News for the Week of 1/22/2020

Begins Sunday, 1/26/20.
We have a VERY special week full of activities planned!
Please take a moment to carefully review the week's schedule appearing later in this post.

School Board Minutes - Minutes from the 11/20/2019 School Board Meeting are available for review. Click here.

Catholic Schools Week Starts This Sunday, 1/26/20! 

Help us Celebrate SMS & Everything Wonderful About Catholic Schools. 

Catholic Schools Week will begin this coming Sunday, 1/26/20, with Family Mass at 9:30am in the church followed by coffee in the Magowan Center.  CHOICE cards will be available for sale & credit cards can be accepted (with a processing fee). Please plan to join us - we want to be a vibrant and active part of our Parish family!  Students will sit with their families.

Faculty Appreciation - It's been a long time tradition during Catholic School's Week to shine a thankful spotlight on our wonderful faculty and staff.  This year, there are going to be various ways you and your children can help make things special.  Please keep in mind, participation is welcome but never required. 

Gift Card donations in small increments of $5-25 are requested to be used in a faculty/staff grab bag throughout the week. Gift cards can be purchased though CHOICE and the profit percentage on these cards will be credited toward your family's CHOICE obligation.  Gift cards should be sent to the office by 1/27. There are many small denomination gift cards in the office. Contact Mrs. Howard to purchase them before January 27th. 

Letters and artwork made by the students at home to be brought in and handed to the teacher in class on Friday, January 31.

In addition to the above 2 activities, families are invited by the FSA to contribute to a Teacher/Staff Appreciation Breakfast and Teacher's Classroom Supply Bar.  Click here to learn more and sign up!

Catholic Schools Week Schedule of Special Events!

Pajama Day is on Monday, January 27 -  Students may wear flannel pajama pants or sweatpants with PE t-shirt/sweatshirt.

Wacky Socks Day is on Tuesday, January 28 - Students may may wear their wackiest/ most fun socks with the uniform of the day. This is in addition to being able to wear Catholic socks all week!

Students are Invited to Celebrate Catholic Schools Week from head to toe!  We are excited to announce that students can choose to wear Catholic socks any day or every day during Catholic Schools week. 

Socks in various styles can be purchased in the school office or during school lunch waves on Friday, January 24th; Monday, January 27th and Thursday, January 30th. 

Kids socks are $10 - Adult socks are $14 - Checks may be made payable to St. Mary's School with "Catholic socks" in the memo section.

Student Appreciation Day & Red, White & Blue Day are both on Wednesday, January 29 - Wednesday will be a very special day! As a way to express our appreciation for our awesome students, we have planned a fun Wednesday, January 29th for Student Appreciation Day.  As a special bonus, we are inviting your children to bring a friend to school that day!  Click here for more information and to sign up.  In addition, students may wear red, white and/or blue headbands, ties and/or socks with the uniform of the day to show their patriotic spirit. 

Thursday, 1/30/20,  is our Crazy Hat Day! Students may wear their craziest or favorite hat with the uniform of the day and also our annual Family Lunch.  Come & enjoy lunch with your favorite SMS student(s)!  If you did not order guest lunches via Educonnect when ordering your January hot lunches, you can still add guest meals by emailing Michelle Howard until end of day Monday, 1/27 - mhoward@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.  You are also welcome to bring in a brown bag or take out lunch. 

Times for Family Lunch Day are:

11:00-11:35 PreKindergarten, Kindergarten, Grades 1 & 2

11:40-12:15 Grades 3, 4 & 5

12:20-12:50 Grades 6, 7 & 8  

Friday, 1/31/20 - Show Your KNIGHT Pride! Students may wear their PE uniform, spirit wear, school team game jersey, school club shirt, etc. Show off that school pride! 

One Final Bonus!

On the Nicest day of the week: Extra Recess!
2:40-3pm

St. Mary’s School is hosting its first Catholic Book Fair during Catholic Schools Week!

Our first Catholic Book Fair is coming up!  Books will help kids grow in faith, develop Catholic identity, and form Christian character.  The selection includes fiction and biographies, Bible stories and time travel, lives of the Saints, and more.  Please click here to read the letter from Sr. Julie Marie Benedicta of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Sample books will be available to view on Sunday, January 26th after Masses in the Magowan Center and during Catholic Schools Week Open House from 2-4pm in the Parish Center and also during Family Lunch Day on Thursday, January 30th. In the meantime, please click here to preview available titles.  Thanks in advance for your support!

