Dear Parents:
Last Sunday, which was Palm Sunday, marked the
beginning of Holy Week. Our remembrance of the events surrounding the death and
resurrection of Jesus makes Holy Week the most sacred time of the year for
Catholics. Remember to balance the sacred part of Holy Week with all the other
Easter preparations you may be making. Over the next few days, as we draw
closer to Easter Sunday, let us remember the days leading up to the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- ñ Today, also known as Spy Wednesday, recalls the decision of Judas Iscariot who betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
- Holy Thursday is the day when we remember Jesus and his disciples gathering together for the Last Supper. During this meal, Jesus instituted the very first Eucharist. The Mass of the Last Supper, celebrated tomorrow, reminds us of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples to impress upon them the call to serve others.
- Good Friday services commemorate the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus. This is the one day of the year Mass is not celebrated. Instead, Good Friday services are held from noon until 3:00pm. This is also a day of fasting and abstinence to commemorate the pain and suffering of Jesus.
- Easter Vigil (Holy Saturday) Liturgy consists of several parts, including the lighting of the Paschal candle, the Liturgy of the Word, and the Sacraments of Initiation for those electing to become members of the Catholic Church.
- Easter Sunday is a joyful celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. He also joined his disciples for a meal and told them to carry on his works.
Please
check out our website for a schedule of Easter Week activities for St. Thomas
More Church.
Lenten
prayer service/Academic Excellence Awards: We would like to
invite everyone to join us for a Lenten prayer service presented by the 7th
graders tomorrow, Thursday, March 28th, at 11:00am in the church. Immediately
following the prayer service, we will present Citizenship and Academic
Excellence Awards. See you there!
Develop Africa: Thank you to everyone who contributed to the 7th
graders Lenten Service Project. Congratulations
to the 3rd Grade – winners of the Develop Africa, school supplies
donation drive. They get a free-dress day tomorrow, Thursday March 28th! As of Monday afternoon, the 3rd
grade class donated a total of 182 school supply items. Their generosity
will benefit so many children in developing nations in Africa that will enjoy
doing their schoolwork with all these new supplies! Congratulations also to our second and third
place winners – 1st grade was very close to winning and donated 158
items. In third place, the 5th grade donated 81 items. Overall we collected nearly 700 school supplies and nearly $650 to
help with shipping costs and/or the purchase of extra supplies. Thank you again
to all who donated to such a great cause!
Report Cards: Report cards are going home today. If you
did not receive one, please check with the office to make sure your accounts,
tuition, fees, and extended care, are up to date.
Re-registration: Re-registration
fees of $325 per child were due in the office today. If you want your
child’s seat held for the 2013-2014 school year, please ensure that the office
receives that fee by dismissal tomorrow.
Extended
Care: Please remember that tomorrow,
Thursday March 28th, is the beginning of Easter break and a minimum
day. Dismissal for Preschool is at noon, grades K-3 at 12:15 and 4-8 at 12:30.
Afternoon Extended Care is available tomorrow until 6:00pm but will NOT be
providing a hot dog lunch. Please plan ahead and provide your child with
a lunch tomorrow.
School
Uniform: Now that the weather has started to improve and we are enjoying
some beautiful spring weather, we have decided that the last day for girls
to wear uniform pants will be tomorrow, March 28th. After we
return from Easter vacation, girls will no longer be allowed to wear pants to
school.
Updates
on Uniform Changes: Based on the responses from the uniform
survey, we will not be making any major changes in the uniform this year. While
many families were in favor of introducing a P.E. uniform, we have decided to
put this off for a few years because the extra cost involved would cause undue
hardship for some of our families. Thank you to all who offered ideas for our
new logo. We have decided on a new logo seen at the top of this letter. Students
in all grades will wear this logo on their sweaters as a patch beginning this
fall.
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 by reservation only for those unable to make other arrangements. Please
click here to make a reservation. More details about
the meeting will be provided after Easter break.
From the
Athletic Board: The Athletic Board oversees the
athletic program at STM and reports to Principal Marie Fitzpatrick. The Board
currently has five members: 7th grade parents, John Bickle and Mike
Mihelich, and STM faculty members, Kelly Stamatis, Theresa Halloran and John
Kavanagh. The Board is seeking to add 2-3 more members sometime before the end
of the school year. Although some roles are defined, such as Athletic
Director and Treasurer, each Board member wears many hats and prospective
members of the Board should anticipate providing general assistance to the
Board in its responsibilities. If you are interested in applying to be a
part of the Athletic Board, click here
for more details.
Dance Festival!: Save the date! This year, our Dance
Festival will be held on Thursday night, May 23rd. This is
the most popular event of the year and is always very well attended. Our new dance
teacher, Sue Rissotto, has been working very hard all year long to ensure that
each student has a role in this spectacular production. All students, preschool
through eighth grade, are expected to participate in this event.
Finally, our school calendar for 2013-2014
has been approved by the Archdiocese, and we want to let you know that we will begin
the new school year on Monday, August 26th, 2013. Hopefully this
will help those of you who are planning your vacations now. An official 2013-2014
school calendar will be sent home shortly. The new school year for Utopia, our
preschool, will begin on August 19th.
Enjoy the break!
Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal
