Our April School Mass will be on Friday, 4/4/14, at 9am in the church. All are welcome to join us in worship. The Home & School Association will host a coffee beginning at 8:30am in the Parish Center. Please remember that no physical education uniforms should be worn to Mass.
Calendar Reminders -
Report cards will be sent home Friday, 4/4/14.
School is closed for Spring vacation from Monday, April 14 - Friday, April 18.
School will be OPEN Monday, 4/21/14 & relaxed uniforms may be worn beginning on this date.
IOWA testing of students in grades 3 - 7 begins on Monday, 4/28 and continues through Monday, 5/5, with Tuesday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 7 reserved for "makeups" due to illness.
When thinking about the Relaxed Uniform, please keep the following uniform guidelines in mind: A belt must be worn with walking shorts and slacks. School shoes should be worn with both the relaxed uniform and the formal uniform. Sneakers are only acceptable on physical education days. Socks are required with all foot ware.
The Relaxed Uniform may be worn beginning Monday, 4/21/14.
Observing the Holy Season of Lent - One Prayer a Day - Faculty, staff, administration and students have been invited by Mrs. Gannatti to share in a series of daily Lenten reflections. Click here if you would like an opportunity to share in these daily reflections.
Reconciliation - Again this year, throughout Lent the sacrament of Reconciliation will be available at St. Mary's Church on each Monday evening from 6-7pm. Students in grades 4-8 will also have the opportunity to receive this sacrament at school during this Lenten season. Our thanks to our school chaplain, Father Santiago, for coordinating this.
Living Stations of the Cross - One of Lent's most beautiful traditions is the Stations of the Cross. St. Mary's Parish presents the Stations of the Cross on each Friday in Lent at 7pm in the church. Our 8th grade students would also like to invite you to our annual "Living Stations of the Cross". This year, the Living Stations will be presented on Friday, April 11th at 2pm for the school community and at 7pm for the parish. You are most welcome to attend either presentation. The 7pm presentation will be preceded by a simple soup and bread dinner coordinated by the 8th grade. The dinner begins at 5:30pm in the Parish Center.
Making Connections in Our Community - We are excited to share that we have partnered with the CT1 Media and the Hartford Courant to increase our media exposure in our area. We have a brand new "landing page" on CT360 designed to spotlight our school when people search specific key words and geographic locations in Connecticut. Since the Hartford Courant is a frequent Google search, this partnership immediately increases Click here to visit this landing page.
St. Mary’s School Heavenly Day of Golf Tee Sponsors. Help show your love of St. Mary’s School by signing up to be a tee sponsor for our tournament. Sponsorships cost $100 and are a great way for parents, grandparents and friends to show their support for St. Mary’s School. Please click here to register online or click here to download a sponsorship form.
Athletic News -
Blue Knight Night will be held on April 9th, 2014 from 6-8:30pm.
All basketball players from JVA and Varsity teams should attend wearing their game jerseys and shorts. Parents of these players will have the opportunity to play basketball against their children.
Coaches will be summarizing the team's season as well as handing out team awards.
Pizza and drinks will be provided at 6:00pm
Campus Facilities Update
Last week, we reported that construction of the access ramp for the modular units was expected to begin. The weather last week resulted in a delayed start. Construction of the ramp is now underway and we are all excited to get to the finish line soon!
St. Mary's Stars - Congratulations to the Instrumental Music students that recently participated in FMI's All-State Band Concert at Central Connecticut State University! Again this year, St. Mary's was well represented at this prestigious all-state level with several of our musicians earning the distinction of first chair. Over 310 instrumental music students from the state of Connecticut participated in this year's concert representing 51 Catholic schools. Our special congratulations to students who earned the distinction of being first "chair"for their instrumental section. These include: Joanna Kuziak, Grade 7. Joanna was first chair Trombone in the prestigious FMI All-State Jazz Band. Lindsey Voelker was first chair Flute in the All- State Symphonic Band. Shayna Glazier, Grade 6, was first chair Alto Saxophone in the All-State Symphonic Band. Students that played in the Concert, Symphonic and Jazz Bands will now also play on the grounds of Lincoln Center in New York City at the end of May. Our thanks to our school's FMI Instructor, Mrs. Debbie Morse, for all her hard work and dedication in helping our students prepare for this important event. We would also like to applaud all those parents that supported their all-state musicians and made time for weekend and evening rehearsals that include driving to Manchester to make the concert possible. To see a complete list of FMI All-State musicians from SMS, click here.
Spring Piano Lessons - Mr. Cosham has a couple of spots open for beginning piano students. If you have someone interested in beginning the study of piano, please contact Mr. Cosham at bcosham@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.
Home & School Association News
Home & School Association News - Many thanks to the individuals who have accepted nominations to serve as HSA Board Officers for 2014-15. Elections for 2014-15 HSA Board Officers will be held on April 3rd at the Home & School Meeting in the grade 8 classroom beginning at 6:00 pm. Nominees include:
President - Jennifer Pavlonnis
Co-Vice President - Ellen Bompane
Co-Vice President - Amy Lillis
Treasurer - Frank Conde
Recording Secretary - Noreen Kuziak
Corresponding Secretary - Beth Scully
To learn more about this year's nominees, click here.
Box Tops for Education – Have you been clipping your Box Tops? Don’t forget that you can send them into your child’s classroom at any time!
