"The Messenger"


               May 1, 2020
      Vol. VII, No. 37
St. Michael's Academy
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St. Michael's Academy 
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I have some information that you've been waiting for.

Our last day of school will be Friday, June 12th. We will continue regular work assignments until Friday, May 29th. During the last two weeks of school, students will be assigned remedial work. Assuming social distancing guidelines will be slightly relaxed on May 18th, we have a TENTATIVE plan to have teachers in school during the first two weeks of June and individual appointments will be made with each family to come in sometime during those two weeks to have students return books, collect their personal items, and hopefully to provide some type of closure experience for both teacher and student to a very bizarre end of school year. (More information to follow as we see what we are allowed to do.)

The last day for Grade 8 students will be Friday, June 5th. We would like to have some type of (virtual) graduation ceremony with our students, but do not have a plan as of yet. A TENTATIVE date of June 8th, in the evening, has been reserved for this purpose.

Grading for the end of the year will consist of a combination of the following:

- completed remote learning work,
- grades for the completed remote learning work,
- any additional student work completed at home (a due date will be determined for that work)
- grades that were earned during the third quarter when we were still in school (these may receive extra weight).

The teachers will look at all of this work through the lens of effort. Effort is comprised of participation by the student, communication with the teacher and improvement (fast or slow) in transitioning to remote learning. Teachers will also be mindful that students may have required additional support to complete work at home and that remote learning was not as rigorous as in school learning, due to the unexpected transition.

Quite frankly, most families have done an outstanding job coping with this crisis. You should be commended for all your hard work in dealing with an unprecedented (at least in our lifetime) situation. However, we are worried about the students who have not kicked in at all...for no apparent reason....despite numerous attempts to engage by the teachers...the teachers can only work with what's been shared with them by the students. (Luckily, it's still not too late to show effort.)

Overall, I am confident that learning is taking place for everyone involved. I'm referring to not only academic learning but also life learning. We're not the same people we were two months ago. I know I personally have a greater respect for the expression "It takes a village to raise a child." Everyone working together, supporting one another, praying for one another, definitely makes us all stronger. And that unified strength will carry us forward into the unknown future.

Peace and God's blessing.

 
Ms. Ann E. Dougal
Principal


 Rice Bowls
 
Not Too Late For Rice Bowls!

Many of you have likely been collecting some money in your CRS Rice Bowls through this unusual Lenten season. If so, you may either send a check to them by mail, donate the amount online at crsricebowl.org/give, mail your check to local churches specifying it is for CRS or call your local churches as many of them are taking the rice bowls in special mailboxes outside the rectories.


 Pray With Us

  In Honor Of Our Blessed Mother 

You may have heard that your child received an email today with a beautiful video created by our 8th grade students. As students know, if we were in school now, we would start every school morning with a decade of the rosary. Our 8th graders have created a video for every decade of every mystery. Your child will receive a decade every morning at 7 a.m. to begin their day. We hope you will join them.

For today's decade, please click below.

 
The Joyful Mysteries 1
The Joyful Mysteries 1
 Grade 8 News
 
  Grade 8 Shares Their May 1st Activities

Under the guidance of Ms. Kaimi, our 8th grade students have been hard at work participating in a variety of religious activities today. Here are some photos from their Crowning of Mary, the Reconsecration Mass and the Rosary.







Grade 5 News
 
Grade 5 Crowns Our Blessed Mother

The 5th grade had a May Crowning Service this morning via Zoom. The students and teachers prayed a decade of the rosary and prayed a Litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each student had a picture of Mary and a crown so each student was able to crown their own Mary. To conclude the service, everyone sang Immaculate Mary.







 News from Grade 2
   
Poems From Grade 2



The 2nd grade students were asked to write a poem using at least 6 of their spelling words.

Playing outside is where I love to be,
Playing baseball with the sunshine upon my face makes it very hard to see,
The playground is usually busy with families everywhere,
but lately nobody seems to be there or anywhere.
With a lot of things closed there is really nothing to do,
Maybe things will be back to normal soon.
Brayden

Pancakes outside how nice,
Baseballs flying everywhere with rice,
Someone with pet mice that are very nice,
Everywhere on the grass is dice.
At the playground there is ice,
A person in the classroom gave me advice,
Nobody wants lice!
Enya

Wow...I think we have some future professional poets here!

Spanish Update

Can You Tell Time In Spanish?

In Spanish this week, the students were learning about how to tell the time in Spanish. Instead of giving students a worksheet, Ms. Ramos asked them to create a clock with the numbers in Spanish. This way, they will practice the numbers in Spanish and write them as well. 



SMA Parade Encore!

Did You Miss The SMA Reverse Parade?

If you weren't able to attend the SMA reverse parade, you can catch some of the action courtesy of the Diocese of Springfield's Real To Re al television broadcast!

ST. MICHAEL'S ACADEMY REVERSE PARADE
ST. MICHAEL'S ACADEMY REVERSE PARADE

Photos From Home

We love to receive photos of our students working from home. Keep them coming...we are getting a little low. And while you are at it, give us a quote for Facebook and we will publish you!



St. Michael's Academy MM/DD/YY
Food For Thought

"Commitment is doing what you said you would do, after the feeling you said it in has passed."

                                        - St. Camillus

Prayer Corner
  
St. Michael the Arch angel, pray for us! 

We pray for our brothers and sisters across our nation and across the world. May God give everyone strength during this especially stressful time.

We pray in a special way for:

Fr. David Joyce
Jean and Stanley Millet
Richard Senegal
 
And we pray for our recently departed  and for all those lives that have been taken by the Covid-19 virus across the world.

Rita Cameron
Bernice Cezarek

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. 



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St. Michael's Academy 
153 Eddywood Street - Springfield, MA 01118
www.smaspringfield.org
413.782.5246 office 
413.782.8137 fax