St. Mike's Matters - Thursday Notes
March 29, 2018 Issue #24
Dear St. Michael Families,
Blessings to you all this Holy Week. I invite you to join us for our Shadow Stations of the Cross presented by our 5th grade class at 11 AM this Good Friday in the gym. The shadow stations are a beloved tradition of our school and a powerful way to meditate on Jesus’ suffering on the cross for us. I hope that you and your children can celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7 PM tonight, and the Passion and Adoration of the Cross this Friday at 7 PM here in our church. Please remember that tomorrow is a noon dismissal for Good Friday. Have a faith-filled Easter and a wonderful break with your children next week!
I have some spectacular news to share with you regarding our accreditation. We have just completed our accreditation visit and we received the full 6 year accreditation term! Our visiting team of three principals and two teachers studied our Self Study report and then spent three days with us from March 21-23. During their time here they met with all constituencies of our community and thoroughly studied all aspects of our school. The team was tasked with evaluating our accreditation Self Study report and, through observation and analysis, ensuring that we meet the high standards set by the WCEA (Western Catholic Educational Association).
The accreditation team's report rated us a "Highly Effective" school! In fact, we earned the top rating of "highly effective" in 11 out of the 12 categories, with the only "effective" being in an area where we had already set a goal for ourselves. These are the most “highly effective” ratings that I have personally ever seen on an accreditation report. Wow! I am so grateful for the support of our entire community throughout this accreditation cycle. We have such an amazing Catholic school here in our parish and it is so rewarding to have that reflected through our accreditation results!
I would like to share the key highlights of our accreditation with you. The visiting team listed these aspects as our school’s significant accomplishments:
· The strong, active support of the Pastor and Parochial Vicar
· The commitment of the faculty and staff who are growing in their own faith and sharing this faith with students and parents
· The writing of the SLEs that are aligned with the Six Elements of Discipleship
· The accomplishment of the previous accreditation action plan leading to learning plans for students in need
· The analysis of MAP testing which led to individual goal setting for Grades 2-8 in language arts and math
· The integration of technology into daily student learning
· The hiring of a Stewardship Development Director
· The addition of weekly Masses and Saint Houses
Additionally, the visiting team confirmed the four critical goals that we set for our school in our Self Study report. We will be responsible for meeting these goals throughout the next 6 years, as we strive for continual school improvement.
The goals are:
· The integration of the SLEs into the culture of the school in order to increase student learning
· The engaging, challenging, and inspiring of the highly capable and motivated student
· The use of various assessment data, including MAP, to meet the needs of all learners
· The implementation and funding of a five-year technology plan that specifically focuses on ways to support student learning
Thank you, all, for your prayers, support, and participation during this past accreditation cycle. We are a “highly effective” school due to our vibrant Catholic community and the dedication of students, parents, faculty, and staff to the mission of our school. I am deeply grateful for the insights, contributions, and sheer love for our school demonstrated by our faculty and staff. This was a total team effort–a true collaboration. What a blessing!
With deep gratitude,
Connor Geraghty
Principal
Calendar for the week
Friday - 03/30 - Shadow Stations @ 11:00 AM
GOOD FRIDAY - HALF DAY - SCHOOL OUT AT NOON
April 2nd - April 6th
SPRING BREAK - NO SCHOOL
School Fees and Stewardship Hours Reminder
We have several Stewardship forms that have no names attached to them. Contact the school office if you think one of these belong to you.
Parish Stewardship Opportunity
We are so close - we only have one more day to reach of $25,000 goal!
March Madness - Week 4!
We are so close! Please support our March Madness goal of $25,000 in SCRIP gift card purchases by the end of March. If we meet the goal, the faculty will play an exhibition basketball game with students from all grades. SCRIP can be purchased in the school office.
Every purchase, big or small, makes a difference!
To buy gift cards through Scrip:
-Stop by the office
-Send an order form (pink sheet) and check through the purple Thursday Notes envelope
-Set up on online account at ShopWithScrip.com
We are also teaming up with the S.M.A.R.T. Auction to make it easy for you to donate to the auction and participate in March Madness!
