The Defender
March 31, 2023
Important Upcoming Dates
- April 3, 2023 Class Picture Day (Students in uniform)
- April 6, 2023 NO SCHOOL - Holy Thursday
- April 7, 2023 NO SCHOOL - Good Friday
- April 10, 2023 NO SCHOOL - Easter Monday
- April 11, 2023 NO SCHOOL - School of Faith
A Message from Mrs. Tate
Dear St. Michael the Archangel families,
This has been a busy week at St. Michael the Archangel! Our first and second grade classes had their concert this week and sang beautiful Lenten songs to share their Catholic faith and love for Jesus. We had a beautiful crowd of parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends who came to support them. Congratulations to Ms. Walling and our first and second grade students. Your music drew us to Jesus and the true meaning of this important season.
This week has been difficult, too, as we hear the tragic news out of Tennessee. I want to assure our school and parish community that safety is a top priority at SMA. Here at St. Michael we have chosen to be proactive and have worked with law enforcement to follow best practices for school safety. We have a comprehensive crisis plan that is reviewed regularly in-house and with our local law enforcement officials. We do not publish this crisis plan for the general public because of security; we do not want the wrong people having the detailed information about our plan. I shared the details of our plan with our School Advisory Council back in October. We discuss safety and security regularly with our staff, and we hold multiple drills throughout the school year to be as prepared as possible in the event of a crisis.
In addition to our crisis plan, we have developed multiple safety practices in conjunction with a security expert and the police. Measures include, but are not limited to, security film on all classroom windows, auto-lock classroom doors, and security cameras accessible by the police department.
Fr. Brian and I plan to take the feedback we have received and the details of our crisis plan to our Parish Council and School Advisory Council at our next meetings where we will discuss school safety and security.
As we enter the highest season of our church, Holy Week, please pray for our school, staff, students, and families.
Lord Jesus, use these final days of Lent to draw us closer to you so that we may see your goodness and glory in new ways. May we know the depts of your love for us more fully. May we feel the pain you endured for our sake. May we rejoice that you conquered every bit of evil when you rose to life again.
Thank you for your love and support of our school.
I welcome everyone’s participation in the weekly chapter commentary on The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups.
Have a blessed Palm Sunday!
Sincerely,
Diana Tate, Principal
Uniform Closet
As we are in the last quarter of the school year, we are looking to restock the uniform closet. We are needing smaller Kindergarten size uniforms ASAP. We will be having a uniform "Swap and Shop" this summer, dates and times to be announced.
All-School Adoration – Volunteers Needed
We are thrilled to be able to offer all-school adoration during Lent this year. We will have Eucharistic Adoration on March 6, March 27, and April 3 from 8:15-11:00 in the church. Please sign up here if you are able and willing to help us keep at least two adults in the church adoring during each of these dates/times. Feel free to sign up for as many days/times you wish. We welcome all adorers!
1st and 2nd Grade Lenten Play
Join the SMA Mathletics Team!
Join the SMA Mathletics Team! All 4th, 5th, and 6th graders are invited to participate in Mathletics, a diocesan-wide math competition between schools. This year, we will meet for two practices and an intra-SMA competition. Next year, we will be participating with other diocesan schools. All skill levels are encouraged to join! Practices will be held in Mrs. Wilkerson's room (206). Sign up here.
The following are the dates & times we will be meeting.
April 13, 3:30-4:15 (Practice) April 20, 3:30-4:15 (Practice)
April 27, 3:30-4:30 (Intra-SMA Competition)
Presidential Service Award Forms Due April 3
Presidential Service Award forms are due to the front office April 3. We cannot accept late submissions this year due to a quick turnaround time to get pins and certificates in by Go Forth to Serve Day on April 28. Forms and requirements can be found on the VSL website.
Christ's Light Award: Teacher's Edition
Each family is invited to submit a video nomination of a school staff who have exemplified living Christ's light in the classroom and beyond. Families can choose either a new teacher (who has been at SMA for less than 5 years) and/or a veteran teacher. The submissions will be reviewed and the best nomination will be announced at the final all school Mass.
Teacher's Christ Light Video Submission
We are excited to begin this new tradition at SMA!
Parish News
Come Experience the Live Stations of the Cross at St. Michael's
Our Lady of Unity Parish is bringing their Live Stations of the Cross to our campus at St. Michael the Archangel on Saturday, April 1st at 11:00am. Come walk with us as we see, feel and hear about Jesus passion. Everyone is welcome. They are bringing costumes for children & adults that would like to be part of the action so come 15 minutes early. Everyone should dress weather appropriate.
You can also experience the Live Stations of the Cross at on Good Friday, April 7th at 11:00am starting at St. John the Evangelist, 2910 Strong Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas. The stations are recreated during a procession through the streets around St. John the Evangelist so again dress weather appropriate. It will mostly be in Spanish but there will be English translations by Father John Cordes.
Archdiocese Take Back Family Time Challenge
Join the challenge! Take Back Family Time is about spending meaningful, intentional time with your family. Each month families are encouraged to make time to complete the monthly activity. See the attached image for more information. #TakeBackFamilyTime #TakeBackSunday #archkckcs #archkck
St. Thomas Aquinas Summer Camps
During May, June and July, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School offers a variety of sports camps for students entering grades K-8 to explore. Our sports camps include Baseball, Basketball, Cheer, Cross Country, Dance, Football, Soccer, Softball, Strength, Speed & Agility, Swimming, Track & Field (Jumps) and Volleyball.
Saint Thomas Aquinas High School also offers several activity camps. These include Art, Baking, Break Out Boxes (intriguing puzzles similar to an Escape Room), Chess, Crafting, History & Film, Show Choir and a STEM camp!
Registration is available online through our website: www.stasaints.net/summercamps. Or if you prefer, you can download and complete the attached camp registration form and mail it to:
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Summer Camps
11411 Pflumm Rd
Overland Park, KS 66215
We look forward to providing a positive camp experience not only for your son or daughter but for their friends too! Please feel free to pass this information on to friends, neighbors and relatives too!