STM Newsletter for October 7, 2015

View this email in your browser Dear Parents, A community of faith can provide support when we are in need of help. They can envelop us in caring and love. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our Student Council has initiated a fundraiser to bring this issue to our attention. During this month, we ask you to remember to pray for all who have been affected by Breast Cancer, especially those in our school community. Together our prayers can be powerful. PENNY BUCKET CHALLENGE: Beginning today through October 30th, the STM Student Council challenges all students from Kindergarten to 8th Grade to bring lots of pennies to school to fill their classroom "Penny Bucket"! Each "Penny Bucket" will be weighed and charted weekly to see which class has gathered the most pennies! (We are also accepting any other loose change!) At the end of two weeks, the class that collects the most pennies will earn a class pizza party! All of the pennies collected from now through October 30th will be donated to the San Francisco Breast Cancer Emergency Fund in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. FUNDRAISING CATALOG: Thank you to everyone who purchased items from our annual fundraising catalog. Congratulations to the 49 students who sold 15 or more items. They will receive a free dress pass to be used TOMORROW, October 8th. These students will also be entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card tomorrow. If you believe that your child should have received a free dress pass because of additional items sold online by family member or friends, please notify the office immediately so that we can prepare a pass for your child.  Let us know the name of the person that made the online purchases in your child's name. We expect delivery of these items later this month. We will notify you in advance in order that you can pick up frozen items the day they are delivered. UPCOMING EVENTS Friday, October 9th Student Holiday for all PK-8. Faculty Service Day at St. Vincent de Paul. Saturday, October 10th Rosary Rally   Monday, October 12th Columbus Day Holiday School Closed Saturday, October 24th Young Adults Ministry Conference   Saturday, November 21st Tacos and Trivia Night Sunday, December 6th Holiday Fair and Pancake Breakfast! SAVE THE DATE Holiday Fair Request to become a vendor! FROM THE DAD'S CLUB: Please join the Dads' Club for an upcoming barbecue on Sunday, October 25, 2015, 4pm at St. Thomas More's Carrol Hall. Fantastic food and delicious local San Francisco beer will be provided (free of charge). Note: The Niners play the preceding Thursday night game so there is no schedule conflict--come unwind and relax! Email your RSVP to vilaska.nguyen@gmail.com. PARENT CONFERENCES: Don't forget - The Parent-Teacher Conference forms are due back by next Wednesday!! Please make sure these forms are filled out completely. Several of these forms have been returned to you as all three options were not selected. PICTURE RE-TAKES: Those of you who ordered school pictures are receiving them in your envelope today. If you wish for your child to re-take his/her picture on our re-take day, scheduled for October 16th, please return the entire photo package to the classroom teacher by next Thursday, October 15th. ID CARDS: As a reminder, student ID cards may be purchased by putting $2 in an envelope, writing your child's name and grade on it and sending it to your child's teacher. They are not available in the office. HALLOWEEN: Please consider joining us for our annual K-8 Halloween parade, which will begin at 11:00 in the schoolyard on Friday, October 30th. When purchasing costumes for wearing to school on Friday, October 30th, please consider the following: Age appropriate Bathroom accessible Make up must be applied at home Shoes must be comfortable for walking No weapons of any kind Also remember that Friday, October 30th is a minimum day with a 12:15/12:30pm dismissal. MORE ROADWORK: The City & County of San Francisco is starting construction in the next few days along Brotherhood Way from Thomas More Way to St. Charles Ave. The work involves constructing curb ramps and sidewalk to make the pedestrian pathways safer and more accessible. The entire project is estimated to take 2 months. And finally, thank you to Viki Saba (mother of Maggie, 2nd, and Zayna, kinder) for providing the traffic patrol with new stop signs. Sincerely, Marie Fitzpatrick Principal Copyright © 2014 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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STM Newsletter for September 30, 2015

