News for the Week of 1/9/19

Mark Your Calendar for some Winter Family Fun at the Start of Catholic Schools Week!

Saturday, January 26th from 5-8pm ~ Family Mass & our Student Art Show Gallery. 

Our annual art show will be presented after the 5pm Mass on 1/26/19.  Students should wear their uniform to Mass. Families are then invited to come across to the Parish Center to enjoy the art show along with a selection of snacks and appetizers.  Enjoy a cozy cup of cocoa from our hot cocoa bar while touring the "gallery".  The art show theme this year is in keeping with our Laudato Si initiatives.  Students are working hard and creatively to design and produce artistic pieces that will evoke taking care of our environment through recycling. Every student, PreK thru 8th grade, will have a piece of artwork on display for our community to enjoy.

Please click here to RSVP.  

Your RSVP helps us be sure we have enough food for this family event, so thanks in advance! 

More Catholic Schools Week Fun!

Again this year, we will celebrate Catholic Schools Week with several fun activities for both our students and our faculty/staff.  Look for additional details next week, but please take a moment to review what's in store!

Sunday, January 27th - Open House for Prospective Families from 2-4pm beginning in the Parish Center.  Additional details appear below.

Teacher Appreciation Week - We hope to pull together some small gestures of appreciation for our very dedicated faculty.  If you would like to help - please contact the school office. A committee is being formed to plan the details for these activities.

Student Appreciation Activities -  More details coming next week, but, we promise there will be plenty of fun for our very special students!

Thursday, January 31st - Family Lunch  Again this year, all families are invited to bring a brown bag lunch and join their favorite students at lunch.  Timing for student lunches will be published next week.

Calendar Reminders-

School Board Meeting - The School Board will meet on Wednesday, 1/16/19, at 7pm in the lower church.  All are welcome to attend.

School will be closed on Monday, 1/21/19, in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

Hot Lunch Ordering Period for February is Open Now.  Orders for hot lunches for February may be placed through Friday, 1/11/19.  This is your only opportunity to order hot lunches for February.  All orders should be placed via the Educonnect Parent Portal.  Payment should be sent in as soon as your order is placed.

Advancement News - 2019 Is Off to a Great Start!

Jumbled Fairy Tales Continue All Month at St. Mary's School! Please join us with your little one (all children under the age of 5 are welcome!) on Friday mornings for Story Time & Craft - 9:00 -9:30am   ~RSVP to Toni Chagnon at 860-658-9412 or sign up at  http://bit.ly/ftjumbled

Keys to Kindergarten -  TONIGHT - Wednesday, 1/9/19 - families with students eligible for Kindergarten next year* are invited to join us for a special evening.  Beginning at 6pm, there will be a special storytime for children while parents attend an informative presentation regarding kindergarten readiness.  Children are invited to wear their PJ's for this evening storytime.

* Children who will turn 5 no later than 12/31/19, are eligible for Kindergarten next year.  Children attending our PreKindergarten DO NOT NEED TO APPLY for Kindergarten.  Unless we are notified of other plans, families with students of the appropriate age will receive an enrollment packet for Kindergarten in the spring.  Eligible children attending other area Preschools DO NEED TO APPLY for Kindergarten in order to receive an enrollment packet.  Applications are being accepted now.  Click here  for an application form.

St. Mary's School Open House for Prospective Families

 Sunday, January 26th from 2-4 pm

Encourage friends or neighbors who are wondering about SMS to come to meet our faculty, staff, parents and students. From cursive to coding, we'll be sharing what has made us a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence! Contact Toni Chagnon for more information or to RSVP 860-658-9412 or  tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net .  Don't forget about our Family Referral Program!  Click here to learn more.

We Need your Superhero Powers! 
Enter your best superhero themed drawing  by Thursday, January 24th and your design could win our contest to be featured on our t shirt for our biggest fundraiser and family event of the year, St. Mary's School Superhero Challenge! 

The winner will be announced at the Art Show on Saturday, January 26th and will receive a free t shirt! For rules and more information,click here .

