St. Margaret Mary Newsletter
11.29.2023
St. Margaret Mary Newsletter
February 21, 2024
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,
We are celebrating Wellness Week! We are enjoying dress up days while learning ways to keep our heart healthy. Jackie Weir from the American Heart Association stopped by last week and talked to the students about how to be a Heart Hero. The students were excited to learn more about our hearts and how to stay healthy from Dr. Kali Sawyer. She did a wonderful job sharing heart facts to our students! Pictures are included in this newsletter below.
During Lent, we are concentrating on praying more, making sacrifices, and completing almsgiving. Our 3rd grade students will be leading the Stations of the Cross in church on March 12 at 2:15 pm. Our 4th grade students will present the Living Stations in church on Holy Thursday, March 28 at 8:15 am. All are welcome to attend!
Thank you for supporting our Qdoba fundraiser! It was very successful and we will receive a check for $409.41! The money will be put towards our teachers wish lists. Thank you, Jill Trotter, for organizing this awesome fundraiser for our school! Information on our next fundraiser for Papa Murphy's is included in this newsletter.
We will be participating in a coin drive to help raise money for Rise Against Hunger. During the month of March, we are asking students to bring in coins. Each grade level will have their own bucket and they will be on display so the students can put their coins in and watch them fill up! All the contributions will go to Rise Against Hunger meal pack event on Saturday, May 4. During the season of Lent, please encourage your child to earn the coins they are bringing in for the donation.
St. Gabriel will be hosting a Literacy Night on Monday, March 4th from 5:00 - 7:00 pm. Our preschool - 5th grade students are welcome to attend! Information is included in this newsletter. To help celebrate Read Across America Week during the week of March 2nd-6th, we will be having a "Dress Like Your Favorite Book Character Day" on Monday, March 4th. Your child may be out of dress code if they are dressed as a book character. No masks or weapons of any kind please.
Blessings,
Mrs. Jackie Lutz
Associate Principal ~ St. Margaret Mary School
Congratulations!
I am happy to announce Ella Dummer made her arrival on February 16 around 11:00 pm. Mr. Dummer said everyone is doing very well and he shared this beautiful picture of Ella! Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Dummer!
Classroom Spotlight - 1st grade Miss Ebert
This week our question in reading is, How do we grow our food? Throughout the week we focused on two main stories. One of our stories is called From Cows to You, which is about the process of milk. We have been focusing on this story for two days. On the first day we focused on the main idea of the story. On the second day we reread the story and in small groups the students focused on the sequence of the story; the process of making milk. To wrap up the story students wrote about which job they would like to have in the milk process.
Mrs. Derks, Instructional Technology Coach
Mrs. Derks helped the students in Ms. Rivas' 4K classroom learn how to make a simple version of a robot. The students used part of a pool noodle, pipe cleaners, stickers, 3 markers, a rubber band, an electric toothbrush (minus the toothbrush), and some poster board. They were excited to make the robots and then test them out!
Guest Visitor ~ Dr. Kali Sawyer
I would like to thank Dr. Kali Sawyer from Sprout Family Chiropractic for sharing heart facts with our students this week! Everyone enjoyed her visit and learning more about our hearts!
St. Joseph Food Pantry
We collected 340 cans of soup during our Soup-er Bowl Week! Thank you for your generosity!
Literacy Night
SMCS Parent & Student Directories
The 2023/24 SMCS Parent & Student Directory will be sent home Friday of this week with the youngest member of each family.
Board of Trustees
Call for New Board Members: Looking to share your skills? Consider joining the SMCS Board of Trustees (BOT). The BOT helps to enhance SMCS with leadership, guidance, decision-making, financial support, and public relations. Each year we look for individuals with business, marketing, legal, Human Resources, or financial backgrounds; but most importantly, you must be ready to help our Catholic schools grow. We are seeking Catholic individuals who are alumni, parents, parish members, or anyone with a connection to our school system. Trustees are elected to one three-year term of office and may serve a subsequent term.
We are currently accepting candidates for consideration. Please contact Paul Seveska at paulpsev@aol.com if you are interested.
Papa Murphy's Fundraiser
We are having a Papa Murphy's fundraiser from March 1 - 17 (excluding Tuesdays). We will receive 20% of online orders using the code PIZZA at checkout. Thank you for your support! All proceeds will go towards our teachers wish lists!
