St. Margaret Mary Newsletter
10.04.2023
St. Margaret Mary Newsletter
October 4, 2023
SMCS Mission
Preparing and inspiring students to lead meaningful lives, rooted in the teachings of Christ and our Catholic tradition.
Greetings from the Principal
Dear St. Margaret Mary families,
Happy October! Last week, we had a great week with our fun dress up days, and we have a busy month coming up! Parent-Teacher conferences are just around the corner. They will be on Thursday, October 19 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. and Friday, October 20 from 8:00 - 11:00 a.m. The conference sign up links are including in this newsletter.
The Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue will be visiting our students in grades 1 - 3 on October 10. They will be talking to the students about the importance of fire safety and prevention.
Smile! Picture day is Wednesday, October 25. Students may be out of uniform for the day. More information will be coming! Harmann Studios will be taking our school pictures.
Blessings,
Mrs. Jackie Lutz
Associate Principal ~ St. Margaret Mary Elementary
Parent-Teacher Conferences Links
Mr. Dummer will be at SMM Friday, October 20 from 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Mrs. Grebe will be at SMM Friday, October 20 from 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Mrs. Schneider will be at SMM on Thursday, October 19 from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Mrs. Rodman will be at SMM on both days October 19 and 20.
Mrs. Splittgerber will be at SMM on both days October 19 and 20.
Mrs. Peterson will be at SMM on Thursday, October 19 from 3:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Holly Bekkers https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-43293888-holly
Cheryl Rivas https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-43293893-cheryl
Cathy Schlieter https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-43293897-cathy
Heidi Quick https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-43293872-heidi
Andrea Backman https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-43293869-andrea
Olivia Ebert https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-43293870-olivia
Mary Dopp https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-44814067-mary
Cari Zelinski https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-43293856-cari
Jenny Simon https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-44814602-jenny
Halle Logemann https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-43293871-halle
Mary Shandonay https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-44813841-mary
Daana Stuber https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-43293864-daana
Talleri McKenna https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-44814592-talleri
Classroom Spotlight - Phy. Ed. with Mrs. Rodman
It has been a great start to the school year in Physical Education. We started off the school year learning basic games that could be played on the playground such as Hot and Cold tag, Kickball, and Gaga Ball. In the middle of September we started our soccer unit. The students have been working hard in the gym learning many different moves and techniques that they can use on the soccer field.
Students in grades 4K-1 have been working on their dribbling skills, using "little kicks" to keep the ball close to them. They have practiced this through games such as Gate Dribbling and Soccer Tunnel Tag. Students in grades 2-3 have been working on passing the ball to a target/teammate on the field. They have practiced this skill through a game called Pindown. Finally, students in grades 4-5 have been working on fine tuning their dribbling and passing skills through a game called Socketball this week.
We will be doing a Football/Passing/Throwing unit during the month of October! The students are looking forward to showing off their football skills!
Finally, we are going to stress teamwork in all grades this semester. Students will be reading the book "The Hard Hat" in PE and they will be discussing ways that they can be good sports and teammates on the field. If your son/daughter plays on a sports team outside of school, encourage them to watch for examples of teamwork to share with the class!
Classroom Spotlight - Library with Mrs. Schneider
In library class, we have been focusing on the big genres of fiction and non-fiction. We talked about fiction being fake and they both start with "f". We explored different books in small groups to see what clues we could find to decide which genre they would fit into. We discussed some assumptions that if there are real pictures it is non-fiction and drawn pictures are fiction stories. We talked about clues on library books to know if they are real. For instance, numbers on the spine label and if easier to read or more pictures it has an orange "E". We will continue exploring non-fiction moving on to biographies focusing on some Hispanic Americans who make a difference.
Heckrodt Wetland Reserve Field Trip - 1st grade
Our first grade students took a field trip to Heckrodt Reserve and learned all about seeds and how they travel.
Virtue of the Month Assembly - Respect
Ms. Stuber's 5th grade class prepared a skit demonstrating the virtue of respect and what it means to be respectful in and outside of school.
After School Pick Up
If you pick up your child(ren) on Division Street, please pull forward to one of the four orange cones. Your child(ren) will be waiting at the cones. After your car is completely stopped, then your child(ren) can enter the car on the sidewalk side, not the road side. This procedure is in place to ensure the safety of our students. Thank you for your cooperation.
