News for the week of 12/12/12

December is a busy month. Please be sure to check the school calendar regularly. Here are some important dates to remember -

 

Band & Chorus Christmas Concert - Thursday, December 13th. 2pm Dress Rehearsal (Both Band & Chorus will perform); 7pm Performance in the Parish Center - Band Students, click here for guidelines regarding concert dress, arrival time & deportment. Chorus students that are not in the band should follow Mrs. Lepak's directions regarding arrival time and gathering spot and wear red, green or white tops with black bottoms.

Lessons & Carols - Tuesday, December 18th. 10am Dress Rehearsal; 7pm Evening Presentation in the Church -  This annual SMS Christmas tradition is a mandatory part of our students' Religion curriculum.  All students, grades Kindergarten through 8 are expected to attend this prayer service.  If an excused absence is required for an unavoidable reason, please contact Mrs. Gannatti.

The 10am presentation is a full dress rehearsal and is the perfect opportunity for photos.  The church is generally much less crowded and the lighting is more conducive to photography.  There is room for young guests to wiggle in the pews.

Students in grades Kindergarten and 8 should follow teachers' directions regarding dress  for daytime and evening presentations.  All other students (grades 1-7) should wear their full formal uniform for both the day and evening presentations.  No sweatshirts or school athletic apparel should be worn.  Please make every effort to assure your child(ren)'s formal uniform(s) for this day is(are) clean and tidy.  Boys should have belts with trousers.  No sneakers should be worn.  School sweater vest or cardigan is acceptable. No physical education uniforms should be worn to school on 12/18. Students in Kindergarten and grade 8 should report to the lower church no earlier than 6:30pm for the evening presentation.  All other students (grades 1-7) should report to the Church no earlier than 6:30pm.  Homeroom teachers will be waiting for them in their assigned pews. 

Doors of the church will be open for seating at 6:30pm.  Please keep in mind that the first 6 pews on the right side (when entering from Hopmeadow Street entrance of the church) are reserved for the parents and guests of our 8th grade students.  This is a traditional "gift" to our graduating families.  The first  pew on the left side is reserved for the family that had the winning bid at last year's H.S.A. auction.

As was the case last year, dismissal after Lessons & Carols will take place from the Church.

Grades 3 & 4 Reminder regarding Mass at the Cathedral - Students in grades 3 and 4 will attend a celebratory Mass on Wednesday, December 19th at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hartford in honor of the 50th anniversary of Archbishop Mansell's ordination.  All students in grades 3 & 4 should wear a clean and tidy formal uniform and have a bagged lunch for this day.

12:45 Early Dismissal for Christmas Break - Friday, December 21st. No PreK Enrichment or Aftercare available.

Middle School iPads will remain at school over Christmas vacation.  Any students that will be leaving early to begin the Christmas break are requested to turn in their iPads to Mrs. Hatch at dismissal on their last day of attendance before the Christmas vacation.  Students should put a "sticky note" on the iPad with their name and passcode.

School reopens on Wednesday, January 2nd & our celebration of Catholic Schools' Month begins! Please keep in mind that Before Care will not be available when school resumes in January.

Parent Meeting regarding Internet Safety - We have arranged for Officer Dunne from the Simsbury Police Department to join us on Monday, February 4, 2013 at 7pm in the Parish Center to discuss internet safety.  Due to the importance of this topic and it’s direct impact on our children, we are asking that you consider attendance at this meeting a mandatory commitment for at least one
parent/guardian from each family.  Middle school students are encouraged to attend as well.

Everyone looks fabulous dressed in SMS Athletic Wear!  Order yours today!

SMS Athletic Apparel is available! The Booster Club will accept orders for SMS athletic apparel from Vincent's for the remainder of the school year. An order will be sent in on the last Friday of every month. A crew cut sweatshirt (sweatshirt without the hood) is now available to purchase.  This sweatshirt may be worn with any of our school uniforms by all students. The order form will be updated to show this new item soon.  Until the order form is updated, please contact ADirector@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net to place an order for the crew neck sweatshirt.  All other items may be ordered via the order form.  Click here for order form.

HSA News

Thank you to everyone who helped make Parents Night Out a fun evening for the children as well as the parents. Special thanks to Nancy Figulski, Cherith Sullivan, Blair Wlochowski, Andrea Wlochowski, Rich Kuziak and Scott Glazier.

CHOICE News

CHOICE Statements will come home with your youngest or only child on Friday, 12/14/12. These statements will show you how much your family has earned toward its CHOICE commitment as of November 30th.  Just a reminder that you have until April 30, 2013 to complete your CHOICE commitment.

CHOICE gift cards make great Christmas gifts, grab bag gifts and donations! Lots of great cards are available for daily purchase. Vendors normally in stock include area grocery stores like Fitzgeralds, Stop & Shop, Geisslers and Big Y, restaurants like the Max Restaurant group, Joe Pizza and Little City, "one size fits all" gifts to places like Dicks and Barnes & Nobles, treats like Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks and One Bite and those one stop shops like Walmart and Target.