Family Enrollment Agreements are now past due

Family Enrollment Packages were sent to all currently enrolled and newly admitted families at the end of March.  Signed family enrollment agreement forms and family enrollment fees were due at the School Office no later than Friday, April 12th.  Your signed family enrollment form and fee are necessary to secure your child(ren)'s seat(s) for the upcoming school year and also to renew your Smart Tuition accounts if you are using Smart Tuition.

If you have not yet returned your Family Enrollment Form and Fee, you will receive a courtesy reminder call from the school office.  If you have mislaid your packet, please call the school office and a replacement packet will be generated for you.

Thanks to all that have returned their signed forms and fees. We look forward to assisting those families that still need to return these items.

News for the Week of 4/24/13

Spring "Night of the Arts" Celebrating Marilyn Szilva!  Our Night of the Arts featuring student art work and our vocal music concert will take place on Tuesday, May 7th.  The evening's festivities will be dedicated to our 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Marilyn Szilva, in celebration of her retirement.  Students should plan to arrive at their classrooms no earlier than 6:40pm.  The vocal concert will begin promptly at 7pm in the Parish Center.  Prior to the concert, guests are invited to tour the halls and visit classrooms to view student art work created throughout the year.

Students should wear "Sunday Best" for the evening.  "Sunday Best" for boys means dress pants and collared shirt with no logo. For girls "Sunday Best" means a  dress or skirt of modest length - 3 inches above knee, shoulders should be covered.  Both boys and girls should wear dress shoes -  no sneakers or flip-flops.  If "Sunday Best" is not available, the relaxed or formal uniform may be worn.  Please remember that student attendance at the Spring Vocal Concert is considered mandatory.  Performance is an important assessment tool in the Music curriculum.

Our next School Mass will be on Friday, May 3rd at 9am in the church.  Everyone is welcome to join us.  We will also attend the 12:15 Parish Mass on Ascension Thursday on May 9th.  Please remember that the relaxed uniform may be worn to Mass but no physical education uniforms should be worn.

Hot Lunch Order Period for May & June is now closed.  No further orders can be accepted.

The Hot Lunch Volunteer schedule is now available at SignupGenius.com.  Click here to display the schedule.

Fairway to Heaven - Golf Outing at Avon Country Club on Monday, May 13th.  Join us for a day of golf or just for a lovely dinner and exciting live & silent auction.  For more information and a registration form, click here.




Home & School Association News - There is a full slate of officers to be voted in at the Thursday, April 25th Home & School meeting. The meeting will be held at 7pm in the 4th grade classroom.  Please click here for meeting agenda.  Please click here for information to help you become more acquainted with our candidates.  Thanks to our nominees for your dedication to our school and children.
 

Maggie Domishinski – President

Ellen Bompane – Vice President

Lynn Mogielnicki – Treasurer

Jen Hoffman – Corresponding secretary

Jennifer Pavlonnis – Recording secretary

Community News

Granny's Attic, the world's greatest tag sale, is underway through Saturday, 4/27.  Click here for more information and hours of operation.

Everyone is invited to gather at the Town Hall at 933 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury at 12 noon on Thursday, May 2nd to participate in the National Day of Prayer. You are invited to stay as long as your time permits. For more information about the National Day of Prayer, click here.

News for Week of 4/10/13

Father Michael Whyte, pastor at St. Catherine of Siena in West Simsbury was the celebrant at our April school Mass.  Father shared a moment with some of his parishioners after Mass.  We were so pleased he could lead us in worship.

St. Mary's is a WFSB Cool School!  Four segments aired last Friday morning on WFSB.  
Click here for the segment featuring Algebra I.
Click here for the segment featuring Kindergarten.
Click here for the segment featuring Gymnastics.
Click here for the segment featuring Shakesperience.

Report Cards will be distributed on Friday, 4/12/13.

