|
Like us on Facebook!
Follow us on Twitter!
|
|
|
|
|
St. Michael's Academy
:
We have certainly seen our fair share of snowfall these past few weeks but that has not stopped us from celebrating!
 As you may remember, Pope Francis issued an encyclical asking us to celebrate, enjoy and help preserve the world around us. We have made it part of our school year to celebrate and help the students appreciate God's wonderful creations. In the fall, we planted hundreds of bulbs around the Eddywood Street side of the school and anxiously await the spring. This past week, we celebrated the snow! The students took turns in the snow making snow sculptures, waving their arms and legs to make snow angels, and using food coloring to spell out different messages and shapes. As adults, we tend to dread the snow but the students helped us remember how much fun we could truly have with God's gifts. Please see some additional photos farther down in this newsletter and for further information about the Pope's encyclical,
please click here.
I hope everyone enjoys the mid-winter vacation next week. This also tends to be a good time to take a look at your child's school uniforms and see if they are in need of anything new for the second half of the school year. Sometimes the gym uniforms wear out quickly or the children have growth spurts and those uniforms get a little short or are a little tight. If you find yourself in need of a few items, please
click here for our uniform carrier, Donnelly's.
Enjoy a wonderful week off and I will see everyone on Feb. 27th!
Peace,
Ann E. Dougal
Principal
|
|
|
Upcoming Dates To Remember
|
Please make note of these important upcoming dates:
Banking every Wednesday
Monday, February 20, 2017
President's Day Holiday
Monday, Feb. 20 - Friday, Feb. 20th
FEBRUARY SCHOOL VACATION !!
School is Closed!
Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 9:30 a.m.
Ash Wednesday School Mass
Grade 6 Readers
Friday, March 3, 2017 at 2:15 p.m.
Stations of the Cross
Grade 7 Leaders
Friday, March 3, 2017
Registration Materials for 2017-18
Academic Year Sent Home
Please remember to attend Church as a family.
|
|
Dismissal Reminder
|
|
Dismissal Policy
Please remember that unless it is an EMERGENCY, there are no early dismissals after 2:30 p.m. Dismissals after that time create a safety issue for our students.
|
| Technology Failure |
Automated Calling System
At the beginning of the week, we sent out an automated call to alert parents that students needed to bring their warm clothes for going outside. We experienced a problem with our "non-emergency" call list and many parents did not receive the call.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that this listing includes all families listed in our emergency listing. This is the listing that we use for school cancellations.
If you do
not receive the school cancellation phone calls and would like to, please notify the main office immediately. Thank you!
|
|
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.
|
|
Spring Conferences
|
|
Spring Conferences - Mark Your Calendars!
As noted on the yearly calendar, St. Michael's Academy will be offering parents a second opportunity to conference with teachers regarding their child(ren)'s progress on Friday, March 10th. Conferences will begin at 7 a.m. in the morning on that day and continue until 4 p.m.
This is the last professional development day scheduled by the Springfield Public Schools.
Assigned conference times will be sent home on Monday, February 27th. Please make every effort to attend at your scheduled time. If you must reschedulel please contact Mrs. Freeman (m.freeman@smaspringfield.org) as soon as possible. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.
We look forward to working with you as we continue to guide our students in achieving their academic goals.
|
|
From The Classroom of Mrs. Senecal - Grade 5
|
Writing About Our Heritage
At the start of Catholic Schools Week, St. Michaels' Academy held a Family Heritage Celebration honoring all of the many diverse cultural backgrounds which make up SMA. Many of our classrooms were transformed into different countries and nations and everyone had the opportunity to learn about our various cultures and backgrounds.
The fifth grade students have started writing a research report on their own family heritage. Students have had discussions with their family to learn about their own family and where they come from, researching geographical locations from the area, finding out about historical events, as well as the religion of their family.
We will learn about finding and using reliable resources when writing a report, how to make an outline, and how to write a bibliography during this writing assignment.
Our SMA fifth graders have an array of family backgrounds. We are looking forward to their final reports, which will be shared with their grandparents at a Writers' Tea in the future. Look for some of the final drafts in an upcoming edition of the Messenger.
|
|
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!
Cadence - Grade 2A Tyler
- Grade 4B
 
Anthony - Grade 6B
|
|
Student Writing Gallery
|
Our Writers Continue
Have you ever thought about what it takes to build a snowman? Well the preschool students in Miss Enderlin's class did just that. Their task was to draw a snowman and once finished dictate how to make that snowman if they were out in the snow.
The goal was to see if these very young students could stay focused on the task given them. Check out the Preschool Student Writing Gallery this week to enjoy the many creative snowmen and the directions on how to make them. Then you too can go outside and build a snowman!
|
|
Celebrating God's Creations
|
|
Our Celebration Continues
On Tuesday of this week, St. Michael's Academy held the second part of our multi-segmented, multi-seasonal event celebrating our earth. Earlier this school year, Pope Francis released an encyclical discussing the importance of taking care of our environment and thanking God for his creation. You may remember in the fall, we planted hundreds of bulbs around the Eddywood Street side of school during the first part of our celebration.
For this event, the children were dressed in their snow clothes and we celebrated a day of fun and appreciation for the beauty of our earth. The students took turns going outside, building snow sculptures, writing messages in the snow with colored water, and creating snow angels to name just a few of the activities.
"The heavens declare the glory of God,
And the sky proclaims the work of his hands"
Psalm 19:1
|
|
Camp Holy Cross
|
Think Summer Camp!
Consider Camp Holy Cross in Goshen, MA for your child and let them experience a lifetime of fun in one endless summer! Registrations are now being accepted for the summer sessions for kids 8-15 years old. There are two sessions available: July 9th - July 14th and July 16th - July 21st. Act now as sessions sell out quickly.
Holy Cross Camp aims to empower campers to develop independence, self-esteem and life-long friendships. The camp provides a variety of activities ranging from creative arts, sports, outdoor adventure, faith and waterfront activities. There is also a CIT program (Counselor in Training Camp) available for campers ages 14 and 15.
For further information, call (413) 684-0125 or register online at www.campholycross.org.
|
|
Parish News
|
St. Catherine of Siena
St. Catherine of Siena, 1023 Parker St., Springfield will offer Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for the Lenten season beginning on
March 2nd
from
5-7 p.m.
,
Monday
through Fridays with Stations of the Cross every
Friday
at
6:30 p.m.
We invite you to bring a friend or family member to join you as you spend time with Jesus during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
On Sunday, March 5, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel will hold an all-generation parish morning entitled "Getting to the Heart of Lent." The day will begin at 8 a.m. with breakfast and then on to prayer and learning activities for every age group. A 10:30 Mass in the church will complete the morning. Call
413-204-7789 by Feb. 22nd
to sign up.
|
|
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:
Constance Bisnaw
Mary Rarogiewicz
Chris Mastalerz
Mr. and Mrs. Ed Napierski
Alina Lupa
And we pray in a special way for 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.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
| |
|
