Nov 20, 2014 - St. Mary`s Catholic School

St. Mary’s Bell
Mission Statement: St. Mary’s Catholic School is a parish ministry that actively assists families by
fostering community while providing Catholic formation within a strong academic program.
Prayer of the Week:
Mon 11/24
Christmas Program Practice
3:00-4:00 (Participating 7th/8th
students)
Tues 11/25
Christmas Program Practice
3:00-4:00 (Participating 7th/8th
students)
Wed 11/26
Early Dismissal 11:00
Grandparent’s/Special
Persons Day! Mass @ 8:30
Thu 11/27
No School, Educare Closed
Happy Thanksgiving!
Fri 11/28
No School, Educare Closed
BRRRR,
THE COLD
WEATHER
IS HERE!
Please make sure and send
your student to school with
weather appropriate jackets,
hats and mittens or gloves
to wear outside for recess.
We go outside every day
unless the temperature drops
below 20 degrees or it’s
raining. When snow starts to
pile up, the addition of snow
pants and snow boots are
required for the students to be
able to leave the blacktop of
the playground area. Make
sure and put your child’s
name on all
garments, our
lost and found
is filling up
already.
St. Mary’s Catholic School
Dear families,
I would ask that you remember Sue Harrell, our 5th grade teacher, and her family in your prayers.
Her father passed away last Sunday.
Remember that Grandparents’ / Special Friends’ Day is next Wednesday, November 26th. The day
will begin with a reception for Grandparents and Special Friends in the gym. We will move to the
Church for Mass at 8:30. At the conclusion of Mass, each grade will present a short song, poem, or
skit honoring grandparents. We have early dismissal that day. As part of our celebration of the day,
I am putting together a slide show with pictures of the children with their grandparents. If you submitted a picture last year and would like to use it again, let me know. Otherwise, send me a new picture
(lnauditt@stmarysspokane.org) and I will include it in the slide show. Please have your submissions
for the slide show to me by Friday, November 21th. (Thank you to those of you who have already
gotten new pictures to me! It is a labor intensive project and I appreciate any jump I can get on it!)
This is a good time of year to remind everyone of our policy for cold weather recess. If the weather,
including wind chill is below 20°, we have indoor recess. Children, especially young children, are
very susceptible to frostbite and it can happen with just minutes of exposure to unprotected skin. We
do go outside if the temperature is above 20°, so be sure to send your child with the appropriate
clothing – warm coat, gloves (or mittens), and a hat or scarf. We do have a daily rotation for classes
to use the gym during indoor recess. It is not safe to have the entire upper or lower unit playing in
the gym at the same time, hence the need for the schedule. When we do get snow, students in K-4
will need boots and snow pants to leave the blacktop. (This is because they get SO wet and then
sitting the rest of the day in damp or really wet clothes isn’t comfortable!) Remember that boots are
not allowed for wear during class time, so be sure that your child has a pair of shoes to wear when
not wearing their boots.
One of the components of faith development is service to others. There are many ways that this is
emphasized by teachers with their individual classes. The 7th graders made cards for Veterans at
the VA hospital. They included sections from the VFW essays that they had written as part of their
cards. Another component of service is to reach out to those in need. This year we will be collecting
children’s pajamas to be distributed at the Christmas Bureau. We are asking that each child bring a
pair of new pajamas to school by December 5th. It is often very meaningful for your child to pick out
pajamas in a size that they would wear to help understand that there are children just like them who
may not have P.J.’s. More information will be coming home regarding this service project, but I
wanted you to have a head’s up before all the great sales after Thanksgiving.
Blessings,
Lauri Nauditt
14601 E. 4th Ave. Spokane, WA 99216
(509)924-4300
Knowledge,
WEEK AT A PEEK:
NAUDITT’S NOTES:
“Faith,
Nov. 20, 2014
Community”
“But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half my possessions, Lord, I shall give to
the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” Luke 19:8
Web- http://school.stmarysspokane.com
Email—school@stmarysspokane.org “St. Mary's Catholic School is an equal opportunity provider."
PICTURE RETAKE DAY
Individual picture retakes will be on
December 4th. Students getting
retakes may wear nice free dress that day.
Follow instructions on the envelope your
pictures came home in to be prepared for
retake day.
FORGET?
Did your son or daughter forget their
lunch, homework, or band instrument? If so,
please bring these items to the front office
and we will be sure to get them to your child.
This helps in not disrupting the children
during class time. Thank you!
FYI: MEDICATION POLICY
If your child will be taking medicine at
school at any time during the
school year, by law, you MUST
submit a Medication Request
Form signed by the child’s
physician. Every year this form
must be renewed by the parent and
doctor, and kept in the school office.
All medications must be kept in the school
office in the original container and
administered by the school secretary.
Please do not give any medications to your
student or his/her teacher. In addition, the
office staff cannot administer ointments like
Neosporin on cuts or scrapes, or any other
over the counter drugs without a signed
Medication Request Form on file.
Please come to the office and pick up a
form, fill it out, have your doctor sign it, and
