St. Monica School
May 2, 2023
Small By Design So Our Students Will Shine!
May is the Month of Mary
Dear Mary, my holy mother,
I love you so much
and I give you my heart.
Help me to love God.
Help me to love my neighbor
as a child of God.
Help me to love myself
as a child of God.
Amen
From Catholic.org
Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week is next week
- 6 bags of Marshmallows
- 5 packs of Hershey Bars (30 bars total)
- 4 boxes of Graham crackers (can be different flavors)
- 3 containers/bags of Raisins
- 4 bags of Chocolate chips
- 5 bags of Dried fruit
- 3 bags of Mini marshmallows
- 3 bags of M&M’s
- 3 bags of Pretzels
- 3 bags of Chex Mix
- 3 bags of sunflower seeds
- 4 packages of Gummy Bears
- (2) 24 packs of water
- 4 cans of pineapple
- 4 bags of frozen strawberries
- 4 bags of frozen blueberries
- 4 bags of frozen berry mix
- 1 gallon of whole milk
- 1 gallon of almond milk
- 4 containers of vanilla Greek yogurt
- 2 containers/gallons of orange juice
- 2 containers or bags of fresh or frozen spinach
Please keep the teachers and staff in your thoughts and prayers for next week!
Dress as a Storybook Character on Friday, May 5th.
The parent coordinators from our Parent Advisory Council, who are in charge of the Scholastic Book Fair (May 9-11), have organized a day for students to come dressed as their favorite storybook character on Friday, May 5th. This is not a dress down day, it is a costume day, so if they do not wear a costume, they must wear their uniform. Students must also wear their sneakers with their costume. Students should just wear the costume...no props please!
If you have any questions, please call the school office.
Scholastic Book Fair
Book Fair Class Schedule
Tuesday, May 9th - Kindergarten, Gr. 2B, Gr. 4 & Gr. 8
Wednesday, May 10th - PK3, PK4, Gr. 2A, Gr. 5 & Gr. 7
Thursday, May 11th - Gr. 1, Gr. 3 & Gr. 6
Students may also purchase books at our Ice Cream Social/Book Fair/Art Fair/Social Studies Fair on Thursday, May 11th from 6:00-7:30pm.
We are looking for volunteers (who are completely vetted by the school office) to volunteer to help on the days of the Book Fair and also the night of the book fair (Thurs). If you can volunteer for any of these days please contact Mrs. Tully. Each day at the Book Fair we would need volunteers from 8AM to 11:20 at the latest. At the Book Fair on Thursday evening, we need volunteers from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
Ice Cream Social - May 11, 2023
We are also looking for help to serve the Ice Cream and toppings. If you are available, please call Mrs. Tully. Thank you!!
School Event Payments
Volunteer/Chaperone Requirements for Next Year (2023-2024)
1. A CORI which must be completed at the school office (or you may request a copy and you may have it notarized) and cleared by the Archdiocese of Boston
2. A Protecting God's Children Class must be taken and a certificate of completion given to the school office. (Please request information on how to complete this course).
3. You must sign a Code of conduct in the presence of the office staff. This can be done at a later time, right before you plan on volunteering, or you may make an appointment to come in and sign.
If you are a coach you must also complete Mandated Reporter Training.
It is VERY IMPORTANT that you sign a CORI either this month or in June as this year, as in previous years, the Office for Background Screening will prioritize those sent in the summer. We will be sending some in June and July and then will not send any more until the end of September, which is the last time you may fill out CORIs. Those sent in September will take much longer to process and also anyone filling out a CORI renewal, will take longer, especially if not sent in this summer. If you are a parent, who would like to go on field trips, now is the time to fill out your CORI. If you wait, it will take longer to process and may not be back in time for you to attend field trips in September/October.
You will be able to sign a CORI on the following dates:
Tuesday, May 9th from 5:30 - 7:30 PM in the school office.
Wednesday, May 10th (weather permitting) at drop off from 1:30 PM to 2:15 PM.
Tuesday, May 30th from 5:00 - 7:00 PM.
Months of June, July, August and September by Appointment
If you live in NH, you are ALSO required to have a CORI through the NH State Police. We have all the necessary forms for that, so when you fill out your CORI for us, we can give you that form. We CANNOT send in your CORI to the Archdiocese until we receive the NH one back.
If you have lived in Massachusetts less than a year, you must give us a cleared CORI from the state you resided in before coming to Massachusetts, and again, we cannot send our CORI in until we receive that. You will need to get that CORI on your own.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call the school office.
Gr. 2 will be singing at the Memorial Day program at Elmwood Cemetary on May 20th
All students should be there no later than 8:45 AM and should be in their school uniform. You should have contacted the school office already if your child cannot attend.
