STM Newsletter for February 3, 2016

Dear Parents: The Family Mass, Book Fair, the school-wide open house and the general spirit of goodwill were a fitting beginning to National Catholic Schools Week at St. Thomas More School. We have accomplished so much here by working together. A special thank you to our teachers, Anna Tyaglo and Natalia Girlich for preparing a beautiful Family Mass with the kindergarten students and their families. We are so proud of our wonderful kindergarten students. This is a good time to reflect on the benefit of being part of a Catholic school. The strong school community, grounded in a shared faith and the support and high expectations of parents, teachers and the larger community, offers your children a foundation for facing the rapidly changing world around them. By sharing this belief in God's goodness and living out their faith every day, your children are blessed with a clear advantage. Faith provides an anchor that will serve your children well into the future. You are welcome to visit the Book Fair any morning this week before school begins or right after dismissal. Just go straight to the library where Judy Silva and her crew of booksellers will be there to assist you. Check out the wish lists the teachers have prepared of books they would like to have in their classroom libraries. Consider donating a book to your child's classroom. Can't make it to our Book Fair? Check out our Online Book Fair. Click here to purchase books. All orders will ship directly to school for free when the Online Fair has ended. Tomorrow is Grandparents and Special Friends Day! We will kick off the activities at 11:30am. Parking will be limited, so we suggest all attendees arrive a little early. The school yard will be open from 10:45am for parking. Hospitality, courtesy of the Parents' Club, will be provided in Carroll Hall beginning at 10:00am. As a reminder, all students, attending grandparents and special friends will receive a delicious FREE lunch thanks to the Spiegel Family! Thank you to the 150+ special guests who have RSVP'd for this fun event. The children are really looking forward to welcoming them to our school. Your children are so lucky to have such special people in their lives.

CIOPPINO 2016: Work continues in preparation for our BIG fundraiser on Saturday, February 20th. Consider getting together with other parents from your child's class to purchase a table. This event is a lot of fun. Remember, childcare is available for a nominal fee. Please respond as soon as possible as we believe this will be a sell out event again this year. To purchase tickets, please use the flyer you are receiving today or you can also make an ONLINE RESERVATION NOW!. DONATIONS NEEDED/FREE DRESS PASS: Thank you to those who donated items last week that we can use in our baskets at Cioppino. We depend on your donations, so please keep them coming! As a bonus, every school parent who buys a ticket or makes a donation (value $20 or more) for Cioppino will receive a FREE DRESS PASS for their child/ren to be used on Monday, February 22nd.

SPELLING BEE: Another thrilling Spelling Bee, complete with a nail-biting ending, was enjoyed by all on the first day of Catholic Schools Week!   4th Grade: Mikaylla Catangay, Isabella Alcantara, Santino Martinez 5th Grade: Salma Van Mechelen, Malia Sladewski and Isabel Sanchez. 6th Grade: Ethan Nguyen, Isabella Brenes, Chris Malbas  7th Grade: 2nd Place Jordan Mak, Zachary White, Michael Conefrey 8th Grade: 1st Place Dylan Limjoco, 3rd Place Justin Santos, Kevin Sarmiento Congratulations to all our participants!  You are ALL winners!

ONE WARM COAT: These cold days also reminded us to count our blessing and give thanks that we have enough to eat, warm coats, and cozy homes. Unfortunately, many others in our community are not so lucky. St. Thomas More is happy to participate in the One Warm Coat program. Please look through your closets and see if you can locate a warm coat or jacket that is in really good condition, clean and ready to be worn by someone less fortunate. ALL types of coats are needed and will be distributed to needy people by St. Anthony's and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. You can also drop off your donations anytime between now and February 10th to the school office. SPORTS PHOTO FORMS: If you still want to purchase sports photos from the recent picture sessions, the photographer will be picking up all late order forms tomorrow afternoon. Please return them with your payment before then. SCHOOL NEWSPAPER: The Newspaper Committee, moderated by Miss Kane, have decided to produce an online version of the school newspaper, Bronco On The Go. Check it out HERE. Thanks to the following contributing students: Jordan Mak, Chloe Sladewski, Ethan Limboco, Cristian Torres, Igor Bessa, Adriel Garcia, Zhari Malig and Ariana Montiel. STUDENT HOLIDAY: Plan ahead - Please remember that the school, preschool through 8th grade, will be closed on Friday, February 5th. This is the day set for the annual Archdiocese Professional Development for all Catholic school teachers and administrators.                           Sincerely, Marie Fitzpatrick Principal