News for the week of 1-31-13

Can you believe that Catholic Schools' Month is almost over?  We hope you will join us in closing out this special month at Mass on Friday, 2-1-13, at 9am.  Since Mass begins at 9, please make every effort to have your children at school on time.  If you arrive at 8:55 or later, please escort your child(ren) directly to the church and meet Mrs. Gannatti in the rear of the church. Please remember that no physical education uniforms should be worn to Mass.

Students in Kindergarten & grade 1 will be receiving a bright yellow fleece scarf to celebrate National School Choice Week. SchoolChoiceWeek.com is a diverse and non-partisan group that encourages special events and activities to highlight the importance of school choice.  National School Choice Week believes that parents should be empowered to choose the best educational environments for their children and supports a variety of school choice options. The mission of SchoolChoiceWeek.com dovetails nicely with our own celebration of Catholic Schools' Month. Ten extra scarves will be raffled off at the end of the week.  Interested students should stop by the school office to fill out an entry slip.

February will be a busy month!  Please read on for important details.

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 its 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.

March Parent/Teacher Conferences - Sign up for these conferences will be available at the Internet Safety Meeting.  March Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday, 3/18, Tuesday, 3/19, Thursday, 3/21 and Friday, 3/22.  School is closed on Wednesday, 3/20 for the annual Diocesan Faculty Retreat.  School will be dismissed at 12:45 on each of these days and there will be no Prekindergarten Enrichment or Aftercare. Unlike the Fall Parent/Teacher conferences, these conferences are not required for all students.  Conference times will be assigned to those families that signup for a conference slot.  If you do not sign up for a conference, none will be assigned to you.  If you do not sign up and your child's teacher feels a conference is necessary, he/she will contact you to arrange a conference day and time.  Parents with students in Mrs. Raymond's Honors Math & Algebra I classes, please be aware that Mrs. Raymond will be available for conferences in person at SMS on Monday (3/18) and Tuesday (3/19).  She is not available on Thursday, 3/21 and is only available during the first conference rotation on Friday, 3/22, from 1:30 2:20, via SKYPE.

Due to the snow day on 1-16-13 and the weather related cancellations on 1-23-13 and 1-30-13, Ski & Snowboard Club  will be extended three more weeks and will meet on 2-6-13, 2-13-13 and 2-27-13. February 20th is part of our winter vacation week, so the club will not meet on that date.

The Home & School Association Auction is only about 7 days away!  This event will be held on Saturday, 2-9-13, at 6pm at the beautiful Riverview in Simsbury. We are "Racing into the Future"!! Are you saddled up and ready to join us?

• Have you purchased your tickets? Click here for an invitation. Just fill it out and send it in to Tammy Budnick in the school office with your payment.  Checks should be made payable to St. Mary's H.S.A.  Please write "auction tickets" in your memo section.
• If you have been at St. Mary's for years, consider inviting a new family to sit at your table! If you are a new family, don't be shy!! Tammy Budnick will be happy to find the right table for you!
• We are encouraging everyone to dress in theme. So find a Derby hat and a bow tie and you will be all set. Shhh...there will be a prize for the "best" hat. Will it be the biggest, prettiest, most creative, smallest...
• Did you know that the proceeds from the auction are going toward a new playground? 

Here are just a few items we have for bidding on:

Your Valentine's Day plans will be set if you bid on the Rose & Champagne Sleigh Ride for 2

Foursome of Golf

Spa day

Kate Spade Bag

"Stars Above" Quilt dedicated to Sandy Hook

Saige, The 2013 Girl of the Year from American Girl

Vera Bradley

Alex and Ani

and so much more!!!

Here is our night's agenda:

6:00pm – 7:30pm	Check In, Cocktail Hour, Photo Op, Silent Auction Open
6:00pm – 8:20pm	Race Betting and Raffle Sales
7:30pm – 9:00pm	Dinner Stations Open
8:00pm	First Silent Auction Close
8:15pm	Second Silent Auction Close
8:20pm	Race Betting and Raffles Close
8:30pm – 9:00pm	Horse Races
9:00pm	Raise Your Paddle
9:00pm - 10:00pm	Live Auction
10:15pm – 11:00pm	Check out

St. Mary's School 2012-2013 Yearbook is available for pre-order sales only! Our children are having an amazing year with wonderful memories being made each day.  This is your chance to help keep those memories alive for years to come.  The 2012-13 yearbook will include photos of every student from Pre-K through the 8th grade. This is a great way for you and your child to celebrate the happy times & momentous occasions that occurred through out the year, from little shepherds and angels, to Shakespearean drama plus much more!  The yearbook must be ordered in advance and costs only $28.00. Orders will be accepted until March 28th. If you place your order by February 28th, your name will be entered into a drawing for an SMS Butter Braid, Cookie dough, and Munson's Chocolate Easter Basket, donated by the class of 2013!  You can place a credit card order on line today on Lifetouch's secure website at http://ybpay.lifetouch.com.  Just enter our school code 9415313 and follow the simple instructions.  If you prefer cash or check, please click here for an order form. 