Tuition Contracts were due on April 3rd
Please send your students with extra water!
Lunch Program will end on May 31 - You must send bag lunches in June
This Friday is SNACK SALE DAY!! Students may purchase snacks for $1.00. It is Grade 2A & 2B parents turn to send in snacks by Thursday.
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On Snack Sale dates we will be asking classes to sponsor the treats for us to sell (optional). If you would like to help us out, we would like them brought in the Wednesday before the Friday of the sale. Please make sure that all snacks are individually wrapped in their original packaging.
Here is the schedule for Snack Day donations:
Gr. 2 parents should send in snacks on Thursday, 5/4 for Friday 5/5
Thank you!!
Upcoming Dates - Please also check our online calendar below for activities.
May 5 - Fun Friday Snack Sale ($1.00)
May 6 - Mom's (or Special Lady) and Son's Glow Bowling Event
May 8 - 12 - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 8 - 12 - MAP Testing Week for Grades K-8
May 9-11 - Scholastic Book Fair
May 9 - JDCU M3 Money Club
May 11 - Ice Cream Social/Scholastic Book Fair/Art Fair Gr. 6-8/Soc. Studies Fair -
6 - 7:30 PM
May 12 - Fun Friday - NUT Day ($2.00 to dress down)
May 16 - May Procession
May 17 - PK3 and PK4 Field Trip to Stone Zoo
May 18 - Ascension Thursday Mass 1:00 PM, all are invited
May 19 - Fun Friday - Spirit Day
May 23 LAST JDCU M2 Money Club
May 23 - Paul Effman Band Concert 9:00 AM. Parents of band students invited to attend.
May 25 - Gr. 8 Class Trip to Boston
May 26 - Half Day (11:00 AM Dismissal). Buses available at dismissal. If your child WILL NOT be taking the bus, please let Mrs. Tully know.
May 29 - Memorial Day NO SCHOOL
May 30 - Gr. K & Gr. 1 Field Trip to Stone Zoo
May 30 - June 2 - Gr. 8 Final Exams
June 2 - Spirit Club Field Day (students will have a cookout lunch-no charge)
June 5 - Spirit Club Field Day RAIN DATE
June 6 - Gr. 1 & 8 Buddy Day Picnic and Games
June 7 - Gr. 8 Retreat
June 7 - Gr. 8 Dinner Dance at Four Oaks Country Club 6PM
June 8 - Gr. 8 Baccalaureate and Graduation 6PM in St. Monica Church
June 12 - PK4 Moving On Ceremony 9:00 AM. Students dismissed to their parents after the ceremony. This is their last day of school.
June 12 - PK3 students will be dismissed today at 11AM. This is their last day of school.
June 12 - Kindergarten Graduation at 7PM in school hall. Students have a full day of school. This is their last day of school.
June 14 - Last Day of School for Grades 1-7
Extra Help Sessions
Each teacher will have a day when they will offer extra help after school. Teachers in Grades K-5 will let you know if your child should attend these sessions. Grade 6-8 students may attend if they feel they need help with any of their teachers, however, parents MUST contact the teacher beforehand to let them know their child will be attending the extra help session. They will not be allowed to stay if a parent has not confirmed with the teacher before the session.
Extra Help Sessions are as follows:
Kindergarten - Mondays until 2:40 starting October 17th
Gr. 1 - Mondays until 2:40 starting October 3rd
Gr. 2A - Mondays until 2:45
Gr. 2 B - Mondays until 2:45
Gr. 3 - Mondays until 2:45
Ms. Levasseur (Gr. 4 & 5) Tuesdays until 2:45 PM
Mr. Leonard (Gr. 4 & 5) Mondays until 2:45 PM
Ms. Voltero (Gr. 6, 7 & 8) Tuesdays until 2:45 PM
Mrs. Castagna (Gr. 6, 7 & 8) Thursdays until 2:45 PM
Mrs. Bistany (Gr. 6, 7 & 8) Mondays until 2:45
If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher directly.
St. Monica Lunch Program - Ordering from Just Like Home
Dear Families,
Welcome. We hope you had a great summer. Just Like Home is a Peanut Butter free lunch
program and St. Monica is a NUT FREE SCHOOL. We will be offering Wow Butter (100 % Soy).
LUNCH ORDERING WILL OPEN ON AUGUST 15th
● All lunch and drink orders must be made online at https://justlikehome.boonli.com/login
● Our password is sms3.
● Once you register and set up your profile, ordering lunch will be easy as pie!
● Returning users will use the same username and password. Do not create a new account if you ordered last year.
● New users will enter the school password (sms3) to get access to our menu and will create their new username and password.
● All lunches must be ordered no later than Thursday for the next lunch week. Cutoff time is 10pm. You will have the opportunity to order for the full month on the first week of each month of lunch, thereafter there will be a weekly menu for the rest of the month.
