The Trojan Times
St. Maria Goretti Catholic School November 27, 2022
Mission Statement
St. Maria Goretti is a living testament to our Lord's work in His youngest disciples, exemplified by academic excellence, spiritual formation, and compassionate service to others.
St. Maria Goretti Catholic School aims to form what is True, Good, and Beautiful in the souls of our young disciples of Christ.
Principal's Message
Dear St. Maria Goretti Catholic School Families,
I hope you had a restful Thanksgiving vacation. We are looking forward to welcoming your students back to campus tomorrow.
I am proud of our school community for meeting our Thanksgiving basket goal and filling 42 Boxes of Joy.
Tuesday is iGiveCatholic Giving Tuesday. We invite you to the All Hands on Deck talent show in the cafetorium from 6:30 PM-8:00 PM. We will be selling snacks and enjoying fellowship.
We are hosting an Open House for new families on Monday, December 12, 2022. Please invite any family or friends who may be interested in joining the SMGCS family. See the ad in this edition of the Trojan Times. Please contact the front office if you would like a hard copy to share.
We are looking for Christmas elves to help with the Christmas Store and Christmas Around the World. Use the sign-up genius to volunteer:
Finally, please save the date for the Dinner Dance, Saturday, January 21, 2023!
Please pray for the religious.
St. Maria Goretti, Pray for Us!
Blessings,
Amy Utendorf, M.Ed.
Principal
Winter Weather Uniform Reminders
It is now getting colder, make sure that your child comes to school dressed warmly. Please be sure to follow the SMGCS uniform dress code on pages 61-62 of the family handbook.
Here are some highlights:
- In school, only SMGCS spirit-wear sweatshirts/hoodies, red fleece jackets, or SMGCS sweaters (pull-over or cardigans) are allowed. Students may not wear non-uniform outerwear in the classroom.
- Girls may wear tights with their uniforms, only solid white is allowed. Girls may not wear leggings under their uniforms.
- When outside, students may wear whichever jacket or hoodie they prefer.
Thank you for helping us ensure your child is warm and adhering to the dress code.
I Give Catholic - November 29th
All Hands on Deck Talent Show - November 29th
Homemade Tamles
https://smgschool.org/documents/2022/11/Tamales%20Order%20Form%2011-17-2022.pdf
Christmas Around the World
Christmas Around the World is a wonderful tradition at SMGCS. We have some new ideas that will make it more meaningful for our students. Please see where we could use the help of time and talent.
- Friday, December 16, 2022- Students will visit classrooms highlighting traditions of Christmas around the world.
Room Coordinators will be in contact regarding how you can help with Christmas Around the World.
Please use the link to volunteer to help: Christmas at SMG
November 28th Deadline for Holiday Gift Card Delivery on December 9th
The holidays are coming! Gift cards are a great gift and a great way to help you stick to a budget while benefiting our school and your family!
What is RaiseRight (formerly known as SCRIP)?
Our RaiseRight Program benefits our school and families! Earn tuition credit for every purchase made and earn money for the school by just purhasing a gift card. Gift card fundraising is the best way to raise money. Turn everyday shopping into earnings for your tuition. No extra money spent. No extra time wasted.
What is the RaiseRight Gift Card Holiday Order?
This is an opportunity to reach out to your family, co-workers and friends by allowing them to purchase gift cards from our RaiseRight program. This is a no-pressure fundraiser. Simply, leave this in your office breakroom at work or ask your family and friends if they would like to purchase gift cards.
RaiseRight Holiday Order Information
- User Order Form https://smgschool.org/documents/2022/11/22-23%20SCRIP%20Holiday%20Order%20Form.xlsx.pdf
- Orders and Payment Due: Monday, November 28, 2022
- Cash or Check accepted.
- Make checks payable to St. Maria Goretti Catholic School.
- Payments must be submitted at the time of order.
- Orders will be delivered to the student.
- Student’s will be responsible for delivering gift cards to their customers.
- Delivery Date: Friday, December 9, 2022
Thank you for supporting St. Maria Goretti Catholic School!
Dinner Dance Class Basket Deadline Extended to Dec. 2nd
Dinner Dance Class Basket donation deadline has been extended to December 2nd.
Also, in an effort to help curate the baskets, you will find links to each Class Basket below. Hopefully this will help make things easier on families as well! Thank you to anyone who has already turned items in! They will be spectacular additions to the baskets.
Of course, we welcome anything that you'd like to donate and are open to your creative additions! Each basket sign up lists an idea for a "main" item, additional items, and other ways to donate for our Chairperson to purchase anything else that is needed.
SMGCS Christmas Store Schedule: Dec. 6-8
We are looking for Christmas elves to help with the Christmas Store. Use the sign-up genius to volunteer: Christmas Store 2022.