Students in grades 6-8 will host their exhibition of Los Paises de Habla Hispana (Spanish Speaking countries) on Wednesday, January 16th from 11-11:30am in the parish center. Parents are welcome to attend.

News for the Week of 1/2/2019

Congratulations to Father Matera who was one of nine priests in the Archdiocese of Hartford named "Monsignor". This title of Monsignor was granted by Pope Francis at the request of Archbishop Blair.  Click here to read the Hartford Courant's article. 

Our January school Mass will be held on Tuesday, 1/8/19 at 9am in the Church.  All are welcome to attend.  Please remember that no PE uniforms should be worn to Mass.

Hot Lunch Ordering Period for February Opens on Monday, 1/7/19.  The hot lunch ordering period for February will be open from Monday, 1/7/19 - Friday, 1/11/19.  This is your only opportunity to order hot lunches for February.  All orders should be placed via the Educonnect Parent Portal.  Payment should be sent in as soon as your order is placed.

Hot Lunch Volunteers Urgently Needed!  The success of our hot lunch program relies heavily on volunteer support to help serve student lunches.  More and more often, we are finding ourselves short of volunteer assistance.  Unless volunteers are reliably available, it may be necessary to reassess our ability to provide hot lunch 3 times per week.  If you are Virtus trained, and able to come in to serve lunch- even only occasionally - your help would be greatly appreciated.  Training is provided and SMS staff is always available for questions/concern or assistance.  Serving lunch is a great way to be part of our school day.  Click here to sign up.  Thanks in advance!

Advancement News - Getting 2019 Off to a Great Start!

Events for Little Learners & Children Entering Kindergarten next year are beginning this week & next!

It's Jumbled Fairy Tale January at St. Mary's School! Please join us with your little one (all children under the age of 5 are welcome!) on Friday mornings starting January 4th for Story Time & Craft - 9:00 am - 9:30 am   ~RSVP to Toni Chagnon at 860-658-9412 or sign up at  http://bit.ly/ftjumbled

Keys to Kindergarten -  Next week, families with students eligible for Kindergarten next year are invited to join us for a special evening.  Keys to Kindergarten will be held on Wednesday, 1/9/19, at 6pm.   There will be a special storytime for children while parents attend an informative presentation regarding kindergarten readiness.  Children are invited to wear their PJ's for this evening storytime.

St. Mary's School Open House for Prospective Families

 Sunday, January 26th from 2-4 pm

Encourage friends or neighbors who are wondering about SMS to come to meet our faculty, staff, parents and students. From cursive to coding, we'll be sharing what has made us a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence! Contact Toni Chagnon for more information or to RSVP 860-658-9412 or  tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net .  Don't forget about our Family Referral Program!  Click here to learn more.

Students in grades 6-8 will host their exhibition of Los Paises de Habla Hispana (Spanish Speaking countries) on Wednesday, January 16th from 11-11:30am in the parish center. Parents are welcome to attend.

Mark Your Calendar for some Winter Family Fun!
Saturday, January 26th from 5-8pm ~ Family Mass & our Student Art Show Gallery. Our annual art show will be presented after the 5pm Mass on 1/26/19.  Students should wear their uniform to Mass. Families are then invited to come across to the Parish Center to enjoy the art show along with a selection of snacks and appetizers.  Enjoy a cozy cup of cocoa from our hot cocoa bar while touring the "gallery".  The art show theme this year is in keeping with our Laudato Si theme.  Students are working hard and creatively to design and produce artistic pieces that will evoke taking care of our environment through recycling. Every student PreK thru 8th grade will have a piece of artwork on display for our community to enjoy.

SMS Christmas "Wrap Up" - 12/21/18

Today was a day of fun and excitement for our students 

as they enjoyed our annual Christmas Carnival.

  Click here to enjoy photos from today.

                               

The special holiday edition of the SMS Times is hot off the presses.  Click here to read all the news!

News for the Week of 12/19/18

Lessons & Carols

Our hearts were full of Christmas joy

watching the Nativity story unfold

on Monday evening.

