Welcome back! I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Spring Break. Some families and teachers traveled south and have returned with sun-kissed tans; some went north and skied; while others stayed close to home to enjoy the quiet and recharge with a week off. Whatever your family chose to do, it was great seeing how people spent time away from school as part of the 2019 Spring Break Crusader Challenge. We had over 40 submissions and raised $700 for our Annual Fund. Congratulations to our Third-grade teachers and students for submitting the most photos in their Crusaderwear and earning a casual day! Way to go! 

Congratulations to our School of St. Mary Fourth-graders on leading the Upper Campus this morning in Stations of the Cross! Our students did an outstanding job presenting the path Jesus bore on his way to His crucifixion. The Stations focus on specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation. At each station, we recall and pray on a particular event from Christ's last day, and how we can learn from those events and be better Christians. Thank you to our Fourth- grade Teachers, Jennie Bodine, and Kristina Madsen, for helping our students to learn the Stations as part of their faith formation and preparing them for future roles as leaders in our Catholic faith.

Our School of St. Mary students in Third- through Eighth-grade will be taking the ACT Aspire test beginning next week. The ACT Aspire is an annual assessment that measures students' academic performance in the core academic areas of English, math, reading, science, and writing. The assessments are designed to help educators better understand students' learning needs throughout the school year. Test scores enable our teachers to pinpoint individual strengths and weaknesses in our students' performance, and then adjust our instruction accordingly, or provide additional individual assistance to those students who did not perform to satisfactory levels of expectations. We also look at each student's performance to determine the strengths and weaknesses of our curriculum here at the School of St. Mary and determine what changes need to be made the following school year. I want to remind you that if you have a student in grades 3-8, it is essential that your child arrives at school on time and has a good breakfast as testing will begin as soon as school starts. Good luck to all of our students as they take the ACT Aspire tests; we know you will all do an excellent job!

Over the next few weeks Officer Long from the Lake Forest Police Department will be spending time with our Fourth- and Fifth-grade students to teach them about safety. He will focus on internet safety, bike safety, and personal safety. This gives our students the opportunity to ask Officer Long questions while gaining knowledge and insight into these critical areas of safety.

Our School of St. Mary Eighth-graders will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation this Saturday. A child's 

Con firmation is a momentous occasion in their lives. A child, baptized as an infant into the family of God, receives the Holy Spirit and becomes a fully responsible member of the Church. Through Confirmation, the Holy Spirit gives them the increased ability to practice their Catholic faith in every aspect of their lives and to witness Christ in all situations. Congratulations to our students and sponsors in this significant milestone in their spiritual lives. We are proud of everything you have accomplished over the last two years leading to this moment. Thank you to everyone for your hard work in preparing our students for Confirmation.

On your mark, get set, go! On Sunday, our School of St. Mary Track Team will have their first meet of the season at Loyola High School. Our team is comprised of students from grades 5-8. Christine Spevacek coaches our Track team. Thanks to George Chemers and Stacy Ditka for their help with the program. Good luck to our student-athletes as they represent the School of St. Mary to start the 2019 Track and Field season.

I hope everyone had a great first week back and we look forward to finishing the school year strong!

Dave Wieters

Principal