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 7th. Praying the rosary is a way to help us get in touch with Mary, the Mother of God, and to develop a relationship with her. We all have needs, so we can implore Mary's help and seek her motherly protection and intercession together. Use the words of Pope Francis as a model for your child's prayer in life. "The Rosary is a prayer that always accompanies me; it is also the prayer of ordinary people and the saints...it is a prayer from my heart." We have previously sent home a flyer about the Rosary Rally on Saturday, October 10th. Please use this link to view more information. Today we are asking for any interested parents to take a lead on this. If you are available and wish to organize a group to attend, please contact the office. Congratulations to all who helped with or worked on last weekend's International Food Festival! What a great effort and great success. Congratulations also to the raffle winners: $1,000 winner Butros Naskah, $500 winner Daisy Amaya, and $250 winner Bella Santos! Thanks to all who supported this great raffle. A special thank you to the 2015 festival co-chairs, Ivon Van Mechelen and Michaela Munda, who have tirelessly worked over the past year to make it such a success. More information will come from the Parents' Club, but a big thank you to all for a job well done!  Parents' Club Meeting, October 1st, 7pm STM Library Come and share your ideas! CALENDARS October school calendar October school hot lunch menu BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS: Saturday is the Feast of St. Francis. In honor of his feast day and his love of animals we will have an opportunity to have our pets blessed. Please join us this Friday, October 2nd, directly after the 2:30pm dismissal in the school yard. You are welcome to bring your family pets, pictures of your pet, or anything else that represents your pet that you wish to have blessed. Sorry, we cannot accommodate your pets in the classroom during the day. PARENTING SYMPOSIUM: Please consider joining the USF Center for Child and Family Development and the School of Education for a morning of training and dialogue on effective strategies for connecting with kids in an age dominated by digital featuring. Through a panel presentation and workshops by Bay Area clinicians, educators and leaders, event attendees will learn practical tools for supporting families in the digital age. When: Saturday, October 3rd Where: USF Hilltop Campus, Lone Mountain Room 100 Cost: FREE REGISTER HERE PARENT CONFERENCES: Parent conferences are set for the week of November 2nd-6th. In order to plan conferences at a convenient time for you, we are making both afternoon and evening appointments available. Please follow ALL of the listed directions on the conference request form you are receiving in your envelope today. If this form is not filled in as directed, it will be returned to you! Please remember that your accounts, both tuition and extended care, must be in good standing in order for you to receive a conference and your child’s report card. BIRTHDAYS: Just a reminder that if you wish to provide class refreshments on the occasion of your child's birthday, please contact complete the online birthday request at least a week in advance to make a mutually convenient plan. Refreshments must be limited to: an individual serving of prepared treats (such as a muffin, a bagel or a piece of fruit) and a self-serve beverage (milk or juice). Please avoid snacks high in sugar and fats. Need suggestions? Ask your child's teacher. No goody bags allowed. To avoid allergy concerns, do not pack two or more items together. Also, please try to be aware of allergies students have when providing snacks. Refreshments should be dropped off to the office before school or at the time specified by the teacher. ID CARDS: Student ID cards have arrived. They may be purchased by putting $2 in an envelope, writing your child’s name and grade on it and sending it to your child’s teacher. They are not available in the office. As we draw closer to the flu season, we want to take this opportunity to remind you of the precautions you can take to help keep your children healthy. Please encourage your child to practice good hygiene, including washing their hands with soap and water; avoiding touching the eyes, nose and mouth and to not share cups and utensils with people known to be sick. It is always a good idea to regularly disinfect frequently touched surfaces like doorknobs and countertops too. If your child is showing symptoms of illness, we ask that you keep them at home until they are well enough to return to school. Sincerely, Marie Fitzpatrick Principal