Grade 8 Fundraising - It's that yummy time again! It's time to order your Butter Braids & Munson's Chocolates! Order forms will be sent home this Friday with your youngest or only child.  All orders must be submitted NLT 2/15/13.  Butter Braids and Munson's Chocolates must be paid for separately (i.e., one check for your Butter Braids, one check for your Munson's chocolates)  Checks should be made payable to St. Mary's 8th Grade.  Mark your memo section either "Butter Braids" or "Munson's Chocolates".  Orders will be available for pickup on March 13th.  Pickup times will be announced soon.  Thanks in advance for your support.  Questions should be directed to Grace Petrarca at 860-601-8487 or gshp@aol.com. 

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 13th. We will attend the 12:15pm Parish Mass. Please remember that no Physical Education uniforms should be worn to Mass.

Our School Mass schedule for the remainder of the school year is as follows:

Friday, March 1

Friday, April  5
Friday, May 3
Friday, June 7 - Join us at Mass at 10am as we celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2013 and bless them on their way!

All Masses are at 9am unless otherwise noted.

Home & School Association News -

HSA is looking for a few people to join the Nominating Committee to help fill positions on next year's HSA Executive Board. If you are interested in learning more about either the Nominating Committee or the positions on the Executive Board, please contact Jude Zanelli-Krocheskijudez.krocheski@att.net or Susan Glazier susan.glazier@comcast.net. 

Box Tops For Education – Have you sent in any Box Tops lately? Don’t forget to keep clipping. The next contest deadline is Friday, February 15^th. The class with the most Box Tops will win the privilege of enjoying extra recess time with their classmates. Additionally, the winning class's teacher will receive a gift certificate to purchase something for their classroom. Please mark your envelope "Box Tops Grade ____." Contact Amy Lillis at amylillis73@gmail.com with any questions.

In just the blink of an eye, it will be time for our February vacation from Monday, 2-18-13 through Friday, 2-22-13!

The Kindergarten Class celebrated the last week of Catholic Schools' Month in a unique way...they made apple pie! Not just any apple pie...Mrs. Hatch came in to help the students discover the world by using Google Earth on their iPads to gather the ingredients for apple pie. Their journey around the world was guided by the book, How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, After their "virtual trip", the baking began! The apple pies were sent home with the children as a thank you gift to their parents for sending them to Saint Mary's School.  Special thanks to the parents who came in to help our young bakers, to Mrs. Williams for baking all the pies and to Mrs. Tomasello for making everyone an apron so uniforms stayed tidy & clean!  To see even more photos, click here.

Ski & Snowboard Club is cancelled for today, 1-30-13

 

Ski & Snowboard Club has been cancelled for today, 1-30-13. Ski Sundown will be closing today at noon due to the possibility of heavy rains, thunderstorms and high winds. An additional date will be added to this club's schedule to make up for today's cancellation. Remaining dates are: 2/6, 2/13, and 2/27 (2/20 is part of winter vacation).

Our Weekly Blog Post will be published on Thursday this week since Mrs.Gannatti is out of the office today.

Early Dismissal on Monday, 1/28/13, due to expected winter weather.

School will be dismissed early today (Monday, 1/28/13) at 12:45pm due to expected winter weather.  There will be no Prek Enrichment or Aftercare.

News for the Week of 1-23-13

School Calendar Update -  School will be open for a full day on Monday, April 1, 2013 to make up a snow day.  Please make note of this important calendar change.

School Mass Schedule - Please mark your calendars with the following dates for school Masses.  All Masses are at 9am in the Church unless otherwise noted.  Everyone is always welcome to join us in worship.  Please remember that no physical education uniforms should be worn to Mass.

Friday, February 1 - Join us at Mass as we end our celebration of Catholic Schools' Month
Wednesday, February 13 at 12:15 - Join us on Ash Wednesday as Lent begins at the Parish Mass
Friday, March 1
Friday, April  5
Friday, May 3
Friday, June 7 - Join us at Mass at 10am as we celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2013 and bless them on their way!

