St. Mary School Newsletter
Escondido, California
May 11, 2018
Mother's Day
Principal's Message
Welcome
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I wanted to start our newsletter off with some updates. This newsletter will be a little longer than most. First, thank you to everyone who has registered for the 2018-2019 school year. We are up 29 students from last year at this point, and I would like to thank you for spreading the word about our school. Parent endorsement is our best form of advertising, and I ask that you continue to share information about our school to your friends and families. I would love to meet with them and show them our amazing school.
We began working with a professional marketing team a couple of months ago, and we are finalizing some materials to distribute to prospective families.
I would also like to take some time to give you an update regarding what we've been up to this past year with regards to our strategic plan. Last May, we held a parent meeting in which we discussed our plan for the next 5 years. To read the overview of our strategic plan, click here.
Support 1: PD in Core Teaching Practices
We met this goal in 2017-2018. All teachers attended three professional development days with other teachers across the Diocese of San Diego where they learned about curriculum mapping, differentiated instruction, different types of assessment, and more. The focus was on English Language Arts this year, but there was something for every teacher despite the subject area they teach. We will continue on with this PD in the 2018-2019 school year. This coming year, the overall focus will be math.
Support 2: 1-1 with Tech in Grades 5-8 & Adaptive Curriculum
I am happy to report that we exceeded this goal for 2017-2018. Over the summer, we purchased laptops for every student in grades 5-8. We also purchased adaptive software in the areas of English Language Arts and Math. Thanks to a donation, we were able to purchase enough laptops midyear to allow our fourth grade class to go 1:1 as well! Not only that, but the school is currently working with our Apple rep to purchase iPads for grades K-3. We will go 1:3 with these devices this fall. Adaptive software will be purchased for all students K-8. We were hoping to accomplish this by year 3 which puts us over 1 year ahead of schedule.
Support 3: Direct Support in Blended Learning and NGSS
Blended Learning
This summer, our middle school team attended Blended Learning training with leading professionals in the field. Not only that, but we have received direct support from one of the professors from Loyola Marymount University who has come to our school 6 times this year to observe and provide feedback to our middle school staff. This support will continue throughout the 2018-2019 school year. Not only that, but this summer all the teachers will be trained in the Blended Learning Model, as we will implement it K-8 this fall. They will also receive the on-site support and coaching from LMU.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
By the end of this school year, our teachers will have received over 17 hours of professional development led by Dr. Anita Kreide. This on-site training has not only increased teacher capacity in teaching science, but also math and other subject areas. We have discussed and learned the importance of asking higher-level thinking questions, which can be applied to all subject areas. This past fall, Ms. Silady, our fourth grade teacher, was selected to become our Science TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) on campus. She has received 1-on-1 training and coaching by Dr. Kreide this year. Ms. Silady will continue with this training and support next year and will begin to coach other staff members in science instruction during the 2018-2019 school year. The fourth grade class also piloted a new hands-on science program this year. It has unlocked curiosity, innovation and creativity within our students, and its impact has been profound. We will implement this program K-8 this fall.
Some additional items outside the strategic plan worth noting:
Grad Profiles- much like our Schoolwide Learning Expectations (SLEs), our staff will embark on PD during the 2018-2019 school year to determine what we expect a graduate of St. Mary School to be able to know, do and act. In subsequent years, we will revamp our portfolio project.
- Mr. Molina will serve as our Tech TOSA on campus. He will begin a certificate program through Loyola Marymount University where he will learn about different ways to utilize technology to enhance instruction (through apps, websites, software, etc). Mr. Molina will aid the other teachers on campus in utilizing these programs to enhance instruction in all classrooms at our school.
Staffing for 2018-2019
Due to our Kindergarten enrollment numbers, I am happy to report that we will be adding an instructional aide to our Kindergarten classroom. He/she will help with small group instruction and differentiation so that we can meet every student's needs.
Because our 5th-8th grade is also growing, we are adding another staff member up in the middle school. For the 2018-2019 school year, we will have 2 full-time teachers and 2 30-hour-per-week teachers.
Teacher placement has not yet been determined. As that information is available, I will update our school community.
May Crowning
Upcoming Events
Other Important Dates:
May 17th:
- School Families-Team Day
May 18th:
- Rosary at 2pm by 4th Grade
- Teacher Experience from 5-7pm
May 22:
- Band Demo at 7pm in the parish hall
May 24:
- Dance Fever- more details soon
- 10:30 AM Mass by 1st Grade
May 25:
- 8th Grade Portfolio Presentations
- Rosary at 2pm by Student Council
May 28:
- No School- Memorial Day
June 1st:
- May Student of the Month Award Ceremony at Assembly
- 12pm dismissal
- Sports Awards at 3pm in new hall
- Blue and Gold Dance for Grades 5-8 from 6pm-9pm
- Catholic Schools Night at Petco Park- 7:10pm
June 4th:
- Fly Up Day
- 8th Grade Potluck at Volleyball Game (for parents and 8th grade students only)
June 5th:
- 8th Grade Dinner hosted by the 7th Grade Class at 5:30 PM
June 6th:
- 12pm dismissal
- 8th Grade Mass and Graduation at 3pm
June 7th:
- Kindergarten Peter Rabbit Play at 10am in new hall
- Kindergarteners Last Day of School
- Class End-of-the-Year Parties at 11am
- 12pm dismissal
June 8th:
- Mass at 8am
- 10am dismissal- No Extension Available
Currently Enrolling
St. Mary Preschool is currently enrolling for the remainder of the school year, for summer, and for 2018-2019 school year. Come tour the new facility!
Contact the preschool director, Ms. Andrea Wilson, at ms.wilson@stmesc.org or 760.745.1611 ext. 301, to set up a tour and to learn more information about their program.
Find out more information on their website here and follow them on Facebook here.
Parish Items
About Us
Email: office@stmesc.org
Website: www.stmesc.org
Location: 130 East 13th Avenue, Escondido, CA, USA
Phone: (760) 743-3431
Facebook: facebook.com/smsescondido
Twitter: @stmaryescondido