News for the Week of 3-13-13

Kindergarten celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday in style!  Look at those cool cats in hats!

The hot lunch originally scheduled for Wednesday, 3/13/13, will be served Thursday, 3/14/13.

Next week is Parent/Teacher Conferences - there is still time to schedule a conference.  Click here to access the Parents Only login screen and see what appointments are still available. The file names are2013marchk5conferenceschedule.pdf for grades K-5 andmiddleschoolconferenceschedulemarch2013.pdf for grades 6-8. To schedule your conference, please email your requested appointment day/time(s) toSMSOffice@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net or call the school office at 860-658-9412. Please remember that unlike the Parent/Teacher conferences that are held at the end of the first quarter in the Fall, March conferences are not mandatory unless requested by a teacher. No appointment will be scheduled for you unless you request one. Dismissal will be at 12:45PM on Monday, 3/18, Tuesday, 3/19, Thursday, 3/21 and Friday, 3/22.  There will be no PreK Enrichment or Aftercare on these days.  School is closed on Wednesday, 3/20, due to a faculty in-service.

Locker Repair was delayed due to the snow day on Friday, 3/8/13.  Locker repair began Tuesday, 3/12 and will continue during after school hours until all repairs are complete.  Thanks for your patience during this process.

WFSB's "Cool Schools" Segments featuring SMS will air on Friday, April 5th beginning at 5am.  Thanks to everyone who sent in diapers for our diaper drive - your participation made that segment's taping a visual sucess and the diapers will be greatly appreciated by those in need via Gifts of Love!

IOWA Testing continues through Thursday, March 22nd. IOWA tests are administered to students in grades 3-7. A child who arrives at school after 9am wil not have admittance into a testing classroom until the testing session has been completed. It is critical that no interruption should occur to provide the optimal environment for the success of each child. The children have been engaged in practice exercises and learning test taking strategies. The best way for you to prepare your child is to keep their days as routine as possible, ensure a good night's rest and provide a healthy breakfast.

Join us on Friday, March 22, in the Parish center for a "Simple Lenten Soup & Bread Dinner". 

Dinner will be followed by the Living Stations of the Cross, enacted by our 8th graders.

Dinner will be served from 5:30pm-6:45pm. Stations will begin promptly at 7:00.

There is no cost for dinner. Donations will be accepted to help defray the cost.

We hope that many families make this a tradition during this Lenten season.

RSVP YES to lessilva98@gmail.com no later than Monday, March 18th. The Living Stations of the Cross will also be presented on Thursday, 3/28/13, at 10am for the whole school community. Everyone is also most welcome at this presentation. March 28th is Holy Thursday, this is a 12:45 early dismissal day. There is no Prekindergarten Enrichment or aftercare. School is closed on Good Friday, 3/29/13. Due to snow day makeup - SCHOOL IS OPEN ON MONDAY, 4/1/13. This is a change to our original school calendar.

Grade 8 is recycling empty ink & toner cartridges.  Collection continues through early May.  Cartridges may be dropped off at the school office.

Thanks to everyone that supported the 8th grade's Munson's Chocolates and Butter Braids fundraisers.  These orders were available for pickup on Wednesday, 3/13, from 4-4:30pm in the Parish Center.  If you did not pick up your order, please contact Grace Petrarca at gshp@aol.com or 860 738 2229.

Only 2 more weeks to purchase your St. Mary's School 2012-2013 Yearbook! The snow is melting, our children are preparing for spring sports and all are counting the days until Easter and spring break! In the blink of an eye the 2012-13 year will be drawing to a close. This is your chance to celebrate the memories of your children, whether they are just starting their journey at St. Mary's as a Pre-K student or ending their journey as the class of 2013 heads off to high school. The yearbook only costs $28.00 and will be on sale till March 28th. 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.   If you are going to be at conferences next week, someone will be by the office selling the yearbook so come by with your check and we'd be happy to take your order! Lastly, congratulations to Katie Cosgrove and her family who won the Butter Braid/Munson's Chocolates Easter basket!!

Yearbook Photos Needed - Yearbook photos wanted of sporting events. If you have taken a photo at your child's sporting event that you would like to share, please email Peg Mancarella at Our3Pumpkins@gmail.com. Please be sure to save them with a 600 resolution of higher . Lower resolution photos (e.g., cell phone photos and iTouch photos will not load into the yearbook pages.) Should you have a large number of photos, forward them via disk or flashdrive (drives will be returned). Thanks! If you have questions, please contact Peg at 860-651-8973.

Athletic News - Softball Season is here!  Open to students in grades 5-8.  It is a great team to join for both players who are new to the sport and want to learn the fundamentals and for athletes who already have a softball background. We will compete against a variety of talent this year. Practices will be Tuesday and Thursday in the Parish Center until the fields at Central school are playable. Practice runs from 3:30-5:00pm. The fee is $25.  Click here for more information.

Box Tops for Education: Thank you to all of the families who contributed Box Tops for this collection. The school was able to collect over 5900 box tops! Congratulations to fifth grade, our winning class, for contributing 1324 to our total!! The class will enjoy extra recess time as a reward.

Please continue to send in your box tops. Each class has a collection box where they are stored until the next due date.

Community News

The Suffield Regional Agriscience Center invites everyone to attend the "Agriscience Expo 2013" on April 9 from 8am-8pm and April 10 from 8am -4pm. The Expo will feature many "hands-on" exhibits featuring many areas related to agriculture, food production and marketing.  Click here for more information.

St. Mary Parish Grade 7 & 8 Youth Group will meet for the first time on March 16th for a fun evening including dodge ball and pizza after the 5pm Mass.  Click here for more information.




St. Mary's Parish Youth Choir performed at St. Joseph's Cathedral on March 9th.   Several St. Mary's School students participated with the group.  Click here for photos and video of the event.

St. Mary’s School and the MS Walk.  Westminster School will host the annual MS Walk, Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 9:00 a.m.   Anyone interested in participating in the walk may register with the St Mary’s School team online at our “SMS against MS” website – click here or register at the Westminster School the day of the walk at the Jackson Hockey Rink, before 9:00 A.M.  Please consider making a donation to help find a cure for those with MS.  We will have a registration table for our St. Mary’s School Team.  If you have any questions please contact Nancy Canfield at Canfield143@cox.net or 860-844-8065. Please note that you may restrict your donation to research that does not require the use of fetal stem cells.

Simsbury Arts Academy announces Summer programs - Again this year, the Simsbury Arts Academy has summer programs available for students that will be entering grade 1 in August 2013 through grade 12. Click here for more information and registration forms.