St. Mary's Visitation Parish School's Mission Statement
St. Mary's Visitation Catholic Parish School exists to direct children toward God and toward Christian Service to society through Catholic religious formation, academic challenge, and continuous improvement.
Principal Notes

Dear Families,

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. Hopefully you will set aside time for spiritual development and revival in preparation for Easter. This is the time when we recommit to the disciplines of prayer, fasting and personal outreach to those in need. We make a conscious effort to refocus our lives on the gospel. The word Lent means spring, a time emerging with new hope. During this season we acknowledge our failings, but are comforted in the truth that Jesus lives and that his resurrection freed us from sin. If you have not thought about what you can do during this Lent, I encourage you to start small, start here and start now. 

Just like last year, we are asking you to help the clients of Milwaukee’s House of Peace by filling a special brown bag with personal hygiene products for them. Clients of this agency are the homeless, unemployed and underemployed of the inner city of Milwaukee. Through this collection, we join in solidarity with them so as to be one in Christ with “the least of these.” Please be generous. The bag will be coming home this week.

It seems you can’t turn on the tv or read a newspaper without hearing about the mental health crisis some of our children are experiencing. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has offered school staff training in QRP. Yesterday, our teachers were trained in QPR, which stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. As QPR-trained Gatekeepers we have learned to: recognize the warning signs of suicide, know how to offer hope, know how to get help and save a life. If you have questions about this, please feel free to reach out to me. 

“God never tires of forgiving us: we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.” Pope Francis



Faithfully,
Mrs. Mary Tretow
Principal
mtretow@stmaryeg.org
Mrs. Tretow is showing the K3 students the ashes before she distributes them to the students.
The 8th graders are learning how to play the guitar.
Office Notes
A big thank you parents for helping us out at recess! We still have some openings in February and a few in March. This is a great way to earn a few dollars and you can see your child/children.

If you have a gently used refrigerator and want to get rid of it, please call the school office. We are looking for a 20 cubic or larger refrigerator to replace the one we had in the teachers' lounge
COVID Reminders
  • Notify the office immediately when you find out if your child is a close contact or tests positive for COVID.
  • If your child is in quarantine/isolation, Nicole Klein will contact you.
  • Contact Nicole Klein, nklein@stmaryeg.org, with any questions. 

Save the Date
February 23
Reconciliation
February 26
Reconciliation
March 1
IOWA Testing Begins for grades 3, 5, 7
March 5
End of Second Trimester
The third graders performing skits about the miracles of Jesus.
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My SMV Family

Home & School News

People in our family are . . . Keith, Ang, Jude (8), Grace (7), Vincent (6), Rose (4), Leo (3), and Clara (1) Alexander.
Our family likes to . . . Do all sorts of things together, like playing games outside, reading books from the library, watching sports and movies, travelling to national parks, visiting with friends and neighbors, bird watching, going to the zoo, and otherwise just learning together and enjoying each other whenever we can.
Places our family has lived . . . Wauwatosa and Elm Grove.
Our family loves being a part of SMV because . . . . There are so many wonderful families who inspire us and are great examples for our children to witness. SMV also has excellent leadership and generous
teachers who have created a supportive and fun environment for our children to learn and grow.
The 8th graders help to load the van of the food collected for the Waukesha Food Pantry. There was so much food that they had to make two trips. Thank you!!!
 Mission & Catholic Identity
                      Effective 2016-2021
Blarney in a Box Update!
 The first week of sales for our fresh new FUNdraiser, Blarney in a Box, was a huge success! Look for our signs around town and positive press in the local online and print news! Visit blarney.givesmart.com through March 7th to purchase your very own Blarney Box for pick-up on March 13th in the school parking lot. So much to choose from!!
1.      Adult Blarney box- Purchase a Black & Tan, Half & Half, Muddy Udder, Blacksmith, or Snake Bite box and you will receive two 32-ounce growlers of beer, 2 Engravable Guinness pint glasses, a delicious giant soft pretzel, cheese, gourmet mustard, and a mini bottle of whiskey. This box also includes a coupon for O’Donoghue’s Irish Pub.
2.      Kid Blarney box- You have two varieties of soda available—imported Irish orange soda and Sprecher root beer. This box also contains a giant soft pretzel, cheese, gourmet mustard, 4 scrumptious imported candy bars, and two Irish crafts for your little leprechauns to make while you enjoy your adult Blarney box.
3.      Cookie Decorating Kit- Once you are done indulging in your Blarney boxes, have the kids decorate 12 shamrock cookies made by Cookies By Design.
4.    ACT FAST!!! Pot of Gold Box- Only 3 of these higher valued boxes are left!! These boxes have all the same contents of the Adult Blarney box, but add a minimum of $100 of additional Irish-themed fun or entertainment.
5.      Donate-A-Box – …Possibly the box most tailored towards our SMV theme of kindness. “Purchase” a few boxes that will be donated on your behalf to our marvelous SMV faculty and staff first, followed by the seminarians at St. Francis de Sales, and the good people at St. Anne’s Salvatorian Campus in Milwaukee. Nothing says SMV more than showing love for thy neighbor!
To date, we have had tremendous sponsorship support and the Tralee Wish List was a huge success! Check out our auction, Blarney Bucks cash raffle, “Try Your Luck” items, and a Wine and Restaurant Card Pull on blarney.givesmart.com.   So much blarney for everyone! Thank you so very much for your support!
Miss Gleason's 2nd grade class is having their ice cream party for winning the food drive competition.
Mrs. Park's 4th grade class is playing a money math game.


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