Teacher Wish List
If you would like to support your child's classroom and teacher, please check out how you can donate to our teacher wish lists here.
Thank you shout out
A big thank you to these families who donated toward the purchase of air purifiers in our classrooms! These air purifiers will have a significant and positive impact on the health and well-being of our students and staff! Your generosity is appreciated!
Upcoming Masses
Oct. 5 - Mrs. Simon's 4th grade class
Oct. 12 - Mrs. Zelinski's 2nd grade class
Oct. 19 - Mrs. Dopp's 2nd grade class
Oct. 26 - No School Mass
Mass Update - Almost every Thursday, we have the opportunity to gather at Mass as a community with both the school and parish together. This year, we have decided to bring back the ministry of ushers for our young parishioners as well as taking up a collection.
This is a great opportunity to teach our children about the importance of giving to the church to support its ministries and outreach to the poor. Please consider having your child bring an offering on Thursday mornings to place in the collection basket.
Thank you for your consideration and support in helping raise our children in the faith!
September H.A.L.O. Wall
H.A.L.O. stands for Helping And Loving Others. When a student is seen doing something above and beyond normal expectations, they may receive a H.A.L.O. award. These awards can be given for being respectful, being responsible, being kind, believing, or displaying leadership. H.A.L.O. award recipients are shared each morning during announcements. They are displayed our on H.A.L.O wall for the month. Thank you to all our students for helping and loving others!
Staff Birthdays
10/01 - Mrs. Boccheciamp
10/24 - Mrs. Rodman
11/01 - Mrs. Simon
11/02 - Mrs. Lamb
11/29 - Ms. Stuber
FACES Update
FACES (Faith and Community Enriching St. Margaret Mary Elementary) is our school’s official PTO group. We meet monthly and host many events throughout the school year. This year our officers are: President Gretchen Cogswell, VP Kiki McMillan, Treasurer Jen Hildahl, Secretary Kali Sawyer and Parish Liaison Deborah Scott. Please feel free to contact us at our email address: faces@smcatholicschools.org with any questions you may have.
- FACES Meeting - Thursday, October 5th at 9 a.m. (after Mass) - All parents are invited, as well as little siblings. Please sign in at the office and then head downstairs to the cafeteria. Our meeting will start after Mass, and meetings usually last about one hour. We hope to see you there!
- Feast of St. Margaret Mary - Monday, October 16th - The students will celebrate with cookies from Simple Simon Bakery and classroom activities to learn more about the life of St. Margaret Mary.
- FACES volunteering - We are always looking for parent volunteers! If you would like to help FACES with any of the fabulous events FACES sponsors, please sign up here.
- Lunchroom volunteers - Our school lunch program cannot run without the help of parent volunteers! Remember, you must be current with your VIRTUS documents to volunteer, and every three times you volunteer in a month you’ll get an out of dress code pass for one of your students! Please contact Justine Semrow at 920-209-5209 with questions about helping in the lunchroom, or sign up here.
To stay up to date on all FACES events, and other important school updates, please follow and like the SMM FB group named “St. Margaret Mary Elementary”.
Halloween Carnival
The St. Margaret Mary FACES group will be hosting the annual Halloween Carnival on Saturday, October 28th from 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Lunch will be available from 11:00 - 12:30. All kids preschool – 5th grade are welcome to attend for games, prizes, face painting, balloon animals and more. The carnival proceeds benefit the mission projects of St. Margaret Mary parish. Over the last 11 years, the Halloween Carnival has raised over $20,000 for Haiti and India parish outreach programs. Please help to make this year a success!
Here is a sign-up genius for student and parent volunteers and donations. Volunteers will assist with set up, serving lunch, running the games and clean up.
St. Margaret Mary Parish News
Click here to see upcoming parish events and to share the word with others.
Elementary Breakfast & Lunch Menu for October
Upcoming Events
- Friday, October 6 - Zephyrs Connect 5K
- Thursday, October 19 - Parent / teacher conferences pm (ES)
- Friday, October 20 - No school, parent / teacher conferences
- Wednesday, October 25 - SMM school picture day
- Saturday, October 28 - SMM Halloween carnival
- Saturday, November 11 - All Aboard for Christmas Fundraiser
Helpful Links
Contact Information
Phone: 920-729-4565
Associate Principal: Mrs. Lutz, jlutz@smcatholicschools.org
Elementary Principal: Mrs. Cihlar, acihlar@smcatholicschools.org