School is closed from 4/15 - 4/19 for spring vacation.  When we return to school, the relaxed uniform may be worn.  Relaxed Uniform guidelines - Click here.  Please keep in mind that a belt should be worn with walking shorts and that school shoes are required with the relaxed uniform.  The relaxed uniform may be worn to Mass.  Relaxed uniforms should be purchased from Lands End - Click here to access the Lands End School Uniform website.  Our School Code is 900132150.  Please keep in mind that CHOICE cards for Lands End are available with a 16% profit rate.

Used Uniform Exchange - Before shopping for new relaxed uniforms, you may wish to check to see what is available from the Used Uniform Exchange.  Click here for an inventory spreadsheet.

Middle School iPads will remain at school over Spring Vacation.  All Middle School (grades 6, 7 & 8) iPads should be turned into homeroom teachers at the end of the school day on Friday, 4/12/13.  If your student(s) will not be in school on Friday, please have them turn in his/her iPad to his/her homeroom teacher on their final day of attendance before vacation.

Hot Lunch Order Form for May & June is now available.  All orders and payments are due NLT Friday, April 12th.  Click here to access the order form.

2013-2014 SMS Trust Scholarship Application is now available.  Any family whose children have completed a year's enrollment in kindergarten or above and will be enrolled in grades 1 through 8 at St. Mary's school the following year is eligible to apply. There are no requirements regarding parish or religious affiliation. All completed applications must be postmarked NLT April 30, 2013 and must include a check or money order in the amount of $25 payable to "Private School Aid Service". This is a non-refundable application fee. Scholarship awards are made by the trustees and families that receive an award will be notified once the trustees have reviewed all applications. Click here for more information and an application form.

Carpool Safety Reminder - Please plan your arrival for carpool pickup to coincide with the removal of the safety cones from the top of the driveway in the North Lot.  Recently, cars arriving as early as 2:55 have led to cars being lined up along route 10/Hopmeadow Street all the way to the Church parking lot.  This presents a serious safety hazard as traffic attempts to get by and to negotiate the busy intersection.  It could also impede the ability of emergency vehicles to pass on their way to an emergency or even get to our facility if we were to have an emergency.  The cones are removed at the end of the day when the last outdoor PE class ends (3:10pm).  Even cars in the last of the pick up lines are able to leave within 10 minutes of student dismissal.  Please make every effort to arrive after 3:10.  Thank you.

It's almost Tee Time! Please plan to join the St. Mary's School community at our annual Fairway to Heaven Golf Outing on Monday, May 13, 2013 at the Golf Club of Avon. The day includes lunch, golf, cocktail hour and dinner as well as a silent and live auction with our celebrity emcee, Ms. Rebecca Lobo. Even if you are not a golfer, you are welcome to join us in the evening for the cocktail hour, dinner and auctions. For more information and registration, please click here. Please invite your fellow golfers to join us at this fun event which benefits the students of St. Mary's School.

The Simsbury Food Closet needs our help.  Please consider sending in a donation of one or more of the items the Food Closet has indicated are needed for the month of April

Coffee (instant,ground,regular and decaf)
Decaf tea
Maple syrup
Canned fruit (pineapple and oranges)
Paper towels 

Donations may be brought to the classrooms. Thanks for your generous support.

Home & School Association News

Thank you to everyone who made last week's Talent Show a great success and a fun event.  

Special thanks to Michelle Howard, Nancy Figulski, Dan Melanson, Cherith Sullivan, Andrea Wlochowski and Peg Mancarella.  

Thank you to everyone who participated in the event.  It was great to see so much talent from the students and support from the audience.  

A message from the Chair of the H.S.A. Nominating Committee:

Dear Parents:

Please consider volunteering for the Home and School board. We are still looking for a number of positions. I can speak from experience when I say that someone, a long time ago, twisted my arm too and I never felt anything to be more rewarding. I served as Co-President for two years and haven't stopped volunteering since. We need your help and believe me, it's just not as hard or time consuming as you think. Please be a part of the great activities that are produced by the Home & School Association.  Click here for descriptions of the responsibilities of each position. Do it for the children. Do it for the love of St. Mary's School.