Student Directory Update - Please update your Student Directories with a new email for the Becconsall family.  Their new email is becc1@att.net.

iPad Reminder -  Several student iPads have now suffered cracked screens due to transportation in backpacks.  It is our strong recommendation that students carry their iPads to and from home in their hands rather than in a backpack.  We realize these means extra care needs to be taken getting on and off the bus, etc..  The location and type of crack suggest that the damage is occurring when backpacks are shrugged off onto the floor and impact occurs. 

Report Cards will be distributed on Friday, 1-25-12.

A new Hot Lunch Volunteer schedule for February - May 3rd has been posted to the Hot Lunch page of the school website.  Click here.

A new Library Volunteer schedule for the remainder of the school year has been posted to the Downloads page of the school website.  Click here.

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 its 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.

March Parent/Teacher Conferences - Sign up for these conferences will be available at the Internet Safety Meeting.  March Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday, 3/18, Tuesday, 3/19, Thursday, 3/21 and Friday, 3/22.  School is closed on Wednesday, 1/20 for the annual Diocesan Faculty Retreat.  School will be dismissed at 12:45 on each of these days and there will be no Prekindergarten Enrichment or Aftercare. Unlike the Fall Parent/Teacher conferences, these conferences are not required for all students.  Conference times will be assigned to those families that signup for a conference slot.  If you do not sign up for a conference, none will be assigned to you.  If you do not sign up and your child's teacher feels a conference is necessary, he/she will contact you to arrange a conference day and time.

Due to the snow day on 1-16-13 and the cancellation due to the extremely cold temperatures on 1-23-13, Ski & Snowboard Club  will be extended two more weeks and will meet on 2-6-13 and 2-13-13.

The Home & School Association Auction will be held on Saturday, 2-9-13, at 6pm at the beautiful Riverview in Simsbury. Ladies, do you have your Derby hat?! Gentleman, is your bow tie picked out?! Be sure to get your tickets!   Click here to order your tickets.

Last call for auction items!! We would love to include your item in our program. In order to make sure it is, we need to have it ASAP. Kindly bring them to the school office or contact Michelle or Kimberly to pick them up.

We have some great items! Here is just a preview:

Horse Drawn Sleigh Ride-Be the ultimate valentine!! Whisk her away on a romantic 'Rose & Champagne' sleigh ride for 2 at Wood Acres Farm in Terryville. Call right away and let them know if you want to ride on February 14 or 15, 2013. Then come home and snuggle up under a handmade Irish knit blanket while you enjoy some gourmet cocoa & truffles or indulge in a nice bottle of champagne. To top it all off the basket includes a little blue box (sterling silver open heart pendant from Tiffany & Co.) to give your valentine.
Vera Bradley
Pandora
Alex & Ani
Saige 2013 American Girl doll
NY Giants tickets
Red Sox Tickets
Week stay in Newport, RI
Handmade rosary
Overnight stay and dinner at Mohegan Sun
Polish Stoneware
Weekend in Newburyport, MA
Framed poster of NY Jets #24 Darelle Revis
Golf Foursome
And much, much more.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 13th. We will attend the 12:15pm Parish Mass. Please remember that no Physical Education uniforms should be worn to Mass.

Home & School Association News -

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help at Family Pizza Lunch last week. The students had a great time having lunch with their families. Special thanks to Jennifer Pavlonnis, Lora Monroe, Kristin Potter, Kimberly Bryant, Mary Chappano, Pam Carter, Mary Clark, Dawn Conde, Margaret Hark, Mary Sirianni, Maggie Domashinski, Michele Hughes, Karen McKenna and Michelle Howard for helping out during the event.

HSA is looking for a few people to join the Nominating Committee to help fill positions on next year's HSA Executive Board. If you are interested in learning more about either the Nominating Committee or the positions on the Executive Board, please contact Jude Zanelli-Krocheski judez.krocheski@att.net or Susan Glazier susan.glazier@comcast.net.

Box Tops For Education – Have you sent in any Box Tops lately? Don’t forget to keep clipping. The next contest deadline is Friday, February 15^th. The class with the most Box Tops will win the privilege of enjoying extra recess time with their classmates. Additionally, the winning class's teacher will receive a gift certificate to purchase something for their classroom. Please mark your envelope "Box Tops Grade ____." Contact Amy Lillis at amylillis73@gmail.com with any questions.

