News for the Week of 9-11-13

Reminders & Announcements

The School Board will meet on Wednesday, 9/18/13 at 7pm.  The meeting will be held in the school - exact location to be announced.

Sign-up Genius links for Parent/Teacher Conferences in November will be posted on the Parent Page of the school's website and on a Parent/Teacher Conference blog page.  These conferences will be held from Monday, 11/11/13 through Thursday, 11/14/13.  Appointments begin at 1:30 pm.  All conference days are early dismissal days and no PreK Enrichment or Aftercare is available.  If you do not sign up for a conference before October 1, a conference will be assigned for you.

Lifetouch Photography will take individual student photos for students in Grades PreK, K-7 on Monday, 9/16/13.  Paul Cryan will take individual student photos of grade 8 students and the grade 8 class picture on Friday, 9/27/13.  Thanks to the efforts of a volunteer, appointments will be available for after school Paul Cryan appointments for students in other grades and for siblings that do not attend SMS. Click here for important details about all school picture days and opportunities.

Are  you receiving all your SMS communications?  There are 2 avenues for most SMS communications.  The first is via blog posts.  You will receive an email of any posts to any of our blogs if you "subscribe" to the blog using the subscription box that appears on the blog page. The second communication method is via email groups that have been created by SMS office staff.  Direct emails are sent out when information is time sensitive or applies only to certain groups of families (e.g., all families with students in grades 2 and 3 or only families with students in Prekindergarten). These email groups are not linked to blog subscriptions but are created by entering the Primary family email address you listed on your Family Verification form. If you have any question about whether the email you want used is the one being used, please contact Donna Hatch at dhatch@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.  We are happy to update our email groups to help assure everyone receives all the news they need.

Guidelines for Requests for Publication & Setups for Events -  Please keep in mind that all request for information to be published in the school blog must be received NLT Tuesday at dismissal each week in order to guarantee publication on Wednesday.  If you are coordinating an event that is already scheduled on the school calendar and need tables, chairs or other items like display boards, please compile a list of items needed and prepare a setup diagram.  Submit this information to the school office at least 72 hours in advance of your event.  If you are coordinating an event that has not yet been scheduled on the school calendar, please keep in mind that Mrs. Gannatti must approve all school events and that all campus facilities must be reserved by the school office through the Parish Offices before they can be added to the school calendar.  Only then can setup arrangements be made.

Athletic News -

Fall Sports Practice Schedule -

Soccer Practice is 3:45-5pm on Fridays

Cross Country practice is Tuesdays and Thursday 7:50-8:30am

Field Hockey is Monday and Wednesday 3:45-5pm

Basketball Sign-up Form is now available. Students in grades 2-8 are eligible to participate  Click here for more information.  All forms are due NLT September 20, 2013.

Private coaching with Mr. Gangloff is available now through Spring 2014.  Click here for more information.

Home & School Association News

This Friday, 9/13/13, is the annual Fall Festival!  Pack a picnic dinner and join us for family fun!  Please keep in mind that this is a family event and that all children attending need adult supervision. Volunteers, including grade 8 student volunteers, are still needed!  Please contact our Fall Festival Chair Person, Mrs. Jennifer Pavlonnis at jpavlonnis@yahoo.com to share your time and talent!

CHOICE News -

CHOICE is looking for a few parent volunteers to sell Choice cards on Wednesday mornings (8:30-9:30am) and Friday afternoons before pick up (2:45- 3:30pm) and on alternating Mondays (8:30-9:30am). Also, if anyone has any leftover choice zippy pouches to please send them into the office as our supply has depleted.  If you have questions about CHOICE or about volunteering to help with the program, please contact Tammy Budnick at tbudnick@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net

Community News -

Simsbury Arts Academy announces Fall offerings - Exciting classes in the visual, theatrical and creative arts are available to students in elementary and middle school age ranges. Click here for more information.

Are you interested in joining cub scouts? There will be  a Recruitment Night next week, September 12th in the 7th and 8th grade classrooms at St. Mary’s School, from 6:30-8pm. Please stop in to see scouting demonstrations and pick up an application. Find out what scouting is all about! If you can’t make the 12th, then please stop into our Pack meeting on September 20th in the parish center between 6:00 – 7:30. Any questions, please see our website: www.simsburypack175.com