STM Newsletter for Wednesday, April 29, 2020

View this email in your browser Eighth Grade drew self-portraits, contrasting their lives from just a few weeks ago with their new distance-learning reality. Dear Parents, May is a special month set aside in the Catholic church to honor and show special devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Traditionally, many schools and churches plan celebrations to show our devotion to the Blessed Mother during this month. This is usually kicked off on May Day, May 1st, with a special ceremony crowning Mary as Queen of Heaven. This year, because we are not in school, the teachers have prepared a prayer service for a May Crowning which we will share with you on Friday.  Many homes and classrooms set up a May altar where they can pray especially to Mary during this special month. I encourage you to help your child set up a May Altar in your home. If you don't have a statue of Mary, perhaps they print and color a picture to place by the altar. Other items may include a set of rosary beads, a cross and of course some flowers. Make this a special place in your home to pray during this month. As a family recite the Hail Mary or a decade of the Rosary. In many parts of the world there are special processions and other customs associated with this special time. Use this opportunity to share some of the customs you remember from your childhood with your children. Catholic Schools consistently outperform public schools in national assessments. The Nation's Report Card shows that Catholic schools achieve academic excellence, year over year.  This report, prepared every 4 years, just released its findings on April 24. Kathy Mears, NCEA Interim President/CEO in response to the report said, "As communities of faith, Catholic schools fulfill their mission to educate the whole person: mind, body and spirit." "The NAEP results bolster the decisions of the families of nearly 1.8 million Catholic school students to attend Catholic schools where students are provided with the best tools to fulfill their future roles as good citizens, productive and caring employees, competent professionals as well as future saints." As we continue with distance learning for the remainder of the school year this is a timely reminder of the benefits of Catholic education. Catholic schools were the first to embrace distance learning protocols and ensure that our teachers stayed connected with their students. Collectively, we figured out ways to ensure that students continue to learn, and we will continue to support our students and families in any ways possible as we move forward together. The full report is available here: The Nation's Report Card.  CALENDAR  Friday, May 1 May Crowning Prayer Service Finish Up/Flexible Friday Attendance Link: https://www.stthomasmoreschool.org/attendance.html Check out our Parent Calendar for upcoming events. Register on Team Sideline by 5:00 PM on Friday, May 1, 2020 www.teamsideline.com/catholiccharitiessf Below is a message from Tabia Ye, SF CYO Athletics Coordinator: We hope you and your families are all doing well during this time. We are saddened that we could not continue our spring 2020 sports season this year, but would like to still engage your students. We are excited to host our first NBA 2K Esports Tournament for all your students whether they participated in CYO sports or not. Please see below for more information. Game: NBA 2K. This is a popular online basketball video game. Platforms: PS4 or Xbox Registration Fee: FREE Registration Deadline: Friday, May 1st Tournament Start Date: Monday, May 4th - Depending on the number of registrations, we will determine the length of the tournament. Time Slots: 5pm to 10pm Format/Duration: 1v1 with 5 minute quarters for a total of 4 quarters - see our rules below for more information. 1st Place Prize: Choice of Indoor/Outdoor Basketball, Adidas Hoodie, or Adidas Shoes (hoodie and shoes are limited to sizes that CYO have in stock). Please have parents register their children if they are interested in participating. We will be using our new website on TeamSideline for the registration process. PARENTS CLICK HERE TO REGISTER HERE: www.teamsideline.com/catholiccharitiessf ------------------------------------------------------------------ Tournament Rules NBA 2K Tournament - CCCYO NBA2K May Madness Games will be streamed on YouTube - the "Home" team will be the streamer. If there is a protest, the game can be reviewed via the YouTube stream. "Home" team must report the final score to CYO for the results to be entered, along with the link to the YouTube stream. Players must coordinate with their opponent to schedule their game for that day between 5pm - 10pm. Players must provide their gamertags to CYO. The following settings are to be used in official matches: Connection: Play With Friends Quarter Length: 5 Minutes Game Mode: Private Match Game Style: Simulation Fatigue: On Difficulty: All Star One pause is allowed per player per half. Teams must be current rosters, no use of All-Star or Legends teams is allowed. If a game disconnects in the first quarter, the game will simply restart. If it disconnects after the 1st quarter, the players will take note of what the score was at the end of the last completed quarter then start a new game and play the remaining quarters and add their scores. Reminder, only a total of 4 quarters should be played. Please reach out if you have any questions. Thank you, CYO Athletics    Our continued prayers are with you and your family. Let us count our many blessings, especially our children, as we navigate through this new normal. We look forward to the day we can all be together again in our school and in our classrooms on the STM campus. GO BRONCOS! Sincerely, Marie Fitzpatrick Principal Copyright © 2020 St. Thomas More School, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email from the office of St. Thomas More School.   Thank you for helping us go green. Our mailing address is: 50 Thomas More Way San Francisco, CA 94132 www.stmsf.org unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

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