Polar Express: December 7
Open House December 12th
Glory to God Christmas Program - December 15th
Dinner Dance - January 21, 2023
Nolan Viking Sailing Club - Open to 7th & 8th Grade Students
This past weekend, the Nolan Viking Sailing Club competed in the Texas State Sailing Championships on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. Nolan competed against 15 teams from 10 different high schools. It was stiff competition against veteran teams. Our Vikings sailed fast and got better with each race.
If you are a 7th or 8th grade student interested in the spring season (end of February to May), please contact Shannon Irwin SIrwin@fwdioc.org or David Taylor davidtaylor5200@att.net.
Volunteer Opportunities - Earn Spirit Hours
Below are some of the volunteer opportunities available right now! Earn your SPIRIT HOURS & hang out with fellow Trojan families, all while helping SMG. Middle School & Nolan students can earn Service Hours at many of these too!
- Lunch / Playground Helpers
Christmas Decorating Decorating and Set Up for Christmas Around the World
Help the Christmas Store elves prepare!!
-Pick up a roll of gift wrap from the Front Office and cut small, medium, and large pieces! This helps making our gift wrapping station more efficient!
-Donate new items for the Christmas Store! 1 Hour / $10 spent with receipt
-Donate your time and talent by creating some handmade items for our Christmas Store! Please contact me if you feel you can help with this.
-Christmas Store Sign Up Genius and parent letter will be sent out next week!
Sports Website
Visit the Catholic Dioses of Ft. Worth website for sports schedules. Please check the site before a game for any last-minute changes. Games start this Saturday!
SMGCS Hosts Weekend Masses
Please mark your calendars to attend and participate in the Masses this year! All students and their families should plan to attend in their Mass uniforms.
2022-2023 SMGCS Weekend Masses
- 9:00 AM Sunday, December 11, 2022
- Sign Up Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4CACA729AAFBC25-december
- ALL weekend Masses January 28-29, 2023
- 11:00 AM Sunday, March 5, 2023
- 1:00 PM Sunday, April 23, 2023
UTA Social Workers
Nolan Catholic Admission Events & Tours
Open House
- Sunday, December 4
Prospective Parent Coffee & Tour
- Friday, February 3
- Friday, March 31
Last Week at SMGCS
Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive
SMGCS students and families showed their generosity by donating to the Thanksgiving Food Basket. STUCO and NJHS students collected and organized the donations and helped deliver them to the Padre Pio House. Our goal was 282 food items, which we surpassed! SMGCS families donated 422 items. Thanks for donating and helping to put a holiday meal on our neighbor's table this Thanksgiving.
Turkey Bingo
Thanks to everyone for participating in Turkey Bingo and contributing to the iGiveCatholic fund. Join us Thursday, November 29th for I Give Catholic Giving Day and Talent Show 6:30PM-8:00PM.
The Creature Teacher Field Trip
Primary grades at SMG (Pre-K-2nd) had a great time during our on-campus field trip Friday. The kids learned about many animals including mammals and reptiles. The Creature Teacher brought an artic fox, boa constrictor, kangaroo, hedgehog, chinchilla and kinkajou. Many thanks to SMG teachers for arranging this fantastic opportunity.
Cecilian Singers
Under the direction of Music Teacher, Rachel Richards, Cecilian Singers sang "I Will Give Thanks to God" following our school Mass Wednesday, November 16th.
Click on the link to view the video. 20221116_145949000_iOS.MOV
Unfortunately, there is an unavoidable setting that will make this link expire in two weeks. Please download the video if you wish to view it beyond December 1st.
Folclorico Club
The Folclorico Club performed at the Home & School Meeting and 3rd grade sang El Paviot, The Little Turkey.
CPR Club
According to the American Heart Association, children as young as nine-years-old can learn and retain CPR training. Though many children at that age do not yet have the strength to perform an adequate chest compression on an adult, learning this life skill will stick with them for the rest of their life. There are countless incidents of young people performing CPR, first aid, or utilizing other emergency training skills to save a life, sometimes years or even decades later. Most agree that exposing children to CPR training at a young age or around 9 or 10 years old is good exposure, but it’s important to keep refreshing those skills every two years.
https://www.cprconsultants.com/what-age-should-children-learn-cpr/
New TV for Sister Phan
Many thanks to the Saladino Family for their generous donation of four TVs. We replaced an old projector in Sister Phan's classroom to the delight of Sister and all her students!
Neveah Won State!
Thanking all for your prayers and support. Seventh grader, Neveah, won State at the Champion of Texas Hunter Jumper Club Pony Medal Class. She is ranked the #1 rider in the small pony division in Texas. Neveah left Thursday to compete in Las Vegas for the National finals. We are very proud of our Trojan!
