St. Mary Newsletter
11.29.2023
St. Mary Elementary Newsletter
February 7, 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
FEBRUARY - AN EARLY LENT
Dear SM Elementary Families,
Thank you so much for your support of our Special Person's Day on Sunday, January 28th! We had so much fun with you in our building that day. Thank you for brining your loved ones to school and mass so that they can see the good work that your children are doing here every day!
THANK YOU
We had a record breaking attendance at Mass and the social that followed! Over 380 people were counted in the church at the 11:00 am mass, with standing room only. We had 51 of our students attend and 14 out of our 20 faculty/staff members attend as well. We are truly blessed!!
VALENTINES DAY, FAT TUESDAY, ASH WEDNESDAY
We are heading into Lent right in the middle of February, on Valentine's Day! Because of this we will celebrate Valentine's Day on Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras Day (2/13). It is very fitting that we should be able to celebrate the day before Ash Wednesday with our Valentine Day Celebrations. As we get into Lent this year, we will be running a collection in March to raise money for the Rise Against Hunger and the local Meal Packing Event that we will have. This will take the place of our Operation Rice Bowl collection of years past. So save those pennies! You are going to need them in March!
NEW STAFF
We have two new faces here at SM Elementary! Dori Sanchez is our new EL Teacher/Coordinator. She has already worked to proctor the ACCESS test for all of our students who qualify, and she is now working on collaborating with the Learning Support Team to ensure that all of our students are getting the support that they need.
Mrs. Ann Boots will be assisting us on the playground and in the lunchroom on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning next week. This will allow our staff to meet during lunch in a more intentional way, collaborating on curricular and student discussions.
SAVE THE DATES
We will be working with St. Gabes school on their Literacy Night - March 4th. Our intention is to also shuttle our students to St. Gabes that week so that they can preview and participate in the i55 School Book Fair from March 4th-7th. We are blessed to be able to participate in this activity as a system of elementary sites!
NEXT YEAR - SM ELEMENTARY LEADERSHIP
Beginning July 1st, 2024, I will be the school's principal. I am thrilled to be able to take the leadership of this building under my care. We have a beautiful community with so much potential. It will be a joy to continue to get to know each of our families with the intention of ensuring that everyone knows how amazing St. Mary in Menasha can be for their children!! Thank you all for your support this year. As a team we are doing great things!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Crystal Blahnik
Associate Principal ~ St. Mary Elementary
Parent/Teacher Conference Sign-ups
Spring Conferences are highly encouraged!
February 13th from 3:30-6:30 pm
February 16th from 8:00 am -11:00 am
First Grade (Postponed to March 26th and 27th with Mrs. Burton)
Upcoming Events
Calendar - February
January 28th-Feb. 2 - Catholic Schools Week
Feb. 7th - 1st Communion Parent Meeting at 7:00 pm (2nd Grade parents)
Feb. 9th - Kindergarten to PAC /π―Celebrate the 100'th day of school
Feb. 13th - πCelebrate Valentine's Day and AHA Kick-off at 2:20 pm
Feb. 14th - βοΈAsh Wednesday Mass at 10:00 am (families are welcome to join us)
Feb. 13th (3:30-6:30 pm) and 16th (8:00 am - 11:00 am) - Parent Teacher Conferences
Feb. 19th - No School (President's Day)
Feb. 20, 21, 22, 23 - American Heart Association's Wellness Week of Activities
Feb. 29th - Leap Day (Leap into Reading Activities to kick off Read Across America)
MJSD Summer School Opportunities
Nordic Mountain - SMCS- Ski Club
Hello SMCS Elementary Families!
We have an exciting offering coming up that we are excited to bring back to our Elementary students: Ski Club with Nordic Mountain! This fun-filled event will be starting up soon, with the first date being Friday February 2nd. The course will consist of 4 winter Friday nights, where you can meet us at the hill and we can all ski together! Some information you may need:
- This is a Bring Your Own Transportation course.
- All students are welcome to participate, but we will not be providing transportation - feel free to set up any carpools!
- There will be group lessons available on the hill from 4:30pm-7:00pm
- Lessons are included in the price and available for all students, but students in or below 3rd grade must have parental/guardian supervision at all times.
- Donβt feel like you need to participate in the lessons if you don't want to. If your family loves to ski or board already, this is a great way to meet and greet other SMCS families!
- All payment and forms can be filled out on our Nordic Mountain Group Portal
- Register here: shop.nordicmountain.com/groups
- Code: SM24
- Rentals, Ski Lift Tickets, and more are available to purchase on the portal
- If you have your own gear, you do not need the rentals β but still need the Lift Pass
- More information specific to Nordic Mountain is available on the group portal drop down menu for you to reference.
- All payments/registration need to be in by January 30th to ensure their staff have enough time to prepare for our first night.
- We will have an SMCS staff member on site at Nordic each night to assist with anything you may need!
- Micaela Belville is our Kindergarten teacher at St Mary Elementary who LOVES to ski! She is excited to share something fun like this with our families
- Ski Club Dates:
- Friday February 2nd
- Friday February 9th
- Friday February 23rd
- Friday March 1st
More information regarding the meeting place, things to bring, etc. will be sent out to registered families after the January 30th cut off! Please feel free to reach out to myself or Mrs. Belville with any questions (emails below).
Have a great day!
Mrs. Micaela Belville
Kindergarten Teacher
St. Mary Catholic Schools
mbelville@smcatholicschools.org
St. Mary Elementary School
Zephyrs Gold Raffle
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.
Helpful Links
Contact Information
Phone: 920-725-5351
Associate Principal: Mrs. Blahnik, cblahnik@smcatholicschools.org
Elementary Principal: Mrs. Cihlar, acihlar@smcatholicschools.org