News for the Week of 11/14/18

Veterans Day Assembly 2018

We took time on Monday to honor the service of all veterans and to thank some veterans that are part of our school family.  We were so pleased to have these honored guests present at our Veterans Day Assembly.

Mason & Gavin D., Gr. 2 with their
grandfather, Phil LaBrecque, who served
in Vietnam in the Army.

Anna S., Gr. 5,  with her dad, an Air Force Veteran

 Advancement Corner - All Are Welcome! The Advancement Committee will be meeting this Thursday, 11/15/18, in the lower church at 9am. We are getting ready for our winter community events and would love your help! See you there!  Contact Toni Chagnon for any questions or more information 860-658-9412 or tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.  ** Please note that our evening meeting at 6:30 pm will not take place due to the winter weather has been forecasted to start late Thursday afternoon! 

Hot Lunch Orders for December will be accepted through this Friday, 11/16/18.  Please place all orders via Educonnect Parent Portal and send payment into the office as soon as your order has been placed.  This is your only opportunity to order hot lunches for December & no late orders can be accepted.

School Board Meeting - The School Board will meet on Tuesday, 11/20/18, at 7pm in Lower Church.  All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Winter Weather Reminders - With the possibility of a winter storm ahead, please keep in mind that SMS follows the Simsbury public schools in regard to delayed openings, early closings and emergency closings.  If you hear that the Simsbury public schools are altering their school day due to weather SMS will be doing the same thing.  In the event of an early closing, our dismissal time is 12:45pm and there is NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare.

 A Remind text will be sent out if the weather alters our school day and a notice will be placed on the home page of the school's website.  Please also keep in mind that students do wait outside at morning arrival and go outside for recess unless the weather is inclement or below 20 degrees.  If there is snow on the ground, students should bring snow gear for outdoor recess.






School will be dismissed early at 12:45pm on Wednesday, 11/21/18, for Thanksgiving.  There will be NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare.  School is also closed on Friday, 11/23/18.

Senior Luncheon - Thanks to everyone who contributed to today's Senior Thanksgiving Luncheon.  This year's luncheon was particularly well attended and as always, it was a wonderful outreach to our local community of seniors.










Special thanks to Mrs. Karen Corriveau for chairing the luncheon this year.  Karen worked tirelessly to assure that we had sufficient donations and that the event would be well organized, festive and enjoyable for all. We also thank all those volunteers who donated time to setup, serve and clean up.


We are proud of our 8th grade students for their service today and thankful for the engaging entertainment provided by students in Kindergarten through grade 3.   Also a special shout out to Mr. G. and the 8th grade students that helped him organize today's parking.  Amazing job!

First Trimester grades close on Friday, 11/30.  Report cards will be available on the Educonnect Parent Portal on Friday, 12/7, at the close of the school day.  Please remember that no paper copy of the report card will be sent home.





Looking Ahead to the Busy Month of December -

Formal Uniform begins for Grade 8 on Monday, 12/3/18.

Our December School Mass will be held on Tuesday, 12/4/18, at 9am in the church.  All are welcome to join us.  Please remember that no PE uniforms should be worn to Mass.

Our Christmas Band & Chorus Concert will be held on Monday, 12/10/18, in the Parish Center.  There will be a dress rehearsal at 2pm and evening performance at 7pm.  Guests are welcome at either performance.  Mrs. Morse will provide concert and dress guidelines to band students.  Mrs. Jalinskas will provide guidelines to chorus members.  All are welcome to come and enjoy an evening of festive music.  The snow date for this concert is Monday, 1/7/19.

Lessons & Carols will be held on Monday, 12/17/18, in the church.  This beautiful retelling of the Nativity story is a beloved SMS tradition involving all students in Kindergarten- Grade 8.  Student attendance is considered mandatory.  If your family has a conflict, please contact Mrs. Williamson.  There will be a dress rehearsal at 10am and an evening presentation at 7pm.  Guests are welcome at either performance and the morning is especially suitable for preschool age siblings since it is much less crowded and easier to see the Nativity story unfold. Students in Grades 1-7 should wear their formal uniform - no sweatshirts or spirit wear.  Students in Kindergarten and Grade 8 follow dress guidelines provided by Miss Ciarcia and Mrs. Work.  The snow date for Lessons & Carols is Tuesday, 12/18/18.

School will be dismissed early at 12:45pm on Friday, 12/21/18.  There will be NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare.  School is CLOSED from Monday, 12/24/18 through Tuesday, 1/1/19.  School reopens for a regular, full day of school on Wednesday, 1/2/19.



Athletic News - Basketball jerseys are being distributed to Varsity players this week and to JV players next week.  Only players with their participation fee paid will receive a jersey.  Please email Mr. G. with any questions.




CHOICE Corner - Gift cards Make Great Holiday Gifts & Charitable Contributions.  SMS Choice can help you get all your shopping done.  Click here to download a Holiday Order Form.

                                                     

Announcing a Great New Storefront - We are excited to share that St. Mary's School now has a Shutterfly storefront thanks to a new partnership between Lifetouch Photography and Shutterfly.  Any purchases made with Shutterfly or Tiny Prints through this storefront will earn 8% for SMS.  So, if you are creating great photo memories or putting together Christmas cards, please shop through our storefront - Click here.

Thank you to all the volunteers for generously giving your time and energy to our Book Fair. Awesome sales set us up for a larger fair next Fall!  There will also be a "BOGO" Spring Bookfair just in time to encourage summer reading.  Our very special thanks to Tricia Prausa for chairing our Book Fair events this year!

Grade 8 Fundraising -  Thanks to all who supported the Lyman Orchard Pie & Cookie Dough sale. There's two more great opportunities to help support our 8th grade.  The annual poinsettia sale is currently underway and the week after Thanksgiving you can enjoy a delicious meal at Puerto Vallarta in Avon.  See below.

Click here to download & print order form.

Click here to download and print a flyer.

Mrs. Williamson, Mrs. Gore & Emma M., Gr. 4 started the day early today at 6am bringing some food donations from our Halloween collection to Scot Haney from WFSB.  They also brought along a special Blue Knight card in honor of Scot's 20th anniversary at WFSB.

Thanks again to all that donated to the Jack Bannon
Turkey Trot.  Foodshare arrived today to pick up our donations.