 

THIS SUNDAY!  Open House for Prospective Families - We will host an Open House on Sunday, 1/26/20, from 2-4pm.  This is a great opportunity for families to learn more about our wonderful school so please share this information with anyone that might be interested in learning more about us and don't forget about our Family Referral Program!

There's Still Time to RSVP for the Masquerade Ball!  Your response is requested NLT this Friday, 1/24/20.

**Please NOTE - If your family includes a girl that is not currently attending SMS but would like to attend the dance - she is most welcome! Please call the office to RSVP for girls not currently enrolled here at school**

We are also looking for some Virtus Trained volunteers to help make the dance a success.  Click here for more information and to volunteer

Session 1 Create It! -
Furry Friend Toy
Make two - one for your
furry friend &
donate one to a homeless pet!

Let's Get Creating! 

 

Create It! Club is open to Kindergarten thru 8th grade students and features a new creation to be made each week. First of five session begins Monday, 2/24/20.  All sessions will run on Mondays from 3:4505pm.  Crafty kids can choose to do all five creations or only the ones they like. Parents only pay for the creations chosen! Cost covers materials and kids take their creations home!

Limited seats available, click here for more information and to sign up for sessions.

Seventh Grade Fund Raising - Enjoy a delicious and super convenient dinner and help our 7th grade raise funds for their field trip.  Click here to download your order form.  All orders and payments need to be submitted NLT Monday, 1/27.

Let CHOICE Help You Keep Your New Year's Resolutions!  Trying to cut down on clutter & clear your mind? 

 A tidy home and organized work space can help lift your mood and increase your productivity.  Gift cards from the CHOICE program and GL Scrip can help with this - The school office stocks cards to Walmart & Target for organizational supplies and storage containers.  Cards from Amazon or the Container Store may be ordered via GL Scrip  for even more organizing options!

Yearbook Orders Now Being Accepted!  Don't miss a minute of memories!  The SMS yearbook contains a photo of every student along with candid photos from all major school events.  Yearbooks are $35 each and may be ordered online - click here.  You may also complete a paper order form.  Order forms were sent home earlier in the month with all students and extra order forms are available in the school office.  Our yearbook ID code is 9415320.  Please note that the order deadline is March 27, 2020 and that all yearbooks must be preordered. 



SMS Stars - Shining via Service!

Sara (Gr. 7) and Kareem (K) volunteered at the End Hunger Farmington Valley MLK Food Packing Event  at the  Farmington Valley American Muslim Center on 1/18! 30,000 meals packed to help end hunger in the Farmington Valley! 

Congratulations to our 4 Robotics Teams!  Team members participated in their first competition of the season last Saturday, 1/18/20, at Corpus Christi.  It was a great first effort for this year participating with over 40 other teams.  Our thanks to our Robotics Club moderators - Mrs. Gina Raymond, Mr. Jeff Prausa and Mr. Michael Gaul.





Alumni News - Avery Hatch, SMS Class of '12, has been named to the President’s List for the 2019 fall semester at Elon University. The President’s List is composed of students with no grade below an A-minus in a minimum of 12 semester hours.

Community News

John Rosemond - Parenting Expert -  Coming to St. Catherine’s February 22 and 23, 2020!

St. Catherine of Siena Church will be hosting nationally known author, syndicated columnist, and family psychologist John Rosemond for two seminars which will take place on February 22 and 23, 2020.  Rosemond is known for his sound advice, relaxed style and is one of America’s most sought-after public speakers. There will be 2 opportunities to hear John speak and meet him in person!

Part 1 of 2 - Parenting with Love and Leadership, February 22 from 7-8:30pm – A humorous, yet thought-provoking seminar, where Rosemond describes the contemporary parenting conundrum in clear, compelling terms and then describes a practical, tested solution using what children need adults to provide to them: Love and Leadership

Part 2 of 2 - Parenting the Strong-Willed Child: Obedience Made Easy, February 23 from 1-2:30pm – In this seminar, Rosemond outlines a virtually fail-safe formula for successful discipline of not only the child who is strong-willed, but any child. 

To register for either or both sessions, click here.

Rosemond has authored over 18 books on parenting, family life, and faith. He has been writing a nationally syndicated parenting column for over 35 years that appears in over 200 newspapers. Some of Rosemond’s books include: “The Well-Behaved Child, “Making the Terrible Twos Terrific,” and “Teen Proofing.” Rosemond’s common-sense advice has gained much credibility with today’s parents who are sick of techniques and methods that don’t work.