Rise Against Hunger
In lieu of Rice Bowls, we will be having a coin drive during the month of March for Rise Against Hunger. If you would like to help with this event, more details will be coming in April on how to register for the meal packing on Saturday, May 4th.
NJSD Summer School
The Neenah Joint School District offers a variety of classes for a very low cost for students in 4K to high school. There are remedial courses available as well as fun courses. Registration takes place online and the registration date is March 26th. Here is the link to their website.
American Heart Association ~ Wellness Week
We are excited to be celebrating Wellness Week through the American Heart Association! Wellness Week is a week-long, school-wide, family engagement opportunity that will walk your students and families through the messages of our heart heroes with a daily resource that aligns with this message. Students are invited to participate in the dress-up days and it will teach them how to get involved, make an impact and how to save a life. Thank you!
* Please click HERE to register.
* Please click HERE to view wellness activities and to see the dress up days for Feb. 20 - 23.
*Last day for donations is Monday, February 26 and prizes will be distributed on February 28.
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.
Upcoming Events
3rd grade Stations of the Cross in Church at 2:15 pm ~ March 12
4th grade Living Stations in Church at 8:15 am ~ March 28
4th grade Wisconsin State Fair ~ April 24
3rd grade Living Museum ~ May 31
Upcoming Field Trips
Feb. 29 - 4K going to PAC - Very Hungry Caterpillar
March 5 - 4th/5th grades Capitol tour & Veterans Museum
March 19 - 5th grade Spiritus field trip
March 21 - Kindergarten Building for Kids Museum
Upcoming Masses
Thursday, Feb. 29 - Mrs. Lamb's Kindergarten class
Thursday, March 7 - Mrs. Quick's Kindergarten class
Thursday, March 14 - Mrs. Dopp's 2nd grade class
Thursday, March 21 - Mrs. Simon's 4th grade class
Staff Birthdays
Feb. 24th - Mrs. Lee (1/2 birthday)
March 12 - Mrs. Wirtz
March 14 - Mrs. Peterson
March 16 - Mrs. Bergstrom
March 25 - Mrs. Splittgerber
March 29 - Mrs. Schlieter
Sweetheart Ball
The Sweetheart Ball will be on Saturday, March 2nd from 3-5:30 pm in the SMCS MS Commons. Cost is $10/child (dads/adults no charge).
Here is the link to register: https://smcatholicschools.ejoinme.org/SweetheartBall2024
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.
- Coming up:
Saturday, March 2nd - Sweetheart Ball at the SMCS Middle School
Thursday, March 7th at 9 am - FACES meeting after school mass
- Looking ahead:
Thursday, April 11th at 9 am - FACES meeting after school mass
Monday, April 15th - Thursday, April 18th - Spring Book Fair
Thursday, April 18th - Grandparents Day
Sunday, April 21st - FACES hosts coffee and doughnuts at SMM parish
Wednesday, April 24th - Mother/Son Bowling
Saturday, April 27th - Zephyrfest
Thursday, May 9th - May Crowning
- Sweetheart Ball donations/volunteers - Please see the SUG below to help FACES create a fun and magical time for our young ladies and their guests. Every little bit helps! This event would not be possible without your help. Thank you! Any questions please contact Gretchen Cogswell at 920-427-1632 or gjcogs@yahoo.com.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-47969259-2024
- 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 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 with the link below. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-20232024
- 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”.
Zephyrs Gold Raffle Tickets
The Zephyrs Gold Raffle tickets will go home with students during the week of February 11. An email notification will be sent out on the day tickets are distributed.
Any questions regarding the Zephyrs Gold Raffle can be directed to Kathleen McCurdy, Director of Advancement at kmccurdy@smcatholicschools.org
Neenah Soccer Club
Neenah Soccer Club is committed to providing high-quality training and learning opportunities in a safe and positive environment for players at all levels to develop as individuals, teammates and leaders who leave a positive impact on their community. Click here to learn more.
Elementary Breakfast/Lunch Menu for February
Helpful Links
Contact Information
Phone: 920-729-4565
Associate Principal: Mrs. Lutz, jlutz@smcatholicschools.org
Elementary Principal: Mrs. Cihlar, acihlar@smcatholicschools.org