Dear Parents,
The month of October each year is dedicated to the Holy Rosary because the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October the 7th. Praying the rosary is a way to help us get in touch with God and to develop a relationship with him. In prayer we not only talk with God, but God communicates with us. As we continue to pray, our relationship with God grows, and we are transformed more into the people we are meant to be.
Each Wednesday throughout the month of October at morning assembly, the student body will say a decade of the rosary. Please join us on Wednesday mornings as we announce the Mystery and say an Our Father followed by ten Hail Mary’s. We will end the decade by saying the Glory Be to the Father. Consider saying a decade of the Rosary as a family during this month as a sign of dedication to Mary our Mother.
PARENTS’ CLUB MEETING & SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY PRESENTATION: Tomorrow
BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS: Friday is the Feast of St. Francis. In honor of his feast day and his love of animals we will have the annual blessing of the animals. Please join us Friday morning in the schoolyard at 8:10am. You are welcome to bring your pets, pictures of your pet, or anything else that represents your pet that you wish to have blessed.
CIOPPINO 2014: The Cioppino/Silent Auction committee will meet next Monday, October 7th at 7:00pm in the library. Please come and share your thoughts and ideas.
FALL FESTIVAL/HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL: The next big event is the Fall Festival/Halloween Carnival. That fun and popular event is set for Saturday, October 19th. Everyone will be there! The Parents’ Club will continue to keep you up-to-date with preparations. Your class reps will be contacting you regarding donations and activities that each grade will be responsible for. To sign up to volunteer for the festival, please click on the link on the STM homepage. If you have any questions, please contact your class reps or the Parents’ Club at parentsclub@
FIELD TRIPS: In today’s Envelope the kindergarten students are receiving permission slips for their upcoming field trip to the Lemos Farm Pumpkin Patch on October 15th. Please return the permission slip along with the fee by the due date. Also receiving a permission slip are select 6th, 7th and 8th graders participating in the Introduction to Architecture STEM class. They will enjoy an Architectural tour of San Francisco on October 16th. From now on, the Archdiocese requires that all adult volunteers, 18 and older, also sign a waiver and release form when chaperoning and/or participating on field trips.
HOT LUNCH PROGRAM AND PRICES: Check out some of the new additions to the Hot Lunch Menu. The teriyaki chicken and rice has been extremely popular and we look forward to another large order tomorrow. New entrees coming soon include orange chicken with rice and a chicken pesto sandwich. Beginning Monday, October 7th, the price of hot lunch will increase to $5. This change is necessary to cover our costs as food prices have increased for our vendor. School Pizza and Hot Dog sales will remain the same price this year.
TUITION: Families who pay tuition on a monthly basis are reminded that the October payment is due to the school office now. Thank you to those who have already made a payment.
EXTENDED CARE BILLING: The first monthly bills are going home in the weekly envelope today covering services provided from the school's start in late August through the end of September. (Monthly bills will usually be in the first weekly envelope after month's end.) There are a couple of major changes this year to payment method and procedures: (1) Only checks and cash will be accepted for payment. Credit/debit cards may no longer be used; and (2) Payments will be made at a designated drop box inside the front door of the school. Please use an envelope with your payment that either includes the bill or at least indicates the family account (student name and grade) that the payment should be applied to. If your child has attended Afternoon Extended Care this year and you do not receive a bill, please contact John Kavanagh at jkav@stmsf.org.
NIGHT AT THE RACES: The “horse races” are coming to STM onSaturday, November 2nd! This has always been an exciting evening with lots of fun activities (this year includes 2 bingo games), “adult” refreshments and lively entertainment. All this for only $20! Save the date!
1:1 IPAD PROGRAM: As we mentioned at Back to School night, we will be rolling out our 1:1 iPad program to our 6th, 7th and 8th graders beginning January 6th, 2014. In order to help you and your student plan ahead for this exciting program, we are providing you with a few reminders. Please check out the information on our 1:1 iPad program on our school website. In order to facilitate this program, our school has a limited number (30) of iPad 2s for rent to seventh and eighth grade students who do not wish to purchase their own iPads. An iPad reservation form will go home in the Wednesday envelope on October 30th. No reservations will be accepted before this date. If you are interested in reserving an iPad for your child, please return the form along with a check for $75 payable to St. Thomas More School. This fee will cover the rental of an iPad 2 from January to June 2014. These iPad rentals will be on a first come, first served basis.
Finally, this week we were delighted to receive an unexpected $10,000 grant from The Outrageous Foundation. This is the third year in a row that they have chosen STM as one of the schools to receive this grant. The Outrageous Foundation has a strong commitment to Catholic education in the San Francisco Bay Area and has received recommendations regarding our wonderful school from a friend. Their foundation does not accept grant applications, but awards their funds based on referrals from others. Last year we were the recipients of a $10,000 grant from this foundation and the previous year, we received $5,000. These funds will be put aside for tuition assistance to help our most needy families. We are very grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Bob McGrath of The Outrageous Foundation for their continuing support of St. Thomas More School!
Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal
Principal
