Dear Parents,
During the Month of May, a month dedicated to Mary, Catholics have long honored Mary by placing a crown on her image. The tradition in the United States and many other countries has been for school children to have a "May Crowning" ceremony, with a procession, pretty dresses and a wreath of fresh flowers that are placed on the statue. Thank you to our 2nd grade teacher, Claudia Heikel and 7th grade teacher, Natalia Girlich for preparing a beautiful May Crowning ceremony during Family Mass last Sunday. A special thank you also to all the 2nd and 7th grade students who participated in such a lovely tradition.
During the Month of May, a month dedicated to Mary, Catholics have long honored Mary by placing a crown on her image. The tradition in the United States and many other countries has been for school children to have a "May Crowning" ceremony, with a procession, pretty dresses and a wreath of fresh flowers that are placed on the statue. Thank you to our 2nd grade teacher, Claudia Heikel and 7th grade teacher, Natalia Girlich for preparing a beautiful May Crowning ceremony during Family Mass last Sunday. A special thank you also to all the 2nd and 7th grade students who participated in such a lovely tradition.
This past Mondaywe had two special guests from the Herbst Foundation visit our school and have lunch with the faculty – Tony Cameron and Shirley Costello. Mr. Cameron surprised Julianne Beach, our 6thgrade teacher, by presenting her with the Herbst Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence. Along with this award of distinction, both Julianne and the school received sizeable checks to continue the work of education here at St. Thomas More School. St. Thomas More School has more teachers honored for excellence in education than any other school serving any age level in the Bay Area. In addition to Julianne, our previous winners are Sue Kapovich (2010), Zodine Speigel (2008), Marie Fitzpatrick (2003), and Shelley White (2003). We are truly blessed to have such excellent teachers here at STM.
It is a little less noisy in the homes of fifth and sixth graders as well as here at school. The fifth and sixth graders’ are away on their Outdoor Education Program. They will be back Friday, near dismissal time, tired, dirty but full of stories of the fun and education they experienced.
Sandwiches-for-the-needy:
Don’t forget that this coming Monday, May 13th, is a holiday for all students, preschool through eighth grade. School will resume on Tuesday.
Father-Daughter Dance: LAST CHANCE! This fun and special event for dad’s and their daughters is this Saturday, May 11th. This is always a well-attended event. Reservations are still being accepted. Check out the flyer you are receiving today if you are interested.
Scrip Requirement: We are grateful to all of the families who have completed this requirement for the 2013-2014 school year. As of May 1st, any scrip purchases will be credited to the next school year, 2013-2014. All families are being notified today as to whether or not they have fulfilled this requirement. All balances will need to be in order by the end of this month.
Extended Care: A Reminder…Beginning Monday, May 20th, parents who use the after school Extended Care program will need to either pre-pay or pay-by-the-day. Prepayments may be made in the office or when you pick up your child from extended care. The cost is $4.00 per hour or fraction-thereof. Any unused balance from a pre-payment will be applied to next years’ billing.
Dance Festival: The date is drawing near for our annual Dance Festival. It will be held Thursday evening, May 23rd. As you know many of our dances are partner dances and Mrs. Rissotto spends a lot of effort preparing the children for this. If your child is unable to attend, please let the office know immediately in writing. It is very upsetting if on the night of the festival a child is not able to perform a dance because his or her partner does not show up. If we do not hear from you, we expect your child will be participating. Mrs. Rissotto has also included a list of suggested clothing for the night in today’s envelope.
Physics Day at Great America: Science is a Physics Affair! Last Friday, three roller coasters were entered into Great America's Physics Day roller coaster building contest. Unfortunately this year we didn’t come away with any prizes, however we would like to congratulate our 8th graders on their great work! On Monday, May 20th the 8th graders invite the student body to come and learn about their roller coasters, a physics project they have been working on for the past several weeks. We would also like to extend the invitation to our parents. Please feel free to drop in and see the many vertical loops, corkscrew turns and plunging drops on Monday, May 20th between 11 am - noon.
Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal
Principal
