SMCS Elementary Family Newsletter

Dear SMCS Families,

The school year is officially underway! It was wonderful to see many families at orientation day and even more wonderful to see students back in the classrooms yesterday! As our teachers are expertly establishing norms and routines here at school, I pray that your family is also beginning to settle into the school-year routine. I am looking forward to seeing you all this evening for Parent Information Night at 6:00 p.m. at the high school!

Last week, SMCS staff had the opportunity to attend a faith retreat at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. During mass that day, the reading was from the Gospel of John where we hear Jesus’ beautiful phrase “follow me” as he calls his disciples. We also hear Philip’s encouragement to Nathanael to “come and see” the Messiah they had heard about. These two lines really stood out to me as I think about the school year ahead. I hear Jesus speaking to me and to all of us saying, “Follow me!” I hear the Holy Spirit whispering in my heart saying, “Come and see! Come and see the good things I have in store for the SMCS community!” And so I pray,

Lord, Jesus, we accept your invitation. We say “yes” to following you, growing closer to you, and to serving you. Come, Holy Spirit. We are yours. Open our eyes to see your beautiful works all around us. Open our hearts to go where you are leading us. Guide our thoughts that they may be your thoughts. Guide our actions that we may do your works. May others come to know and love you, too, Lord, through our words and actions. May all that we do radiate your love and mercy and goodness to everyone around us. Amen.

God Bless,

Mrs. Anna Cihlar

Principal ~ St. Gabriel, St. Margaret Mary, St. Mary

Preparing and inspiring students to lead meaningful lives, rooted in the teachings of Christ and our Catholic tradition.

St. Gabriel Picture Day: September 9

St. Margaret Mary Picture Day: September 2

St. Mary Picture Day: September 14

Students in grades K-5 will participate in MAP testing for math and reading during the month of September. Your child's classroom teacher will communicate specific days that testing will occur. Parents will receive a report of your child's performance on MAP testing at parent-teacher conferences on Sept. 30. Parents can help prepare children in the following ways:

• Help your child get a good night sleep before testing
• Provide a nutritious breakfast
• Try not to schedule appointments on testing days
• Encourage your child to do their best on this test and reassure them it is not a reason to be anxious

Parent Teacher Conferences will be on September 29 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. and September 30 from 8:00-11:30 a.m. A SignUp Genius will be available on September 14 in the next bi-weekly elementary newsletter You will be able to sign up for a 15-minute time slot to meet with your child's teacher. Art, music, PE, technology, library, counseling, and learning/reading specialists will be available in an "open house" format and it is not necessary to sign up to meet these teachers in advance. If this time frame does not work for your family, please contact your child's teacher to schedule a time that works. Thank you!

There is no school for students on September 30 due to parent-teacher conferences.

It has been wonderful seeing parents at drop-off in the morning and staying for our morning prayer in the gym - what a wonderful opportunity to begin the day in prayer as one big school community! We welcome parents to continue to join us in the gym for morning prayer throughout the year. Beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 6, we ask that parents say goodbye to their children in the gym after prayer/announcements and allow them to leave for their classrooms on their own with their teachers. Thank you!

Please join our Facebook page for upcoming events and school information.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/571241956682227

Reporting absences: When reporting absences via email to the school office please email both Mrs. Schira (kschira@smcatholicschools.org) and Mrs. Charapata (rcharapata@smcatholicschools.org). Thank you!

Photos will be added through out the school year to our St. Margaret Mary Facebook group. Please join our group to see all the wonderful things happening in our school!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/393212171474787

Please join our Facebook page for upcoming events and school information.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/598461940688181

We hope all SMCS families enjoy some rest and relaxation over the long weekend!

We are so grateful to all our volunteers who contribute so much to our schools! If you are considering volunteering or chaperoning any school field trips or events, please complete Virtus training, a background check, and the code of conduct through the Diocese Green Bay. Please contact your schools' administrative assistant to get the process started. Thank you!

St. Gabriel contact Mrs. Richards, srichards@smcatholicschools.org

St. Margaret Mary contact Mrs. Schira, kschira@smcatholicschools.org

St. Mary contact Mrs. Barraza, dbarraza@smcatholicschools.org

If you or someone you know is interested in subbing at our wonderful SMCS schools, please contact Patty Foulks in our HR department: pfoulks@smcatholicschools.org. Click here for additional information about substitute teacher training.

Thank you!

Uniform Exchange:

The Uniform Exchange is READY TO GO for browsing tmrw!!! Zephyr wear, shirts, and bottoms for all!!!

How it works:

Shop. Take. Return when it’s no longer needed!

This is for absolutely EVERYONE and is always open when the building is open!

POPS Update:

Make the year great! Our POPS (Parents Offering Positive Support) team is in need of help! In order to have fun activities this year, we need some helpers! If you didn’t get a chance to sign up at Orientation, please use this link to sign up for some of the events we hope to offer this year!! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Nhywa9VPTomKWbaPVWY_A76_oc7rm8KISt0tqLgKPC0/edit?usp=sharing

Gifting Teachers $100 of Reimbursed Expenses:

For another year and through the use of our funds, POPS was able to gift all teachers $100 and specials $50 in reimbursed expenses for the school year!!

Monthly Teacher Treat:

At SME, we like to gift our teachers a small token of appreciation, on a monthly basis, to let them know how much we appreciate all they do! For September, we would like to restock the Teachers Lounge with treats (k-cups, granola bars, snacks, fruit).

