St. Mary Catholic Schools News

Registration is now open for new students to join the St. Mary Catholic Schools family! Existing students do not need to do anything to register for next year. The non-refundable $75 registration fee will appear on existing tuition accounts in March.

If you have a new student entering the system in 2023-2024, you can begin the registration process here. Please feel free to share that link with anyone looking to learn whether SMCS is the right choice for their family.

Tuition rates for 2023-2024 were announced last month. Click here to view the rate sheet. Tuition assistance is available. Click here for the application.

You can read more about this year's Cost to Educate invitation in this email sent last week.

The PDF below is the approved 2023-2024 calendar.

SMCS participates in the state of Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP). The state application period runs from February 1 to April 20. Please review eligibility requirements at: dpi.wi.gov/choice or contact Shelley Wautlet in the Business Office for more information. Being awarded the WPCP grant can mean free tuition for your child grades 4K-12 at SMCS!

Parents may claim the tuition payments for 5-year-old kindergarten through grade 12 on the state of WI Schedule PS tax form.

To access payments made from 1/1/22 to 12/31/22, log in to Blackbaud/Tuition Management and select Family Year End Statement at the right. Please consult a tax professional to inquire about claiming payments on P3/4K tuition. For Part 1 on the PS Form you will enter: St. Mary Catholic Schools, 1050 Zephyr Drive, Neenah, WI 54956. The federal ID will print on your statement as the School Tax ID.

Contact Shelley Wautlet if you need help with logging in to your tuition account.

Registration Now Open: It may feel strange to think about summer with snow in the forecast this week, but our Camp Zephyr team is already planning for the BEST CAMP EVER. If you're ready to make your summer plans, click on the image above to register. Costs increase after February 10.

Many thanks to all of the parents, volunteers, clergy, and staff members who went above and beyond to make this Catholic Schools Week a beautiful celebration of our Catholic identity. St. Mary Catholic Schools is truly blessed with an outstanding community.

In case you missed it, five videos were posted to the SMCS Facebook page celebrating our school system through the eyes of our wonderful teachers. Check them out in the links below.

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

SMCS Alumni teaching at SMCS

The SMCS Family

Did you know SMCS President Dan McKenna has a blog? Click the image above to read his latest entry and check out some photos from our All System Mass held during Catholic Schools Week. While you're on our website you can subscribe to receive an email when there is a new McKenna Minute! (These emails will come from the email address smcsblog@smcatholicschools.org and may show up in your promotions or junk folder.)

With a 15-1 conference record and only three conference games left, our Zephyr Girls Basketball team has clinched the Big East North Conference! Want to catch them in action? The girls take on Manitowoc Lutheran at home tomorrow night at 7:15.

Friday night's game is going to be big for a lot of reasons. The Zephyrs are among the best in the state and they're taking on the highly ranked Howards Grove! Plus, it's ZBC Youth Night! That means players will be signing their trading cards, our youngest athletes will be recognized for their hard work over the summer in the 10,000 touches/shots program, and there will be a half time ball toss. The fun starts at 7:15!

Invitations will be hitting mailboxes soon! In the meantime, be sure to mark your calendar for Saturday, April 29, 2023. You won't want to miss this opportunity to celebrate and support all that makes St. Mary Catholic Schools special.

The Spirit Store is getting an upgrade: embroidery! You can pick from new quality pieces and have the Zephyrs Train added! Check it out (plus new Spring Sports offerings) by clicking here.

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.

We Need Your Help! Scrip volunteers are needed to pick up Scrip from local retailers during the day on Wednesdays. Volunteers would be scheduled approximately once a month to go to the SMCS Administrative Office to pick up the retailers checks, then go to the stores or restaurants for the gift cards and then return the gift cards to the SMCS Administrative Office by 3:30 p.m. Please email Shelley Wautlet if you can offer your time to the Scrip Program. The SMCS Scrip Program currently has just 6 dedicated volunteers that offer their time on a regular basis, picking up Scrip and processing orders every Thursday for our school families and parishes. They keep our Scrip program operating smoothly; we couldn’t do it without them!

Transaction Fee: If you use your bank account for Scrip orders, the transaction fee has increased from $0.15 to $0.29 per order. This change is reflected in the mobile app and on RaiseRight.com during checkout when selecting Bank Account as the payment option. We have not adjusted this fee since 2011 and remain committed to keeping our fees as low as possible while we continue to enhance our gift card offering and develop new features to grow your organization’s earnings.

Business News: Grand Central Station has new owners! It is now called True North. When searching on the raise right app, please look up by searching True North. The same 10% rebate is still being honored.

Your help is needed to make the SMCS Food Service program the best it can be! At St. Mary Catholic Schools, we’re always looking for ways improve our meal services, and we want to hear from you! You’re invited to take a brief survey (less than 10 minutes). All responses will stay completely anonymous, and results will be used in menu and program development. Your feedback is greatly appreciated as we continually look for ways to create happy and healthy mealtime experiences at St. Mary Catholic Schools.

Elementary Families

Middle and High School Students (Parents please share this link with your students)

SMCS Staff

A message from Steve Pable, Director of Adult Discipleship Formation Catholic Parishes of Neenah & Menasha. Learn more about Steve's role here.

How do you choose between right and wrong?

Do you consider whether something is illegal, a violation of the law? Or are your ethics and morals something you have internalized? Do you find yourself doing the right thing for appearances’ sake? Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden put it succinctly: “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”

Jesus warns His disciples, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” There is a human tendency to emphasize the “rules”, because structure can help dictate behavior. But when the Law becomes something of an idol, as it did for the religious leaders of Jesus’ time, it can obscure the person and the relationship. Energy goes into applying the rules, rather than forming the person. So Jesus fulfills the Law by inviting us to relationship. Our connection to Him aligns our hearts to the values behind the Law. This is why acting out of love – not obligation or fear of punishment – is the foundation of all the commandments.

©Steve Pable, Director of Adult Discipleship Formation

Welcome – Worship – Witness