bottle it up

bottle it up

"A picture's worth a thousand words, 
but you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered...
you should've seen it in color"


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A few weeks ago one of my bests, Alexa, swung in for a super quick morning visit while she was in SC for a few days. She hung in our all of our craziness and didn't even bat an eye. It's such a treat to see her with my boys, especially since she lives in New York. It made me smile when she pulled out her camera and just snapped away. It's not often that I'm on the other end of the camera. 

I'll forever be grateful for these shots. They so encumber every aspect of what daily life with my three little guys is like: sleeping, big brother's hand-me-downs, eating snacks on the front porch (those "big mints" may have been bribery for pictures), workout clothes & a new favorite hoodie for mama + an unruly, wild mane, peeing in the yard, and bare feet all around. These are the days that I want to bottle up and remember way down the line when they're bringing home girls who will one day take my place as their main (female) squeeze, driving cars, playing sports, and eating us out of house and home. 

This is the good life we're living. #martinbandofbrothers, my heart will always smile on these days.



"...that's the story of my life, right there in black & white..."

|Jamey Johnson|




currently...

currently...

currently...

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reading: our trail blog book that i gave mike for Christmas a couple of years ago 

playing: at the park almost every day / night 

watching: The Hateful Eight 

trying: to drink (more) water 

cooking: no joke, hot dogs for dinner tonight 

eating: (still) dark chocolate covered espresso beans // Quest bars // (always) apple + pb 

drinking: black french pressed coffee 

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calling: no one, currently 

texting: mikey & kayla jean 

pinning: ideas for the white house // things to see & do for our late summer girls trip

tweeting: still not tweeting...

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crafting: recycled candles 

doing: work from home for a friend's office 

going: to the lake for a long weekend

loving: Trader Joe's

hating: that my littlest bud is colicky

discovering: new friends in our neighborhood 

enjoying: working on the white house with mikey 

hoping: the square photos i printed come in soon (thanks for the $10 off Parabo Press

celebrating: our newest niece, sweet Margaret Ellis Johnson (aka "May")

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smelling: Capri Blue Volcano 

thanking: Mimi & M for hanging with the boys so Mike & I can work at the white house together

considering: simplifying our summer menu 

finishing: ship lap (hopefully tonight / tomorrow) at the white house & moving on to floors 

starting: to add more ideas to the tattoo mere worked up for me last summer 

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News for the Week of 5/18/16

Congratulations & all God's blessings to the St. Mary's Parish & School second graders who celebrated
their First Holy Communion last Saturday.  Pictured above, many of the SMS second grade students with their proud
teacher, Miss Soucy.



2016 Fairway to Heaven Golf Tournament 


TUESDAY, MAY 24!

Registration Deadline is Friday, 5/20/16

Click here to register now.

Get ready for a uKNIGHTed day of swinging, serving and bidding at The Hop Meadow Country Club on Tuesday, May 24, 2016.

Join us for a morning of tennis, a round of golf or just a delicious dinner and exciting auction. 

 For more information, please contact Toni Chagnon at 860-658-9412 
or tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.  

For a sneak peek at some SMS "priceless" auction items - scroll to the bottom of the blog!


Authors in residence
Claudia and Madeline sharing their Book Creator books with their grade 3 classmates.



School Calendar Changes -  Please make note of the following changes to the school calendar:


Primary Grades Field Day has been moved to Monday, June 6th, from 1:30-3pm.  This event was originally scheduled for Friday, 5/20.  Students in Kindergarten - Grade 4 participate in this event and it will take place in the North (playground) parking lot.

Middle School Field Day (Grs. 5-8) will take place on Friday, May 27th from 9am-1pm. Students 
will be playing baseball and we are in need of umpires! If you can help umpire or supervise a game please contact Mr. Gangloff at sgangloff@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.

School is closed, Monday, May 30th, in observance of Memorial Day.


The final prayer service for this school year, prepared by our Kindergarten students will take place on Tuesday, June 7th at 1:30pm in the Church.  Please note that this a time change from the original calendar.  The prayer service was originally scheduled for 9am.

Wednesday, June 8th will be a full day of school with both PreK Enrichment and Aftercare available.

