The Defender
May 19, 2023
A Message from Mrs. Tate
Dear St. Michael families,
Thank you for a wonderful school year! It was such a blessing to see all the smiles and celebrations on the last day of school. What a perfect way to end the school year all together at our final all-school mass! Fr. Brian gave a wonderful homily where he gave his “Top Five Things to Think About This Summer:”
- Don’t take a vacation from God! Catholic means universal…there are churches in every vacation town.
- Look for ways to serve this summer…he showed the kids a bottle of Windex and encouraged them to do some chores around the house.
- Recreation is a part of a balanced life. Explore God’s beautiful creation…enjoy the wonder and awe. Get outside and play with your friends. Watch the ants build an anthill or catch lightning bugs at dusk!
- Take time to read and pray this summer. 15 minutes with a saint or the Bible will bring you closer to God and it will help keep those reading skills sharp!
- Unplug. He showed them a remote control and told them that it was used to turn OFF the television so they can connect with each other and God. We’re made to bond with each other. Spend time in person with friends and family.
As we look toward next year, I want to take some time to thank our staff for a wonderful school year. They are dedicated to leading children to Christ and supporting our families through their faith and expertise in education, and I am truly grateful for all they do to support our school.
Please join me in especially thanking those staff members who are moving on from St. Michael the Archangel. We feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work with each and every one of them. Best wishes and God’s blessings to:
- Christia Colquitt, 6th grade math/religion
- Emily Feuerborn, 7th grade math
- Gretchen Goodwin, instructional support staff
- Debbie Kinsella, technology/data coordinator
- Becky Ryckert, speech pathologist
- Gretchen Wheeler, instructional support staff
- Emily Walling, music
Have a wonderful, relaxing summer filled with many blessings and precious time together as a family. We look forward to seeing you all again in the fall!
St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
Sincerely,
Diana Tate, Principal
Congratulations to Mrs. Przybylski and Mr. Wheeler
Theology of the Body Curriculum
Dear St. Michael the Archangel Families,
May love always triumph!
It is with great joy and excitement that we announce an upcoming renewal of the K-8 Theology of the Body curriculum at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School during the 2023-2024 school year. We will be using the curriculum produced by the Ruah Woods Institute through which students will explore the purpose of their existence in relation to love, the nature of authentic love, and how they are called to live this out in their daily lives. This class has particular importance in this moment in history since the foundations of marriage, family, and the very identity of the human person are being attacked. By learning God’s plan of love for the human person, our children and young people be equipped to live the life in abundance for which they were created.
The theology being taught will be founded in specific teachings of the Magisterium of St. John Paul II commonly known as ‘Theology of the Body’ or the ‘Theology of Human Love,’ which were given in a series of Wednesday Audiences during the first five years of his pontificate. Adapted to each grade level, lessons cover the Church’s teaching on a wide variety of topics: the dignity of the human person created in God’s image and likeness, what it means to be created male and female, the authentic meaning of love and responsibility, marriage and family as the primary arena in which we live out our identity to love, the nature of celibacy and consecrated life, human sexuality and its Trinitarian origins, and the theology of the human body among other important topics. We wanted to inform you in advance so you are aware of this and can use this material as a topic of discussion with your children. Since parents are the primary educators of their children, it is fundamental that such conversations be continued within the family.
We also look forward to initiating parent/family formation and discussion opportunities on Theology of the Body and other various topics. More information will be given as we begin next school year.
Please keep all our administration, faculty and staff in your prayers as we all work hard to provide an authentic and solid Catholic education for your children.
I would like to leave you with a quote from St. John Paul II and his apostolic exhortation on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World: “Willed by God in the very action of creation, marriage and family are interiorly ordained to fulfillment in Christ and have need of His graces in order to be healed from the wounds of sin and restored to their ‘beginning,’ that is, to full understanding and the full realization of God’s plan.”
Be assured of my love and prayers for each one of you and your families. May you all have a blessed and grace-filled summer vacation!
St. John Paul II,
Pray for us!
United in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
Sr. Lucia Maria Sol, SCTJM
Campus Minister
St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School
Uniform Swap & Shop
The summer swap and shop will be on Thursday June 1st. 10am till 1pm. You do not need to bring anything to get uniform items.
The uniform closet will remain open for you to "shop" and bring donations from 9am till Noon, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout June.
(Except VBS week June 12th thru 16th), We will open again in August.
The school will be closed the month of July.
Middle School Retreat Feedback Opportunity
Thank you for your support of our first annual middle school retreat! We would love to have the kids provide us with feedback to improve our planning for future retreats. Please click this link to fill out a survey. The survey will be open for responses until May 26. Thank you!
SMA Technology Update
We have been working throughout the year to assess our current technological needs and infrastructure to be able to finalize a plan for increased technology capabilities for SMA.
