STM Newsletter for Wednesday, January 26, 2022

View this email in your browser January 26, 2022   Dear STM Families,  Catholic Schools Week is beginning next Sunday, January 30, 2022 and we have much to celebrate. Students are preparing videos, prayer services and other activities that they will share with you next week. I am sharing the following poster for you to remind you of the many reasons that your family chose a Catholic education for your child/ren..   Below are the updates for this week: Calendar Scholastic Book Fair Ballet Folklorico Mexicano De Carlos Moreno Dance Assembly One Warm Coat Drive Cioppino ~ Save the Date Valentine's Day Celebrations BASIC FUND and TADS St. Clare Parent Education Evening Free COVID Tests Vaccine Status Survey COVID-19 Notifications CALENDAR Saturday, Jan. 29 - TK/K Registration due Jan. 28-Feb. 4 - Scholastic Book Fair  Jan 30-Feb 5 - Catholic Schools Week Friday, Feb. 4 - Dance Assembly Feb 1-11 - STAR Testing Q3 ST THOMAS MORE SCHOOL Book Fair FRIDAY, JAN. 29 - FRIDAY, FEB. 4 The Book Fair will be open daily before and after school. The schoolyard will open at 7:45am each morning for early shoppers.  Students in TK-3 may be accompanied by a vaccinated parent or guardian. Proof of vaccination must be provided. Masks must be worn at all times while on campus. Only 20 shoppers are allowed upstairs to the library at a time.  Consider making an ewallet account for your child at My Scholastic. No cash to worry about! If a check is use, checks need to be made out to St. Thomas More School for the exact amount as no change will be given.  Students will visit the Book Fair with their teacher one afternoon next week according to the following schedule:   Book Fair Schedule       7:45-8:30 2:00-2:30 2:30-3:00 3:00-3:30   1/28 Open Open Open Closed Monday 1/31 Open TK/8 5 Open Tuesday 2/1 Open K 7 Open Wednesday 2/2 Open 1 6 Open Thursday 2/3 Open 2 4 Open Friday 2/4 Open 3 Open Closed   BALLET FOLKLORICO MEXICANO DE CARLOS MORENO Students will attend an assembly with this exciting dance troupe on Friday, February 4th in the gym to celebrate the end of Catholic Schools Week. There will be two sessions, one for TK-3 and another for older students in order to allow students adequate space to spread apart. This will be our first major assembly since the beginning of the pandemic. www.onewarmcoat.org It has been really cold lately and there are many families in our community who are in need of a warm winter coat. Between January 5 and January 26, 2022,  St. Thomas More School will be collecting clean, new or gently used coats in conjunction with ONE WARM COAT. Kindly drop coats in the bins inside or outside the school during school hours. You did it! Over 100 coats donated!!! SAVE THE DATE  30TH ANNUAL CIOPPINO DINNER Saturday, March 26, 2022 Join us for a special evening of food, drinks and music and see why this event is a sell-out every year! VALENTINE'S DAY CELEBRATIONS I know many of you are anxious to get started shopping for candy and treats for Valentine's Day before supplies get scarce! Students will have the opportunity to pass individually wrapped candy to their classmates. While we will not have classroom parties, I'm sure teachers will give students an opportunity to go outside and enjoy some of their sugary treats. New Applications  Starting January 15th BASIC FUND'S new application for the 2022-2023 School Year will be available online on our website, www.basicfund.org. Because this year has been so challenging, we are making a change and allowing applicants to provide their 2020 tax returns, if their 2021 returns are not yet prepared. New siblings for current BASIC Fund students must request a link to apply for a new student. The deadline is March 31, 2022.   Renewal Applications Taking in consideration this unprecedented situation, The BASIC Fund has decided to use the financial documentation that we have on file for the current year, to process the 2022-2023 renewals for our renewing families. In February we will email families a renewal application link for them to update their information. Families will still be able to update any financial documentation if they would like to be considered for a higher percentage. Families that were over our financial guidelines but met the leeway for the 2022-2023 School Year and were awarded 25%, we will determine the leeway for the 2022-2023 school year in July. These families can submit recent financial information for consideration.   mytads.com The Annual Deadline for Archdiocesan Aid is 4/15/22   FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENT FAMILIES April 15, is the annual deadline for submitting all information to TADS, the third party needs evaluation company that we use to collect the financial data from our families. This is consistent with the process we used to award tuition assistance for this year. After the Student Aid Form has been processed by TADS, the Department of Catholic Schools gathers the completed application materials. Applicants are ranked on the basis of financial need. Within the limit of available funds, the Archdiocese of San Francisco will then award financial aid. Late applications will NOT be considered. Students must live in Marin, San Francisco, or San Mateo Counties to be considered for the Archdiocesan Scholarship. Please visit the other scholarship programs section for more opportunities. Grant notifications will be sent out to the elementary student's families in late May/early June.  