Special thanks to Mrs. Jalinskas and Mrs. Work

for all their work preparing our students for this

prayer service.

Thanks, too, to our wonderful students

for such a prayerful and beautiful

retelling of the Christmas story. 

School will be dismissed early at 12:45pm on this 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.

Our January school Mass will be held on Tuesday, 1/8/19 at 9am in the Church.  All are welcome to attend.  Please remember that no PE uniforms should be worn to Mass.

Advent Service Projects - 

Thanks to all who participated in last Friday's Pajama Day to benefit CCMC.  Your generous support raised over $900!

There's still time to contribute to our toy drive for CCMC.  New, unwrapped toys will be accepted through tomorrow, Thursday, 12/20.   Collection boxes are located right outside the PreK classroom near our main entrance.

This Friday, 12/21, is our Christmas Carnival Dress Down Day - We will be collecting non-perishable food items for the food bank at Eno Memorial Hall.  To participate in the Christmas dress down part of the day, students need to donate as follows:

Bring 1 non-perishable item - wear a red or green shirt of your choice with the uniform of the day.
Bring 2 non-perishable items - add pants of your choice.  Pants must be appropriate for school.
Bring 3 non-perishable items - add a Christmas hat, socks or hair piece to your outfit!

Advancement News - Getting 2019 Off to a Great Start!

It's Jumbled Fairy Tale January at St. Mary's School! Please join us with your little one (all children under the age of 5 are welcome!) on Friday mornings starting January 4th for Story Time & Craft - 9:00 am - 9:30 am   ~RSVP to Toni Chagnon at 860-658-9412 or sign up at  http://bit.ly/ftjumbled

Keys to Kindergarten -  Families with students eligible for Kindergarten next year are invited to join us for a special evening on Wednesday, 1/9/19 at 6pm.   There will be a special storytime for children while parents attend an informative presentation regarding kindergarten readiness.  More details will be available in our next blog post.

St. Mary's School Open House for Prospective Families

 Sunday, January 26th from 2-4 pm

Encourage friends or neighbors who are wondering about SMS to come to meet our faculty, staff, parents and students. From cursive to coding, we'll be sharing what has made us a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence! Contact Toni Chagnon for more information or to RSVP 860-658-9412 or  tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net .  Don't forget about our Family Referral Program!  Click here to learn more.

Students in PreKindergarten & Kindergarten collected personal care items
as an Advent service project to create Blessing Bags for those in need.

There's Still Time to Join the St. Mary's Parish Youth Christmas Choir -  The St. Mary’s Parish Christmas Youth Choir will rehearse for the last time on Thursday, 12/20, from 4:30 - 5:15pm inside the church. All children old enough to learn the words to traditional Christmas carols are invited to come to this final rehearsal to prepare and then participate.  The choir sings prior to the 6:00pm Mass on Christmas Eve starting at 5:30 pm.

Here comes "Santa Claus" in his sleigh pulled
by a "tiny reindeer" - A great job with creative coding
by our fifth graders, Giselle, Julia & Amelie.

As we look forward to Christmas and the promise of a new year, we are happy to share Google's Year in Search 2018.  May we all continue to search for, and be a source of, goodness and kindness and joy.

 

News for the Week of 12/12/18

December 12th is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Hot Lunch Order Period is open NOW for January hot lunches.  Orders may be placed via the Educonnect Parent Portal through Friday, 12/14/18.  This is your only opportunity to order hot lunches for January.  Please send in payment once your order is submitted.  NO late orders can be accepted.

Advancement News

It's never too late to join Advancement! Please join us for some Christmas cheer at our meeting tomorrow - Thursday, December 13th after drop off at  9am in the lower church. All are welcome! 

As we look forward to Christmas and the New Year please consider including St. Mary's School in your end of year donations. Your contribution is tax deductible and crucial to the operating budget. Everything from snow plowing, HVAC maintenance and cleaning supplies, to academic, athletic and arts programs (to name just a few!) are made possible through the generosity of our donors. 

Click here or contact Toni Chagnon (tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net) for more information on how you can help! 

