SMM PARENT NEWSLETTER
September 14, 2018
Please Join Us in Prayer
Please keep the following people in your prayers:
The Pope and Church leaders; our government leaders
All service men & women; all police, fire fighters, and first responders
Vada Powell, Elizabeth Dillon, John Doyle, Robert Miller, Asher Gaige, David Cowger, Ferdy & Simone Boell.
For all those impacted by Hurricane Florence, through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, may they be protected from loss of life and property
SMM - WHERE YOUR DREAMS CAN COME TRUE
Congratulations to all of our winners and thank you for participating in our first Dream Fundraiser. A special thank you goes to “Love the Mouse Travel”, aka Anna Caruso, for all the work she has done on their fundraiser and for our school.
Thanks to our awesome PTO for all they have done for our school and students.
God bless our SMM families.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT CRoSS COUNTRY
Heart to Heart
A Christian Service program for St. Margaret Mary Catholic School
St. Margaret Mary was the “beloved disciple of the sacred heart” of Jesus. How can we be disciples of the Lord’s heart? Let us give our hearts to his Sacred Heart. Beginning with September, each month will have a “Heart to Heart” service theme. Before the first Friday Mass of each month, in honor of St. Margaret Mary’s first Friday devotion to the Eucharist, each child will place a paper heart with his or her name on it in a service basket, indicating they have completed the previous month’s project. The heart-filled basket will be carried forward with the offertory gifts. After Mass, the hearts will then be placed on a bulletin board in the cafeteria as a visual symbol for students to see each day. This month’s service is “Give Our Hearts to the World.” Some ideas are: Catholic World Mission, The Water Project, or a letter and drawing to a missionary. Please check your e-mail account for an e-mail sent this week for more information. If you have any questions, call Scott Osborn at 985-643-4612. Thank you and God bless!
"GRANDPARENTS ARE A TREASURE IN A FAMILY" - POPE FRANCIS
We agree with Pope Francis! Our SMM grandparents are a treasure in our school family.
There is a section in the family demographics section on RenWeb. Some of you have already completed this section, but most parents have not. Would you please take just a few minutes and do so?
Please logon to RenWeb and go to your Parent Web Page. Click on webforms, then family demographics, and fill in the grandparents or grand friends info and save. Once you have done this, Miss Susan will accept your changes and we will be good to go.
We will also post information in the Parent Newsletter so that parents are aware of what we are sending to our grandparents and grand friends.
OUR FIRST ACTIVITY IS GRANDPARENTS AND GRAND FRIENDS ADORATION HOUR. We are inviting our grandparents and grand friends to visit the St. Margaret Mary Chapel on Fridays and spend an hour from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm in adoration praying for our school and students. The time slot has been reserved for us. Please sign the Adoration book on the credenza in the back of the chapel when you arrive. Thank you and God Bless.
SMM MOTHERS DAY OUT PROGRAM
FOR MORE INFORMATION, TO SCHEDULE A TOUR, OR TO REGISTER, PLEASE CONTACT SUSAN MILLER IN THE SCHOOL OFFICE: (985)643-4612.
ACADEMIC OLYMPICS PRACTICES
SMM will once again participate in the event.
Upcoming practices for our Academic Olympics Team are as follows:
September 18, 20, 25, and 27; October 2 and 4.
Practices are held at 7:30 am in the Library/Media Center.
TEACHER SPOTLIGHT ON MRS. RHIANNON DEBROSKY
Although, she has taught all age groups from PreK 3 through 7th grade, she was always drawn to 5 year olds. She has a special love for children in this age group. Miss Rhi has two children of her own. Adam is in PreK 4 at SMM, Claire is a toddler, and Benjamin will be born very, very soon!
Rhiannon says that God works in mysterious ways. She originally wasn’t considering working this semester with the baby coming. She had placed an application with another Catholic school on a whim. Her application was shared within the Office of Catholic Schools. Then Mrs. Canter called. She interviewed and within a day had a position at SMM. She says, “I believe God puts you where you belong. This is where I am supposed to be. I will miss my kids dearly when I am out on maternity leave. I love my kids dearly.”
Mrs. Debrosky’s philosophy of teaching involves introducing activities which support what they are learning. I want my students to be “engaged and enjoying the lesson.”
Welcome, Mrs. Debrosky, and may God bless you and your family during the months to come.
SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING & POLICIES
If you are already Safe Environment trained and must renew, you may do so online. The link for the instructions is listed below. Also listed below is the link for Austin Computing registration.
St. Margaret Mary Administration highly recommends that all parents take the training. You may want to chaperone a field trip or work on a class craft in the future. You will have to be Safe Environment trained to do so. Also, if you ever wish to coach a sport or assist with moderating an activity, you must also have a background check.
If you have any questions about Safe Environment training, please contact Lisa Suttles, SMM Business Manager, by email at lsuttles@saintmm.org.
For more information about Safe Environment Poicies, please logon on to:
https://www.nolacatholic.org/policies-and-procedures-manuals.
IMPORTANT INFO FROM MR. OSBORN REGARDING HIGH SCHOOL SHADOW DAYS
Please note that, in the coming days/weeks, SMM will be receiving info from area Catholic High Schools about "Shadow Days", "Spend-A-Days", or "School Tours". For Shadow Days and Spend-A-Days, that usually entails your child spending half a day or a full day at their campus, shadowing other students and/or participating in special events at the school. (A school tour is more likely shorter and not as involved.)
As you prepare your child for this next phase in his/her life, we encourage such exploration (since it is a major decision). We only ask that you notify your child's teachers ahead of time and make every arrangement for any make-up work/tests/etc. Also, please let the school office know ahead of time, so we can anticipate the absence.
We will be forwarding these announcements from local high schools in the Parent Bulletin.