In just the blink of an eye, it will be time for our February vacation from Monday, 2-18-13 through Friday, 2-22-13!

iPad Artist - Sarah in Grade 8 is the creator of this fabulous piece of art, done entirely on her iPad.  Thanks for sharing, Sarah!

Ski & Snowboard Club is cancelled on 1-23-13



Due to the extremely cold temperatures and wind chill, Ski and Snowboard Club has been cancelled for Wednesday, 1-23-13.  The club will meet on Wednesday, 2-13-13, to make up for this cancellation.  Wednesday, 2-6-13, will be the makeup date for last week's snow day cancellation.

News for the Week of 1-17-13

Our Celebration of Catholic Schools' Month Continues!

 

Today was our annual Family Pizza Lunch.  It was great to see so many of you sharing lunch with your favorite SMS student(s)!  Click here for more photos.

On Friday, 1-18-13, students in grades Kindergarten - 4 will visit with author, Janice Hechter. Ms. Hechter lives in Farmington and has illustrated at least four children's books. She holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Her book Hooray for Heroes was a National Best Book Award Winner in 2010. Ms. Hechter will be chatting with students about what an illustrator does and other topics related to this and read from her book The Great Elephant Escape. She will discuss the actual true story upon which her book is based.

Monday, 1-21-13, school is closed for Martin Luther King Day.

Wednesday, 1-23-13, we are hosting an Open House for Prospective Families at 6:30pm in the Parish Center.  If you know someone who has wondered if SMS is the right place for their family, please encourage them to attend.  They may call Donna Hatch or Tammy Budnick to RSVP or with any questions - 860.658.9412.

Report Cards will be distributed on Friday, 1-25-12.

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 its 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.

Due to this week's snow day on 1-16-13, Ski & Snowboard Club will be extended one more week and will meet on 2-6-13.

The Home & School Association Auction will be held on Saturday, 2-9-13, at 6pm at the beautiful Riverview in Simsbury.  Ladies, do you have your Derby hat?! Gentleman, is your bow tie picked out?!

Last call for auction items!! We would love to include your item in our program. In order to make sure it is, we need to have it ASAP. Kindly bring them to the school office or contact Michelle or Kimberly to pick them up.

We have some great items! Here is just a preview:

Horse Drawn Sleigh Ride-Be the ultimate valentine!! Whisk her away on a romantic 'Rose & Champagne' sleigh ride for 2 at Wood Acres Farm in Terryville. Call right away and let them know if you want to ride on February 14 or 15, 2013. Then come home and snuggle up under a handmade Irish knit blanket while you enjoy some gourmet cocoa & truffles or indulge in a nice bottle of champagne. To top it all off the basket includes a little blue box (sterling silver open heart pendant from Tiffany & Co.) to give your valentine.
Vera Bradley
Pandora
Alex & Ani
Saige 2013 American Girl doll
NY Giants tickets
Red Sox Tickets
Week stay in Newport, RI
Handmade rosary
Overnight stay and dinner at Mohegan Sun
Polish Stoneware
Weekend in Newburyport, MA
Framed poster of NY Jets #24 Darelle Revis
Golf Foursome

And much, much more.  Click here to order your tickets.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 13th.  We will attend the 12:15pm Parish Mass.  Please remember that no Physical Education uniforms should be worn to Mass.

Box Tops For Education – Have you sent in any Box Tops lately?  Don’t forget to keep clipping.  The next contest deadline is Friday, February 15^th.  The class with the most Box Tops will win the privilege of enjoying extra recess time with their classmates. Additionally, the winning class's teacher will receive a gift certificate to purchase something for their classroom. Please mark your envelope "Box Tops Grade ____." Contact Amy Lillis at amylillis73@gmail.com with any questions.

In just the blink of an eye, it will be time for our February vacation from Monday, 2-18-13 through Friday, 2-22-13!

The Office of Catholic Schools has announced that they are searching for a full time Director of the Connecticut Federation of Catholic School Parents.  Click here for more information. 

Grade 8 Fundraising - Again this year, 8th grade is recycling used ink and toner cartridges.  Cartridges may be dropped off at the school office.

Discovery 3M has announced that it is accepting entries for this year's Young Scientist Challenge.  This Challenge is open to students in grades 5-8.  Ten national finalists will have the opportunity to work directly with a 3M scientist in an exclusive summer mentorship program and bring their innovative ideas to life. One lucky student has the chance to win: $25,000, a once-in-a-lifetime trip with Discovery Student Adventures, and many more exciting prizes. Jeff Shook, one of our Middle School Science teachers, is happy to assist any interested students. To learn more, click here.

