News for the Week of 1-14-15

SMS Calendar Update -  In order to make up our snow day on 1/12/15, school will be OPEN for a regular full day on Monday, 4/6/15 (Easter Monday).  This is a change to the original school calendar.  Please make a note of this.

TWIX FOR HEROES HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL FRIDAY, 1/16/15 - As some of you may know, Mrs. Gannatti's son, Tim, will soon begin his first 6 month deployment on the USS Hampton submarine. There are very limited opportunities for those serving this deployment to be in contact with their families and no opportunities for family visits.

Families of servicemen and women are allowed to prepare a modest sized box of encouragement that is shared with their loved one at the 3 month mark of the deployment.  In conjunction with our RED shirt Fridays, we would like to try and collect at least 166 Twix candy bars (Mrs. Gannatti's son's favorite candy bar!) and notes of encouragement so that every person deployed on the USS Hampton will have something special from SMS.  The wife of the Captain has said that they plan to create a special St. Mary's box containing all our Twix bars and notes of encouragement! Participation is strictly voluntary, not required! If you choose to participate, we request that you send in your Twix bar and/or note no later than Friday, 1/16/15. All donations will be collected in homerooms. Please address your notes of encouragement "Dear Hero," Thanks in advance for your support of this special way to remember those that serve to protect our freedoms!  

Don't Forget! Students may wear a RED shirt with the uniform of the day on all Fridays as we "Remember Everyone Deployed".  Just for clarification, if the formal uniform is correct for Friday, this means that for boys, the red shirt is worn over the white business shirt and tie and for girls over the jumper and/or blouse.

Gentle Reminder - It's so easy to forget when we are all so busy, but please refrain from cell phone use during carpool drop off and pick up.  Our parking lot is a busy place and at drop off and pick up, our most precious possessions are being carefully supervised, but, they are in the parking lot.  A moment's distraction could result in a tragedy.  Please avoid distracted driving when dropping off and picking up.  Thank you for your cooperation.

School Survey - We want to hear from you!
The school survey is an opportunity for you to give feedback on how Saint Mary’s School is doing. Your feedback will help improve our strategic plan for Saint Mary’s. On behalf of the St. Mary's School Board and Administration, thank you for your participation in this important survey.  Click here to access the school survey.

Open House for Prospective Families - Our celebration of Catholic Schools' Month will include an Open House for Prospective Families on Thursday, 1/29/15 at 6:30pm in the Parish Center.  If you know a family wondering if SMS is the right place for them, please invite them to come to this event.  Our new Suzuki Violin Program for PreKindergarten & Kindergarten will be introduced! There will also be an opportunity to meet our faculty, learn about our mission, discover how engaging an academic day can be here and begin to experience the important difference Faith in Education can make in a child's life.  Please encourage an RSVP to the school office at 860-658-9412 or by email to smsoffice@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.

Celebrating Catholic Schools' Month -  Our thanks to Mrs. Jen Pavlonnis for arranging a special Career Day presentation for students in PreKindergarten through 4th grades.  Our guests today were Mr. Michael Domashinski, airline pilot for JetBlue; Mr. Paul Melanson, Chief of Police for the Town of Farmington and Mr. Jeffrey Corriveau, creator of nationally-syndicated comic strip, "DeFlocked." at Hearst Publishing.  Our thanks to these participants for sharing their time and talent with us today.  There will be an additional Career Day presentation for grades 4-8 on Wednesday, January 28th.  Presenters already planned include Mr. Ray Fagnant, scout for the Boston Red Sox and Mr. Steve Rushin, journalist, sportswriter and novelist.  We are excited that there may also be additional speakers invited thanks to the efforts of Miss Kane and Mrs. Mortillaro.  Stay tuned for more details!

Home & School Association News

The next Home & School Association meeting is this Thursday, 1/15/14, at 6:30pm in the grade 8 classroom.  Click here for the agenda.

HSA Nominating Committee 

The HSA is looking for a Nominating Committee to help fill the HSA roles for next school year.  The Nominating Committee is responsible for finding nominees for each open position and presenting them at a spring meeting.  If you are interested in serving on the committee, please contact Jennifer Pavlonnis at jpavlonnis@yahoo.com or Amy Lillis at amylillis73@gmail.com.

Hands On Learning in Grade 5 -

Students in Mrs. Gore's fifth grade have been creating models of a New England town or
southern plantation to accompany an oral presentation.

Alumni News -

Congratulations to 6 SMS Alums from the Class of '12 - Six SMS alumni were among the 78 students inducted to  Northwest Catholic High School's Aquinas Chapter of the National Honor Society on January 8, 2015.  Pictured from left, Matthew Sottile, Abigail Herron, Mary Elizabeth Budnick, Avery Hatch, Ann O'Meara and Samuel Spak.  Our congratulations on this important achievement!  If you have alumni news to share, please send it to dhatch@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.

Community News

Looking for some softball fun this spring?  Simsbury Little League offers  Fastpitch Softball for girls aged 4-14.  Click here for more information.