The Messenger Vol. IV No. 22

"The Messenger"

January 27 , 2017

Vol. IV, No. 22

St. Michael's Academy

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St. Michael's Academy

It is with great sadness that I share the news of Mr. Michael Rancitelli's passing. He fought a long and hard battle with cancer. As many of you may remember, Mike was the music teacher at St. Michael's Academy for 5 years and prior to that, he was the music teacher at Our Lady of Hope School in Springfield.

Always an SMA cheerleader, Mr. Rancitelli will be sorely missed by so many who enjoyed his beautiful Christmas programs and other special event performances. His wake will be held on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at Sampson's Chapel of the Acres and his funeral on Monday at Mary, Mother of Hope Church. Please remember Mr. Rancitelli and his family in your prayers.

On Sunday, we kick off our Catholic Schools Week celebration with our Open House/Family Heritage Celebration. We're looking forward to celebrating the many cultures in our school. Please know, however, that we will be ending the event promptly at 2:00, so that our faculty and staff may have a chance to attend the Rancitelli wake.

We have many events planned for Catholic Schools Week and hope that you will be able to join us, as your schedule allow. The Mangia and Mingle supper is always fun and exciting. We'll be pulling the winners for the Calendar Raffle and Raffle Baskets. Maybe you'll get lucky???

I hope to see everyone on Sunday.

Peace,

Ann E. Dougal

Principal

Upcoming Dates To Remember

Please make note of these important upcoming dates:

Violin on Thursday this week

No Banking this week

I t's Ca th ol ic Sc ho ol s W ee k!

Sunday, January 29, 2017 from Noon to 2 p.m.

Open House and Curriculum Fair

Family Heritage Celebration

Monday, January 30, 2017

Pastors receive student thank yous

Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 9:30 a.m.

Warm Winter Wishes

Grade 2 Grandparent Event

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

School Mass at 9:30 a.m. - Grade 7 Readers

Bake Sale

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Faculty and Staff Appreciation Luncheon

Friday, February 3, 2017

Student Appreciation Day

Dress-down - flannel pjs or sweats

Get Up and Move!

Students create Valentines for soldiers

Friday, February 3, 2017

Second Quarter Report Cards Distributed

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Math Counts Competition

Saturday, February 4, 2017 from 5 - 7 p.m.

Mangia Mingle - Pasta Supper

School Gymnasium

Please remember to attend Church as a family.

Inclement Weather

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.

OPEN HOUSE
This Sunday from noon to 2 p.m.

From The Classroom of Mrs. Dean - Grade 2

What a month!

The second graders have been busy beavers since returning to school after the Christmas break.

First, we started by practicing our songs and dance for our Grandparent event "Warm Winter Wishes." This event also invites the many volunteers and benefactors who help us at St. Michael's Academy.

We learned more about Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream for our world. We talked about things we do at St. Michael's to make our community a better place and things we can dream for our community in the future.

On January 20, we watched an historic moment when Donald J. Trump took the oath of office as President of the United States. He is our 47th President. We also listened to his Inaugural Address.

We are eagerly anticipating Catholic Schools Week and all the activities planned for that special week. It all kicks off with our first Heritage Celebration during our Open House on Sunday, Jan. 29. We at St. Michael's Academy are truly a melting pot of backgrounds, cultures, and faiths.

We are now looking forward to celebrating our 100th day of school, which is now scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 7 ( barring any more snow days). We will share our 100 day projects with each other and the First graders.

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!

Chloe - Grade 1A Nathan - Grade 4B

Justin - Grade 6B

SchoolsNEXT
And The Winners Are.. Who will the winning teams be? Join us at the Open House on Sunday to find out who will take 1st, 2nd and 3rd place as well as who is voted "The People's Choice." The announcement will be made at 1:45 p.m. in the gymnasium! Be there or be square!

Grade 8 Retreat
New Spirit Comes To Grade 8 Our 8th grade students participated in the New Spirit retreat today. This is always a fun but powerful day for the students as they are encouraged to take an introspective look at themselves. Thank you to SMA graduates Tim Sears and Emma deVillier for taking part in the retreat!

Words of Wisdom

Snow Day
Snow Day Fun! What better way to spend a snow day than creating your own St. Michael's Academy snow student! Thanks to the White family for sharing their creation. Great job!

Pope Francis
Pope Francis High School will hold an information session for elementary school parents on February 9th at 6:30 p.m.

St. Michael's Players

Attention Students

Interested in Set Design?

This is an opportunity that shouldn't be missed if you are interested in set design. Sue Maciorowski is a talented DISNEY creator and developer. She was the person who actually drew Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast and worked on the new Disney movie, Mona.

Ms. Maciorowski is lending her talents to teach the art of set design on the set of Pinocchio. She will be holding classes on Thursdays starting in February for 8th grade students and older. The classes will be held at St. Michael's in East Longmeadow. What an opportunity to learn from a pro! For more information about this unique opportunity, please email MickeyD1980@aol.com.

Truoiolo Scholarship

Truoiolo Scholarship Fund

A scholarship fund has been established by the Truoilo family for Alberto and Leo Truoiola by Forastiere Smith Funeral Home in East Longmeadow. Anyone interested in making a donation should make the check payable to "The Alberto and Leo Truoiolo Scholarship Fund." You may send the check to Forastiere Smith Funeral Home or to St. Michael's Academy and we will forward it directly to the family.

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:

Carol Brown

Bryan P. Shea

Phong Thi Nguyen

Mr. and Mrs. David Syner

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Belcamino

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Dudley

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

Jena Truoiolo

Michael Rancitelli

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.


Thank you for your interest in St. Michael's Academy. To ensure receipt, please add smanews@smaspringfield.org 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