STM Newsletter for September 23, 2015

Welcoming Pope Francis - Students standing with the flag of Vatican City. Dear Parents, As Pope Francis continues his apostolic journey in the United States this week, we remind you of his commitment of faith and service and ask that you open your hearts and take some time to pledge to Pray, Serve or Act. It is at this time we would like to introduce you to our theme for the year: ‘We are the Hands of God’. Throughout the year, students in all grades will learn more about ways they can be the hands of God through service, kindness, and love. INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL: We can't wait to see you this weekend for the International Food Festival. If you have not already signed up to volunteer, please click here to select an assignment. RAFFLE TICKETS: Tickets are only $5 each (or 11 for $50) and the GRAND PRIZE is $1,000! Get your tickets in BY TOMORROW for your chance to win one of the cash prizes! Additional tickets will only be available at the festival. ITBS TESTING: The annual ITBS testing continues this week. Results of this testing will be shared with you at the November parent conferences. PROGRESS REPORTS: Progress Reports are going home today. All students, third grade and up, are receiving such a report. These progress reports show a snapshot of the student’s current academic standing with optional comments from their teachers. The grading scale is available here. As a system default, art, PE, music and tech will show P/100% for students who fully participate. Students in grades K-2 with behavior and/or academic concerns have already been contacted by their child’s teacher. FUNDRAISING CATALOGS: We have over 75% of your orders back, but we are still waiting for the stragglers. We need all the orders forms returned before we can place the school order. Please return those orders by tomorrow, September 24th. SCHOOL TOURS/APPLICATION FORMS: We ask your help in encouraging prospective parents to consider St. Thomas More School for their child for the 2016-2017 school year. You, our current families, are our best advertising! Please invite friends and relatives interested in St. Thomas More School to come to one of our school tours for prospective parents. Click here to reserve a place on one of the tours listed below: Tuesday, October 20th at 9:00am Tuesday, November 10th at 9:00am Thursday, December 3rd at 1:00pm K-8 new student application forms for the 2016-2017 school year will be available in the front office and for download online beginning next Thursday, October 1st, 2015. This year, we will also be offering an online application process. More information about that will be in next week's letter. Families with siblings of current students, as well as families of preschool students, can use the flyer included in today’s envelope to request an application. Students currently attending Utopia Preschool and/or with siblings currently attending St. Thomas More School will be given preference in the kindergarten class of 2016-2017 if the application is submitted in a timely manner. 2016-2017 PRESCHOOL APPLICATIONS: Utopia, our preschool, has begun accepting applications for the 2016-2017 school year. Please note that preschool spots fill up very fast. If you have a child who is of preschool age (3 years old by September 1st) and you would like them to attend Utopia next Fall, we strongly suggest you arrange a tour with Utopia’s director, Michelle Ovando, and submit an application as soon as possible.   USF COUNSELLING: As you know, again this year, we are working with the USF Center for Child and Family Development to offer a school-based Family Counseling Program. This service is designed to meet the counseling needs of individual students and families as well as the consultation needs of teachers and school staff. The goal of the program is to support our students’ social, emotional and academic needs and thereby afford them increased opportunity for success at school. This year we welcome our counselor, Mr. Bob Puckett. He will be on campus Mondays and Tuesdays. This is a free service. If you would like your child to visit with our counselors, you may contact him directly at bpuckett@stmsf.org, or request it through your child’s teacher. Please check out Mr. Puckett's introduction letter here. STREAM ELECTIVES: Our fall STREAM (STEM + Religion & Arts) elective classes for our sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students begin on October 14th. Next week, students in 6th, 7th and 8th will have the opportunity to rank the classes in order of their interest. We believe that in response to Pope Francis’ call to build a society "which is truly tolerant and inclusive” and “protects rights and religious liberty” this is a fantastic opportunity to add this component to our STREAM program. STREAM schools seek to integrate Catholic identity into every aspect of the curriculum. They manifest this intent through projects based in social justice as well as in-depth experiential instruction in the teachings of the Church. We look forward to all the wonderful learning and discovery opportunities this will provide our students.  See you on the weekend! Sincerely, Marie Fitzpatrick Principal