To use the TADS Financial Aid online application go to mytads.com. You will be guided through the application. If you have any questions, you can phone TADS at 800-477-8237. The Archdiocese of San Francisco is unable to provide financial aid to all students who apply. If a family is notified that the Archdiocese cannot provide assistance, the family should try and reach out to the elementary school, or high school for more information about any additional assistance that may be available from them directly.   St. Clare Parent Education Evening- Identifying Resources and Supports for Language-Based Learning Differences  Audience: K-8 Catholic School Parents Date/Time: TOMORROW, January 27 @ 6pm Location: Zoom Webinar, register at schools.sfarchdiocese.org/leadlearn Sessions are free of cost and offer live, real-time translation services in 20 languages. You may attend the second session even if you did not attend the first one.  More information can be found at schools.sfarchdiocese.org/leadlearn FREE COVID TESTS The government sponsored free COVID testing website went live earlier today. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. I encourage you to avail of this opportunity to get some test kits for your family.  LINK: https://www.covidtests.gov/ COVID-19 VACCINATION STATUS SURVEY The following COVID-19 Vaccination Status Survey will assist us in preparing reports for the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH). This information will help minimize our COVID response and notification times and avoid delays on obtaining vital information.  Please complete a survey for each child you have at our school. While completion of this survey is not mandatory, we appreciate your cooperation in working with us for the health and safety of our school and our families. Information from this survey will remain confidential, except for reporting to the SFDPH on an as needed basis. LINK: COVID-19 VACCINATION STATUS SURVEY COVID-19 NOTIFICATIONS General Exposure Notification for Saturday, Jan. 22 General Exposure Notification for Tuesday, Jan. 25 Thank you for all you do to make our school community such a welcoming and nurturing environment for all our students and staff. Marie Fitzpatrick Principal Copyright © 2022 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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News from the Principal's Office

View this email in your browser January 25, 2022 Dear STM Families, This letter is to let you know that I have sent Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Pam Lyons, a formal notice of my retirement from my position as principal at St. Thomas More School, effective July 2022. I plan to finish this school year and to make my departure as smooth as possible so that the incoming principal will have everything necessary in place to support the school in the most thoughtful, productive and effective way possible.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the trust and confidence you have placed in me as your principal for the past twelve years. The STM community is truly a special place and I have been blessed to spend the majority of my life as an educator here. Since that first day, August 1, 1987, I have had the opportunity to grow personally and professionally working at St. Thomas More School, both as a teacher and an administrator. During these years, we have worked together to further the legacy of St. Thomas More and I'm pleased to have been a major part of our school's success.  I am immensely proud of the work we do, the colleagues I have been privileged to work with, and the loving and caring community that we have fostered. It has been a joy to see the school evolve in so many wonderful ways as many generations of families moved through our doors. I am proud of our students and grateful to the teachers and staff who give so much of themselves each day for our children. It has given me much pleasure to see so many of my students' children attend and graduate from here. It's also been an incredible gift to now be working alongside so many former students. However, it's probably time to retire before a student informs me that I taught their grandparents! St. Thomas More will always have a special place in my heart and I wish the students, staff and community every continued success. I must admit that I will greatly miss seeing the students and my colleagues and interacting with them each day. However, I am looking forward to retirement, to spending more time with my husband and family, to visiting my mom and family in Ireland more often, and to figuring out a plan for my future. The Department of Catholic Schools will work with the STM community in the process of finding the next principal. You will be kept updated on the steps taken along the way and the formation of the selection committee. We ask God's blessings on this next step in the history of St. Thomas More School.  Sincerely,   Marie Fitzpatrick Principal Copyright © 2022 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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