IF YOUR CHILD IS IN 6th or 7th GRADE, YOU WILL BE RECEIVING A COMPREHENSIVE PACKET VIA E-MAIL WHICH DETAILS THE APPLICATION PROCESS, NOT ONLY FOR CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLS, BUT PUBLIC AND CHARTER SCHOOLS, IF YOUR CHILD WILL NOT BE ATTENDING A CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at: (985) 643-4612.
Sincerely,
In Christ,
Scott Osborn
School Counselor
As we receive dates and information for local area high school shadow days and open houses, we will post them here.
Pope John Paul II High School Shadow Day - On Wednesday, October 3rd, Pope John Paul II High School is hosting a special “Shadow Day” for 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students of St. Margaret Mary. On that day, starting around 8:15 a.m., PJP will begin bussing interested students to their campus, where they will “shadow” ambassador students (actually attend real classes). Also included in the full-day program is a Campus Ministry service and free pizza lunch. (Students have the option to bring their own lunch, if they so choose.) There will be SMM Chaperones on the bus and at PJP. More information and permission slips for this special day will be sent home soon. PJP's Open House is October 25.
St. Augustine High School - St. Augustine High School's Shadow Days are Tuesday mornings 7:20 - 10:20 am. Click here to register: https://www.staugnola.org/domain/90 Open House is October 24.
St. Paul's High School - St. Paul's High School has four more Shadow Days remaining - September 27, October 9, October 23, or November 13. Please Call Karen Hebert at 985-892-3200, ext. 1003 to register. Open House is October 27.
St. Scholastica Academy - SSA has several Shadow Days in September, October and November with Open House on Thursday, October 8. Please click on the pdf link below for more information.
FRIENDS OF THE POOR WALK/RUN
For more information and registration, please click on the link below.
KIDS GOT RHYTHM??
THEN ST. PAUL'S MARCHING WOLVES AND DANCE CLINIC IS FOR THEM!
HANNAN HAWKETTES DANCE CAMP
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW THE FLYER AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION.
ISAIAH 43 FOR PARENTS
MESSAGE FROM FAITH MOSHER, SMM Director of Youth Ministry
Hi everyone!
Cornerstone kick-off is just a few weeks away! We hope to see your children there on September 18th at 6pm.
In the mean time, if any of you are willing to stay during Cornerstone or interested in volunteering in any way please let me know! We really need volunteers to make Cornerstone happen, whether it's volunteering in a big or small role. Please seriously pray and consider how you can help serve in our ministry. Jesus will reward you for all you do!
Send me an email with how you are able to contribute to our Jr. High School students growing in their faith and relationship with God.
In the peace of Christ,
Faith Mosher
Director of Youth Ministry
St. Margaret Mary Church
985-781-5046
PLEASE CHECK BELOW FOR THE CORNERSTONE CALENDAR AND FLYERS OF UPCOMING EVENTS.
HELP STOCK OUR MAKER SPACES
toothpicks ----- duct tape
toilet paper/pare towel rolls ----- tape
straws ----- google eyes
glue ----- rubber bands
empty water bottles ----- balloons
pipe cleaners ----- tin foil
packing tape
anything else that you think kids could use to make awesome creations
Thank you for your help.
St. Margaret Mary Family Owned or Managed Businesses
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
- Swim meet at Terrytown Country Club
- Isaiah 43 Mtg 5:30 - 7:30 pm E-Bldg
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
- Cross Country Practice 3:00 - 4:00 pm
- JV Flag Football 4:00 pm @ Lourdes
- SV Flag Football 5:00 pm @ Lourdes
- Swim Team Practice 5:00 - 6:00 pm Pinewood CC
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
- Academic Olympics Practice 7:30 am Library/Media Center
- PTO Teacher Birthday Luncheon
- NJHS Meeting 3:00- 3:30 pm
- SV Volleyball vs Our Lady of the Lake 4:00 pm @ SMM
- JV Flag Football vs Our Lady of the Lake 4:00 pm @ SMM
- SV Flag Football vs Our Lady of the Lake 5:00 pm @ SMM
- JR High Cornerstone Kick-Off 6:00-7:30 pm Youth Group Room
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
- Cross Country Practice 3:00 - 4:00 pm
- Band Practice 3:00 - 4:00 pm
- Volleyball Practice 3:00 - 4:30 pm
- Swim Team Practice 5:00 - 6:00 pm Pinewood CC
- School Board Mtg 7:30 pm E-Bldg
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
- PTO Fundraiser Free Dress
- Academic Olympics Practice 7:30 am Library/Media Center
- Cross Country Practice 3:00 - 4:00 pm
- Science Club Mtg 3:00 - 3:45 pm Science Lab
- JV Volleyball vs St. Peter 4:00 pm @SMM
- SV Volleyball vs St. Peter 5:00 pm @ SMM
- SV Flag Football vs Mary Queen of Peace 4:30 pm @ SMM
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
- School Mass 8:20 am Parents Are Invited
- Grandparents & Grand Friends Adoration hour 12 noon - 1:00 pm
- SV Volleyball vs Mary Queen of Peace 4:00 pm @ SMM
- CUB Scout Pack Mtg 6:30 - 8:00 pm Gym
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
- Cross Country Meet 7:00 am at Levee Batture near Jefferson Playground
- Isaiah 43 Mtg 5:30 - 7:30 pm E-Bldg
FOR MORE EVENTS, PLEASE CLICK ON THE SMM SCHOOL CALENDAR LINK BELOW
Contact SMM
Email: smmschool@saintmm.org
Website: www.saintmm.org
Location: 1050 Robert Boulevard, Slidell, LA, United States
Phone: 985-643-4612
Facebook: http://facebook.com/SMMSlidell/