STM Newsletter for September 16, 2015

Dear Parents, In just seven days, Pope Francis will make his first visit to the United States. His apostolic journey is scheduled to take place from September 22-27, and he will visit Washington, New York and Philadelphia. Pope Francis is the fourth pope to visit the United States and although he is not visiting the west coast, there are some great resources that will allow you to #walkwithfrancis. You can also welcome Pope Francis by committing to follow his example of faith and service. Pledge to Pray, Serve or Act. In the words of Pope Francis, "All it takes is one good person to restore hope!" SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS: 7.5 million children are affected by the brutal four-year-old conflict in Syria. Children have been put at risk by unrelenting violence, crumbling infrastructure, ruined schools and hospitals and shortages of essential supplies. Millions of families have chosen to flee in an effort to find a safer life. For Those Who Remain in Syria, Daily Life Is a Nightmare. Refugee camps in the countries bordering Syria are overflowing. In recent days and weeks the number of refugees that have fled to Europe has also been overwhelming Catholic Relief Services is scaling up humanitarian relief efforts in response to the record number of Syrian refugees fleeing to Europe and the Balkans. This is in addition to the  millions that have fled to neighboring countries such as Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon in recent years. On Friday of this week our children will have the opportunity to raise funds to help the refugees by purchasing pirate themed items and cookies as they celebrate Pirate Day. Please continue to pray for refugees worldwide.  ROSARY RALLY: This October, the San Francisco Archdiocese will hold their annual Rosary Rally in Downtown San Francisco. The tradition of the rally started five years ago to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the rosary rally held in San Francisco back in 1961, led by Fr. Patrick Peyton. An estimated 500,000 people gathered in prayer that day. This year, the event begins with Mass in St. Mary’s Cathedral on October 10th at 10.00am. Following the Mass, there will be a procession to UN Plaza, where another group will be praying the rosary in preparation for our arrival. The rally will end with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction at UN Plaza.  SEND A STM TEACHER TO NCEA: The National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) is holding their 2016 Convention and Expo in San Diego next Easter. We are happy to announce that our nomination of our 3rd grade teacher, Julianne Beach, has been selected to be in the Send a Teacher to NCEA 2016 in San Diego Social Media Contest! Congratulations Miss Beach! HOW IT WORKS - VOTING: Candidates move on to the next round depending on the number of votes they receive. You have to vote for one of the candidates in each group, so ask your family, friends and other community members to vote for Miss Beach! Voting for Round 1 ends on Saturday, September 19th at 10:35am. Vote now and let's get Miss Beach to the next round! INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL: Volunteers are still needed to sign-up for the International Food Festival. Please click here to select an assignment. Again this year, the event will be held over two days, Saturday, September 26th and 27th. SAVE THESE DATES! Today, in your envelope, you will be receiving the following flyers. We ask that you check them out and return them to the office if you are interested. Pre-Purchase Bracelet Form - Avoid the hassle and lines at the festival and pre-purchase your child(ren) an ALL DAY jumper bracelet. Talent Show - The International Food Festival Committee is looking for some talented students to perform at various times on both Saturday & Sunday. Fall Festival Wish List - Donations are always accepted. Check out the list to see how you can help. RAFFLE TICKETS: Tickets are only $5 each and the GRAND PRIZE is $1,000! Get your tickets in for your chance to win this cash prize! Additional ticket books are available in the office.  PIRATE DAY: Talk like a Pirate Day is Friday, September 18th. Students may wear pirate accessories with their uniforms (no weapons please). The Student Council will sell pirate themed accessories during morning recess and will host a pirate themed bake sale during lunch recess. Items will be $1 each and proceeds will benefit Catholic Relief Services. Arrrg Mateys!  IOWA TESTING: Next Monday, September 21st, we begin the IOWA Test of Basic Skills for students in 2nd grade and above. The amount of homework will be greatly reduced next week to facilitate testing. We ask that students arrive at school on time, well rested, and properly fed. All this will contribute to students’ well-above-average test scores. You’ll receive the results of these tests at the November parent conferences. CATALOG FUNDRAISER: How is the catalog fundraiser coming? Please remember that all families are required to sell a minimum of $100 worth of product per child enrolled in the school. The deadline for returning your orders is Tuesday, September 22nd. CALENDAR CORRECTION: Picture retake day is scheduled for Friday, October 16th, not today, September 16th as we had previously noted on our calendar. Families who ordered photos will have an opportunity to preview their child's picture before deciding whether a retake is necessary. Please keep the students, families and staff at St. Philip school in your thoughts and prayers. Long time school Principal, Remy Everett, passed away unexpectedly a few days ago. Sincerely, Marie Fitzpatrick Principal

