News for the Week of 2/5/20

Hot Lunch Ordering For March - The Hot Lunch Order period for March will open on Monday, 2/10/20. Orders will be accepted via the Educonnect Parent Portal through Friday, 2/14/20. No late orders can be accepted.

February Parent/Teacher Conferences - Our February conferences will take place on Wednesday, 2/12/20 - Friday, 2/14/2020. Each of these days will be a 12:45pm early dismissal with NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare. Click here to sign up for your conference(s). If you do not sign up for a conference, none will be scheduled for you. Please note that the Sign Up Geniuses for conferences will be locked as of midnight 2/9/20. If you need to sign up for a conference after that or if you need to change the day/time you signed up for, you will need to call the school office.

** Special Note - PE Club will meet on Wednesday, 2/12, from 12:45-2pm**

Looking Ahead in February -

On Friday, 2/14/20, all students are invited to celebrate Valentines Day and wear the PE uniform with red or pink shirts (e.g., tee shirt, polo shirt, sweatshirt or sweater - appropriate for school). Students may also wear pink or red headbands or socks!

School will be CLOSED on Monday, 2/17/20 & Tuesday, 2/18/20 for our Long Winter Weekend.

SPRING SESSION! Kids in Business - Session 2 is Coming Soon! Kids in Business for students in grades K-8 will resume for the spring with our kickoff meeting on Monday, February 24, 2020. New club members are always welcome. The Club will meet on 2/24, 3/9, 3/23, 4/6, and 4/20 after school from 3:45-5pm. Our sale will be during school hours on 4/22 and 4/23. Please contact Mrs. Herron at cherron@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net to register. There is a participation fee of $10. Checks should be made payable to St. Mary's School with "Kids in Business" in the memo section.

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 sessions begins Monday, 2/24/20. All sessions will run on Mondays from 3:45-5pm. 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.

2020 Altar Server Training for New Servers: Have you ever thought about becoming an altar server? Then please join us for our 2020 training. Classes will be held from 4-5pm on the following Tuesdays: March 17^th, 24^th, and 31^st. All boys and girls in the 4th grade or above are welcome to attend. Please contact our altar server coordinator, Sheila Garilli, at ServerLeader@StMarySimsbury.org to sign up for the class.

A big thank you to everyone who supported our first JClub Catholic Book Fair!
Our orders have been submitted and your children will receive their books via kidmail next week. We hope that everyone enjoys their new books! Our special thanks to Mrs. Prausa for coordinating our first JClub sale! Also, congratulations to Nora C. who won our St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Smarties guessing jar!

Maximizing Family Time - Have you decided to make "family time" a priority in 2020? Let the CHOICE program help you! Grocery cards to Big Y, Stop & Shop, Shoprite and Fitzgeralds can help you put together that special Sunday dinner or fun weekend family brunch. Cards to Lowes, Home Depot, or Michaels can help with DIY projects or family crafts. All those cards and more are available for daily purchase in the school office. Click here for our "kid mail" order form. Your next family outing can also be funded via CHOICE with an order from GL Scrip for AMC Theaters, Build a Bear, Dave & Busters, Disney, even Carnival Cruise or many other entertainment venues and restaurants nation wide!

**CHOICE Cards will be available after the 8am and 9:30am Masses

at St. Mary's this Sunday, 2/9/20. Credit cards are accepted with a processing fee.**

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.

Congratulations & All God's Blessings to the students in our second grade and parish who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time last Saturday. Please keep all these children in your prayers as they continue to prepare for their First Holy Communion later in the spring.

SMS Moment of Joy