ADVENT SERVICE PROJECTS - PJ DAY IS THIS FRIDAY, 12/14!

PLEASE READ GUIDELINES BELOW CAREFULLY!

Lessons & Carols will be held next 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.

PE Club - There will be PE Club on Wednesday, 12/19 and Thursday, 12/20.

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.

'Tis the Season to be Thankful!

Thank you to everyone who supported the 8th Grade Poinsettia Sale.  We appreciate it!  Thank you also to all of the students and parents who helped with the delivery and distribution of the poinsettias!  It takes a village and we have one special community!
                                 Donna Nolan and the 8th Grade Class

Thanks to all who participated in our "Believe" letters.  SMS sent 166 letters to Macy's which will be a $332 donation to Make A Wish.

Students in Grades 7 & 8 immersed themselves in the works of Shakespeare on 11/30.  A series of workshops presented by Shakesperience introduced students to the works of Shakespeare and provided an opportunity to interact theatrically.

'Tis the Season to be Clipping!  Don't forget to check for BoxTops for Education on some of those special holiday groceries & supplies.  Here's a few products you may not have thought about:

• Annie’s® Baking Mixes
• Fiber One™ Mixes
• Reynolds® Bakeware Pans
• Reynolds Kitchens® Oven Bags
• Reynolds Kitchens® Parchment Paper
• Reynolds Kitchens® Slow Cooker Liners
• Reynolds® StayBrite® Baking Cups

BoxTops may be sent into school at any time.  All classrooms have collection boxes.

Still Shopping?  Making your List for Holiday Baking or Celebrations?  SMS CHOICE has gift cards for several department and specialty stores like Kohls, Macys, and Barnes & Noble, the Max group restaurants, Panera, Little City, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks & Peachwave along with most local grocery stores. There are also gift cards for Amazon, Target and Walmart!  Send in your CHOICE order or stop by the office to browse through the CHOICE box and make your selections!

Alumni News - Our congratulations to Gavin Hughes, SMS Class of '17, on being named to the Simsbury High Honor Roll for the first semester.  Gavin's name was inadvertently omitted from last week's listing. 

We are also proud to share that Shayna Glazier, SMS Class of '16, was inducted into the Massaco Chapter of the National Honor Society at Simsbury High School.  She is also a member of the Spanish National Honor Society.  Congratulations, Shayna!

A "Blue Ribbon" Day & Some Reminders

Saint Mary's School ~ Simsbury, CT

A 2018 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence

We were honored to have special guests for today's Blue Ribbon Recognition Ceremony.
From left -  Reverend Thomas E. Ptaszynski, St. Therese~Granby, Dr. Michael Griffin, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, State Representative (& SMS alum) John Hampton, the Most Reverend Archbishop Leonard Blair, S.T.D., Mrs. Margaret Williamson, Principal, Reverend Frank J. Matera~St. Mary's and Father Michael Whyte~St. Catherine of Siena.
Not pictured, but also present, was Mrs. Maria Maynard, Deputy Superintendent (and past Principal of SMS).

Important Reminders

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.

Poinsettia Pick Up - Those that ordered poinsettias from the grade 8 fundraiser may pickup plants between 2 &4pm on Friday, 12/7, in the Parish Center.  Thanks to all who supported our 8th grade!

Hot Lunch Ordering for January Begins Monday, 12/10/18.  

Hot lunch orders for January may be submitted through the Educonnect Parent Portal from Monday, 12/10/18 - Friday, 12/14/18.  Payment should be sent into the school office as soon as your order is complete.  Please remember that this is your only opportunity to order hot lunches for January - NO late orders can be accepted.

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 has provided concert and dress guidelines to band students.  Mrs. Jalinskas has provided  guidelines to chorus members.  Attendance is considered mandatory if a student is a member of instrumental music/band and/or chorus.  If your family has a conflict, please contact Mrs. Williamson.  

All are welcome to come and enjoy an evening of festive music.  The snow date for this concert is Monday, 1/7/19.

Band students are reminded to bring their instrument, music and any accessories to school on Monday for practice and the dress rehearsal.