Connecticut Federation of Catholic School Parents - The Federation is pleased to report that the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee voted yesterday in support of amending Section 9 of SB 29 and they have added an additional $12,000,000 to the program.
Over the next several weeks they are asking that you contact your Legislator to thank them for their support of HB 5564 and the amendment to Section 9 of SB 29- allowing non-public schools access to the School Security grant funding available to public schools. Click here for more information.Community News
Talcott Mountain Science Center invites you to an evening in their On the Shoulders of Giants series.
Kerri L. Cahoy, PHD is an atmospheric scientist and Boeing Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. Dr. Cahoy is also an alumna of the Talcott Mountain Science Academy. Join the Academy on Thursday, April 10th at 7pm in welcoming her back and learning about her journey in science and her work on advances in her scientific field.
Click here for more information.
Partners in Faith - Click here for the April edition of Partners in Faith.
Spring Clean-Up at St. Mary's - Mark your calendars for the morning of April 5th. The St. Mary's Men's Prayer Group invites SMS dads and their families to join them after 8am Mass. There will be coffee and donuts for all the volunteers who help clean up the church and school grounds in preparation for Easter. More info to come, a fun service event for the whole family.
Northwest Catholic High School Invites You! Bring the family for Circus fun! The Northwest Catholic Dramateurs will present Barnum from Friday, April 4th - Sunday, April 6th. Each show will be preceded by a "carnival" an hour prior to performance time. Featured performers include SMS alumi, Matthew Sottile, Class of '12 as Ringmaster. Also performing in the cast are Avery Hatch, Class of '12 and Ally Voelker, Class of '13. Sarah Jessen, Class of '13, has contributed her artistic style to the show's creative and visually spectacular set. Gabriela Doskos, Class of '13, will be performing in the pit band. You won't want to miss Jumbo the Elephant's appearance! For more information and tickets, click here.
It's "elemental" -
Have you ever heard of the molecule "caboron" or "bornitrodilithcar"? The students in grade 5 have. In fact, they have invented these new molecules. During the study of atoms and molecules, the students constructed their own atoms based on the Periodic Table of Elements using marshmallows and pipe cleaners. After the construction of the atoms, students put these atoms together to develop the new molecules. As they progress through the middle school science curriculum, they will come to understand why some creative combinations do not actually exist.
Campus Facilities Update
Last week, we reported that construction of the access ramp for the modular units was expected to begin. The weather last week resulted in a delayed start. Construction of the ramp is now underway and we are all excited to get to the finish line soon!
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| From left, Emily, Audrey & Sophie - Grade 5 - proudly represented SMS in the FMI All-State Gala Band. |
Spring Piano Lessons - Mr. Cosham has a couple of spots open for beginning piano students. If you have someone interested in beginning the study of piano, please contact Mr. Cosham at bcosham@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.
Home & School Association News
Home & School Association News - Many thanks to the individuals who have accepted nominations to serve as HSA Board Officers for 2014-15. Elections for 2014-15 HSA Board Officers will be held on April 3rd at the Home & School Meeting in the grade 8 classroom beginning at 6:00 pm. Nominees include:
President - Jennifer Pavlonnis
Co-Vice President - Ellen Bompane
Co-Vice President - Amy Lillis
Treasurer - Frank Conde
Recording Secretary - Noreen Kuziak
Corresponding Secretary - Beth Scully
To learn more about this year's nominees, click here.
Box Tops for Education – Have you been clipping your Box Tops? Don’t forget that you can send them into your child’s classroom at any time!
Over the next several weeks they are asking that you contact your Legislator to thank them for their support of HB 5564 and the amendment to Section 9 of SB 29- allowing non-public schools access to the School Security grant funding available to public schools. Click here for more information.
Talcott Mountain Science Center invites you to an evening in their On the Shoulders of Giants series.
Kerri L. Cahoy, PHD is an atmospheric scientist and Boeing Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. Dr. Cahoy is also an alumna of the Talcott Mountain Science Academy. Join the Academy on Thursday, April 10th at 7pm in welcoming her back and learning about her journey in science and her work on advances in her scientific field.
Click here for more information.
Spring Clean-Up at St. Mary's - Mark your calendars for the morning of April 5th. The St. Mary's Men's Prayer Group invites SMS dads and their families to join them after 8am Mass. There will be coffee and donuts for all the volunteers who help clean up the church and school grounds in preparation for Easter. More info to come, a fun service event for the whole family.
Northwest Catholic High School Invites You! Bring the family for Circus fun! The Northwest Catholic Dramateurs will present Barnum from Friday, April 4th - Sunday, April 6th. Each show will be preceded by a "carnival" an hour prior to performance time. Featured performers include SMS alumi, Matthew Sottile, Class of '12 as Ringmaster. Also performing in the cast are Avery Hatch, Class of '12 and Ally Voelker, Class of '13. Sarah Jessen, Class of '13, has contributed her artistic style to the show's creative and visually spectacular set. Gabriela Doskos, Class of '13, will be performing in the pit band. You won't want to miss Jumbo the Elephant's appearance! For more information and tickets, click here.
It's "elemental" - Have you ever heard of the molecule "caboron" or "bornitrodilithcar"? The students in grade 5 have. In fact, they have invented these new molecules. During the study of atoms and molecules, the students constructed their own atoms based on the Periodic Table of Elements using marshmallows and pipe cleaners. After the construction of the atoms, students put these atoms together to develop the new molecules. As they progress through the middle school science curriculum, they will come to understand why some creative combinations do not actually exist.
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