Thursday, June 9th will be our last day of school. There will be an Awards Assembly in the Parish Center at 9:30am.  Parents of students receiving an award will receive notification from the teacher.  This will be a 12:45 early dismissal with NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare available.

Our first day of school for the 16-17 school year will be Wednesday, August 31.  This will be a regular, full day of school with both PreK Enrichment and Aftercare available.


Thanks to everyone who made last Friday's Grandparents' & Special Person's Day and May Crowning such a success!  We were so happy to welcome so many special guests to share part of a school day with us and to join us as we honored Mary at our annual May Crowning.  Special thanks to our Advancement Committee for all their help setting up, serving and cleaning up the day's continental breakfast.












Used Uniform Exchange - Click here for an updated inventory of items available via the used uniform exchange.




Kindergarten students visited the Post Office this week to learn
how our mail is processed and delivered.

Community News


Click here to register for the Parent's Retreat at Holy Family.

Auction Sneak Peek!


Gr. 1
Gr. 6

Grade 8 - Stepping Stones

PreKindergarten

Kindergarten

Gr. 5 - Colorfully Blended

Grade 2

Gr. 3 - Woven Friends

Gr. 4 - Circles of Life

Special note --- Grade 7 will also have a "priceless" auction item.







big brother, little brother | may 2016

big brother, little brother | may 2016

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these two. seeing glimpses of the sweetest friendship - today at Trader Joe's (our regular Monday outing) Solomon bumped his head while backing his buggy into someone else's and Amos promptly abandoned his buggy with all of my groceries in it to hug and comfort him. I wasn't the only one who noticed. 

ezra, i'm sure you'll be being drug tagging along soon ... 

we're becoming expert rock throwers, ant "quishers," bubble blowers and "pa-cycle" eaters. we're taking multiple walks to the park (any park) with daddy after work during the week. and, we're anxiously awaiting the re-opening of the fountains downtown. 

 the #martinbandofbrothers, The Kings of Summer, for sure


photo from Alexa who spent a quick morning with us recently. more of those soon. 

childhood unplugged | water balloon fun

childhood unplugged | water balloon fun

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M recently gave us some water balloons & in an attempt to spend a few hours outside one morning this week I filled a bowl full of them & we spent a little while playing with them. Amos LOVED them ... Solomon (surprisingly) not so much. I loved watching Amos figure out different ways to bust them - my favorite: the slam dunk. Solomon was super sad when the first one he touched popped and wouldn't touch any more after that. I had a hard time making him understand that that was the fun of it when we try not to pop regular balloons (that you'll find floating around the house on any given day). Water balloons are definitely going to be in our rotation of things to play with this summer! 

We also LOVE bubbles around here. I've posted about playing with them before (here & here) -- seriously, if you're a mama and you and your littles don't play with bubbles on the reg, shame on you. (: Bubbles provide hours of cheap fun around here! AND let me let you in on this little secret: wet the deck / porch / bathroom floor (yes, we blow bubbles in the bathroom too) because bubbles will land on a wet surface and NOT pop! Score -- even MORE fun for your littles! You can thank me later! 


PS - What are fun outside things your littles are loving these days?! We're always searching for new fun things to do! 

News for the Week of 5/11/16



Grandparents' & Special Person's Day is Tomorrow, May 13th!  
In addition to a continental breakfast, student entertainment & classroom visits, 
the day's events will include our traditional May Crowning by our second grade students.  








2016 Fairway to Heaven Golf Tournament 
Registration Is Now Open! 

Click here to register now.

Get ready for a uKNIGHTed day of swinging, serving and bidding at The Hop Meadow Country Club on Tuesday, May 24, 2016. For more information, please contact Toni Chagnon at 860-658-9412 or tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.  


Spring Band Concert - Our annual Spring Band Concert will be held on Monday, May 16th at 7pm in the Parish Center.  There will be a dress rehearsal for the student body at 2pm.  Guest are welcome at both performances.  It is important that all musicians bring their instrument, stand, music and accessories to school on Monday, 5/16.  Please click here for more information about concert dress, arrival time and expectations for musicians. 



Students in Miss Bedard's Kindergarten celebrated
Pajama Day last week!