● Payments accepted online will be Debit Cards, Visa, MasterCard or Discover. The website will charge our company a processing fee for all transactions; however, we are taking care of the merchant fees. We highly encourage ordering for the month, if possible, to reduce those silly fees!
● We love this school, its staff and the families, and we are proud to be a part of this community.
● Credits will be provided for school cancellations due to weather. Your online account will have a credit within 48 hours.
● As in past years, all products used by Just Like Home are peanut free. If your child has any food allergies outside of peanuts, please contact us before the school year starts.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions and we will be happy to assist you!
Sincerely,
Karen Morine
603-475-9519
Lisa Dussault
603-264-7611
Owners: Just Like Home
Important Lunch Program Notice
Also, if you are given a credit for a missed lunch (snow day, etc.) please make sure you order lunch when you use the credit. You can't just assume you can take the credit without ordering a lunch for your child online.
Lunch Program Credits
They do not credit for absences on Pizza Days.
St. Monica is a NUT-FREE School
Covid-19 Policy for the 2022-2023 School Year
Any individual who was exposed to COVID 19 can attend school as long as they have no symptoms. It is recommended that the individual wear a mask for ten days and test on day six after exposure. If symptoms develop follow the guidance for symptomatic individuals. There is no longer a universal mask mandate in Massachusetts. We will no longer be supplying/replacing disposable masks to students. If a student chooses to wear a mask, they need to provide their own and replacements if they break.
Students and staff who test positive for COVID -19 must isolate for five days. They can return to school on day six as long as symptoms are resolving, and they are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications. They must be masked for the remaining five days.
If the student or staff tests negative on day five or later, they do not need to wear a mask.
We would ask you to let the office and school nurse know of any positive COVID -19 cases so they can coordinate with teachers sending home schoolwork. All positive cases are an excused absence.
Symptomatic students or staff can remain in school as long as they test negative. Schools are not required to test students demonstrating symptoms. Parents are responsible for supplying tests for and testing their children. For symptomatic individuals it is recommended a second test be given within 48 hours if the initial test is negative.
COVID 19 Symptoms:
Fever (100.F) chills
Difficulty breathing
Loss of taste or smell
Cough not due to other known cause
Muscle aches body aches
Sore throat in combination with other symptoms
Nausea and vomiting in combination with other symptoms
Headache in combination with with other symptoms
Fatigue in combination with any other symptoms
Nasal congestion in combination with other symptoms (not dues to any other cause such as allergies
Quarantine is no longer recommended for students or staff who were EXPOSED to COVID 19 regardless of vaccination status.
Student Handbook
IMPORTANT!! Please update your account if you are a returning family, or set up your account if you are new on FACTS Family Portal
Please set up your account using the email the school has on file. Go to factsmgt.com and click on FACTS Family Portal under Parent Login tab, or click on the link below. Please click on CREATE NEW FAMILY PORTAL ACCOUNT. Enter our District Code, which is STMN-MA and your email address and continue on to create an account. You will be able to login now to see your child's grades (Grades 1-8) and update any information you may need to (all grades).
Please make sure all of your information is up-to-date. We have a lot of families who have not filled out the emergency contact section. It is very important because teachers have access to their students' information and the nurse and administration have access to everyone's information. This comes in very handy, especially for Mrs. Sanborn, when she needs to contact a parent. If there are no emergency numbers there then she has to call the office to get the information or look it up on the paper emergency form. Please make this easy for her by updating your information. It is also important in an emergency situation when we may have to evacuate the building or we are at home remotely. We can get all of the information from FACTS on our phones, tablets and computers.
To update your information, when you are on the home page of the Family Portal, Please click on SCHOOL and then click on WEB FORMS. Click on FAMILY DEMOGRAPHIC FORM and you can then click on any form there to update all of the information for your child/ren. To fill out the income survey (which is a requirement for all families), please go to WEB FORMS and click on the SCHOOL AND INCOME SURVEY.
If you are having any issues, please contact Mrs. Tully.
Our DISTRICT CODE is STMN-MA.
IMPORTANT!! Please update your information on our EMERGENCY SYSTEM - Blackboard Connect
You will need an ID number for your child to login. Please email Mrs. Tully for that number. The school office email is smsoffice@methuencatholic.org.
St. Monica School
Email: smsoffice@methuencatholic.org
Website: www.saintmonicaschoolmethuen.org
Location: 212 Lawrence Street, Methuen, MA, USA
Phone: 978-686-1801
St. Monica School Mission Statement
St. Monica School provides a strong, faith-centered Catholic foundation and provides opportunities for all students to achieve their potential in an inclusive, collaborative, and family-oriented community.