News for the Week of 6/12/15

 Students in Miss Cole's Kindergarten are making the most of every bit of learning time left to them!  Last week, as part of their study of oceans, students created an "ocean in a bottle".

There will be an End of Year Prayer Service on Thursday, June 11th, at 9am in the church. All students should plan to wear their relaxed uniforms on this day. Everyone is invited to join us at this prayer service to give thanks for another wonderful year of exploration, excitement, learning and growth.

Friday, June 12th is our last day of school.

This will be a 12:45 early closing day. There will be NO PreKindergarten Enrichment or Aftercare. 

There will be an awards assembly at 9:30am in the parish center.  Parents will be notified by teachers if a student is going to receive an award.  A pizza lunch will be provided for all students. 

END OF YEAR Health Office Reminder - If you have prescription medications for your child(ren) in our school's health office, please be sure to come in and pick it up before the end of the school year.  These medications cannot be sent home with students and will be discarded if they are left in the health office at the end of the school year.

Summer Office Hours begin the week of Monday, June 15th. The office will be open from 9am-1pm on Tuesday - Thursday or by appointment. Voice mail and email will be checked daily.

Choice cards will be sold at the school office during the summer  on the dates and times listed below.

9:00-11:30 - June 17th & 24th

9:30-11:30 - July 8th & 22nd

9:30-11:30 - August 5th & 19th

When our new school year begins on 8/26/15, regular CHOICE sales on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings will resume. If you have any questions about CHOICE, please contact Tammy Budnick at 860-658-9412 or Tbudnick@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.

Summer blog posts will be sent on an as needed basis and the Back to School mailing will be sent out early in August.

School will reopen on Wednesday, August 26th. It will be a regular, full day of school with PreKindergarten Enrichment and Aftercare available. 

There will be a "Meet & Greet" for students entering PreKindergarten, Kindergarten - Grade 3 on Tuesday, August 25th. Incoming 6th grade students and students new to our 7th and 8th grades should plan on attending a "Morning in Middle School" on Tuesday, August 25th. Timing for these events will be announced via summer blog post.

All students (and at least one parent or guardian) entering grade 6 along any students new to our Middle School or recommended for an appointment by faculty will be required to meet with Mrs. Hatch prior to the start of school to review iPad use guidelines and basic procedures. All required forms must also be turned in at that meeting in order for an iPad to be provided to the student.

 Click here to access the Sign Up Genius to schedule your appointment on a convenient day and time.  Please note that an iPad will not be deployed to a student that needs an appointment if it has not taken place prior to the start of school.  

Students returning to grades 7 or 8 and students in Kindergarten through grade 5 will be given their iPads in the first days of school once all required forms have been turned into the school office. Required forms will be part of the August Back to School mailing. Questions should be directed to Mrs. Hatch at dhatch@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.

Reminder to Smart Tuition Account Holders:  as you begin making payments in June on your 2015-2016 Smart Tuition account, please remember to change the school year in your account number from 14 to 15.  Account numbers are broken down as follows:  02300 is the school code; 15 refers to the school year; and the last six digits reflect your individual family’s account.  If you continue making payments using the 14 school year, they will apply to your 2014-15 account, generating an overpayment status.  Your 2015-16 account will then appear delinquent, causing $50 late fees to accrue each month the payments are missing.  If you have any questions about this, please call Smart Tuition’s Parent help center at 1-888-868-8828.

St. Mary's Campus Connection Plan 

 Learn More Now & Share Your Thoughts!

Last week, the Facility Working Group unveiled its St. Mary's Campus Connection Plan -- a plan which suggested renovations and additions to our school including:

*  a new school library

*  a new music and art room

*  potential for a new gym

For project explanation and renderings, click here.

In addition, a survey was mailed to every family. Even if you are not a parishioner of St. Mary's Church, it is important to fill out the survey (it will take about 5-10 minutes). The survey will determine the feasibility and scope of this project. Click here to access the survey.

Athletic News - 

LAST CALL FOR TEAM JERSEYS!  All sports team uniforms need to be returned to Mr. Gangloff before the end of the year - this Friday, 6/12/15.  Please be sure items are returned clean.

Mark your calendars now for Field Hockey Camp! This free camp is open to all students entering grades 4-8 in the fall and will be held at Meadow Field on Iron Horse Blvd. in Simsbury.  Dates to be announced soon via  Summer blog post!

Our Condolences to the Kane Family - As many of you already know, Miss Kane's dad, Joe Kane, died last week.  Thank you for keeping the family in your prayers at this difficult time. Many of you have asked if there is something you can do in support of the family.  Below is a summary of the family's wishes -

In lieu of flowers, donations in Joe's memory can be made to the Hartland Land Trust, P.O. Box 12, East Hartland, CT 06027 or the Hartland food bank at Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Town of Hartland, 22 South Road, East Hartland, CT 06027.

Our Congratulations to Miss Ehrhardt on her engagement to Mr. Anthony Bouffard!  We will all be looking forward to sharing in the happiness of wedding plans!

Home & School Association News

Heather Goetz reading to our first grade students at bookfair.

Whether you helped with setup or classroom visits or just came and purchased some summer reading material, thanks to everyone who helped make our BOGO Scholastic Bookfair such a success!  Our special thanks to Mrs. Heather Goetz, mother of Greyson in PreK, for sharing her very special book, The Magical World of You with our community.

Congratulations to all of our fine student musicians on their performances at our Spring
Band Concert on May 21st.  Our thanks to our FMI Instructor, Mrs. Debbie Morse, for
all of her efforts this year to instill a love of music and desire to achieve musical proficiency.

Alumni News

Our congratulations to Marty Wall, SMS Class of '15, on his participation with the University of Scranton Orchestra.  Marty was invited to play in the saxophone section during the University's graduation exercises.  Marty's sister graduated from the University of Scranton this spring!

We also congratulate Timothy Nolan, SMS Class of '14 - Timothy received the Freshmen English award and a Meritorious Achievement award in Communications at Granby High School.

If you have alumni news to share, please send it along to Mrs. Hatch via dhatch@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.