STM Newsletter for September 9, 2015

Dear Parents, Parenting in today’s society can be both rewarding and challenging. Effective parenting practices must focus on fostering children who have the ability to be self-reliant and resilient. Children need help managing time, scheduling, prioritizing tasks and setting goals. Your job is to help them develop these skills in an age-appropriate level. This article by Dr. Pat McCormack for Today's Catholic Teacher Magazine has some great insights and helpful tips to help you negotiate the tricky path between doing too much for your child and setting them up for success by learning to do things for themselves. On Friday we will observe Patriot Day, when we remember all those affected by the September 11th tragedy 14 years ago. To mark this day, we will begin our morning assembly with an abbreviated version of President Obama's proclamation read by the student council president. We will then raise the flag to its half-staff position while the student choir sings America the Beautiful. Please consider joining us if you can. We hope to see everyone this Sunday, September 13th, for one of the most important celebrations of the school year. Please join us for our Back-to-School Mass at 10:00. Come and share in the celebration as we begin a new year together at St. Thomas More School and Utopia Preschool. Following the Mass, there will be hospitality in Scanlon Hall. International Food Festival 2014 INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL: Volunteers are still needed to sign-up for the International Food Festival. Please click here to select an assignment. Again this year, the event will be held over two days, Saturday, September 26th and 27th. SAVE THESE DATES! Check out these flyers and return them to the office if you are interested.  Pre-Purchase Bracelet Form - Avoid the hassle and lines at the festival and pre-purchase your child(ren) an ALL DAY jumper bracelet. Talent Show - The International Food Festival Committee is looking for some talented students to perform at various times on both Saturday & Sunday. Fall Festival Wish List - Donations are always accepted. Check out the list to see how you can help. FUNDRAISING AT STM CATALOG FUNDRAISER: How is the catalog fundraiser coming? The deadline for returning your orders is Tuesday, September 22nd. SHOPAROO: We raised almost $900 last year! All you need to do is take pictures of your grocery receipts with the Shoparoo app for smartphones and tablets. It doesn’t matter where you shop or what you buy - every receipt submitted results in a donation to our school! So, what are you waiting for? Simply download the free app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store and then select St. Thomas More School as your chosen cause. Since there is no limit to how much money we can raise with Shoparoo, be sure to invite your friends and neighbors to join in – every receipt counts! Check out the flyer in today's envelope for more information. ENJOY THE WARM WEATHER!: As you are aware, the start of the school year has been filled with some lovely warm weather. Today the students were treated to popsicles to help alleviate some of the warmth. Tomorrow, we will continue to celebrate the weather with a t-shirt and shorts free dress day (modest shorts and tops, no bare shoulders)!. During these days when the temperatures are higher than usual, please remember to remind your child to stay hydrated. PIRATE DAY IS COMING!: Talk like a Pirate Day is Friday, September 18th. Students may wear pirate accessories with their uniforms (no weapons please). The Student Council will sell pirate themed accessories during morning recess and will host a pirate themed bake sale during lunch recess on this day. Further information will be sent home next week. Arrrg!   See you Sunday! Sincerely, Marie Fitzpartick Principal

STM Newsletter for September 2, 2015

Dear Parents, We are back at it! Morning and after school extended care are up and running, and the school lunch program is off to a great start. Today we welcome back our Spanish teacher, Beatriz Cortes, who began working with kindergarten through eighth grade students. We are happy to welcome back our PE teacher, Lawrence Cummins and tomorrow students will have their first music class for the school year. Yes, we are back at it! Thank you to all who attended our mandatory back to school meeting. Congratulations to the family of Brian Schiefer, in sixth grade, who won the raffle for $500 towards their tuition. It pays to be on time!