return it with the medication to the office
when your child needs medication
administered during the school day. The
medication and form will be kept in the
office at all times.
If you had any
medications in the office from last year, they
have been destroyed.
If you have any
questions, please call the office at 924-4300
x200. Thank you for your cooperation. Your
child’s well-being is our greatest concern,
and this policy enables us to best achieve
that goal.
MISSING IMMUNIZATION
LETTERS HAVE BEEN
MAILED!
Sycamore has made it much quicker and easier
to pull complete missing immunization reports
for every student this year. If you received a
missing immunization letter and have any
questions feel free to give the office a call at
924-4300 x200 or email at:
cweiler@stmarysspokane.org
Please either write in the dates your child
received any immunizations listed as missing or
provide a printed immunization record to the
office by: December 19th, 2014.
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CHILD SICK...aaachoo:
Please call the office when your
child will be staying home due to
illness, etc. If we do not hear
from you by 8:30am, we will be
calling you. We care about your children
and want to know they are safe.
TARDIES and HOT LUNCH:
Parents, if you know your student(s) are
going to be tardy, PLEASE
contact the office and let us
know. We have to place the
hot lunch and milk order by
9am and need to know if your
student(s) will need either for the
day. If we don’t hear from you and your
student shows up after 9am, we will NOT be
able to order a hot lunch for them!
FINGER NAIL
POLISH, HAIR
ACCESSORIES AND
TATTOO’S:
Please note it is against school
dress code for (PK3-6th) students to wear
finger nail polish, make-up, unapproved hair
accessories or tattoo’s to school. Please be
sure to have them remove these items
before coming to school. 7th & 8th students
may wear principal-approved minimal, sheer
make-up and pastel nail polish Thank you!
CODE OF CONDUCT RENEWAL
Don’t forget if you have taken the Code of
Conduct class previously, you DO NOT need
to attend the training again. All that is
required is an on line yearly update that can
be completed on our webpage. Log into
your parent and follow the directions for
updating your Code of Conduct. If you have
any questions, please contact Chelsea in the
front office.
REGISTER FOR THE BULLPUP
JR. WRESTLING PROGRAM!
Season runs october 27 - Dec. 7 , Practices will be
held at St. Mary's Tuesdays and Thursdays 5:306:30 . Cost is $20 and includes a T- Shirt. Available
to students grades 1 to 8. You can register on line
@ Gprep.com under Athletics , Wrestling , Bullpup
Jr. Wrestling. Hard copies will also be available at
the school office. For more information contact
Danny Pearson at dpearson@gprep.com
RECYCLE:
Recycle your ink cartridges, toner
cartridges and cell phones
through St. Mary’s. The school earns money
on each cartridge & cell phone!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to all the children who
received the Sacraments of Confirmation and
First Eucharist this past weekend! May God
continue to bless you throughout your lives!
VOLUNTEERING
COMMITMENTS:
Please don’t forget to go online and
register your volunteer interests. We have
started looking for volunteers already and
the list is short. Remember, every family is
required to volunteer 20 hours a year or be
charged a fee at the end of the school
year. Please go to your parent page on
the school website, scroll to the bottom,
right-side of your page, (Volunteer Center),
click on “click here to update your
volunteer form”. Click on the choices you
want and then click “save updates” at the
bottom of the page. That’s it! If you are a
new parent and don’t have a username
and password, please contact Chelsea
Weiler at ext. 200, she will get you set up .
ATTENTION ALL
COME JOIN IN
PARENTS—
THE FUN:
Everyone is invited to be a part of the
Parents’ Club Leadership Committee
which meets the 2nd Wednesday of the
month.
They plan and organize the
activities for the year. We would love to
have you be a member even if you can not
attend all the meetings. All parents are
needed to help run the programs. So if
you cannot be a member of the executive
committee, notice upcoming events in the
Bell and volunteer to work that event.
Working at Parents Club events will help
you get your volunteer hours and help our
school. Our first meeting is September 10
at 6pm in the teachers’ lounge. Please
join us. If you want more information,
please call the Vice Principal.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
VOLUNTEER COACHES
NEEDED
We need volunteer coaches for girls
basketball in grades 5 to 8 if you or
someone you know is interested please
contact Lorie Lafferty:
LLafferty@stmarysspokane.org
ST. MARY’S LEGO LEAGUE
ROBOT CLUB
Open to all students Gr. 4-8 Dues: $50
(covers registration fees and competition kit)
Meetings: Sundays 4-6 at 4308 N Barker Rd.
Deadline to join: Wed. 9/10
To join or ask questions, please
contact: Drew Rosenberg (Boys’
coach) at: drew.rosenberg@itron.com
-or– Steve Davidow (Girls’ coach) at:
steve.davidow@gmail.com
The St. Mary’s Bell
ST MARY’S ELECTRONIC INFORMATION—HOW TO:
New families, if you have not done so, please contact Chelsea Weiler x200
in the office for your username and passwords for both the St. Mary’s Catholic
School website (www.stmarysspokane.org/school) AND username and
password for Sycamore (www.sycamoreeducation.com)
If you forgot your username and password please contact Chelsea
and she can give you that information
Two ways to log on to Sycamore1. Clink on Sycamore link from school website (www.stmarysspokane.org/school)
2. Go to: www.sycamoreeducation.com (our school code is: 2403)
Log-in to Sycamore to find:

