St. Margaret Mary Newsletter
09.6.2023
St. Margaret Mary Newsletter
September 6, 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 SMCS families,
We had a great first week of school! Air conditioners were installed in our preschool/4K wing! We are fortunate to have them so our youngest learners can stay cool and comfortable.
In the hallways, you will notice "Zephyr Way" posters. They focus on 4 key phrases; Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be Kind, and Believe in yourself. The students have been learning about these key phrases and school expectations. The Zephyr Way is a great way to promote positive choices throughout our school community.
Congratulations to Ted Semrow for receiving the first H.A.L.O. (Helping and Loving Others) of the school year!
We are excited to celebrate our first all system school mass on Friday at the SMCS HS. Students may dress in Zephyr apparel. All are welcome!
Blessings,
Mrs. Jackie Lutz
Associate Principal ~ St. Margaret Mary Elementary
Classroom Spotlight - Mrs. Lamb's Kindergarten Class
The Kindergarteners are off to a great start! This first week of school has been so fun. We are learning all of the rules and routines of Kindergarten. Our mornings start off with a morning meeting in which we are learning to greet one another and are learning the names of all of our new friends. Each week, every Kindergarten has a classroom job to do. One of those jobs is being in charge of the calendar during our morning meeting time. The calendar helper helps us to know what day of the week it is and which day of the month it is. This helper is in charge of counting how many days of the month we've had. The calendar helper is also in charge of helping us keep track of how many days of Kindergarten we've had. Once we reach 100, we will have a celebration!
Veterans visit our 5th Grade Students
We were very thankful for our veterans! They visited our 5th grade students on the first day of school and taught the students important flag etiquette. They have the responsibility of flag duty.
Meet Mrs. Wirtz - 4K (morning) Teacher Aide
My name is Bridget Wirtz. I am happy to be working as a teacher aide at St. Margaret Mary Elementary. Prior to my new role, I had been a social worker for Outagamie County for 32 years, and recently retired. I decided to try a new gig as a 4K aide. So far, so good!
My husband and I have been members at St. Margaret Mary for about 27 years and raised our children in the Catholic faith.
Thank you shout out
Thank you to Christina Ellerbrock, Katie Ozark, and Amanda Pizarro for supplying freeze pops for the students on Tuesday! It was a cool treat on such a hot day!!
Also, thank you to Liesl Britzke for spending last week in the lunchroom helping our new school cooks Mr. Ellerbrock and Mrs. Preissner in the kitchen. Liesl's experience made it a smooth transition!
September Staff Birthdays!
9/09 - Mrs. Zelinski
9/13 - Mrs. Charapata
9/15 - Mrs. Oneacre
9/22 - Mrs. Backman
Upcoming Masses
Sept. 14 - Ms. Stuber's 5th grade class
Sept. 21 - Mr. Zimmerman's 5th grade class
Sept. 28 - Mrs. Logemann's 4th grade class
Oct. 5 - Mrs. Simon's 4th grade class
Oct. 12 - Mrs. Zelinski's 2nd grade class
Parents are welcome to attend!
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.
- Doughnuts with Grown-ups - Wednesday, September 13th 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.
- Coffee & Doughnuts after 9:30 Mass on Sunday, September 17th - All families are encouraged to attend Mass at 9:30 Sunday morning, followed by Coffee & Doughnuts in the gathering space, hosted by FACES. During Mass, Anna Cihlar, Principal, and Jackie Lutz, Assistant Principal, will be introduced to the parishioners to further our parish/school connection.
- FACES coffee social - Thursday, September 21st 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!
- Homecoming week - September 24th-29th - Please mark your calendars for homecoming week! More details to follow.
- Please see the calendar of events for this school year. Dates are subject to change. Please refer to the most current newsletters and emails, or check our SMM Facebook group page to make sure you have the most up to date calendar!
- FACES volunteering - If you would like to volunteer and help FACES with any of the fabulous events FACES sponsors, please sign up using the following link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C44AAAE22A0FF2-202324
- 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! 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 using this link: 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”.
St. Margaret Mary Parish News
Mass Bags - Coming Soon!
Mass Bags will be available the weekend of September 9 & 10. These bags are created to keep your child occupied--yet focused on Jesus--so you are able to participate more fully in the Mass. There will be Mass Bags located in the Gathering Space and in the Parent Room.
Please take a Mass Bag from the Gathering Space as you walk into Church and return it (and its contents) when you leave after Mass. The bags located in the Parent Room can be returned to its hook when you leave the room.
St. Margaret Mary Annual Meeting
Mark your calendars! The Parish Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, September 10, immediately following the 9:30am Mass. All are invited to join us down in Friendship Hall. One of the items on the agenda is to discuss our plans for the one by One Campaign money, so please plan to attend. Copies of the 2022-2023 Annual Report, as well as the minutes from last year’s meeting, are available in the Gathering Space and at the Reed St. entrance. Hope to see you on September 10th.
Elementary Breakfast & Lunch Menu for August & September
Upcoming Events
Sept. 8 - SMCS all-system Mass (grades K-12) at SMCHS
Sept. 13 - SMM doughnuts with grown ups 7:15am
Sept. 22 - No school (Professional Development day)
Sept. 29 - Homecoming Parade and Football Game
Helpful Links
Contact Information
Phone: 920-729-4565
Associate Principal: Mrs. Lutz, jlutz@smcatholicschools.org
Elementary Principal: Mrs. Cihlar, acihlar@smcatholicschools.org