Picture Day, Friday, September 4th. Full school uniform is required. All students will be photographed. Extended Care combines August-September into one bill that will be billed through FACTS in the first week of October.

We hope to see everyone on Sunday, September 13th, for one of the most important celebrations of the school year. Please join us for our Back-to-School Mass at 10:00. Come and share in the celebration as we begin a new year together at St. Thomas More School and Utopia Preschool.

International Food Festival 2014

INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL: Volunteer sign-ups for the International Food Festival are now online. Please click here to select an assignment. Again this year, the event will be held over two days, Saturday, September 26th and 27th. SAVE THE DATE! Check out these flyers and return them to the office if you are interested. Pre-Purchase Bracelet Form - Avoid the hassle and lines at the festival and pre-purchase your child(ren) an ALL DAY jumper bracelet. Talent Show - The International Food Festival Committee is looking for some talented students to perform at various times on both Saturday & Sunday. Fall Festival Wish List - Donations are always accepted. Check out the list to see how you can help.

EMERGENCY ALERTS SIGN-UP: If you have not already done so, please take a moment to use this link to sign up to receive emergency alerts via texts or email messages. This is how we will communicate information to you in the case of an emergency. We will send out a test alert next Tuesday, September 8th. SANDWICHES-FOR-THE-NEEDY: Our first sandwiches-for-the-needy collection is this Friday, September 4th with the 8th and 1st graders taking the lead. We encourage all of you to consider making an extra sandwich and/or lunch and sending it to the office on that day. Sandwiches will be delivered to the Martin de Porres House of Hospitality on Potrero Ave. Their mission is to serve in the spirit of compassion, understanding and love and they provide breakfast and lunch during the week and brunch on Sunday to those in need in the community. Please visit their website, martindeporres.org for more information. Here are a few guidelines to help with the distribution of sandwiches - In order to facilitate the distribution of sandwiches, we have been asked to provide just one type of sandwich: turkey on sliced white or wheat bread. Please individually wrap the sandwiches (ziplock sandwich bags).

FUNDRAISING AT STM FUNDRAISING CATALOG: Today we are sending home the fundraising gift catalog and order forms with every child. As per the financial policies, all K-8 families are required to participate in the Fall Fundraiser. Each family is to sell a minimum of $100 worth of product per child enrolled in the school. Last year we raised $23,000. This year our goal is $25,000 which will cover the cost of the Spanish program, including the teacher and all classroom materials. All order forms are due back to the classroom teachers by Tuesday, September 22nd. Extra catalogs are available from the office. K-8 families who do not wish to participate in this fundraiser will be charged (via FACTs) the $150 per child opt-out fee once all orders have been collected. Thank you again to Christy Ramos, mom of 8th grader, Ethan, who has volunteered to help count and collate the orders that come in. SCRIP: As part of your financial obligations to STM, each family is required to meet the mandatory scrip requirement to generate a minimum profit of $100 by participating in the electronic scrip programs authorized by the school (shopwithscrip.com and/or escrip.com). We have included a flyer in today's envelope on how to sign up. After reviewing that flyer, if you are still unsure how to sign up for these scrip programs, please stop by the office and Melody will be happy to help you get started.

BRONCO BULLETIN: Remember to read the Bronco Bulletin to keep up-to-date on all the breaking STM sports news. You can subscribe by clicking here. BEFORE SCHOOL PROCEDURES: As a reminder, regular yard supervision begins at 7:45. For the safety of your children, it is not acceptable to leave them unsupervised in front of the school, on the steps of the hall or in front of church before this time. Students who are dropped off before the yard opens at 7:45 must be enrolled in the Morning Extended Care Program or stay with their parent until the yard opens. Students who have been left at school unattended by a parent before 7:45 may be brought into morning extended care by a member of the staff. They will be charged at a rate of $10 per day for that service. STUDENT SAFETY REMINDER: Please remind your children to be aware of their surroundings at all times. We have noticed an increase in the nearby homeless population and ask that you keep us informed and report any unusual activity or behavior to the school office.

Sincerely, Marie Fitzpartick Principal