ROPE (Right of Passage Experience) 2013 has begun for our seventh grade students with a parent meeting on 1-17-13 from 7-8pm.  The next meeting will be for Opening Prayers on 1-21-13 from 6-8pm. A full schedule for this program appears on Mr. Walsh's Teacher Page.  Click here.

Grade 6 literature circles are doing a great job integrating iPad technology.  While reading Diary of Anne Frank, iPads were used to locate Anne's hiding place.

School is Closed - Wednesday, 1-16-13

Due to the winter weather, school is closed today - Wednesday, 1-16-13. Have a safe and happy snow day!

Don't forget - the Family Pizza Lunch will be held tomorrow. We are looking forward to see you there! The lunch schedule for Family Pizza Lunch is as follows:

11:15am - 11:45am -- PreK, K--Grade 2

11:55am - 12:25pm -- Grade 3--Grade 5

12:30pm - 1:00pm -- Grade 6--8

If you didn't place an order for a pizza lunch, please feel free to join us anyway! Bring a brown bag lunch and enjoy the time with your child(ren).

News for the week of 1-9-13

Our celebration of Catholic Schools' Month continues!

Friday, 1-11-3, is Student Appreciation Day. The Home & School Association will provide a free ice pop dessert to all students. Ms. Stacy Dekeyser, author of The Brixen Witch, will visit with students at 9am in the Parish Center and sign copies of her book. Click here for a book order form.

On Monday, 1-14-13, there will be a School Board Meeting at 7pm in the Lower Church.

Wednesday, 1-16-13, is our annual Family Pizza Lunch.  This year, all pizza lunches had to be preordered.  If you did not order a pizza lunch but would like to join your favorite student(s) for lunch, please bring a brown bag lunch and come and join the fun!

School Security Review Continues- We are pleased to share that Mr. Patrick Chagnon has agreed to work with us to review our facility and existing security procedures and offer us advice.  Father of Cici in grade 4, Mr. Chagnon founded BLUELINE Risk Mitigation Group, LLC in 2009 with the intent of providing quality professional security solutions to clients seeking customized services to fit their needs. With over 30 years of combined military, law enforcement, and security related experience; Mr. Chagnon has developed a trustworthy reputation and worldwide contacts. He is a retired law enforcement professional serving over 22 years within the Connecticut State Police Department, his last six years was with the Office of Counter Terrorism. Initially working with the Statewide Anti-Terrorism Task Force, he then became the Department of Public Safety Counter Terrorism Training Coordinator, working with State Homeland Security (DEMHS), Police Officers Standards and Training Council, Connecticut State Police Academy and Private Sector organizations. In addition to that, he often assisted with the State Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit in the Risk Management Assessment process within the State of Connecticut. For more information about Mr. Chagnon's experience and expertise, you may visit the BLUELINE Risk Mitigation Group website.  Click here.  Over the next several weeks, Mr. Chagnon will make periodic visits to school to observe our daily routines and procedures.  He is also reviewing our school's crisis plan.  Once his observations and review are complete, he will provide us with a report outlining his recommendations.  We are grateful for his assistance.

Sharing the Good News about Catholic Education -  Several of our students participated in the recording of a radio ad for the Archdiocesan Office of Radio and Television sharing what they love about our school.  This recording was made at the Office of Radio and Television on Monday, 1-7-13. Thanks to Ally and Lindsay Voelker and Mikayla and Madelyn Zordan for participating.  Be listening for this ad on WJMJ beginning on Friday, 1-11-13.

Tickets to the Home & School Association Auction on 2-9-13 are now available.  To purchase using a credit card, click here.  If you prefer to pay by cash or check, click here for a printable order form that can be sent to the school office.

Donations for silent & live auction are still being accepted.  Click here for more information.

Box Tops for Education - Send in your Box Tops now! Have you sent in any Box Tops lately? Don’t forget to keep clipping. The next contest deadline is Friday, February 15th. The class with the most Box Tops will win the privilege of enjoying extra recess time with their classmates. Additionally, the winning class's teacher will receive a gift certificate to purchase something for their classroom. Please mark your envelope "Box Tops Grade ____". Contact Amy Lillis at amylillis73@gmail.com with any questions.

