News for the Week of 2/17/16

Making up our Snow Day - We will make up the Friday, 2/5, snow day on Thursday, June 9th. June 9th will be our last day of school (unless we have more snow days) and will be a 12:45pm early dismissal day with NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare. Wednesday, June 8th, will be a regular full day of school with PreK Enrichment and Aftercare. At this time, we are still planning that school will be closed on Easter Monday, 3/28/16.

Hot Lunch Order Period for April-June is open now.  All orders and payments are due NLT  Friday, March 4th.  Late orders CANNOT be accepted. Click here for a hot lunch order form.

Walk In Wednesdays are back! Starting March 2, 2016 from 9:30am to 11:30am. Come take a look in our classrooms, meet our faculty and staff, and see all of the advantages a Catholic education has to offer. RSVP to Toni Chagnon at tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net or 860-658-9412 .

House of Bread Service Project - Lunch for 300!

This month,as part of our Lenten observance during the Holy Year of Mercy and as part of our continuing partnership with the House of Bread, the 8th Grade will spearhead a project that will make a brown bag lunch for 300 children. The House of Bread makes these lunches every Friday and hands them out at the local Boys and Girls Clubs.

On Friday, February 26th, the 8th grade will be assembling these lunches. We are hoping that school wide, we will be able to gather all the items needed to complete them. 

We are grateful for any help you could be in helping us gather the following items for this project:

35 loaves of bread (whole wheat or white)

7 packages brown lunch bags (50 count each)

4 boxes sandwich bags (100 count each)

27 boxes of granola bars (12 bars per box)

17 boxes of clementines

4 packages of napkins (100 each)

40 packages of juice boxes (8 boxes per package)

The 8th grade, along with Home and School will provide the sandwich materials necessary. All items must be sent to school by Thursday, February 25th to ensure we have enough for 300 children. If you would like to contribute an item, or for any questions, please contact Maribeth Mortillaro at Mortillaroj@comcast.net.

Thanks in advance for your help with this project!

NEW Altar Server Training

Are you interested in becoming an Altar Server for Saint Mary's?

All students in 4th grade and above are invited to attend our yearly training program. There will be four training sessions on the following Saturdays from 1:30-2:30pm in the Church:

February 20, 27, March 5,12

Candidates must attend all four sessions. Please contact the Parish Office (860-658-7627) or Diana Kalamarides (ServerLeader@StMarySimsbury.org) with any questions. 

Altar Serving is a great way to grow closer to God and serve our community. We hope you will consider joining us in this ministry. 

 Munson's Fundraiser!!  ORDERS DUE NLT THIS FRIDAY!

The 7th Grade class invites you to participate in their Munson's Chocolates Fundraiser to benefit the class trip to Boston.  Extra order forms are available in the school office if you have mislaid the one that was sent home. All orders and payments are due NLT this Friday, 2/19/16.  Pick up will be during March Parent/Teacher Conferences. Please plan to purchase your Easter candy, chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans through our fundraiser. The cost of the candy is the same price as at the local Munson's retail shop. Thank you in advance for your support!

Students in Mrs. Jehning's First Grade celebrated Valentine's Day last week.

March Parent/Teacher Conferences are right around the corner!  Conferences will be held from Monday, March 7 - Wednesday, March 9.  Each of these will be a 12:45 early dismissal with NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare.  

If you do not sign up for a conference, NO conference will be assigned for you.  If a teacher feels a conference is needed and you have not signed up, the teacher will be in touch with you to schedule a time. Click here to sign up for conferences or use the Conference Sign Up tab that appears at the top of the blog.  Thursday, March 10 and Friday, March 11 will be regular full days of school with both PreK Enrichment and Aftercare available.

The Saint Mary’s School Board Nominating Committee has started our process to identify potential school board members for next year. Potential candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by someone else. There is no requirement for board members to have children at Saint Mary’s School. We want to ensure we have the best talent serving on the board. The needs we will be looking to address for the upcoming term will include individuals with a financial or CPA background skills or individuals with skills focused on marketing, project management and strategic planning. Potential candidates must believe in and support Catholic education and be willing to serve a three year term. If you are interested in being considered to serve on the School Board, please contact Claude Howard at claudeoh@gmail.com. In your e-mail, please include information about your Parish (Town), Occupation, if you have or had students at Saint Mary’s School and the specific talents you will make available to the board.

The 2016 Talent Show is Coming! Audition Sign Ups are due NLT this Friday, 2/19!   Click here for a form to audition for the Talent Show.Students that have signed up will be auditioning between February 22 - 26.

The Talent Show is scheduled for Wednesday, March 30th, from 6-8:30pm in the Parish Center.

Tired of the winter weather! Are you dreaming about Golf?? Mark your calendars for our annual Fairway to Heaven Golf Tournament at the Hop Meadow Country Club in Simsbury on Tuesday, May 24, 2016.

Alumni News - We are proud to share that a number of SMS Alums have made the First Semester Honor Roll at Northwest Catholic High School.  Our congratulations to:

Mary Elizabeth Budnick, Avery Hatch, Abigail Herron, Ann O'Meara, Matthew Sottile and Samuel Spak, all SMS Class of '12 on achieving First Honors for the first semester of their senior year.

Brett Baker, Regina Chappano, Gabriela Doskos, Katherine & Sarah Jessen, Christopher Poniatowski and Allyson Voelker, all SMS Class of '13, on achieving First Honors for the first semester of their junior year.

Aaron Belletsky, Kathryn Krocheski, James & John Sullivan, all SMS Class of '14, on achieving First Honors for the first semester of their sophomore year.

Olivia Chappano, Joanna Kuziak, Emma Schumaker and Lindsey Voelker, all SMS Class of '15, on achieving First Honors for the first semester of their freshman year.

Christian Heiden and Jessica Nunez, SMS Class of '13, on achieving Second Honors for the first semester of their junior year.

Caroline O'Meara and Brendan Wlochowski, SMS Class of '14, on achieving Second Honors for the first semester of their sophomore year.

Caleb Budnick, SMS Class of '14, on achieving Honorable Mention for the first semester of his sophomore year.

We also extend our congratulations to Marty Wall, SMS Class of '15, on achieving the honor roll at Xavier High School for the second quarter.

If you have alumni news to share, please send it to dhatch@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.  We love to hear about and share the accomplishments and milestones of our alumni.