A significant part of the plan this year was to ensure the infrastructure of our school can handle the addition of devices without bogging down the system. We are confident we have the ability to add devices to our system with only a few minor improvements.
Another important piece of the plan is to ensure that our staff is prepared to add technology within the framework of their curriculum and instructional strategies. Simply putting devices in the hands of students is not an effective way to improve learning. There must be an intentionality to the learning process and a purpose for its use beyond substituting it for paper/pencil.
To make this happen, significant professional learning is required to support the instructional planning and implementation process. Our professional learning plan for next year includes supporting teachers in their use and integration of technology as well as the explicit teaching of digital citizenship and expectations to our students. Professional learning for teachers is critical to the success of additional device deployment.
As we move forward in our plan, we’ll continue to update our school community with details. Thank you for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Diana Tate, Principal
Education in Virtue – 23-24
Dear St. Michael, the Archangel Families,
May love always triumph!
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks to us about the values of the Kingdom. He shows us the path to true happiness, a path that is built upon a life of virtue. Virtues are habitual and firm dispositions to do what is good and they allow us to give the best of ourselves (CCC 1803). In choosing to live a life of virtue we are fulfilling our greatest dignity because, as St. John Paul II continually reminded us, “man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself” (Gaudium et Spes, 24). Jesus challenges us to be perfect, and He desires that we live the Beatitudes in our daily lives. He calls us to be poor in spirit, compassionate, meek, righteous, merciful, pure of heart, peacemakers, courageous, faithful, and hopeful. He shows us the importance of these virtues because it is precisely through living a life of virtue that we will be able to climb the mountain of holiness. Holiness requires a sincere disposition to allow Jesus to increase in us, to abandon our old self and to eradicate our vices. Holiness requires determination to be totally docile to the Holy Spirit and to allow Him to conform us to the image of Christ. The more we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us, the more we will look like Jesus in our hearts, minds, character, personality, intellect, will, and in our way of relating and communicating. This is very difficult in our society today in which a culture of selfishness, indifference, comfort, and pleasure reign.
To continue building the Kingdom of God at St. Michael, it is with great joy that we would like to inform you that we will be replacing our former Social Emotional curriculum with the Education in Virtue program. This program “focuses on the development of the whole person and equips one to strive for happiness while pursing the good.” Furthermore, it aims to change the whole culture of our school, parish, and families. Although Education in Virtue is not a Social Emotional curriculum, it supports the emotional well-being of our students, as it seeks to develop self-knowledge, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making through the living of a virtuous Christ-like life.
For this program to be most effective, we must all responsibly work together to communicate meaningful language, right concepts, and Gospel values in all areas of the culture. The ultimate purpose is to be able to form the whole person, especially our children and youth, in order to build a civilization of love and life. The culture of darkness is defeated precisely through our daily and personal concrete choices of love, which are revealed in the way we speak and act with one another.
We ask you to please pray for us as we work this summer on the implementation of this program for next school year: 2023-2024. More detailed information will be communicated in August. Please be assured of our love and prayers for each one of you and your families. May God bless and keep you!
St. Michael The Archangel,
Defend us in battle!
Sr. Lucia María Sol, SCTJM
Campus Minister
St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School
Lucinda Kuhn, LMSW
School Counseling Consultant
St Michael's the Archangel Catholic School
2023-2024 Tentative Calendar
St. Michael Mass schedule updates
Tuesday, May 23 - begin summer weekday Mass schedule
- Monday: 6:40 a.m.
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 6:40 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
- Friday: 6:40 a.m. and 12 p.m.
- Saturday: 8:15 a.m.
- Sunday, May 28 - begin new Sunday Mass schedule (no noon Mass)
Friday, Aug 11 - last day of summer weekday Mass schedule
Educonnect disabled for Summer
VSL
2023-2024 Sign Up Link
School Supplies for the 2023-2024 School Year!
I am happy to announce we have paired with School Specialty for the upcoming year. Would you rather spend a summer day driving from store to store to purchase school supplies or get everything you need in one easy box? Great news! We are offering a pre-packaged school supply program this year. Supply orders include the exact colors, quantities, and brands your teachers have approved for class. Get your back-to-school shopping out of the way early and enjoy a summer day!
Simply place your order by MAY 26TH, 2023.
Order online at www.shopttkits.com.
Enter our school’s account number 88588.
Questions? Contact MOLLY COLE at MBAUER36@GMAIL.COM
CYO Summer and Fall Registrations
Summer and Fall registration is now open
Tennis (June 6-8) - Cross Country (Fall) - Flag Football (Fall) - Tackle Football (Fall) - Volleyball (Fall)
You can register at https://cyojwa.org/current-programs
If you have any questions, please reference our website https://cyojwa.org/home or contact your parish DSM (Director of Sports Ministry) at https://cyojwa.org/content/20986/ADDSM-Parish-contact.