Experiential Learning - Applying concepts to increase understanding -

As part of a simulation in Algebra 1, students pretended  that our school was contacted to help people living in a remote area of the Amazon who are in need of malaria medicine. Students needed to design a low-cost, insulated structure that was rugged enough to support transport of medicine (simulated by an egg).  This enrichment program is from the Boston Museum of Science and reinforces concepts from Algebra 1, engineering design, and Catholic social teachings. 

Students in Pre-algebra Honors learned about the Engineering Design Process when they participated in a simulation where they were stranded on an island and needed to build shelter with materials found on the island. Concepts such as ratios and scale modeling were reinforced through the use of this enrichment program from the Museum of Science in Boston.

HSA Minutes & Agenda for 1-9-13 meeting & Hot Lunch Menu for Feb. - Apr.

The minutes from the 11/27/12 H.S.A. meeting are now available on the Home & School Association page of the school website.  Click here.  The agenda for the HSA meeting on Wednesday, 1-9-13, at 9am in the lower church is also available.  Click here.

The order form for Hot Lunch for February through April is now available.  All orders and payments are due NLT Monday, 1-14-13.  Click here for the order form.

Painting With Shaving Cream?

Anything is possible in Kindergarten! The students had a great time last week y painting winter snow 

scenes using shaving cream and glue. Then...they  used shaving cream to write sight words on their tables!

 What a fun day! 

Mrs. Gannatti announces "Blue & Gold" Day on Monday, 1-7-13

In anticipation of Monday's championship game between Notre Dame and Alabama, Mrs. Gannatti invites all students to wear "Blue & Gold" with their uniform of the day on Monday, 1-7-13.  Examples of acceptable "Blue & Gold" add-ons include:  sweaters, sweatshirts, hats, hairbows, earrings, socks, neckties.  Please remember that the appropriate uniform of the day must be worn.  This is an opportunity to add something "Blue & Gold" to the uniform.

Go Irish!

Celebrating Catholic Schools' Month - Event Schedule

Welcome to 2013!  We begin our new year celebrating Catholic Schools' Month.  Listed below is a summary of events for this month.  We hope you will be able to join us for many of them as we celebrate Catholic education and our school community.

On Friday, 1-4-13, our seventh & eighth grade students will begin their Shakesperience residency.  This program will continue through February and culminates in a performance on March 1st at 2pm in the Parish Center.  Everyone is welcome to attend the performance.

On Wednesday, 1-9-13, there will be a Home & School Association Meeting at 9am in the Lower Church.

 Friday, 1-11-3, is Student Appreciation Day.  The Home & School Association will provide a free ice pop dessert to all students. Ms. Stacy Dekeyser, author of The Brixen Witch, will visit with students at 9am in the Parish Center and sign copies of her book.  Click here for a book order form.

On Monday, 1-14-13, there will be a School Board Meeting at 7pm in the Lower Church.

Come & enjoy lunch with your favorite SMS student(s) on Wednesday, 1-16-13 at our annual Family Pizza Lunch!   This year all lunches for this event had to be preordered.  Orders were due no later than December 21st.  If you did not get your order in, we will accept orders until this Friday, 1/4/13.  This is your last opportunity to order.   Click here for an order form. If you do not order but would like to join us for lunch, please feel free to bring a brown bag lunch! 

On Friday, 1-18-13, students in grades Kindergarten - 4 will visit with author, Janice Hechter. Ms. Hechter lives in Farmington and has illustrated at least four children's books. She holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Her book Hooray for Heroes was a National Best Book Award Winner in 2010. Ms. Hechter will be chatting with students about what an illustrator does and other topics related to this and read from her book The Great Elephant Escape. She will discuss the actual true story upon which her book is based.

Monday, 1-21-13, school is closed for Martin Luther King Day.

On Wednesday, 1-23-13, we will host an Open House for Prospective Families.  If you know someone interested in learning more about our school, please invite them to join us at 6:30pm in the Parish Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report cards will be distributed on Friday, 1-25-13.

 

The Home & School Association will host Teacher Appreciation Week during the week of 1-28-13. We appreciate their generosity.

...and looking ahead to

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.

The Home & School Association Auction will be held on Saturday, 2-9-13, at 6pm at the beautiful Riverview in Simsbury.  Come and enjoy a fabulous evening featuring delicious appetizers and dinner, a terrific silent auction and spirited bidding at the live auction as coveted items like the first parking spot in the carpool lot are auctioned off.

In just the blink of an eye, it will be time for our February vacation from Monday, 2-18-13 through Friday, 2-22-13!