SMS - Welcome Summer! 6-16-14

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the  two most beautiful words in the English language. 

~Henry James

For their final Religion group project, the students in Mrs. Gore's fifth grade were asked to develop a poster depicting the 4 Marks of the Church. The 4 marks are that we are One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. 

The students were all very creative and each group's poster was very unique.

End of Year Calendar Reminders

Final Report Cards will be sent home via U.S. mail during the week of 6/16/14.

iPad Summer Return - Middle school students in grades 6 and 7 were required to turn in both their iPad and their school issued charging cord and brick NLT Friday, 6/13/14.  All devices will be inspected for physical damage.  If any damage is noted, you will receive a letter explaining the nature of the damage and requesting a check for $49 made payable to St. Mary's School to pay for AppleCare+ repair of the device over the summer.  Students in middle school that fail to return their school issued charging brick and cord will incur a $40 replacement charge.  All students will receive the same iPad for use next year unless the device has to be replaced due to damage.

Summer Office Hours will begin on Tuesday, June 17th.  The school office will be routinely staffed Monday - Thursday from 9am-1pm and by appointment.  Voice mail and email will be checked regularly.

Back To School Mailing will be sent via U.S. mail mid-August.  You can look forward to the many forms associated with all new beginnings!

Calendar Reminders for the start of the new school year -

Middle School iPad Deployment in August 2014- Middle School students (entering grades 6, 7 & 8) and students from lower grades that incurred a loss of iPad privileges during the 2013-14 school year and at least one parent/guardian will be required to meet with Mrs. Hatch for a brief (15 minute) appointment prior to the start of school to turn in the required iPad "Big 3" forms (i.e., verify that iPad insurance has been paid, return signed acknowledgements for Parent/Student Handbook and iPad AUP and signed Electronic Use Agreement).  During this appointment, Mrs. Hatch will also review key components of the AUP, use of the Notability App, school GMail and automatic backup to Google Drive and answer any questions.  A Sign-up Genius has been posted to allow you to sign up for a convenient appointment day and time.  There are morning, afternoon and evening appointments available during the mid-August time frame.  Click here to access the Sign-Up Genius for these appointments.  Families that do not meet with Mrs. Hatch prior to the start of school will need to be in touch with her to make alternative iPad deployment arrangements.  No student will be given an iPad for use - even once school begins -until this meeting has taken place.

First Day of School for Grades Prekindergarten - 8 will be Wednesday, August 27th.  Other important dates associated with the start of school are:

Monday, August 25 - Kindergarten Parent Meeting at 6pm in the Kindergarten classroom

Tuesday, August 26 - "Morning in Middle School" for all entering 6th grade students and new transfer students in grades 7 and 8 from 9-11:30.  Kindergarten - Gr. 3 "Meet & Greet", 10:30-11:30.

Instrumental Music Recommendation - The facilities sub-committee of the school board has made a recommendation to Father Matera to address concerns regarding practice space for our advanced band for next year.  Click here to read this recommendation.  This recommendation has also been sent out via email using our family distribution list.

SMS Stars - Congratulations to Shayna Glazier and Jonathan Heiden who were our school's winners of Senator Witkos' 6th grade essay contest. "If you were a Connecticut lawmaker, what bill would you propose and why" was the topic. They were recognized by Senator Witkos and Simsbury Bank for their outstanding essays. 

HSA News

Thank you to all volunteers for your hard work this year, especially to the auction committee who put on a great party that raised enough money for a new playground. 

Thank you to Maggie Domashinski and Lynn Mogielnicki, our outgoing HSA president and treasurer.  In turn, they thank the school and parents for their support.  Welcome to Beth Scully and Frank Conde, the incoming HSA corresponding secretary and treasurer.

Keep your eye out for exciting changes in the playground this summer.  It will be amazing!

Community News

Farmington Valley Arts Center Summer Programs - A wide variety of creative programs are available this summer for children and adults.  Click here for more information.