February 19, 2016 - Saint Mary School

Friday February 19, 2016
Weekly Newsletter
“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to
that person, a beautiful thing.” – Mother Teresa
Reminders and
Upcoming Events

2/24 – Tony Abbott
Author Visit

2/25 – Middle School
Dance
Dear SMS Families,
It is hard to believe, but we are ½ way through
the third quarter of this school year! Time is
marching on. Students and teachers are
diligently working to get through their curriculum.
During this Lenten season, our students in PreK 3
to grade 8 are focused on learning more about
Lent and the meaning of Easter. Students are
concentrating on acts of kindness, sacrifice for
others, and mercy. The quote above struck me
because it reminds me that a simple smile is an
act of kindness in itself as well as a gift to others.
We are very excited to host Tony Abbott this
Wednesday, the author of The Secrets of Droon,
The Copernicus Series and more! Mr. Abbott is a
full-time children’s author who has written over
100 books! He will be presenting to our K – 8
students. We are thrilled to have such a wellknown author visit SMS. Thank you Maria
Raduazzo and the HSA for their help with this!
Having an author at SMS is a great way to kick-off
a celebration of another famous author, the
legendary Dr. Seuss. The entire SMS school
community will celebrate “Read Across America”
in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday the week of
February 29th. More info to come!
Continued on next page…
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IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Spring 2016 – After School
Enrichment Program
registrations are due no later
than Tuesday March 1st
Young Writers Conference
3rd / 4th / 5th Graders
Scheduled for March 19
Registrations DUE TODAY
QUICK LINKS
SMS Website
www.smsridgefield.org
Spirit Wear Orders
http://www.smsridgefield.org/Abo
ut_Us/Saint_Mary_Spiritwear_201
5.pdf
Note from Mrs. O’Rourke Cont’d…
Do you like to write??
Please note a couple of date changes:
The Grade 3,4,5 School Play is not March
3rd, and a date will be determined. June
7th, a Tuesday, is not a day off, but it will
be an early dismissal day for Teacher
Professional Development.
SMS is looking for a parent volunteer to
help write articles for the Ridgefield Press
and other publications highlighting some of
the exciting and innovative things
happening. PR / Communications
experience a plus!
Have a great weekend!
Please contact Mrs. O'Rourke
at orourkea@smsridgefield.org.
Blessings and peace,
Anna
Dear Saint Mary School Community,
Our In-House registration period ended
on February 8th. Thank you so much to
those families who have already
registered.
At this time we are receiving outside
applications. If you have not registered
your child, please do so as soon as
possible as classes are filling up
quickly. At this time, registration will be
accepted on a first come first serve
basis.
The deadline is fast approaching for
our Winter Box Tops Collection. The
deadline is Monday, February 29th.
All Box Tops must be turned into the
main office by 11:00 AM on that day.
This is our final collection period for
the current school year, so let's finish
strong!
Thank you.
Below is the schedule for SMS Lenten
Confessions. Please ensure that your
child has prepared for the sacrament.
Thank you!
Feb. 23 Feb. 24 Feb 25 March 1March 2March 32
3rd grade
4th grade
5th grade
6th grade
7th grade
8th grade
Preschool News
Our Rising Stars continue to shine and
continue to grow! We are very delighted
to welcome two new members to our
Preschool family, Mia Steixner and Emma
Cid. They are a welcome addition to our
class. Our Lenten Garden is blossoming
with all the good deeds our 3’s have been
doing at home during the season of Lent.
They are modeling acts of kindness in the
class, as well. They not only work hard
and smile, but also are doing an amazing
job at being kind. This week we are
learning about the number 3. The Rising
Stars have been painting “3” shapes,
using “3” colors, and working on their
special number books. They are having
fun collecting three items from our room
and matching each item by color and size
with their peers. We look forward to
reporting back in a few weeks with more
special news!!
Mrs. Swan
Mrs. Lodigiani
Mrs. Andry
Painting 3 shapes: circle, triangle and square
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Valentine Party Fun
The kindergarteners had fun in French
class making hats that said "Je t'aime! "
and learning about "bisous"!
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Second Grade and PreK Buddies
Got Rice?
By Grade 4
Second grade met with their PreK 4
buddies in Ms. Gallo and Mrs. Chila's
class. We talked about how to keep our
teeth healthy for National Dental Health
month. The kids made their own
toothbrushes together. The second
graders wrote down different facts
about keeping healthy teeth while the
PreK 4 students colored themselves
brushing their teeth in a tooth.
If you were to ask the question of a
fourth grader, "Do you have any rice for
people struggling with food insecurity?"
you would hear a resounding, "YES" from
everyone. Cameron McCarrick states, "I
love doing this because it' fun and it helps
people who don't have as much as we
do." If you're wondering what "this" is,
it's
a
world
food
program.
The 4th graders are busy filling rice
bowls for children in 3rd world countries
by answering questions on the freerice
website. Every correct answer earns 10
grains of rice. These questions span the
curriculum, and according to Elizabeth
Dowding,"We're not just learning math,
grammar and vocabulary, but we're
feeding the hungry too." JP Szewczuk
exclaimed, "This is a great way to donate
to people who really need our help."
Everyone agrees that freerice.com is a
great way to help others throughout the
Lenten season and beyond.
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"I will READ on a boat,
I will READ with a goat"
Get ready to Read Across America! Kicking off
on Wednesday, February 24th Saint Mary School
will celebrate Read Across America. A country
wide celebration of reading and Dr.Seuss. Each
class will celebrate differently and with various
reading activities! The SMS celebration will
conclude on March 2nd with a whole school
assembly and guest readers. Please join in the
celebration by donating to our book drive
from February 24th- March 2nd. All books will be
donated to St. Josephs Parenting Community.
Listed below are the books in need.
8-10 year olds
0-3 years old
 Baby’s Box of Fun
 Big Box of Boyntin
 Sesame Street First Library
 Curious George’s Box of Books
 Goodnight Moon Clissic Library
 Amazing Machines Truckload of Fun
 Eric Carle’s My Very First Library
 Chicka Chicka Boom Boom