SMG Soccer Team
New Teacher Training
Learning Support Teacher, Mrs. Parker, met with new teachers to discuss differentiation and assessment in our classrooms. After school sessions are beneficial as they introduce new SMG staff to the services offered to our students.
Pre-K Kindness Lesson
1st Grade Bridge Project
First grade has been learning about bridges; what they look like, their purpose, what they are built from, types of construction and so forth. Thursday they designed a bridge using materials at school. The goal for the bridge was that it will hold a small pumpkin without the pumpkin falling off or the bridge collapsing.
Each team was given 1 sheet of card stock, snap cubes, 4 pipe cleaners, masking tape, 8 clips and 10 craft sticks. The bridge needed to go over a predetermined gap, be at least one crayon length tall, and not fall over when the pumpkin was placed on the bridge. The children worked with their teammate to devise and implement a plan within the allotted time. Based on the results, we have some budding engineers!
5th Grade Book Reviews
Nobody but a reader becomes a writer. ~Richard Peck
Spanish - Donde Esta Leo?
SMG Clubs - Mark Your Calendar!
Monday
- 12:09-12:49 Out of the Box (Richards)
- 3:10-4:30 PM 3rd-8th Cecilian Singers Club 3rd - 8th (Richards)
Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 12 NO CLUB, 13 During School, 15 Program at 6:30PM
- 3:30-4:15 Spanish Club (Zavala)
Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 12
- 3:30-4:15 PM PSIA Spelling (Bara)
- 3:30-4:15 PSIA 6th-8th Mathematics (Tran) every 1st/3rd Monday
- 6:00-8:00 PM FIRST Lego League Robotics (Morales)
Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 10 (8am-5pm)
Tuesday
- 12:10-12:50 NJHS (Jones) bi-weekly, Begins TBD
- 3:30-4:15 PM PSIA Maps/Graphs/Charts (Daly)
- 3:30-5:00 PM Cheer Practice (Richards)
- 6:00-7:30 PM Folklorico Club (Zavala)
Wednesday
- 12:09-12:49 STUCO (Daly)
- 3:30-4:30 Garden Club (Risinger/Cruz)
- 3:30-4:15 Rubik Cube Club (Tran/Utendorf)
Nov. 30, Dec. 14, Jan 11, 25, Feb. 8, 22, March 8 , 22 , April 12, 26, May 3, 17
- 3:30-4:15 PSIA 2-3rd Mathematics (Tran) every 1st/3rd Wednesday
- 3:30-4:15 Run Club (Gutierrez/Schump)
Dec. 14, Feb. 1, 15, Mar. 1, 29, April 19, May 10
Thursday
- 12:09-12:49 Library Leaders (Richards)
- 3:10-4:30 PM 5th-8th Trojan Troupe Drama Club (Richards)
- 3:30-4:15 PSIA 4th-5th Mathematics (Tran) every 1st/3rd Thursday
- 3:30-4:15 PM PSIA Ready Write (Jones)
Need Prayers?
We all do!! The St. Maria Goretti Catholic School Community would love to pray for you and your intentions. Please send all prayer requests to: smgprays4u@smgschool.org.
Calendar Notes
November 28, Monday: RaiseRight (Scrip) Orders Due
November 29, Tuesday: Giving Tuesday: I Give Catholic, 6:30-8:00 PM Talent Show
December 2, Friday: Dinner Dance Class Basket Deadline
December 6-8, Tuesday-Thursday: SMGCS Christmas Store
December 9, Friday: RaiseRight (Scrip) Delivery
December 11, Sunday: 9:00AM SMGCS Hosts Weekend Mass
December 12, Monday: 9:00-11:00 Open House
December 13, Tuesday: 6:30PM Band Christmas Concert - Holy Life Center
December 12-15: Jr. High Midterms
December 14, Wednesday: 3:30-4:30 Tamale pick up Saint Maria Center
December 15, Thursday: 6:30PM Christmas Program in the Church
December 16, Friday: Christmas Around the World, 2nd Quarter Ends, 12:10 Dismissal
December 19-Jan. 2: Christmas Break
January 3, Tuesday: School Resumes
Meet Our Priests!
St. Maria Goretti Parish Website: https://www.smgparish.org/
Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth
Serving the North Texas Catholic community by providing the faithful opportunities to grow in Christian discipleship and strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ.
St. Maria Goretti Catholic School
Email: development@smgschool.org
Website: https://smgschool.org
Location: 1200 South Davis Drive, Arlington, TX, USA
Phone: (817)275-5081
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StMariaGorettiArlington/