Principal's Newsletter
September 21 2018
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Dear School of St. Mary Parents,
Fall is my FAVORITE time of year! I love the start of school, the cooler temperatures, fall colors and it serves as another reminder of just how wonderful our four seasons are here in the Midwest. Villages and towns are celebrating
Octoberfest
, the new television season is starting up, the Bears and the Packers are back, and the Cubs are in first place in late September! It doesn't get much better than that!
With that being said, I cannot believe how much learning has occurred at the School of St. Mary five weeks into the school year! I continue to see strong growth for all of our students and I am proud of the education that we offer our families. The School of St. Mary is a great place to grow and learn and I am so glad that you are part of it!
At the School of St. Mary we really do have
faith
in all our students. Our teachers are working to adjust for the individual needs of our students. Teachers meet throughout the week and analyze student data with their colleagues, so that we can make the best decisions for what our students need. During our professional development days, our teachers continue these conversations and collaborate about student learning. In addition, we also regularly talk about our student's social/emotional needs and their faith formation as we believe in educating the whole child. We work hard to provide an environment in which all kids are successful. We pride ourselves in knowing what our students need and then delivering the instruction that best fits those needs. At the School of St. Mary, we continue to ensure that every student is given the opportunity to reach their potential. We believe in your children and look forward to seeing them develop into outstanding young adults within our community!
Speaking of professional development, once a month throughout the school year, the School of St. Mary will have an early dismissal for teacher professional development. This past Wednesday was our first. Teachers were trained on the proper use of an epi-pen and how to assist students with asthma. Our ACT Aspire scores were reviewed and discussed. As part of our Continuous School Improvement Plan (CSIP), our staff analyzed the data from the ACT Aspire. From there, they identified specific curricular areas that needed improvement. Our staff is currently developing goals to address those areas that need improvement,
planning the work of the school to align with those goals, implementing the strategies and action steps outlined in the plan to do so while also gathering data to measure the impact of the intervention.
Our 8
th
graders had a marvelous trip to Chicago this week. The students visited Holy Name Cathedral, got a VIP tour of Soldier Field where they actually got to walk on the field itself and took an architectural boat tour of downtown Chicago. They concluded their trip with pizza at
Gino's East
. Special thanks to our 8
th
grade teachers, Ms. Baniewicz, Ms. Poulton and Mr. Zeinz, for planning such a great day and chaperoning. We would also like to thank Mr. Doherty, Father Mark, and our parent chaperones Sara Boyle, Heather Fowler, Aldona Janusz, Annmarie Ranallo, Kathleen Rylance and Ann Marie Scheidler. A great time was had by all in attendance!
Just a reminder that i
n order for a student's absence to be excused, a parent/guardian needs to call the school office (PGC at 847-283-9800, UGC at 847-234-0371) prior to 10:00 am on the day the child is absent. The parent/guardian needs to explain why the student will be absent. If an explanation is not given, the student will receive an unexcused absence for the day. Students who are absent from school cannot participate in athletics or extracurricular activities on the day of their absence.
On Fridays during the fall sports' season, football and volleyball students at the UGC are allowed to wear their team jerseys with school uniform pants or skirt. Girls should wear a tee shirt under their volleyball jerseys. Go Crusaders!
To celebrate a great first month of school,
Friday, September 28
th
will be
Crusaderwear Casual!
Students and staff will be allowed to wear their School of St. Mary spirit wear (shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, etc.) and show their school pride! Casual dress rules apply. Go Crusaders! Students not dressed in accordance with
Crusaderwear Casual
requirements
or not wishing to participate in casual days are to be in school uniforms.
Dave Wieters
Principal
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September Coffee With the Principal
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This morning our first Coffee with the Principal was held for the 2018-19 school year. These
meetings give our parents the opportunity to discuss what is happening at the school or address
concerns that they might have. Our special guest this morning was Father Nacius. Mr. Wieters
and Father Nacius talked about faith formation at the school and how we are forming our
Catholic faith in our students lives on a daily basis. We also discussed professional development
for our teachers and how we are working and collaborating to improve the quality of instruction
and give our students the best possible education. Another topic of discussion this morning was
volunteerism and the many different ways a person can volunteer here at the School of St. Mary,
whether it is of their time, talent or treasure. One take away from the meeting was that the school
is always looking for volunteers at both campuses. Whether you volunteer at your childs grade
level or somewhere else, there are many volunteer opportunities available.. We love having parents help out when they can. If you are looking for ways to volunteer, please click
here.