Hot Lunch Balance

Educare Hours

Class roster

Update your parent information

Absent and Tardy

Grades and Assignments (3rd –8th grade)

Sports Schedules

And much more!
Log-in to St. Mary’s website to find:

Code of Conduct InformationTo update your Code of Conduct, click “Start test for Code #______”

Volunteer Center
Volunteer Center: Here you have several options.


Volunteer Hours Recorded: It will show You and Family totals. To submit your hours, click “Click
here to submit volunteer hours”
Volunteer Sign-up: This will show the items you have signed up to be contacted to
volunteer for. To change your options, click “Click here to update your volunteer form”.
St. Mary’s Website1. Go to http://school.stmarysspokane.com
2. Click on “Student, Parent & Teacher Area”
3. You will be taken to “Login to Access Private Area”
-Your “User Name” will be your first initial and last name (ex: ccarter)
-If you have not been on the website before to make any kind of changes, you need to contact the school
office for your login information.
-You will automatically be taken to your personal page.
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The St. Mary’s Bell
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
We NEED your help in these areas…
Grandparent’s Day Sign-ups
Set-up (11/25) and Servers/Helpers (11/26)
We need Fresh Fruit for the gathering. PLEASE signup in the office!
AUCTION—March 13th
PLEASE sign-up to help with the Auction in the following areas: Procurement Committee,
Silent Auction Coordinator, Basket Coordinator, LIVE Runners Coordinator, Transportation Coordinator, Class Project Coordinator for grades, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th.
To SIGN-UP...sign-ups are located on the inside of the front door of the main office, OR you
can email Terri at tmatsch@stmarysspokane.org OR call 924-4300, ext 206. We will also be
using Google Docs for online sign-ups.
“2014 FAITH, KNOWLEDGE,
COMMUNITY FUND” DRIVE
(ANNUAL DRIVE):
Because of computer issues, we will kick
off our “2014 Faith, Knowledge, Community Fund” drive next week. Through your
youngest student, you will receive the Annual Report
along with a donation envelope enclosed. Please
donate. We would like to make this our largest fundraiser every year and are hoping for 100% participation within the school community. To help kick this
“Drive” off, we are giving an incentive to those families who donate. Here’s how it works:
Donate $50.00/family, get 1 free dress pass per
child
Donate $100.00/family, get 3 free dress passes
per child
Donate $200.00/family, get 5 free dress passes
per child
Get those checkbooks out and write your check today. The BONUS is, it’s a tax deduction! Thank
you in advance for your support of this Fund and St
Mary’s Catholic School.
SCRIP CHRISTMAS BLITZ
is HERE!!!:
Start preparing for CHRISTMAS now!
We started our SCRIP Blitz Mon, 11/17
and it goes through Fri, 12/19. Now’s the time to
purchase your gift cards for Christmas. Get your
shopping done early and help the school out at the
same time! If you know of any businesses that give
out Gift cards to their employees at Christmas, have
them contact us at 924-4300, x206. The class with
the most $crip purchased during the blitz will
win a FREE DRESS day.
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GRANDPARENT’S/SPECIAL
PERSON’S DAY:
Mark your calendars, Grandparent’s/Special Person’s Day is Wed, 11/26,
from 8am-11am. Invites have gone out
