News for the Week of 1/15/14

Celebrating Catholic Schools' Month - Mrs. Jehning's First Grade Students took some time to write about why St. Mary's School is special. Their thoughts appear on some adorable Teddy Bears that they designed and that have been displayed on the door to first grade. We think St. Mary's is special because of our wonderful students! Thank you for sharing your children with us!

January - It's "snow" much fun! Kindergarten and First Grade enjoyed some time together reading the book Snow Day. Each student then their choice of a readers' response written activity to be displayed on a shared bulletin board. Great work, Kindergarten and First Grade friends!

Parent/Student Directory Updates - Please join us in welcoming Jack Hall back to our fifth grade class. Please also extend a warm welcome to Gregory and Alejandro Moreno in Kindergarten and grade 3 and to Mary Elizabeth Stanziale who has also joined our Kindergarten. Please keep in mind that updated directory information is always available to you via the Educonnect Parent Portal.

Campus Security Update - Beginning this week, our monthly routine will include a "Stay in Place" drill. The "Stay in Place" drill allows us to practice our procedures when it is necessary to remain safely in the classroom during an emergency. Students will be advised as to the "safe place" in the classroom and what steps to follow if they are out of the classroom when a "Stay in Place" is initiated. These drills will be practiced in a routine, matter of fact way like our fire drills with an emphasis on safety as opposed to the possible nature of potential threats or emergencies.

Hot Lunch News - There will be a "hot lunch make-up day" on Tuesday, February 11th. If your child(ren) was/were scheduled to get a pizza hot lunch on Friday, 1/3/14 (a snow day), this lunch will be served on Tuesday, 2/11. PLEASE NOTE - This lunch will be served ONLY to those that had an order placed for 1/3.

Family Pizza Lunch is scheduled for Friday, 1/31/14. Everyone is welcome and invited to come and eat lunch with their favorite SMS student(s). Student pizza lunches were ordered via the regular hot lunch menu. If you would like pizza or if your SMS student did not have a pizza lunch ordered for 1/31 but would like one, please click here for an order form. All order forms and payments are due NLT this Friday, 1/17/14. You are also welcome to join us with a brown bag lunch.

The lunch schedule for Family Pizza Lunch is as follows:

Prekindergarten, Kindergarten and Grades 1 & 2: 11-11:35am
Grades 3-5: 11:40am-12:15pm
Grades 6-8: 12:20-12:50pm

Home & School Association News

The next H.S.A. meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 1/23/14. Click here for an agenda.

Auction Tickets Now Available! It's less than a month to our HSA Annual Auction. Visit the auction's website for a preview of the evening's events and delicious menu, by clicking here. The auction committee does recommend paying for your tickets by check to avoid credit card fees. To do this, you may send your ticket request into school. Click here for an order form like the one appearing to the left.

The Auction Committee invites you to join in the fun of this year's Olympic theme and feature a photo of your child demonstrating their "Olympian" skills. Click here for more information.

Box Tops for Education- The next Box Tops collection will end on Friday, February 7^th. Please send all Box Tops to your child’s classroom collection box. Happy clipping!

Community News

Northwest Catholic High School invites parents to attend a presentation on January 21, 2014. the NWC Parents’ Club is sponsoring a well known speaker from The University of St. Joseph. Dr. Marialice Curran will be speaking about Technology: “Transforming Education and Social Life”. The presentation is at7pm . This event is geared for adults.

Tickets are now available for Simsbury High School's production of the musical, Les Miserables. This year's show will feature SMS Alumna, Emily Bautista, Class of '11 in the role of Eponine.

The show will be presented at 7pm on January 31 and February 1, 7 and 9 and at 2pm on February 2 and 9. For more information and ticket ordering, click here.

Kate & Sarah Jessen, Class of '13, pictured front row, left side.

Alumni News - Sarah and Kate Jessen, Class of '13, are among several students at Northwest Catholic High School that have been selected to participate as members of the Connecticut Music Educators Association’s Northern Region ensembles. Click here for more information. If you have alumni information to share, please send it to smsoffice@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net. We love to hear about and share our alumni's successes!

Third Grade is sliding into the New Year full of good intentions. Each student wrote their New Year's resolution on a penguin. The bulletin board is a great reminder for all of us as we endeavor to stay on track in the new year.

In Fourth Grade, students were flexing their muscles after a mini reenactment of the Revolutionary War, (colonists defeating the English)! They animatedly discussed strategy, purpose, and the grit needed to succeed. Looking at the photo, it surely looks like they all have the "right stuff" to succeed!