News for the Week of 1/20/21

 

The School Board will meet TONIGHT - Wednesday, 1/20/21, at 7pm via Zoom.  All are welcome to attend and Mrs. Williamson has sent out an all family email with the Zoom meeting credentials prior to the meeting.

Mark Your Calendars & join us for our next Knights United Family & School Association Zoom meeting on Wednesday, January 27th at 9am.  Help is needed in all capacities as we plan for our upcoming winter and spring events. Come have some fun and help us build our community spirit! Please look for an all school email prior to 1/27 that will provide the Zoom invitation and meeting passcode.

It's Almost Time to Celebrate!  Catholic Schools Week begins Sunday, January 31 and continues through Saturday, February 6, 2021!  There will be a special theme and associated events every day!

During this special week, we also celebrate Faculty & Staff Appreciation!  

Throughout the week, we will provide teachers with a breakfast treat, lunch (they won’t need to prepare for), as well as a Supply Bar. A Sign Up has been created to help support the events happening throughout the week. Click here.  As always, participation is completely optional!

This year, to be COVID-safe, we had to alter the donations of home-baked goods and lunch options for the year. We instead will have COVID-safe options provided through gift card donations. As a gentle reminder, you can always choose to purchase these gift cards through the CHOICE program! Please contact Mrs.Tricia Prausa in the school office to purchase them before January 27th.

Since we are SODAlighted to have our Teachers and Staff at SMS, we will also treat them to some Soda/Seltzer to show our appreciation.  

Additionally, on Monday, February 1st, the theme will be “We can’t mask our love for our students and teachers” . We are asking that students write a note of appreciation/love for one, some or all of their teachers to bring to school, so students can share in the appreciation. 

Lunch Program - Tomorrow - Thursday, 1/21/21, is the last day to order lunches for the week of 1/25/21.   Lunch orders for the week of 2/1/21 will be accepted  Monday, 1/25/21, through Thursday, 1/28/21. All orders must be placed via the Educonnect Parent Portal.  Please note that NO LATE ORDERS CAN BE ACCEPTED. If you miss the order period, you will need to wait for the following week.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held from Wednesday, 2/10/21 - Friday, 2/12/21.  Each of these days will be a 12:45 early dismissal.  There will be no aftercare on conference days.   Please read the information that appears below carefully since conferences will use multiple formats this February.

All conferences will be held via Zoom sessions with teachers providing you with a meeting invitation for your requested day and time. 

Sign Up Genius links for PK3 & PreK, Kindergarten - Grade 5 will be active beginning on Monday, 1/25/21. Conference scheduling will be open via Sign Up Genius from Monday, 1/25/21, until midnight on Sunday, 2/7/21.  After that, you will need to call the School Office to schedule a conference or make a change to a conference day/time.  Please note that if you do not schedule a conference, none will be scheduled for you.

Middle School (Grades 6, 7 & 8) will publish Progress Reports with comments via the Educonnect Parent Portal on Friday, 2/5/21.  If, after reviewing the Progress Report, you would like to schedule a conference, please send an email to Mrs. Work.  She will respond to you with scheduling information. 

Click here to schedule your Parent/Teacher Conference(s).

Looking Ahead to Next Year!  It's hard to believe that January is almost over! As admissions for the 2021-22 school year get underway, we have limited space available in our PK3 & PreK program and Kindergarten.   If your older child(ren) is/are already enrolled here at SMS, we would like to make sure that you have first consideration for these seats. If you are planning to enroll a younger child for the upcoming school year please submit your applications by Friday, 2/5/21.  In celebration of Catholic Schools Week, we are waiving the application fee through February 5th!  You can complete the online application here.

* Please note, submission of your application does not guarantee enrollment, but if submitted by 2/5/21, allows us to prioritize your application in accordance with our Admissions Policy.  

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES WITH STUDENTS CURRENTLY ENROLLED AT SMS.

1.  If your child(ren) is/are already attending SMS, you DO NOT NEED TO REAPPLY for next year.  You will receive enrollment paperwork in March for the coming school year that will reflect the appropriate grade for the new year.  Your timely return of the signed Family Enrollment Form and Family Enrollment Fee is your "confirmation" that seats will be available for your child(ren) for the 2021-22 school year.  If your Family Enrollment Form and Fee are not returned by the requested date, it will be assumed that your children are not returning to SMS for the 2021-22 school year. 

2. If your child(ren) is/are currently enrolled in our full day PreK program, you DO NOT NEED TO REAPPLY for Kindergarten.  Unless we are notified of other plans, we assume that students in our PreK will be part of the following year's Kindergarten class.  We also assume that students in our PK3 program will be a part of the following year's PreK4's.

Prospective Families Are Invited! - Instead of our traditional Open House on the last Sunday in January, prospective families can register for a personal, on campus, one on one tour on Sunday, January 31, 2021. Tours can be scheduled from 9am to 3:30pm. Temperatures will be taken and masks are required. This is a great opportunity to see the school campus, classrooms and meet faculty and staff. 

Please share this information with any families that you may know may be interested in learning more about us and then remember to take advantage of our Family Referral Program.

"Make Up/Retake" Individual Student Photos - Lifetouch Photography will be here on the morning of Monday, February 1, from 9-10:30 to take Make Up & Retake Individual Student Photos for students in PreKindergarten, Kindergarten - Grade 7 (PK3 and Grade 8 photos were taken by an alternate photographer).  Students that need a retake photo should bring their original photo package.  Students that were not present on picture day, (Monday, September 14, 2020) should have their picture taken even if no portrait package is being ordered since every student is featured in our annual yearbook and in this year's composite group photo that will be comprised of thumbnail photos of each student since social distancing protocol precludes traditional group photos this year.  Students having their picture taken may wear their uniform of the day for the photo or bring an outfit to change into for their picture.  Uniform of the day should be worn for the rest of the day. 

If ordering a package because student did not have a photo taken in September, please use the information below:

It's Time to Order Your Yearbooks!  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.  We will also be sending home a paper order form on Friday, 1/22/21, that may be completed and returned to the school office with payment. Our yearbook ID code is 9415321.  Please note that the order deadline is March 29, 2021 and that all yearbooks must be preordered. 

Thanks to all that participated in our first service project of 2021!  As the photo shows, the combined response from St. Mary's Religious Education program and SMS for Cat's Diaper Drive benefiting Gifts of Love was awesome!  Your generosity is appreciated!