News for Week of 1/28/15

 We had a wonderful visit with Archbishop Leonard Blair last Friday.  The Archbishop, along with Dr. Dale Hoyt, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Hartford and Mrs. Maria Maynard, Assistant Superintendent and past principal of SMS, and Secretary to the Archbishop, Reverend John Lavorgna, visited with students in their classrooms and shared a pizza lunch in the Parish Center.  During lunch, the Archbishop was presented with two special gifts - a Blue Knights jacket personalized with his name and our school logo and an original SMS remembrance that featured a thumb print of each student at SMS.  Click here to enjoy some additional photos from the Archbishop's visit.  Our thanks to Mrs. Anna Winkler for taking photos.

Twix for Heroes - Thanks to everyone who contributed so generously to our collection of Twix bars and notes of thanks and encouragement for heroes on the USS Hampton.  As you can see, the submarine will be fully loaded! Your generosity means that each serviceman can eat several Twix bars! The encouraging, supportive, and thoughtful notes are going to be so important to these brave submariners.  Thank you for supporting them!

Faculty Update - Please join us in welcoming Miss Nicole Cole to SMS as our long term substitute in Kindergarten.  Miss Cole is very excited to join our community and is enjoying getting to know her students this week.  Mrs. Mortillaro is spending her last few days in kindergarten as Miss Cole settles into her new classroom.  You can visit Miss Cole's "Days of Kindergarten" blog by clicking here.  Kindergarten families are strongly encouraged to subscribe to Miss Cole's blog to stay up to date on the activities in Kindergarten.  There will be an opportunity for Kindergarten parents to get better acquainted with Miss Cole on Monday, February 2, 2015 at 6:30 in the Kindergarten classroom.  Miss Cole's email address is NCole@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.

Celebrating Catholic Schools' Month - 

On Saturday January 24, 2015, as part of Catholic Schools' Month and to promote the SMS Open House, the Mikans and the Sautters families attended the Vigil Mass at St. Therese Church in Granby.  Our thanks to these families and to all our family ambassadors that represented our school last weekend.  We also extend our thanks to the area Pastors and parishes that warmly welcomed our student ambassadors and their families.

Reminder Regarding Casual Dress Friday on February 13th - Any SMS student that wore their formal uniform to Mass on Sunday, January 25th, may dress in school appropriate, casual clothes on Friday, February 13th.  A parent should send a note into school by February 11th that the student attended Mass in uniform on Sunday, January 25th in order to participate.

Open House for Prospective Families - Our celebration of Catholic Schools' Month will include an Open House for Prospective Families tomorrow - 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.

Don't Forget! Students may wear a RED shirt with the uniform of the day on all Fridays as we "Remember Everyone Deployed".  

Family Pizza Lunch  - Our annual Family Pizza Lunch is scheduled for Friday, 1/30/15, & we hope many of you will join us for lunch with your favorite student(s).   If you did not order a pizza lunch but would like to join us, please bring your favorite brown bag lunch and join the fun!

For your reference, the schedule of lunch waves will be as follows:

11:00-11:35 - PreK, Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd grade

11:40-12:15 - 3rd, 4th & 5th grade

12:20-12:50 - 6th, 7th & 8th 

Please note that there is a funeral in the Church at 10am on Friday.  If you are arriving for lunch at 11am, it may be necessary for you to park in the North (playground) parking lot.  The gate will be unlocked!

Help is always needed!  If you can help for a little while before or after the time you are enjoying your lunch, please let Mrs. Budnick know at smsoffice@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.  Thanks!

February Calendar Reminders




School is closed Monday, 2/16 & Tuesday, 2/17 for a long Winter Weekend.  School reopens on Wednesday, 2/11 for a regular full day and the remainder of that week is a regular school week.

Ash Wednesday, 2/11/15 - We will join with our Parish family and begin the Lenten season at the 12:15pm Parish Mass.  All are welcome and encouraged to join us.  Please remember that no physical education uniforms should be worn to Mass.

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Snow Day Calendar Changes -  We have now had 2 snow days.  Our schedule for snow day makeups is as follows:

Monday, April 6, 2015 - School will be OPEN for a regular full day of school with PreKindergarten Enrichment and Aftercare available.  This is Easter Monday and was planned as a day off on our original school calendar .

Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - School will be OPEN FOR A REGULAR FULL DAY of school with PreKindergarten Enrichment and Aftercare available.  This was originally tentatively scheduled to be our last day of school with a 12:45pm dismissal.

Thursday, June 11, 2015 - This is now our TENTATIVE last day of school and will be a 12:45pm EARLY DISMISSAL WITH NO PREKINDERGARTEN ENRICHMENT OR AFTERCARE.

If we should have additional snow days, they will be added to our days in June and only the last day will be a 12:45pm early dismissal.

Home & School Association News

Box Tops for Education - A new collection contest began on January 26.  The grade level that collects the most Box Tops from January 26 - February 20 will win the contest and their teacher will receive $50 for classroom extras.  Please send Box Tops into homeroom teachers.  Please check the expiration date since expired Box Tops are not accepted.  This contest is open to all grades PreKindergarten - Grade 8.  Questions should be directed to Scott Sirianni at scottmary99@aol.com.

Ladies' "Bunco" Night

Come join the fun and bring a friend!  Friday, February 6th from 7-9 p.m.   Click here to download and print this reservation form.

Lost & Found  We have quite an eclectic collection of "lost & found" items stored in the Parish Center.  Items include a size 10 Lands' End uniform jumper and blouse and 1 black shoe, none of them labelled with a name, all in a plastic bag.  Other items are assorted water bottles, books, hats, mittens and outer wear.  We will be "cleaning house" before the long Winter Weekend in February so students are encouraged to ask to check "lost & found" during lunch and parents are encouraged to stop by at the start or end of the school day if they would like to have a look.  We also strongly encourage that all uniform clothing and all outerwear be clearly labelled with student names.  When items are turned in and we can find a name, we always quickly reunite the item with his/her owner.

Community News

Avon Soccer Club Spring 2015 Recreational Season - The Avon Soccer Club is offering several programs to Avon residents this spring.  Click here for more information or register online at www.avonsoccerclub.org.  Questions -Contact avonsoccerclub@comcast.net

Simsbury High School invites you to Thoroughly Modern Millie featuring SMS Alumna, Emily Bautista, Class of '11 in the role of Millie.  Tickets can be ordered online by going to the Simsbury High School Website and clicking the Thoroughly Modern Millie icon or by clicking here.

Showtimes are as follows: 

January 31 & February 6 & 7 at 7PM

February 1 & 8 at 2PM

Please note that due to the bad weather this week, the Friday, 1/30 performance has been cancelled.  Check with the box office if you have tickets for the 1/30 performance.

Give Kids a Smile Day -

The American Dental Association's Give Kids a Smile Day will be held on Friday, February 6, 2015.  Avon Wellness Center Dental Associates-the office of Dr. Jerry Graham and Associates- will be opening their practice to children in need on this date. Together with their team, they will host a day of  FREE dental care by appointment starting at 8am.  Click here for a list of available services and more information.