Top coupons and send them into school.  It’s that simple! Saint Mary School will earn cash that can be used to purchase items that will benefit our school. 

You can send Box Tops to school at any time.   The Box Tops will be collected in your child’s classroom.  To learn more about Box Tops and track our school’s progress, you may register on-line at: BoxTops4Education.com.   Thank you for supporting this easy fund raising opportunity.  

HOPES Dinner

The HSA is happy to announce that we have chosen Claude and Michelle Howard as our candidates for the St. John Neumann Award for Volunteer Service.  Claude has served on the school board for the past two years and is currently the Board Chairman.  Michelle has chaired and co-chaired the St. Mary's Auction for the past two years.  These Auctions were fun, community building events that also provided the funds for our beautiful new playground.  The Howard family has also been involved in multiple other events generously offering their time, talents, service and ideas to help strengthen the St. Mary's School community.  We are blessed to have them here.


Book Fair

Mark your calendars!  Our first book fair of the year will be October 7th – 12th in the Parish Center.  This years theme is Sir Readalot’s Castle.  More information to follow as we get closer to the date. 

St. Mary's Gardening Club

 Do you have a green thumb? Come help make St. Mary's as colorful on the outside as it is inside! Our first meeting is scheduled on October 16th at 9:00 a.m.  We will be doing a clean up, planting bulbs and sharing our friendship.  Contact Jennifer Pavlonnis atjpavlonnis@yahoo.com if you are interested in being involved!

Trail Walking/Running

Do you like to run or walk on trails, but need a partner to go with while the kids are at school?  Come meet at McLean Game Refuge on Salmon Brook Road in Granby (Rt. 10 - Hopmeadow Street becomes Salmon Brook Road when you cross into Granby) on Wednesday mornings right after drop off.  We hope to have several groups running and walking various distances and paces.  Our first walk/ run will be on Wednesday September 17th at 8:50 a.m.  Hope to see you there!  If you have any questions, please contact Amy Lillis at amylillis73@gmail.com

CHOICE News -

Dunkin Donuts gift cards are now available in $25 denominations. We will have them in stock for daily sales beginning this Friday. Also, just a reminder that we do have a newer restaurant available, Attilio's/Maple Tree comes in $25's. CHOICE sales are MondayWednesday and Friday mornings from 8:30-9:30am or through "kidmail". Orders sent in through kidmail will be filled on the next scheduled sales day.


An Update from St. Catherine's regarding Father Whyte and his donor - St. Catherine's Parish has shared the following update with us.  We join with this parish in prayers of gratitude and continued requests for a speedy recovery for both Father Whyte and Mrs. Domashinski.

"It is with a great sense of relief, thanksgiving and peace that this news is being sent to you.

Father Michael has had a VERY successful kidney transplant operation and is recovering peacefully and well. Equally our parishioner donor Maggie is also doing very well.

Please understand that due to family privacy sensitivities and personnel limitations daily updates cannot be given. Many thanks for your participation in St. Catherine's Community Prayer event and your ongoing prayers for Fr. Michael and his donor and their families."

If you are interested in helping the Domashinski family with a home cooked meal or transportation assistance for the children, please contact Jen Pavlonnis (jpavlonnis@yahoo.com) or Amy Lillis (amylillis73@gmail.com).

Alumni News - A number of Class of '14 alumni are beginning their high school experiences by participating in a Fall sport.  Click here to see who's playing a sport this fall!  If you have alumni news to share, please send an email to smsoffice@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.  It is our pleasure to share news about our alumni's successes and achievements.


Boys in Grades 1-4 are Invited to Join Cub Scouts!  Join your friends for an amazing year round adventure of scouting.  More information will be shared on Friday, September 12th at 6pm in the Parish Center or contact Luigi Peluso at 860-214-4114 or lpeluso@alixpartners.com.



St. Mary's Parish Invites All Moms -


Dedication of New Sign for School & Parish Center -The new sign that was given to us by the Class of 2013 has been installed and will be dedicated and blessed on Sunday, October 26th after the 11am Mass.  All are welcome to join us for this special ceremony.  We also extend our special invitation to all members of the SMS Class of '13 and their families. If you are in contact with any of these alumni, please share this information with them.

OCS Announces Search for Director of the Connecticut Federation of Catholic School Parents  - An exciting and rewarding opportunity exists for a full-time director, with an office in Hartford, CT, who will be responsible for maintaining a comprehensive statewide parental alliance and legislative advocacy for Catholic schools in Connecticut.  Click here for more information.