News for the Week of 1/20/16





CELEBRATING!  January is Catholic Schools' Month and we will be celebrating our school and community all month long. Highlights include:

Monday, 1/25, will be Student Appreciation Day!  Our Student Council will be coordinating bingo games with our classes.


Teacher Appreciation Week will take place from 1/25 - 1/29.   Teacher Appreciation Week is being coordinated by Mrs. Kalamarides.  See below for more information and a link to a Sign Up Genius that offers lots of ways for you to contributed to this special week. 

Next Wednesday, 1/27, we are hosting an Open House for Prospective Families.  An RSVP is requested but last minute guests are always more than welcome!


Our annual Family Pizza Lunch will be held on Friday, 1/29.  Family Pizza Lunch information appears below with a link to an order for guest lunches. Friday, 1/29, is also the special Art, Food & Wine Event at the Hill-stead Museum.  See more about this adult evening event below.


Calendar Reminders - 




Second Quarter Report Cards will be distributed on Friday, 1/22/16.  This will be the first formal report card for our Kindergarten students and the second report card of the year for students in grades 1-8.  Please be sure to check backpacks for the report card, retain the report card for your records and return the signed report card envelope to your child(ren)'s home room teacher.



HOT LUNCH SOS!  Hot Lunch help is needed on Monday, 1/25!  We have only one volunteer scheduled.  If you can help, please contact Tammy Budnick at tbudnick@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net or 860-658-9412 or sign up via the Sign Up Genius.  Click here. Thanks in advance!



In February, we will worship with our parish family on Ash Wednesday, 2/10/16,  in observance of the start of the holy season of Lent.  We will attend the 12:15pm parish Mass.  All are welcome.  Please remember that no physical education uniforms should be worn to Mass.









School will be closed on Monday, February 15 & Tuesday, February 16 for a long winter weekend. School is open for regular, full days from Wednesday, February 17 - Friday, February 19.


Teacher Appreciation Week - Part of our Catholic Schools' Month celebration will include a week dedicated to Teacher Appreciation. Teacher Appreciation Week will take place from 1/25 - 1/29.  Diana Kalamarides has graciously offered to coordinate this week's activities again this year and we are so grateful.  Mrs. Kalamarides has created a Sign Up Genius that features lots of ways you can contribute to this week's special activities.  Click here to visit the Sign Up Genius for Teacher Appreciation Week.



Wednesday, 1/27/16 -Open House for Prospective Families - We look forward to sharing our community's special spirit with families that want to learn more about our school and about the benefits of a Catholic school education.  If you know someone who is wondering if SMS is the right place for their family, please encourage them to attend this Open House 1/27 at 6:30pm. 

Family Pizza Lunch is Friday, 1/29/16!  Please come and enjoy lunch with your favorite SMS student(s).  Everyone - parents, grandparents, younger siblings, special friends - is invited.  Bring a bag lunch or order a pizza lunch.  Click here to order guest lunches.  ALL GUEST LUNCHES MUST BE ORDERED NLT THURSDAY, 1/21. Please note - Student pizza lunches were already ordered as part of the regular hot lunch order that was submitted in December.  If you did not order a student lunch at that time, you can order one using the guest lunch order.  

Questions - Contact Tammy Budnick in the school office - tbudnick@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net or 860-658-9412. 

Extra helping hands are always needed on this day!  If you can help, even for just a part of the time, please contact Tammy Budnick using the contact information above.

Family Pizza Lunch Schedule -

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

11:40-12:15 Grades 3 & 4 

12:20-12:50 Grades 5, 6, 7 & 8 




There's still time to book your babysitter so you can join us on Friday, January 29, 2016 from 7-10pm for an 

Art Show & Wine Tasting 

at the Hill-stead Museum in Farmington.


SMS students have come together to create artwork for a spectacular art show celebration for adults.

EVERY STUDENT HAS CREATED THEIR OWN MASTERPIECE THAT HAS BEEN PROFESSIONALLY FRAMED 
AND WILL BE ON DISPLAY.

Purchase your child's framed original artwork for $35.  
Cash or check only - payable to St. Mary's School

***You may purchase reproductions of your child's work
 for other family members or friends for an additional $35 each.*****

Admission to the show is free.
A percentage of all sales comes back to the school.
Tours of the Hill-Stead Museum will be provided
Wine & beer tasting provided by Valley Fine Wine and Spirits.



Your RSVP to Toni Chagnon requested NLT Wednesday, 1/27/16 -tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net


The Saint Mary’s School Board Nominating Committee has started our process to identify potential school board members for next year. Potential candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by someone else. There is no requirement for board members to have children at Saint Mary’s School. We want to ensure we have the best talent serving on the board. The needs we will be looking to address for the upcoming term will include individuals with a financial or CPA background skills or individuals with skills focused on marketing, project management and strategic planning. Potential candidates must believe in and support Catholic education and be willing to serve a three year term.  If you are interested in being considered to serve on the School Board, please contact Claude Howard at claudeoh@gmail.com. In your e-mail, please include information about your Parish (Town), Occupation, if you have or had students at Saint Mary’s School and the specific talents you will make available to the board.


CHOICE Program News - CHOICE statements are being sent out this week via email.  Please be sure to review this statement so that you are aware of the status of your family's CHOICE commitment.  As indicated in our Family Enrollment Agreement, your CHOICE participation is a required part of your tuition commitment to the school.  Questions should be directed to Tammy Budnick at tbudnick@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net or 860-658-9412.  
If you have any of the large, clear plastic envelopes that we use to send completed CHOICE orders home, please return them to school.  Our supply of these is now quite low and they do help to make completed CHOICE orders more visible.

Send a Valentine to a Serviceperson - As part of their 80th anniversary celebration, the Big Y has partnered with the USO to sponsor a Valentines program for our service men and women here and overseas.  Click here to download the template that must be used for this Valentine - no other type of card or paper may be used.  Bring your completed valentine to school and we will be take care of delivering all the valentines created by SMS students to the Big Y store in Avon.  The deadline for completed valentines to be brought to school is Monday, 2/1/16.


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