Thank you,
Pam Carter
Nominating Chair
carterfive@comcast.net or 860-658-4841

p.s. Please act quickly. We have to vote by the April 25th meeting.

News for the Week of 4/3/13

Fourth grade is diving deep for information! 

Students in fourth grade are exploring ocean life & linking their knowledge to the  creation of poetry using their iPads and Apps like Educreations and Scribble Press.  Apps like these allow users to create content using many sources including photos captured from the internet.  They also encourage creative expression through drawing and even allow recording of audio.

Our next school Mass will be on Friday, 4/5/13, at 9am in the church.  Everyone is welcome to join us.  Please remember that no physical education uniforms should be worn to Mass.

Report Cards will be distributed next Friday, 4/12/13.

School is closed from 4/15 - 4/19 for spring vacation.

Open House for Prospective Families - Do you know someone who is wondering if St. Mary's School might be the right place for their family?  We hope you will encourage them to come to Open House on Thursday, April 4th at 6:30pm in Parish Center.

If  have posted an "Open House" sign please be sure to take it down promptly after Open House and return it to the school office.  Thanks for helping us publicize this event.

Don't forget to set your alarm!  Friday, 4/5/13, beginning at 5am, SMS will be the "cool school" featured on WFSB.

Home & School Association News -

Family Fun Night is almost here - We're hoping to see lots of families on Friday, April 5th from 6-8:30pm in the Parish Center. We are looking for SMS students from each grade to put on a school talent show, as well as participate in a fun filled Karaoke night. So all you budding stars & starlets, show us what you can do and have lots of fun in the process. Click here for more details and a downloadable sign up sheet..  Mrs. Howard & Mrs. Figulski are still looking for parents & 7th grade student volunteers to help organize the event. Please e-mail Nancy Figulski, cuplfigs@gmail.com or Mrs. Howard @ michellechoward@yahoo.com, if you are able to help.

CHOICE PROGRAM NEWS

Big Y cards at 6% in April:  We should be receiving our supply of 6% Big Y cards by next week.  They are normally at 2%, so take advantage of the extra profits.

Macy's cards available:  There are currently 10 Macy's cards ($25 each) available in stock (normally they are special-order).  If you are interested in any or all of them, just place a regular Choice order.  No waiting!

CHOICE statements:  Statements will be issued for purchases made through March 31st for families that have not yet completed their CHOICE requirement for this school year.  These statements will come home by April 9th at the latest.  If you do not receive a statement, then you have completed your requirement for the year (thank you!).  Please remember that orders received through April 30th will count towards this year's requirement.  On and after May 1st, purchases go towards next year's obligation.

Community News

St. Mary's Parish 7th &8th Grade Youth Group invites all 7th & 8th grade students to join them at a Games Decathalon on Saturday, April 6th from 6-8pm (after the 5pm Mass) at the Parish Center.  Teams will try their skills at the following events:  Awesome Ball, Balloon Relays, Circle Soccer, Movie-in-a-Minute, Blog Tag and so much more!  Pizza will be served.  Please register by clicking here.

Northwest Catholic High School invites you to "Singin' in the Rain"  on Friday April 5, 2013 and Saturday April 6, 2013 at 7:30pm and on Sunday April 7, 2013 at 2pm. Several SMS alumni including Adrian Hatch, Avery Hatch and Matt Sottile will be performing in this family friendly musical. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and seniors. Tickets are available by calling the Dramateurs Box Office at 860-236-4221, x240 or by emailing drama@nwcath.org. 

Granny's Attic, one of the world's greatest tag sales will be held this year at Wagner's in Simsbury's Northern Gateway Showroom, 1285 Hopmeadow Street.  Collection dates are Friday, April 19th from 6-8pm, Saturday, April 20th and Sunday, April 21st from 9am-4pm.  Granny's Attic will be open to the public from Monday, April 22nd through Saturday, April 27th.  For more information including guidelines for acceptable items for donation and specific hours of operation, click here.