St. Margaret Mary Newsletter
10.18.2023
St. Margaret Mary Newsletter
October 18, 2023
SMCS Mission
Preparing and inspiring students to lead meaningful lives, rooted in the teachings of Christ and our Catholic tradition.
Greetings from the Principal
Dear St. Margaret Mary families,
On Monday, October 16, we celebrated the Feast of St. Margaret Mary. She is most well known for spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart. St. Margaret Mary is the patron saint of those suffering with polio, those who are devoted to the Sacred Heart, and those who have lost their parents.
The students enjoyed cookies while learning about St. Margaret Mary. Thank you to our FACES parent group for delivering the treats!
O mild and bountiful Heart, be likewise by refuge at the hour of death, my justification before God, and ward off from me the penalty of his just wrath. O loving Heart, I place my trust entirely in You. While I fear everything from my own malice, I hope everything from Your goodness.
Blessings,
Mrs. Jackie Lutz
Associate Principal ~ St. Margaret Mary Elementary
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Just a friendly reminder that Parent-Teacher conferences are this Thursday (3:30 - 6:30 pm) and Friday (8:00 - 11:00 am). The sign up links are now closed but if you need to schedule a conference, please reach out to your child's teacher. We are looking forward to seeing everyone!
Mr. Dummer will be at SMM Friday, October 20 from 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Mrs. Grebe will be at SMM Friday, October 20 from 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Mrs. Schneider will be at SMM on Thursday, October 19 from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Mrs. Rodman will be at SMM on both days October 19 and 20.
Mrs. Splittgerber will be at SMM on both days October 19 and 20.
Mrs. Peterson will be at SMM on Thursday, October 19 from 3:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Spotlight Classroom - Mrs. Backman, 1st grade Classroom
Each week during literacy, the class focuses on an essential question. This week our question is "What makes a pet special?" All week students have been reading and writing fiction and nonfiction stories about pets. The week culminates with students doing a research project related to the essential question. This week, students were tasked with researching more about a pet's home.
First, students participated in an interactive writing. During interactive writing, Mrs. Backman "shares the pen" with the students. She modeled thinking aloud and deciding on a question she could ask to learn more about a pet's home. Students assisted Mrs. Backman in recording her thinking in multiple ways such as counting the numbers of words in the sentence, locating words on the word wall, and using knowledge of letter sounds to stretch out words.
Students were then ready to give this a try in groups! Students selected a pet of interest to them. In their groups, they generated questions to learn about a pet's home. They worked as a team to write out their questions and then used library books to hunt for the answers!
Students had a great time learning more information about cats, rabbits, snakes, and hedgehogs!
Celebrate Fr. Nonito
Help celebrate Fr. Nonito's 30th ordination anniversary! Sign up here.
Picture Day!
Smile! Picture Day will be on Wednesday, October 25th! Your child may be out of dress code for Picture Day.
Wall of Glory
During the month of November, we would like to honor our Veterans. If you would like to send a picture for our wall, please send your photo (4x6) including the name on your photo.
Thank you, Veterans, for your service and all that you do for our country! You are very much honored and very much appreciated for all that you have done. Thank you for your courage and for putting your country first.
Halloween
Our Preschool and 4K Halloween students will parade around the school wearing their costumes on Monday, October 30 at 8:30 a.m.
Students in grades K - 5 will enjoy celebrating their Halloween parties in the afternoon on Tuesday, October 31. Students can wear Halloween colors on October 31.
Speech Services Update
Students who need speech and language services receive them through the Neenah Joint School District (NJSD). Ms. Laura Mason, NJSD speech language pathologist (SLP), provides virtual speech services for our students in grades 2-5. NJSD has just this week been able to hire a retired SLP who will serve as a long-term sub to provide services for our students in grades 4K-1. Speech services for students who already have a speech plan will begin soon and they will process referrals and complete evaluations for students who do not yet have a speech plan.
Trunk N Treat
St. Gabe's Trunk N Treat event planned for Thursday, October 26th. Everyone is welcome! Please RSVP HERE if you plan to go so they can plan for food. Thank you!
Harvest of Plenty
Once again, the students of SMM will be partnering with the parish for the annual Food drive for St. Joseph's food pantry. Each student will be sent home with a paper bag to fill with items for the hungry. The bags will be sent home the first week in November and we ask that the students return them by Thursday, Nov. 9th as they will bring them to the gathering space before Mass. Thank you for being the heart and hands of Jesus!
Fire Safety Month
The Neenah-Menasha Fire Department visited our 1st - 3 grade students last week. They learned about fire safety and were encouraged to complete a fire safety booklet at home with their families. Two winners were drawn from the completed booklets that were turned in. Clare Teeling (1st grade) and Jack Wroblewski (3rd grade) will have breakfast at the fire station this Thursday and receive a ride to school on a fire truck! Thank you to all the students who completed their fire safety booklets!
Upcoming Field Trips
5th grade - Monday, October 23 going to Camp Tekakwitha
3rd grade - Monday, November 13 going to Neenah City Hall
4K - Thursday, November 16 going to P.A.C.
Kindergarten Field Trip - Cuff Farms
Our Kindergarten students had an enjoyable adventure at Cuff Farms. This was a great learning opportunity for our students to learn more about how plants grow: from seed-sprout-vine-flower-green pumpkin- to mature pumpkin. They also learned how a farm can be a community helper by providing us with food and decorations. The farmers taught us how to pick our own farm goods. The entire team did a wonderful job demonstrating "The Zephyr Way"!