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Parents Association Update
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The Parents Association would like to extend a huge thank you to all who came out
 to support the Fall Fun Fair and the 2nd Annual Block Party. A wonderful time was had by all and we hope to continue to have great community building events as the school year progresses. We could not have had such successful events without the hard work of our parent and student volunteers. If you were unable to attend either event but would still like to support the school you can make a donation to the Annual Fund by clicking here.
We would also like to remind you to keep an eye on your inbox for information about upcoming grade level gatherings and other events that are in the works. |
 Please make sure you are placing your orders for hot lunch by clicking
here. We are happy to again be working with such a great organization to bring our students hot lunches, for more information on this great program please read this
story from the AP about how they are changing school lunches.
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School of St. Mary looking for Cheerleading Advisor
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The School of St. Mary is looking for a Cheerleading Advisor. We are planning on having a Homecoming Pep Rally for our students and parents, date to be determined. We would like to recognize all of our-student-athletes that are participating in a fall sport, whether it is with the School of St. Mary, the Vaders' Football program, the Lake Forest Scouts or any other program we are not aware of at this Pep Rally. This includes football, volleyball, or any other sport. Our hope is to see our cheerleaders do cheer, make banners, decorate the school as well as lead routines at the Pep Rally. We're working to see if they could cheer at a Vaders' football game as well.
Anyone interested in wanting to become Cheerleading Advsior, please contact Mr. Wieters at (847) 582-2526 or dwieters@schoolofstmary.org Go Crusaders!
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| 8th Grade Washington D.C. trip |
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Sticky Fingers Cooking Classes grades K-3
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When's the last time you had Ethiopian food? Or yummy Indian, Swedish or Columbian food? Guess what? Your kids can have a blast every week discovering how easy and fun it is to prepare (and love to eat!) tasty, healthy globally-inspired + American Classic Sticky Fingers Cooking recipes! Let your child release their inner chef and love learning to be inspired food explorers! This is a class offering our K-3 students the opportunity to learn how to cook healthy and delicious food. For more information and to register please click here.
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| Community Events for School of St. Mary Families |
Lake Forest High School
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Sunday, September 23, 2018
- Volleyball players attend mass @10am
- 2nd Grade First Reconciliation Parents' Meeting @ UGC 2pm
Monday, September 24, 2018
- 2nd Grade First Reconciliation Parents' Meeting @ UGC 7pm
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
- UGC School Mass @ 9:00 am in Saint Mary Catholic Church
- 6th grade volleyball at Our Lady Perpetual Health @ 5pm
- 7th grade volleyball at Our Lady Perpetual Health@6pm
- 8th grade volleyball at Our Lady Perpetual Health@7pm
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
- PGC School Mass @ 9:00 am in St. Patrick Church
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Friday, September 28, 2018
- To celebrate a great first month of school, Friday, September 28th will be Crusaderwear Casual! Students and staff will be allowed to wear their School of St. Mary spirit wear (shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, etc.) and show their school pride! Casual dress rules apply. Go Crusaders! Students not dressed in accordance with Crusaderwear Casual requirements or not wishing to participate in casual days are to be in uniforms.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
- Football Players and Cheerleaders attend mass @10am
Monday, October 1, 2018
- 7th grade Confirmation Service Project Meeting for students and parents @ UGC 7 pm
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
- UGC School Mass @ 9:00 am in Saint Mary Catholic Church
- 6th grade volleyball vs. Our Lady Perpetual Health @ 4:30pm
- 7th grade volleyball vs. Our Lady Perpetual Health@ 5:30pm
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
- PGC School Mass @ 9:00 am in St. Patrick Church
- 8th grade volleyball vs. St. Athanasius @ 5:00pm
- 7th grade volleyball vs. St. Athanasius @ 6:00pm
- High School Parent Night @ UGC a 6:30pm
Thursday, October 4, 2018
- Carmel Catholic 8th Grade Shadow Day @ Carmel Catholic in Mundelein
Friday, October 5, 2018
- UGC Praying the Rosary @ 9:00 am at Saint Mary Catholic Church
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