We have posted brightly colored PRE-FILLED procurement forms on the window across the hall from the office. All you need to do is to take off the form of your choosing, bring it to the office, and pay the pre-determined dollar amount. It's that easy!
New Pizza Vendor for Pizza Wednesdays
You are invited! Please RSVP by April 20th!
Your invitation to the 2018 S.M.A.R.T. Gala and Auction "Cinco on the Sand" was sent home last week in your purple envelope. You can RSVP by simply returning your RSVP in your purple envelope with your payment or you can RSVP and pay online at: https://stmikesolympia.ejoinme.org/cincoonthesand2018
Please RSVP no later than April 20th - thank you!
Reminders:
- Check out the window across the hall from the office where we have posted brightly colored ALREADY FILLED OUT procurement forms! All you need to do is to take off the form of your choosing, bring it to the office, and pay the pre-determined dollar amount. It's that easy!
- Amazon Wishlist - Shop off of our Amazon Wishlist for an easy and quick way to meet your $150 procurement requirement.
Please contact Vicky Byrd at smartauction@stmikesolympia.org if you have any questions.
Thanks so much for your support!
New event signups now open for the S.M.A.R.T. Gala and Auction - May 5th
Clean up crew gets double hours!
Thank you!
EXTRA EXTRA! LAST CALL for S.M.A.R.T. Auction and Gala sponsorship opportunities!
We are looking for additional sponsors for the SMART Gala, our biggest fundraiser of the year. Please contact Stacy Choczynski Johnson at sponsor@stmikesolympia.org by April 1st if you are interested in sponsorship and advertising opportunities.
We have two sponsorship levels to consider:
1. Spartan Sponsor: This $5000 sponsorship level is a dual event sponsorship. It includes 8 tickets to the gala AND 8 tickets to the family night. It also includes a full page ad in both programs and banner recognition. This is a great sponsorship level for our most generous sponsors who would like to support the school year round.
2. Dessert Dash: This $1500 sponsorship level is still available! It includes 4 tickets to the gala and banner recognition. Excellent signage will also be present at the dessert dash table. This is an exclusive opportunity and is great for a business looking for marketing. You might also consider sponsoring this as a group (i.e. Class of 2018) or in recognition of a community leader.
We also have table sponsorships available. These are perfect for school families that want to treat friends to a fun night out and provide an extra donation to the school. Table sponsorships are outlined below:
1. Platino: This table sponsorship is $1500 and includes 8 tickets to the gala. Other perks will be: 16 drink tickets, wine at the table, and a beautiful take home centerpiece. This is a perfect package for a family that wants to give a little extra and get the VIP treatment with 6 friends! :)
2. Oro: This table sponsorship is $1000 and includes 4 tickets to the gala and 4 drink tickets.
2. Plata: This table sponsorship is $500 and includes 2 tickets to the gala and 2 drink tickets.
We still have full page ads, including the inside covers of the program available. Submit your artwork today to be included in the FULL COLOR PROGRAM.
*** SPARTAN PTSA News ***
Minute to Win It! Thursday April 19th
Bingo Night is back on! Wednesday May 9th
Play Ball! Saturday June 2nd
Youth Migrant Project
Youth Migrant Applications are here!
YMP is the week of August 12-18th in Skagit Valley, Washington. Applications are due by April 15th with a $100 deposit. Any applications that are received after this date will automatically be put on a waiting list.
If you are interested in helping, please fill out this application. This year, I will choose 20 middle Schoolers and 3 High Schoolers to help. Parents are encouraged to volunteer their time, as this truly is a family-run mission.
You can return this application to me via email or by dropping it off/mailing it to the Church:
1208 11th Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501.
Blessings,
Anna Swanson
Saint Michael Parish
Steward of EDGE & Campus Ministry
(360) 292-7137
St. Michael Parish School - a Family of Families
Email: connect@stmikesolympia.org
Website: www.stmikesolympia.org
Location: 1204 11th Avenue Southeast, Olympia, WA, United States
Phone: 360-754-5131
Facebook: facebook.com/St.MichaelParishSchoolOlympia