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St. Michael's Academy
:
What a wonderful week at St. Michael's Academy. We are so proud of our students and their beautiful and heartfelt presentation of the Christmas Nativity story. Thank you for joining us. We are so fortunate to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas together as a school family.
We will be looking forward to many events during our last week of school before the Christmas break. On Monday, our Grade 1 students will welcome and share their holidays traditions with their grandparents. On Tuesday, Grades 3-8 will have an assembly entitled "What We Sing;" a motivational and empowering presentation for students. Then on Wednesday, our Grade 3 grandparents will join us for our drumming recital which is always a highlight. We will wrap up the week with our annual Christmas sing-along at 10 a.m. in the gym followed by a noon dismissal. Please join us if you are able.
By then...we will all need a Christmas vacation!
I cannot imagine the level of excitement by the end of next week!
Enjoy a nice weekend.
Peace,
Principal
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Upcoming Dates To Remember
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Please make note of these important upcoming dates:
Violin every Tuesday
Banking every Wednesday
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Monday, December 19th through Wednesday, December 21st
Holly Jolly Christmas Store
Monday, December 19, 2016 at 9:30 a.m.
Grade 1 Grandparent Event
Family Holiday Traditions
Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 1 p.m.
Grades 3-8 Assembly
"What We Sing"
Wednesday, December 21, 2016 - 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Grade 3 Grandparent Event
Drumming Recital
Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.
School Board Meeting
Friday, December 23, 2016 at 10 a.m.
Annual School Christmas Sing-along
Sunday, December 25, 2016
ME
R
RY
CH
RI
ST
MA
S!
!!
Monday, December 26th through Monday, January 2, 2017
SCHOOL VACATION
School resumes on Tuesday, January 3, 2017
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From The Classroom of Ms. Synan - PreK-4
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PreK-4B Learns About Advent
The students in Ms. Synan's Pre-K 4 B class have been learning about Advent. Both at school and at home, the students have been coloring one Advent candle a week to prepare for the coming of Jesus' birth.
The students created their own Advent evergreen wreath headbands by decorating them with three purple candles and one pink candle. They learned that the evergreen wreath is shaped in a perfect circle, to symbolize the eternity of God. The students also learned the meaning behind the four candles. On the first Sunday, a purple candle is lit, to represent hope and is called the Prophet's candle. On the second Sunday, another purple candle is lit, to represent faith, and is called the Bethlehem's candle. On the third Sunday, a pink candle is lit, to represent joy and is called the Shepherd's candle. On the fourth Sunday, another purple candle is lit, to represent love and is called the Angel's candle. The fifth white Christ candle, in the center of the wreath, symbolizes Jesus and is lit on Christmas.
The children have enjoyed learning about Advent and the true meaning of Christmas.
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Christmas Pageant
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Two Beautiful Performances
The students of St. Michael's Academy made many people very proud this week as they presented our annual Christmas Pageant. It didn't matter if you were there Tuesday night or Wednesday night, both nights were beautiful and very well done.
Thank you to Mrs. Duplessis and all the faculty and staff that helped to make this year's Pageant a success. There were people behind the scenes ironing costumes, creating event programs and coaching students. And thank you to the volunteer musicians who joined us to compliment the student voices with their individual instruments.
An event like the Pageant certainly brings out your Christmas spirit!!
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Catholic Mirror
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SMA Student Graces The Cover of The Catholic Mirror
Have you seen the cover of the December issue of
The Catholic Mirror? If you did, perhaps you recognized the angelic face of PreK-4 SMA student, Mia! Mia was featured on the cover January/February, 2017 issue as part of the
Mirror's new profile series, "Parish Angels."
To read The Catholic Mirror online, please
click here. If you receive
The Catholic Mirror and enjoy reading it, please thank your pastor! The
Mirror is sent to you as a gift from your parish. If you are not receiving the magazine at your home and would like to, contact your local parish secretary or call (413) 452-0670.
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Writer's Gallery
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What would you write about?
If you were asked to write a narrative about an interesting event in your life what would you write about?