Magic Tree House
Junie B. Jones
Mercy Watson
Captain Awesome
Judy Moody
A-Z Mysteries
11-12 year olds
 Harry Potter
 Diary of a Wimpy Kid
 Big Nate
 I Survived…
 Beverly Clearly
 Judy Blume
 Anne Green Gables & Little
House
 Chronicles of Narnia & Wrinkle
in Time
 Boxcar Children
4-7 years old
 Dr. Suess
 Corduroy
 Harold and the Purple Crayon
 If You Give A mouse A cookie
 No David!
 Pete the Cat
 The Adventures of Rainbow Fish
 The Hungry Catepillar & Other Stories
 Virginia Lee Burton
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Our Lady of Lourdes
Student News
This past Monday, February 15th,
eighteen St. Mary students came
together to celebrate and honor Our
Lady of Lourdes feast day.
The
children made their own Our Lady of
Lourdes prayer cards, played games,
and watched a movie on Lourdes. The
day concluded with all 18 students
earning their patch and receiving a
bottle of blessed Lourdes water. The
patch program was made available by
National
Catholic
Committee
on
Scouting and hosted by the American
Heritage Girl Troop CT6877.
Hunter Brown, from the 5th grade, plays
on Darien's Squirt A youth hockey team.
Hunter had five goals including three
game winners to lead his team to the
championship game at the 2016 Ocean
State Tournament in Rhode Island over
President's weekend. Unfortunately, they
came up one goal short in a 2-1 loss to
finish in second place.
Congratulations Hunter!
February Fun Facts
1. The violet is February’s flower.
2. Amethyst is the birthstone for the month of
February.
3. February is Black History month and serves
as a remembrance of important people and
events.
4. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12,
1809.
5. The Feast Day of St. Blasé is February 3rd.
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