Dear Parents:
Habemus Papam! The conclave has chosen Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, from Argentina, to be the new leader of the Catholic Church. The new pope, 76, is to be called Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Please keep him in your prayers as he takes on this important role in the church.
Viva il Papa!
As part of our preparation for the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter
Sunday, students in grades 3-8 will receive the sacrament of Reconciliation on Monday, March 25th. Please prepare your children to receive this sacrament by helping them to decide how to make good choices in their lives and how to ask God's forgiveness for decisions they may have made that did not show love for God or one another.
Stations of the Cross: Thank you to all who joined us today for 4th grades presentation of the last four stations. To prepare us for Good Friday and Easter, the 7th graders will present a prayer service on Thursday, March 28th at 11:00am in the church. Following the prayer service, we will present the 3rdquarter Academic Awards. Please join us if you can.
7th grade Lenten Project: As you know, this year the 7th graders are dedicating their Lenten Service Project to Develop Africa. Please help the 7thgraders honor their commitment to help children, like themselves. So far, $250 and over 300 various school supplies have been donated. Donations should be given to the classroom teacher and will be collected until Monday, March 25th. If you would like to send a monetary donation to help purchase more supplies, please put it in an envelope marked ‘DEVELOP AFRICA’.
K-7 Re-registration: Don’t forget that the online re-registration for the 2013-2014 school year is due by this Friday, March 15th. Re-registration fees of $325 per child, are due in the office no later than Wednesday, March 27th.
Preschool Re-registration: This year we are asking all returning preschool families to complete their re-registration ONLINE by Friday, April 12th. To complete the re-registration, from the STM Homepage, click the appropriate Utopia Preschool Re-registration link and you will be directed to an online form. Complete all the information on the form and submit. The
re-registration fee for preschool is $325 and is due by Friday, April 19th.
Save the Date: Please save the evening of Thursday, April 18th at 6:30pm for a mandatory parent meeting for all families of kindergarteners through 7th grade. Students will not be allowed to attend this meeting. We will offer free babysitting for those unable to make other arrangements. We will provide more details as we get closer to the date.
Pi Day Is Coming: Pi or “π” is the mathematical symbol for the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. It is also an irrational number that never ends. The first ten digits of Pi are 3.141592653…, but it is usually approximated as 3.14. Tomorrow, March 14th (a.k.a. 3/14 or Pi Day), STM will hold a Pi Memorization Contest for the 5th-8th Grades. The winner merely needs to memorize and write down in order as many digits of Pi as possible. Winners in each grade will get a prize and pie. To get started on Pi Day, visit the website PiDay.org, where you can learn about all things Pi, including the first million digits of Pi!
8th grade High School Acceptances: Friday is a big day for the eighth graders. They will be receiving notification of their acceptances in the various Catholic high schools to which they have applied. They are a wonderful, talented and mature group of students. We know they will do amazingly well!
Books to Bravo: The SF Opera Guild will be here again on Monday, for their ongoing preparation of the sixth grade’s Books to Bravo project. The premier production of the opera they have created will be performed in Carroll Hall at 1:10 on Monday, April 29th. Mark your calendars!
Erin Go Bragh!: St. Patrick is one of the three patron saints of Ireland. If you know who the other two are, please come and let me know and you will get a treat that my little lucky leprechaun, Seamus, has left for you. We celebrate St. Patrick’s feast day every year on March 17th. On Monday, March 18th, we will hold our annual celebration of this great saint who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. As is our custom, we will mark the day with acelebration of dance and song with an Irish slant. Please join us at 1:10 in the schoolyard if the weather permits, otherwise in the gymnasium. Students may also wear St. Patrick's Day accessories on Monday to add a little color to their uniforms. The Student Council will hold a St. Patrick’s Day bake sale on Friday, March 15th at recess.
Shoparoo: This month Shoparoo is giving away over $2,000 in their March Fundraising Tournament (Think March Madness). They have selected the 16 schools with the highest total Roo Points to participate in a playoff bracket (And yes, St. Thomas More is the number one seed!). This week, we go up against 16thseeded Hillel Yeshiva School in New Jersey. Click here to see the rest of the bracket. The tournament runs as follows: Sweet 16: March 11 - March 17 $50 per winner, Elite 8: March 18 - March 24 $100 per winner, Final Four: March 25 - March 31 $200 per winner, and Championship: April 1 - April 7 $500 Grand Prize. The objective is very simple: score more Roo Points than our competitor school does. At the end of the week, the winning school will advance to the next round and be one step closer to the grand prize.
Easter Egg Hunt: Please check your envelopes today for the Easter Egg Hunt reservation and donation form. We are also looking for helpers for the event. Please contact Kathy Sanford at (650) 738-0646 if you can help.
USF vs. Northern Kentucky: Tomorrow night, Thursday, March 14th, the USF Men’s basketball team takes on Northern Kentucky at 7pm. To celebrate the end of yet another successful season youth 12 and under are admitted free and general admission is only $10. This is a great (and affordable) family night out. Don’t forget to stop by the concession stands run by STM parents, Jeff and Maria Spiegel. Go Dons!
Please check out and thoughtfully respond to all the information you are receiving in today’s Envelope.
Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal
