News for the Week of 2/10/16

 We began the holy season of Lent today at the 12:15 Parish Mass.  May this be a reflective and blessed time to draw closer to God through fasting, prayer and acts of kindness.

School will be closed on Monday, February 15 & Tuesday, February 16 for a long winter weekend. School is open for regular, full days from Wednesday, February 17 - Friday, February 19.





Making up our Snow Day - We will make up the Friday, 2/5, snow day on Thursday, June 9th.  June 9th will be our last day of school (unless we have more snow days) and will be a 12:45pm early dismissal day with NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare.  Wednesday, June 8th, will be a regular full day of school with PreK Enrichment and Aftercare.  At this time, we are still planning that school will be closed on Easter Monday, 3/28/16.

NEW Altar Server Training

Are you interested in becoming an Altar Server for Saint Mary's?

All students in 4th grade and above are invited to attend our yearly training program. There will be four training sessions on the following Saturdays from 1:30-2:30pm in the Church:

February 20, 27, March 5,12

Candidates must attend all four sessions. Please contact the Parish Office (860-658-7627) or Diana Kalamarides (ServerLeader@StMarySimsbury.org) with any questions. 

Altar Serving is a great way to grow closer to God and serve our community. We hope you will consider joining us in this ministry. 

 Munson's Fundraiser!! 

The 7th Grade class invites you to participate in their Munson's Chocolates Fundraiser to benefit the class trip to Boston.  Extra order forms are available in the school office if you have mislaid the one that was sent home last week.  All orders and payments are due NLT Friday, 2/19/16.  Pick up will be during March Parent/Teacher Conferences. Please plan to purchase your Easter candy, chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans through our fundraiser. The cost of the candy is the same price as at the local Munson's retail shop. Thank you in advance for your support!

CHOICE News - Nordstroms cards are now available to us via special order at 6%.

March Parent/Teacher Conferences are right around the corner!  Conferences will be held from Monday, March 7 - Wednesday, March 9.  Each of these will be a 12:45 early dismissal with NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare.  

If you do not sign up for a conference, NO conference will be assigned for you.  If a teacher feels a conference is needed and you have not signed up, the teacher will be in touch with you to schedule a time. Click here to sign up for conferences or use the Conference Sign Up tab that appears at the top of the blog.  Thursday, March 10 and Friday, March 11 will be regular full days of school with both PreK Enrichment and Aftercare available.

The Saint Mary’s School Board Nominating Committee has started our process to identify potential school board members for next year. Potential candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by someone else. There is no requirement for board members to have children at Saint Mary’s School. We want to ensure we have the best talent serving on the board. The needs we will be looking to address for the upcoming term will include individuals with a financial or CPA background skills or individuals with skills focused on marketing, project management and strategic planning. Potential candidates must believe in and support Catholic education and be willing to serve a three year term.  If you are interested in being considered to serve on the School Board, please contact Claude Howard at claudeoh@gmail.com. In your e-mail, please include information about your Parish (Town), Occupation, if you have or had students at Saint Mary’s School and the specific talents you will make available to the board.

The 2016 Talent Show is Coming!  Mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 30th, from 6-8:30pm in the Parish Center.  Interested in sharing your talent?  Click here for a form to audition for the Talent Show.  All sign ups must be turned into Mr. Gangloff  NLT Friday, February 19th.  Students that have signed up will be auditioning between February 22 - 26.

It's been a cold, wintry week!  Are you dreaming about Golf??  Mark your calendars for our annual Fairway to Heaven Golf Tournament at the Hop Meadow Country Club in Simsbury on Tuesday, May 24, 2016.

Alumni News - Congratulations to Alexandra McKenna, SMS Class of '09, on being named to the Dean's List at the College of the Holy Cross.

We also congratulate Sarah Jessen, SMS Class of '10.  Sarah is currently a junior at Northwest Catholic and recently performed at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival in Boston with the NWC Big Band.  The Big Band earned first place in Berklee's Large Ensemble category. Additionally, Sarah was presented with an Individual Judge’s Choice Award. Sara was also recognized for Outstanding Musicianship in the Big Band’s Large Ensemble category.

Fun in ZakLand!  Students in grades PreK-4 enjoyed a very entertaining assembly with Mr. Zak Morgan on Monday.  Mr. Morgan is the second cousin of Ava C. in grade 3 and we are so happy he could come and share his musical talents with us!