Second Grade Field Trip - Fall School Days
The second grade students attended the Fall School Days: Home and Harvest program on Oct. 5. They learned about life in Wisconsin in the 1850s. They participated in many activities including churning butter, dipping candles, shelling corn, sawing wood, playing tug-of-war, walking on stilts, and many other things! They had a fun afternoon!
Preschool Field Trip - Hofacker's Hillside Orchard
Our preschool students visited Hofacker's Hillside Orchard. They had some great discussions about what we can make from apples - applesauce, apple cider/juice, pies. They talked about the different colors apples come in. The students learned a few apple songs and taste tested a green (granny smith), yellow (golden delicious) and a red (honey crisp) and then graphed which one they liked the best. Red won! Lots of fun learning was incorporated into our apple unit!
4K Field Trip - Mulberry Lane Farm
Our 4K students had a great time at Mulberry Lane Farm! They learned a lot about farm animals and loved exploring the chickens, bunnies, chicks, and pigs!
After School Pick Up
If you pick up your child(ren) on Division Street, please pull forward to one of the four orange cones. Your child(ren) will be waiting at the cones. After your car is completely stopped, then your child(ren) can enter the car on the sidewalk side, not the road side. This procedure is in place to ensure the safety of our students. Thank you for your cooperation.
Teacher Wish List
If you would like to support your child's classroom and teacher, please check out how you can donate to our teacher wish lists here.
Thank you shout out
Upcoming Masses
Oct. 19 - Mrs. Dopp's 2nd grade class
Oct. 26 - No School Mass
Wednesday, Nov. 1 All Saints Mass - Ms. Stuber's 5th grade class
November 9 - Mrs. Backman's 1st grade class
November 16 - Miss Ebert's 1st grade class
November 30 - Mrs. Oneacre's 3rd grade class
Staff Birthdays
10/24 - Mrs. Rodman
11/01 - Mrs. Simon
11/29 - Ms. Stuber
FACES Update
FACES (Faith and Community Enriching St. Margaret Mary Elementary) is our school’s official PTO group. We meet monthly and host many events throughout the school year. This year our officers are: President Gretchen Cogswell, VP Kiki McMillan, Treasurer Jen Hildahl, Secretary Kali Sawyer and Parish Liaison Deborah Scott. Please feel free to contact us at our email address: faces@smcatholicschools.org with any questions you may have.
- FACES coffee social - Thursday, October 19th following school mass - All parents and little siblings are welcome to join us for the school mass, followed by a coffee social in the gathering space of the church. We hope to see you there!
- Halloween Carnival - Saturday, October 28th, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm - All are welcome for the annual Halloween Carnival! We are hopeful to have the event outside if the weather allows. If it is raining or very old, it will be held in the SMM gym. All kids through 5th grade can come and enjoy games, balloon animals, face painting and more! All are welcome, children do not have to be SMM students. Students are invited to dress in costume. Tickets for the games are 25 cents. Lunch is available from 11:00-12:30 pm.
- FACES Meeting - Thursday, November 2nd at 9 am (after mass) - All parents are invited, as well as little siblings. Please sign in at the office and then head downstairs to the cafeteria. Our meeting will start at after mass, and meetings usually last about one hour. We hope to see you there!
- FACES volunteering - We are always looking for parent volunteers! If you would like to help FACES with any of the fabulous events FACES sponsors, please sign up here.
- Lunchroom volunteers - Our school lunch program cannot run without the help of parent volunteers! Remember, you must be current with your VIRTUS documents to volunteer, and every three times you volunteer in a month you’ll get an out of dress code pass for one of your students! Please contact Justine Semrow at 920-209-5209 with questions about helping in the lunchroom, or sign up here.
To stay up to date on all FACES events, and other important school updates, please follow and like the SMM FB group named “St. Margaret Mary Elementary”.
Halloween Carnival
The St. Margaret Mary FACES group will be hosting the annual Halloween Carnival on Saturday, October 28th from 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Lunch will be available from 11:00 - 12:30. All kids preschool – 5th grade are welcome to attend for games, prizes, face painting, balloon animals and more. The carnival proceeds benefit the mission projects of St. Margaret Mary parish. Over the last 11 years, the Halloween Carnival has raised over $20,000 for Haiti and India parish outreach programs. Please help to make this year a success!
Here is a sign-up genius for student and parent volunteers and donations. Volunteers will assist with set up, serving lunch, running the games and clean up.
St. Margaret Mary Parish News
Click here to see upcoming parish events and to share the word with others.
Elementary Breakfast & Lunch Menu for October
Upcoming Events
- Thursday, October 19 - Parent / teacher conferences pm (ES)
- Friday, October 20 - No school, parent / teacher conferences
- Wednesday, October 25 - SMM school picture day
- Saturday, October 28 - SMM Halloween carnival
- Saturday, November 11 - All Aboard for Christmas Fundraiser
Helpful Links
Contact Information
Phone: 920-729-4565
Associate Principal: Mrs. Lutz, jlutz@smcatholicschools.org
Elementary Principal: Mrs. Cihlar, acihlar@smcatholicschools.org