The Messenger Vol. IV No. 12

The Messenger

November 10, 2016

Vol. IV, No. 12

St. Michael's Academy

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St. Michael's Academy

Today, in honor of Veteran's Day, we had a very special visit from six members of the 337 Airlift Squadron of the Westover Air Force Base. They made a visit to every grade, sharing their stories of military training and experiences around the world. We are so grateful to them for not only taking the time to educate our young students but for helping to protect our country. We thank them and all the men and women currently serving our country around the world.

Next week on Monday evening from 6-7 p.m., we will have our "Living History Museum" presented by our middle level students. All of the students have been working on their presentations for many weeks and I hope you have an opportunity to join us.

Happy Veteran's Day to all of our veterans and enjoy the three day weekend.

Peace,

Ann E. Dougal

Principal

Upcoming Dates To Remember
Please make note of these important upcoming dates: Violin every Tuesday Drumming every Wednesday Banking every Wednesday Monday, November 14, 2016 from 6-7 p.m. LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. School Board Meeting Friday, November 18, 2016 Picture Re-take Day

Veterans Day
THANK YOU MILITARY FRIENDS! Today the students of St. Michael's Academy were treated to some special visitors from Westover Air Force Base. Representatives from the 337 Airlift Squadron delighted the students with stories and information about their military careers. Thank you for serving our country and helping to keep us safe!

From The Classroom of Mrs. Logan - Grade 1

Visitors in 1B !

The first grade is learning about community leaders in Social Studies. Two very important leaders have come in to speak to them about their jobs. First we had two firefighters come in during October and this week we had a veteran come in!

Lt. Mezzetti and Firefighter Peters came in from the Springfield Fire Department to talk to the students about the importance of fire safety. They discussed changing the batteries in smoke detectors, having a meeting place outside in case of a fire and getting out and staying out. The firefighters even put on all of their fire gear so the students would be familiar with their uniform and mask. Later, they brought the students out to see the different parts of the fire truck and all of the tools they used. The children were able to go inside the truck to get the full experience!

Today the students had another important community leader come in for Veterans Day. The veteran was from the 337 Airlift Squadron from The Westover Air Force Base. He came to the classroom and discussed the importance of his job. They learned that the veterans fought for our country, our freedom and independence. The students were very interested in hearing about all of the veteran's experiences and what it means to be a veteran.

Thank you so much to the firefighters and veterans that came in to speak to the first grade. The students really enjoyed learning about the value of community leaders!

Perfect Attendance

Good Attendance Pays Off !

Congratulations to our perfect attendance dress-down winners! In order to qualify for the weekly drawing, a student must have no absences, tardiness or early dismissals the previous week of school. We select one from PreK - 2nd grade, one from 3rd - 5th grade and one from 6th - 8th grade. Congrats to this week's winners!

Olivia - Grade KB Elizabeth - Grade 5B

Michael - Grade 7A

Book Fair

Book Fair A Great Success

There was every kind of book at the book fair this year- suspense books, mystery books, cookbooks, how-to books, chapter books, science books, sports books - so many GREAT books. The students definitely had a hard time choosing, but all spent their dollars wisely.

Thank you to all the volunteers that helped to make the book fair a huge success. A special thank you to Linda Humphries and Becky Denault for chairing this event. It takes many people to "man the stations" throughout the week and we appreciated every minute of every hour that people volunteered. And thank you to all the parents who stopped by to shop with their child during the parent/teacher conferences.

We hope the students enjoy all their new reading materials!

Our Saints Continue
Our Saints Continue During the month of November, we continue to celebrate the saints:

Walk-a-thon Awards
Walk-a-thon Winners Ooops...we forgot a few winners last week! Here is a great big shout out to: Huong who was in the top 8 fundraisers in the elementary level: And Ethan who was the lucky winner of the $50 gift card. All students who raised $50 or more were entered into this raffle.

CSI Continues

Our Crime Scene Investigation Continues

This week the students had a visit from Chief Madera and Officer DeBarge from the Ludlow Police Department to hear from the other side of the crime scene. Students had the opportunity to learn about what it means to be a police officer and the skills needed. They spoke about cases that meant the most to them and how important it is to receive a solid education before even thinking of going to the police academy.

Parent/Teacher Conferences
Thank You ! Thank you to our teachers and our parents/guardians for making the parent/teacher conferences go as smoothly as possible on Tuesday. A special thank you to Mrs. Freeman for coordinating the master schedule.