Mrs. Senecal posed this question to her fifth-grade writing students earlier this year at which point they began brainstorming. The fifth graders worked on their narratives for many weeks brainstorming, writing, editing, revising and finally publishing. A thank you goes out to Ms. Kaimi who let our fifth-grade students use the middle school laptop cart for publishing. With the narratives completed, it was time to share with family and friends at the Fifth-Grade Writers Tea.
Last Friday family and friends gathered in Mrs. Senecal's classroom for the Writer's Tea to listen to the adventures and important markers in our fifth-grade students' lives. The audience listened intently as each student shared his/her life event. Upon completion of each reading the room was filled with applause for a well done presentation. Next, it was time to move on to tea and muffins for the adults and hot chocolate and muffins for the students. With the stories told and the goodies eaten the one remaining detail was the pride that all the occupants of the room felt!
Look for samples of the fifth- grade narratives on the SMA Webpage under Student Life then Student Writing Gallery. You'll be glad you did!
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Grandparent Event
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PreK Students Welcome Grandparents
The PreK students were very excited today to welcome their grandparents to the reading of "The Polar Express." You could hear a pin drop as everyone listened and watched the pages turn, many snuggled up with their grandparents. The students also created beautiful nativity ornaments for the tree and finished off the morning with a song complete with the jingling of bells!
To view all of the photos from this morning's celebration,
click here.
Thanks for joining us!
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Springfield College Students
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SMA Students Comes In All Sizes
St. Michael's Academy has been hosting several Springfield College students for their pre-practicum experience. This week we had students have their first time classroom teaching experience in the field of elementary math. The lesson included a game called "Trasketball" where students competed to quickly solve math equations. The winners received the opportunity to get a basket by shooting a ball into a trash can and compete for a prize!
Nicely done!
 
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CSI Continues
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Springfield K-9 Units Visit
As part of the ongoing Crime Scene Investigation classes, the eighth grade students had a visit from two of Springfield's Finest and their sidekicks. We are talking about Springfield K-9 Officers Horn and Flanagan who brought their dogs to St. Michael's Academy. The students learned the many ways that the dogs are used to investigate a crime and saw a demonstration of how the dogs pursue a "bad guy."
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Hockey and Cookies!
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Girls Scouts Join Forces With Thunderbirds
Calling All Cookie Lovers!
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scout Cookies Sales! The Girl Scouts of Springfield have partnered with the newly formed Springfield Thunderbirds to celebrate a "Cookie Kick-off Event" at the hockey game on January 7, 2017. The Thunderbirds have graciously offered a reduction off the regular ticket price for that game and tickets are available for $12. Game time is 7 p.m. and puck drops at 7:05 p.m.
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Inclement Weather
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In the event of inclement weather, St. Michael's Academy follows the Springfield Public Schools cancellation notices (due to bus transportation). If Springfield Public Schools cancel school - we cancel school, if they delay school - we delay school. Please check your local television stations for announcements.
We will do our best to send out a Blackboard Connect announcement to our families as well.
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Parish News
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St. Catherine of Siena Church
"Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother"
"Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother", an extraordinary 8 week study that reveals Mary's unique role in God's Kingdom and our lives. Filmed on location in the Holy Land, Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother will place you in the midst of the powerful drama of her earthly life, taking you through her joys and sorrows. You will learn how she works in our lives today, drawing us ever closer to her divine Son. Mary will become a part of your daily life and help you to become more like Christ.
St. Catherine of Siena Parish invites you to join us beginning January 5, 2017 from 6-8 p.m. in the Parish Center, 1023 Parker St., Springfield. There is a $25 fee to cover the cost of the participant study books.
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Prayer Corner
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St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us!
We pray for all St. Michael's Academy students, families, faculty, and staff, and their special intentions.
Lisa Biscaldi-Bruso
Marcy Dyer
Kimberly Goldsmith
Paula Chambers
Jacqueline Hernandez
And we pray in a special way for all of our recently departed.
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. 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.
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Thank you for your interest in St. Michael's Academy. To ensure receipt, please add smanews@smaspringfield.org to your address book.
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St. Michael's Academy
153 Eddywood Street - Springfield, MA 01118
www.smaspringfield.org
413.782.5246 office
413.782.8137 fax
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