11/5. Hope to see lots of grandparent’s and special
people there!. We still need help with this program. See information listed above.
VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS
TREE RAFFLE:
Wait! Don’t buy that Christmas tree
yet! St. Mary’s Catholic School will
be raffling off a beautiful 7’1/2” Victorian Christmas Tree. Tickets will go on sale
Wed, 11/26 at the Grandparent’s Day Mass
and will be on sale again, Sat and Sun, 11/29
and 11/30, at all the Masses. Drawing will be
held Mon, 12/1/14 at the morning school assembly. Ticket prices are:
1 ticket—$10.00 OR 3 tickets—$25.00
Proceeds to benefit St. Mary’s School and
Auction.
FUN RUN UPDATE:
As of 11/19/14. we have raised $32,000!
We continue to take donations...Please send
them in if you haven’t yet! THANK YOU
SPONSORS!!!
The St. Mary’s Bell
St. Mary’s Basketball Practice
Schedules and Start Dates
5/6 Boys
St. Mary’s will practice M,W,F 3:00-4:30 PM beginning Dec. 1st, Coach: Don Thomas
7th Boys
St. Mary’s/St. John’s will practice the first week only 6:30-8:00 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
beginning Dec. 2nd , they second week they will move to their regular practice schedule same
days but 6:00-7:30 all practices at St. Mary’s. Head Coach: David Boehm
8th Boys
St. Mary’s / St. John’s will practice Tuesday & Thursday at St. Mary’s and Wed. at St. John’s
from 3:00-4:30 beginning Dec. 2nd. Students in the Christmas play can join practice in progress.
Coaches: Paul and Janelle Turcotte
6th, 7th, 8th Grade Girls
St. Mary’s will practice 4:30-6:00 on Wed. beginning Dec. 3, and will start their normal practice
schedule Tuesdays , Wednesday, Thursdays 4:30-6:00 the second week. They will drop back to
two practices a week after the first game. Coach: Cory Fray
**No 5th grade girls registered for Basketball**
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The St. Mary’s Bell
INLAND CHESS ACADEMY'S PROGRAM
The Inland Chess Academy' s curriculum is built on proven methods developed by the United States
Chess Federation (USCF), Russian Chess School, Chess Magnet School, and presented by our
experienced coaching staff.
Beginner - Beginners learn and demonstrate the basics of chess play, chess rules, and etiquette.
Intermediate - Students learn algebraic notation, playing with a clock, an understanding of strategies for
opening a chess game, major tactical techniques, and basic endgame theory.
Advanced - Students develop advanced competitive strategies including the an opening repertoire,
positional strategies, tactical combinations, endgame play, and methods of applying sport psychology to
their games.
All students gain knowledge of chess history, chess news, and grow their appreciation of chess.
Students are encouraged to play in regional tournaments for individual and team awards.
The autumn 2014 scholastic tournament schedule is posted at www.InlandChess.org
WHY CHESS ?
Scientific studies prove that professional chess programs enhance academic performance and generally
increase overall brain functions, including positive behavior. "Chess is the only activity for our youth
where they are expected to sit quietly and think long thoughts.”
John J Dill II, head coach & director, Inland Chess Academy
Inland Chess Academy A fully insured and licensed WA state non-profit organization.
3808 N. Sullivan Rd. 13D, Spokane Valley, WA 99216 509-822-9800 Fax: 509-893-3939
play@inlandchess.org www.InlandChess.org
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The St. Mary’s Bell