Wednesday, January 3, 2018

News for the Week of 1/3/18




Calendar Reminders 

Our January School Mass will be at 9am on Tuesday, 1/9/18.  All are welcome to attend.  Please remember that no PE uniforms should be worn to Mass.

School will be closed on Monday, 1/15/18, in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

Winter Weather Reminders -

SMS follows the Simsbury Public Schools in regard to emergency closures, delayed openings and early closings.  If you hear that the Simsbury Public Schools are closed, opening late or closing early, SMS will be doing the same thing.  A Remind Text will also be sent if delays or closures occur and an announcement will appear on the home page of the school websiteClick here for directions to join our Remind Text community.  It is strongly recommended that all families participate in the Remind Text group.

Winter weather has really settled in!  Additionally, boiler repairs for the middle school classrooms are still pending.  Please be sure your children have appropriate winter clothing.  If the temperature should ever exceed 20 degrees, students will go out for recess.  Snow gear is needed if a child wishes to play in the snow.  Parking lots and sidewalks are plowed and sanded but boots are still needed for snow play.  Until boiler repairs are complete, middle school students may wear their PE uniforms to school and are encouraged to wear either the uniform sweatshirt or school approved spiritwear fleece items.



Upcoming Virtus Sessions - Anyone wishing to volunteer at school must complete Virtus training.  There are two sessions coming up in our area:

1. St. Therese in Granby on Wednesday, 1/10/18, at 6pm
2. St. Brigid in West Hartford on Wednesday, 1/17/18, at 3pm

To register for either of these sessions, click here and then on "First Time Registrant".



Health Office News
Welcome back! With travelling and the opportunity for sleep overs during the time off, schools often see a spike in cases of head lice after a school break, such as the beginning of the school year, after Christmas, and again after spring break.

Parents are the first, middle and last line of defense against head lice. Routine screening at home is far more effective in terms of prevention and early identification than mass screenings in school can ever be. St. Mary’s School and Simsbury School system have followed the lead of the American Pediatric Association and continue to encourage frequent screening at home. For more details, please click here.

My child is not feeling well. Should I keep him/her home?

Regular school attendance is necessary for optimal learning. However, a mere presence at school does not ensure effective learning. A child must be feeling well in order to maximize the learning experience. In addition, a child who is sick and comes to school may help spread the illness to other students and staff. It is recommended that a child remain home if any of the following conditions are present.

1. Temperature of 100 degrees or higher.

2. The need for medication, e.g., Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Motrin, Aleve or other acetominophen, aspirin or NSAID to keep the temperature below 100 degrees.

3. Vomiting and/or diarrhea with a loss of appetite and/or fever.

4. A rash that is itchy and spreading and of unknown causes. The child may return to school after an evaluation by the health care provider.

5. Acute pain that requires narcotic medication for relief.


Advancement News

January is Jumping at St. Mary’s School! Take the leap to learn more about the advantages of a Catholic Education! Click here to visit our website.

Take a Tour: Walk in Wednesdays, January 3rd thru January 31st - Drop in on a Wednesday anytime between 9:00am & 11:00am and see our classrooms in action.

Sunday Open House: January 28th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm – Meet staff, faculty, current parents and students and alumni. Featuring workshops for both parents and children in coding and cursive!

Fairy Tale Fridays: Have a 3 or young 4 year old and thinking about Prekindergarten? Come in for story time and nursery rhymes from 9 to 9:45am on any Friday in January for fun activities for child accompanied by parent or caregiver and take a peek at life as a Prekindergarten student at St. Mary’s School! Starts January 5th!

For more information or to register for any of these events please contact Toni Chagnon at 860-658-9412 or tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net




Come Grow With Us - In conjunction with the launch of our Come Grow With Us campaign, we are excited to share our new open house referral program and our new open house format




Our next open house is scheduled for January 28, 2018!
 …a new format, a new day, a new experience!  
Be rewarded for referring prospective families to the January open house.

New Day:  Sunday afternoon, 1/28/18, from 2 - 4pm instead of a weeknight
New Format: New voluntary break-out sessions for prospective families to sign up and attend. Break out sessions include cursive handwriting and Dot & Dash coding.
New Experience:  More interaction, more visually stimulating/hands-on activities, more time showcasing our uniqueness real time with integrated use of technology
New Open House Referral Program:  Simply share your referral family via the referral link below and include their contact information in the confidential sign up section.  The Advancement Office will invite them to the January open house.  If they attend in person, your family will receive $25 in spirit wear credit!

Click here for New Open House Referral Link

You are our best advocates and we welcome you sharing your St. Mary’s story in whatever way you can.

Check Us Out on SCTV!  Our St. Mary's School interview with State Representative (and SMS alum) John Hampton is currently live on YouTube!   Click hereThroughout the month of January, our program will also broadcast periodically on SCTV channels.  Click here for specific programming information.


Last Chance - Our Cookbook Needs Your Recipes!  So far, we have only received about 15 recipes for our new community cookbook.  In order to have a successful book, we need about 150.  *Recipes need to be submitted no later than January 6th. Our plan and goal has been to  have the cookbook available for sale late February and feature it at our Annual Art Show on February 23rd.  If we do not receive enough submissions, we will "table" this project due to lack of interest.

Recipes can be emailed as a photo attachment, typed into a submission form or handwritten on a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.  Click here for the link to the recipe form. All  recipes can be emailed to tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net or dropped off in the office.  

Snow Day Fun!  "Cut out" cabin fever & earn money for SMS with this fun Box Tops for Education collection sheet. Click here to download and print yours.  Box Tops may be sent into classrooms at any time!



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