Please use the below signup genius to and help us to welcome the staff this school year!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A084CABAB2AA31-stock

Some examples in the past have been cookies/treats, a special drink from a coffee shop, small flower, etc. We are looking for help and new ideas! If you are willing to take a month (expenses will be reimbursed), prepare and distribute, please text Caela Brenn (text 414-416-9595). Thanks for your help!

Lunch Room Help:

We are looking for lunchroom help! It an easy way to help out and see your kids during the day! We need volunteers everyday from 10:45 - 12 pm. You help serve the food and then can walk around and help the other chaperones. You pick your frequency (1-2x per week, 1-2x per month, etc.) If you are willing, please fill out the following sheet and turn into the office and we will contact you! Thanks in advance!!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/190opx4KvLOQRm_aGqWWNTK-ZQVeEByYGgjqw_edb9aA/edit?usp=sharing

- FACES Meeting - Friday, September 2nd at 8 am - All parents are invited to our first monthly FACES meeting of the school year on Friday, September 2nd! Please sign in at the office and then head downstairs to the cafeteria. Our meeting will start at 8 am, and meetings usually last about one hour. This month, we’ll be discussing all of the fun volunteer opportunities for the upcoming school year. Little siblings are always welcome. We hope to see you there!

- Doughnuts with Grown-ups - Wednesday, September 14th at 7:15 am - All families are invited to join us for doughnut holes and coffee on the playground before school! Please note that the Washington Street drop-off will be adjusted slightly for this event - watch for the staff directions if dropping off your child during the event.

- Walk to School Day and Coffee Social - Wednesday, October 5th at 7:20 am - Students and families can walk / bike / scoot to school from home OR join our group walk to school! We will meet at the fountain at Riverside Park at 7:20 am. We'll take a group picture at 7:30 and then children will walk / bike / or scoot to school (Wisconsin to Pine to SMM) with their grown-ups. We'll have volunteers stationed at each of the intersections to help the group cross safely, but we do ask that all children participating in the group walk are accompanied by a grown-up. Following the walk, we will have our October coffee social at school!

- Lunchroom volunteers - Our school lunch program cannot run without the help of parent volunteers! We need two volunteers each day to help serve food and keep the cafeteria sparkling. This is a great opportunity to help at school and visit with your child too! Please contact Liesl Britzke at 920-740-5173 with questions about helping in the lunchroom, or sign up using this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-smm20222023

Our first PTO meeting is this Friday, Sept. 2 at 8:05.

Grandparents day is Wednesday September 14th from 8-10:30 a.m. Click on the flyer below for details!

Presence: St. Margaret Mary parish is offering a six-part video series called Presence-The Mystery of the Eucharist starting in September. Through small group sessions, you will have the opportunity to grow in your understanding of our reception of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and what difference it all makes in daily living. The six sessions include group discussions, prayer and study. Please call the SMM parish office at 920-729-4560 for more information or sign up to attend any of the three date options listed on our SignUpGenius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050E4EAFA72DA0FA7-presence

Coffee & Donuts: We are bringing back coffee and donuts to our Sunday liturgies. They will take place one weekend a month after both Sunday Masses. Because we can’t do this without parish volunteers, we are asking parish families to consider volunteering to host. It’s a great opportunity to get a group of your friends together and help out your parish community. No experience necessary and detailed instructions will be provided. The time commitment is short and the duties are easy. Please sign up is through our SignUpGenius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D4BAAAF2CA7F94-coffee

Youth Choir Opportunity for Grades 2-12: See flyer in the attachment below.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) seeks to:

• create and facilitate a sacred, “hands-on ” learning space for children
  
• provide the opportunity to hear, ponder, and celebrate the most essential mysteries of the Catholic faith
  
• focus on Scriptures and the Liturgy
  

Register: https://forms.gle/ffZQayVmAGm6tZFt5

• Aug. 31 - Systemwide Parent Night at SMCS high school, 6:00 p.m.
• Sept. 5 - NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
• Sept. 6 - Zephyr Spirit Day
• Sept. 23 - Zephyrs Connect
• Sept. 30 - NO SCHOOL - Preschool - 12th grade Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Oct. 4 - Zephyr Spirit Day
• Oct. 7 - Field trip for grades K-5 to SMCS high school for all-school mass
• Oct. 7 - 5th grade visit day at middle school following all-school mass
• Oct. 7 - Homecoming parade, cookout, and football game at SMCS high school
• Oct. 15 - All Aboard
• Oct. 20-22 - SMCS high school musical performances
• Oct. 28 - End of quarter 1
• Oct. 31 - No school for students. Professional development day for staff.

• Lunch calendar
• SMCS systemwide calendar
• SMCS Elementary calendar
• SMCS Elementary Family Handbook
• SMCS Staff & Teacher Directory

August 17, 2022

St. Gabriel Back-to-School Newsletter

St. Margaret Mary Back-to-School Newsletter

St. Mary Back-to-School Newsletter

St. Gabriel: 920-725-4161

St. Margaret Mary: 920-729-4565

St. Mary: 920-725-5351

Elementary Principal: Mrs. Cihlar, acihlar@smcatholicschools.org

St. Gabriel Associate Principal: Mrs. Giombetti, jgiombetti@smcatholicschools.org

St. Margaret Mary Associate Principal: Mrs. Lutz, jlutz@smcatholicschools.org

St. Mary Associate Principal: Mrs. Cendejas, acendejas-ruiz@smcatholicschools.org