Spelling Bee

Spelling Bee Scheduled

This year's annual Spelling Bee will take place on March 8th and 9th at St. Mary's Academy in Longmeadow. Students in grades 4-8 are eligible to compete in the Bee and try-outs are currently in progress with Mrs. Nicoliello overseeing grades 6-8 and Mrs. Herron overseeing grades 4 and 5.

St. Mary's has instituted a change this year limiting the number of students allowed to participate from each school to 25. Over the past several weeks, we have been testing the students in order to narrow down the field. If your child will be competing in the Bee, a registration packet will go home with them today. Please return the registration page to the homeroom teacher before December 1.

The first Spelling Bee meeting will be December 1st at 7:30 a.m. in Room 226 where the contestants will get their practice lists. Regular practices will start the first week of January, every Thursday at 7:15 a.m. The Spelling Bee requires 100% commitment and students should plan on attending all practices.

We hope to have a great team this year!!

Drumming
3rd Grade Drumming The third graders have been hitting it hard with their drumming lessons. Every Wednesday, Rick from The Community Music School comes to St. Michael's and the sound of drumming fill the hallways! We are looking forward to the drumming recital on December 21st!

Parish News

St. Catherine of Siena

Holiday Ziti and Meatball Dinner

Saturday, December 10, 201

4:30 - 7 p.m.

St. Catherine of Siena parish invites you to its annual Holiday Ziti and Meatball Dinner. Come and enjoy some good food, have an opportunity to win a raffle prize, and visit with some old friends and make some new ones! Dinner will include ziti, meatballs, tossed salad and dessert.

Tickets are $7 for adults, $4 for children 12 and under. Bring a non-perishable food donation for the Survival Center and receive $1 off your ticket price! All proceeds will benefit the St. Catherine of Siena Parish General Fund.

BOGO....For a limited time only!

Buy one children's ticket and receive another child's ticket FREE! Offer valid only on children's tickets and not available at the door.

Tickets are available at the Office or by calling 783- 4438.

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Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

At Mt. Carmel's 10:30 Sunday Mass, we will have a youth procession and blessing of shoeboxes filled with school, hygiene, and play supplies for children in need the world over.

Our 125 boxes join thousands more from faith groups the USA, in Operation Christmas Child. Help us pray for the children who will receive them.

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Holy Cross Church

Maureen Garner Fundraiser TOMORROW!

Holy Cross Parish invites you to a fundraiser for Maureen Garner, a parishioner who has given so much to so many. Please join us for an Evening of Great Food, Drink, Fun and Music!

Dinner prepared by Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe
50/50 and Chinese Raffles
Craft Beer and Wine (Cash Bar) provided by Westfield River Brewing Company

TONIGHT - Friday, November 11th

5:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m.

St. Michael's Academy Gym

$20 for Adults/ $10 for Children (Under 10)

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Basketball Sign-Ups

for Grades K-2

Sign-ups for instructional basketball for grades kindergarten through 2nd grade will take place on the following dates in the

St. Michael's Academy Gymnasium:

Wednesday, Nov. 16th

from 6:30 - 8 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 20th

from 12:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The cost is $40 per child and there are a limited number of scholarships available. Please know your child's t-shirt size when registering.

This is an "in-house" league. We focus on instruction, sportsmanship and FUN! In addition, we are in need of COACHES AND ASST. COACHES - no experience necessary - we can help with that! We also need help for the snack bar, etc. Please join us!

For further information, contact Diane Lyman at (413) 495-2871 (leave message) or at [email protected].

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Prayer Corner

St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us!

We pray for all St. Michael's Academy students, families, faculty, and staff, and their special intentions.

John Gerald O'Keefe

Mr. and Mrs. Anthony King

Thomas Foley

And we pray in a special way for our recently departed:

Richard Courtney Crum

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Please remember to keep Miss Brown in your prayers during this difficult time for her. She will be taking an indefinite medical leave of absence.

Our prayers continue to be with Mr. Rancitelli, who is undergoing treatment for a cancer recurrence. We also ask that you keep Mrs. Rancitelli in your prayers as well. She recently broke both ankles and her wrist in a bad fall. Each week, a different homeroom sends him cards. If your family would like to send a card, please send it to school with your child, clearly marked for Mr. Rancitelli. His family has set up a blog to write about this experience. Click here to read the blog.


Thank you for your interest in St. Michael's Academy. To ensure receipt, please add [email protected] to your address book. You may unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive our newsletter and emails. St. Michael's Academy 153 Eddywood Street - Springfield, MA 01118 www.smaspringfield.org 413.782.5246 office 413.782.8137 fax