CHOICE Program News -  

We have been informed that GL Script will no longer be carrying Aeropostale cards once their current inventory of cards is depleted.
Also, just a reminder that the CHOICE year ended on April 30th and any outstanding balances are due to the office at this time. Statements were sent home last week.

All profits from CHOICE cards purchased beginning on May 1, 2016 through April 30, 2017, are applied to your family's 2016-17 CHOICE obligation.  Thank you!

If you have questions about the CHOICE program or your family's CHOICE obligation, please contact Mrs. Budnick in the School Office -tbudnick@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.




School Calendar Changes -  Please make note of the following changes to the school calendar:


Primary Grades Field Day has been moved to Monday, June 6th, from 1:30-3pm.  This event was originally scheduled for Friday, 5/20.  Students in Kindergarten - Grade 4 participate in this event and it will take place in the North (playground) parking lot.

Middle School Field Day (Grs. 5-8) will take place on Friday, May 27th from 9am-1pm. 




The final prayer service for this school year, prepared by our Kindergarten students will take place on Tuesday, June 7th at 1:30pm in the Church.  Please note that this a time change from the original calendar.  The prayer service was originally scheduled for 9am.

Wednesday, June 8th will be a full day of school with both PreK Enrichment and Aftercare available.

Thursday, June 9th will be our last day of school. There will be an Awards Assembly in the Parish Center at 9:30am.  Parents of students receiving an award will receive notification from the teacher.  This will be a 12:45 early dismissal with NO PreK Enrichment or Aftercare available.

Our first day of school for the 16-17 school year will be Wednesday, August 31.  This will be a regular, full day of school with both PreK Enrichment and Aftercare available.







Students in Mrs. Jehning's First Grade have been using an iPad app called Book Creator to write books about "animal homes".



Tuition Assistance for 2016-17  
APPLICATION DEADLINE IS SUNDAY, MAY 15TH.

Again this year, tuition assistance will be available from funds provided by the Archbishop's Annual Appeal (AAA), the Catholic Schools' Support Program (CSSP) and our school's budget.  These funds are distinct from the scholarships that are available from the St. Mary's Trust.  The application period for the Trust Scholarships closed on 4/30/16.

To apply for tuition assistance from the Archbishop's Annual Appeal, CSSP and the school budget this year, your application must be submitted via SMARTAID.  SMARTAID is a confidential service provided by SMART, LLC that helps schools to assess a family's need for financial assistance based on the information provided to SMARTAID by the family.  St. Mary's School, with the guidance and advice of our pastor, Father Matera, will continue to be solely responsible for all tuition assistance decisions and the school will notify all applicants of any tuition assistance awards.

The application deadline for tuition assistance requests is May 15, 2016.  There is a $35 fee to apply via SMARTAID.  If this fee presents a hardship for your family, please contact Mrs. Gannatti.

Click here for a set of helpful guidelines for completing your SMARTAID application.  To access the SMARTAID application, click here.

Community News

Talcott Mountain Science Center Invites You to Go Whale Watching!  Family Whale Watch on Saturday, May 21st. Talcott has chartered a boat through Capt. John Whale Watching out of Plymouth, MA. This is a company that Talcott has worked with for over 30 years. The boat departs at noon for a 4-hour whale watching trip and returns at 4 pm. The cost of the Whale Watch is a very reasonable $25 per person.

A coach bus will be available for those who would prefer not to drive. There are only 55 spots on the bus. If you would like to ride on the bus, please get your order in early.If there is  a big demand for the bus it may be possible to get a second bus. The bus will leave from the Avon Commuter Lot, Rt. 44, in front of Walmart at 8:30 am. On the way home from Plymouth we will be stopping for dinner and arrive back in Avon around 8pm. The cost of the whale watch plus coach bus transportation is $60 per person.

The boat holds up to 144 people and has a galley for lunch, snacks and beverages. You are welcome to bring your own picnic lunch as well. You are advised to bring extra layers of warm clothes; even if it is a warm day, once you round the tip of the Cape it gets very chilly. Jonathan Craig will be our whale watch leader and there is a naturalist on the boat, as well. Don’t forget to bring your camera!

Please click here to register.

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