"Lord, every nation on earth will adore you." PS 72:1-2
Message from the President
Dear Parents,

Happy New Year! I hope you were all able to enjoy some quality time with your students.

 As you know, St. Michael – St. Gabriel School operates under the administrative leadership of the President, Principal and Board of Directors. The West Deanery Unified Catholic Schools Board of Directors operates under the auspices of the Archbishop of Indianapolis, Archbishop Charles Thompson, to assist in the governance of The West Deanery Unified Catholic Schools. The principal purpose for which the board is formed is to promote and advance the mission of The West Deanery Unified Catholic Schools for the education and instruction of students, and to adopt in connection therewith a course of education in Catholic principles and an educational program, for high schools as prescribed by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana. The members of the Board of Directors can be found here.

I believe that it is also important that you parents are aware of the financial state of the school. The SMSG Annual Report can be found here. Please take a minute to familiarize yourself with this information. Thank you all again for choosing St. Michael – St. Gabriel School.

God Bless,

Mrs. Hoy

Message from the Principal
Dear Families and Friends,
 
On Monday we finalized all of our first semester report cards, as well as our volunteer hours. Those were mailed yesterday afternoon, so you should be receiving your student’s report card by the end of the week.

This past Monday we also sent home registration packets for the 2020-2021 academic year. These packets were given to the eldest child in the school in grades Pre-K through Grade 7. Within the envelope, you will find a registration sheet, a student enrollment form, an emergency contact and medical sheet, and your parishioner form. Please complete a student enrollment form and emergency contact sheet for each child to be enrolled next year. In order to register your child, please make sure that all accounts are current, complete all of the previously noted paperwork, and submit your $150 registration fee by January 31, 2020 to secure a place for your student. Financial paperwork, including the tuition agreement and payment plan from Mrs. Areal, is also included for you. Remember to also submit your student’s most up-to-date vaccination records as well. Should you have any other questions about the paperwork you received, do not hesitate to contact the main office.

Next Wednesday is our annual Open House, and it is at that time that we will distribute registration packets to interested families. After January 31st, we will begin accepting new students. As you know, open spots in our junior high fill quickly, and this year, available spots in Grades 1, 4, and 5 filled just as quickly. We would love to see all of our current students re-register for the following year, so please adhere to the given deadlines so as not to lose a spot.
 
Next week, Mrs. Tekippe will also begin WIDA testing with our English language learners. There are four components to this exam, so please know that while we will begin testing next week, much of the testing will not be completed until the month of February.

Finally, students in Grades 5 and 8 will begin taking the ACRE assessment this month. ACRE stands for Assessment of Children/Youth Religious Education and helps school, parish, and diocesan leaders evaluate the faith knowledge and attitudes of students in Catholic schools and parish-based religious education programs. Results from this exam help us, as a school, improve our religious education programs as well.
 
God Bless,

Mrs. Ramos

Announcements
St. Michael-St. Gabriel Open House
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
5:00-7:00 p.m.

Registration packets will be made available in the cafeteria.

St. Michael-St. Gabriel is a Pre-K through Grade 8 Catholic school dedicated to enhancing the spiritual and academic development of each child. Teachers and administrators will be available during the Open House to discuss the curriculum and activities that the school has to offer. Tours of the school will be given by student and parent volunteers. Information about the  On My Way Pre-K Grant, the Indiana School Choice Scholarship, and Financial Assistance will be available as well. Registration packets are available in both English and Spanish. Please contact us if you have any questions at 317-926-0516.

Early Dismissal Reminders

Due to our Open House on Wednesday, January 15 th , we will dismiss at 1:30 p.m. There will be no After Care that day, as we will be using all of our classrooms and the cafeteria for our Open House. Please plan accordingly.

Additionally, we will also dismiss at 1:30 p.m. the following day, January 16 th , as our teachers will be engaged in professional development. We will offer After Care on January 16 th .
Marilyn Bardon Scholarship Fund
On December 31st, our beloved former teacher, Marilyn Bardon, passed away. A scholarship fund has been established to help a current St. Michael-St. Gabriel 8th grader attend Cardinal Ritter High School.
Softball Clinic

The Cardinal Ritter Softball coaches and players will be hosting a Valentine's Weekend Softball Camp on Saturday, February 15th. Why not drop your daughter off for an evening of softball for them and a date night for you?
21 st Century Scholarship

The 21 st Century Scholarship is a program for students currently in seventh and eighth grade. This scholarship program provides income-eligible students the opportunity to earn a scholarship that covers up to four years of tuition and regularly assessed fees, such as technology and health services fees, to several public colleges and universities in the state of Indiana. For those families considering private institutions in Indiana, the scholarship will cover part of the cost to attend these schools as well. Families interested in applying for this schol arship should do so by June 30 th of a student’s eighth grade year. Several of our families have already registered for this program. For more information about this scholarship and how to apply, visit https://learnmoreindiana.org/scholars/enroll/ .
Box Tops for Education

In case you haven’t heard, the collection of Box Tops is now moving away from the traditional clipping of Box Tops to now scanning your receipt! The new and improved Box Tops mobile app uses technology to scan your store receipt to find participating products and then instantly adds the Box Tops to our school’s earnings online. Simply go to your app store and download the Box Tops for Education app. Then choose St. Michael School (3352 West 30 th Street, Indianapolis). It’s easy and saves you time! For more information, click here .
Safe and Sacred Training

We would like to remind all our families wishing to help with activities where our students are present that individuals must have completed the Safe and Sacred online training and completed a background check in order to volunteer or to serve as chaperones for a field trip. Please understand that until the certificate and background check are on file, we cannot, per the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, allow individuals to volunteer or work as employees of the school without this training and background check completed. If you completed your Safe and Sacred training, but did not complete the background check, simply log in to your account with your password and press the background check to complete the entire process. If you completed your training over a year ago or are unsure of your status, please log in to your Safe and Sacred account to see whether your training and background check are current. All Safe and Sacred certificates will have an expiration date on them, allowing your training to be valid for three years. To access the Safe and Sacred website, please go to the following: https://safeandsacred-archindy.org/login/index.php