Weekly Newsletter – April 12, 2024
Dear Parents,
It has been a very exciting week at St. Mary’s. On Monday, we started our MAP testing and enjoyed the Eclipse together. Thank you for the continued support and encouragement. It is always nice to have our families around the school.
This month we have been focusing on being stewards. The students’ understanding of what it means to be a steward is incredible. We see examples every day when students clean up after themselves, work hard in class, encourage their classmates, and respect themselves through the decisions they make. It is important to us that the students see and understand all the gifts they have been given by God and show appreciation for those gifts.
April 28th is Children’s Day at St. Mary’s. PTO and the Hispanic Knights of Columbus are coming together to sponsor this incredible event. Please see below for more details including your chance to volunteer.
Thank you to everyone who pointed out the “S” is falling off the school sign. The letters are made of plastic. We have a quote to replace the lettering with something sturdier and possibly illuminated. Stay tuned.
Below is a list of important dates and events coming up. Please take some time to mark your own calendar.
Please mark your calendars for important dates:
- April 8 – 15 – Spring MAP Testing
- April 12 – Teacher Inservice – No school for students
- April 28 – Children’s Day (Dia de los ninos) – School and Parish Celebration
- May 3 – Teacher Inservice – No School
- May 4 – First Communion
- May 7 – Spring Music Program
- May 14-16 – 8th Grade Retreat – St. Gertrude’s, Cottonwood
Important Upcoming events:
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St. Mary’s & Niche – Niche is the top online school search platform in the country. St. Mary’s subscribed to the platform in October of 2023. Since then, we have seen a 454% increase in awareness of St. Mary’s and a 272% increase in engagement (people that spend time reviewing our profile and our website). Each month Niche has a $1000 sweepstakes to families, alumni, or students willing to complete a review of the school. Click here to leave a review and enter the sweepstakes.
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MAP Testing – We started our Spring MAP testing this week. Students will be assessed in Reading, Mathematics, Language Usage, and Science. Please help to make sure your student is getting enough rest, eating enough breakfast when they come to school. The tests will be administered over two weeks. Each grade will set their own schedule based on availability. To read more about MAP Testing, please visit this LINK
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NWEA MAP testing has a Family Toolkit for you to review if you are interested in learning more about the tests and how to read and interpret results.
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Enrollment – Our enrollment numbers continue to look strong for the upcoming school year. We are hosting multiple tours of the school each week for a variety of grades. That being said, we still have availability in each grade. If you know somebody looking for a high quality Catholic education in a supporting and positive environment, please have them contact the office to schedule a visit.
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Join Us – April 28 – Children’s Day – Dia de los ninos – 2:00-5:00 pm – The Hispanic Knights of Columbus and the St. Mary’s PTO are joining together to host an incredible event celebrating children. There will be Pinatas, Inflatables, Soccer, Games, Mexican Dancers, and Tacos and Treats for Sale. While there, please consider volunteering to help.
God bless.
Kevan Grant
St. Mary’s Catholic School- Principal
Other Items of Interest
- Parent Article – From time to time I plan on including interesting articles about the challenges facing society, parents and students. Recently, this article was sent to me concerning the dangers of screen time and our children. I encourage you to read the linked article.
- Officer Gomez spoke last week at Bishop Kelly about Social Media, drugs and crime against youth. If you did not get a chance to attend, you can follow him on Youtube
- Chromebooks Available – St. Mary’s has a number of Chromebooks no longer in use, but in good condition. If you would like a Chromebooks for your student to use at home, please stop by the office. Donations are appreciated.
- Instrument Donation – Do you have slightly used music equipment? Check out this link…
- Important information from the School Nurse – Return to School Policy
- Get your Spirit Wear from Educational Outfitters – New Spartan Design
- Mexican Dance Group – Wednesdays at 3:30. No need to sign up, you are welcomed to stop by and try – More details HERE