🎃 Saint Mary School 🎃 Weekly Family Newsletter 🎃

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OCTOBER 25, 2022

One Step Closer to High School

Our 8th grade Pinning Ceremony was held last Friday at

Mary, Mother of God Church. Thank you to all of our

families who participated in this cherished tradition.

From the

Principal's Desk

The school year is in full swing here at Saint Mary School and we have lots going on over the next couple of weeks. Make sure to check our schedule of events. Before I get into what is ahead, I want to quickly reflect on last week's 8th graders as they celebrated their pinning ceremony. This is a symbolic event that involves our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders as well as their families. I was super proud to witness our senior students move closer to graduation.

We are excited to begin building our branded photo library, as we have our first of many school photoshoots tomorrow. I know our students will represent us well by looking and acting their best.

As a reminder, STAR Assessment make-ups will be Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Please make sure your children are well rested and eat a good breakfast.

For Monday's Halloween celebration, a $2 donation for all students is requested. Funds will benefit the Smiles for Katie Foundation.

All Saints Day Mass is Tues., Nov. 1. We ask all students in K-8 to dress as their favorite saint. This is a great all–school community event highlights the stories of saints.

God Bless.

Craig Palmer

Principal

Upcoming Events

GENERAL PTA MEETING POSTPONED, new date TBD

All parents are invited.

DINE TO DONATE

Wed., Oct. 26, 11 am-10 pm at MJ's in Middletown

SCHOOL MASS

Fri., Oct. 28, 8:30 am

TRUNK OR TREAT

Fri., Oct. 28

No walk-ins allowed.

PIZZA DAY

Fri., Oct. 28

SMS FUNDRAISER

Swing Loose Outdoor Golf Range

Oct., 29, 1–10 pm

See below for more information

HALLOWEEN

Mon., Oct. 31

Grades K-4 wear costumes

Grades 5-8–black & orange dress down day

ALL SAINTS DAY

Tues., Nov. 1

Grades K-8 dress like a Saint

PICTURE DAY

Wed., Nov. 2–Thur., Nov. 3

Grades: Pre-K–8

Specific details to follow

PIZZA DAY

Fri., Nov. 11

M E E T O U R P T A

Angie Hoffman

PTA Treasurer

“I have been involved in the Saint Mary’s School community since my son started in pre-K in 2013. I have participated as a class mom, chaired fundraising events, volunteered for school functions, and been a member of the PTA. As an accountant, I have been able to assist the PTA as the Treasurer in maintaining bank records and financials. But the most rewarding part of being involved at Saint Mary’s is the lifelong friendships it’s cultivated. I am blessed that my children, Jake,14, and Chloe,12, have had such a positive, encouraging, Catholic environment to grow up in.”

FACULTY HIGHLIGHT

Scott A. Kaufman

Sixth Grade World History

Seventh Grade US History/Student

Council Advisor

Ocean County College

Associate of Arts

William Paterson University

Bachelor of Arts in History and

Secondary Education

I attended Catholic school and had teachers who have inspired me throughout my life. Today, I want to nurture children in the same way, within a faith-based educational philosophy. What makes Saint Mary School special is the sense of community and family atmosphere that align with my own faith. I especially love early mornings, when students stop in for extra help or just to share their experiences from the previous day."

Parent Homework

Our Thanksgiving Pie Fundraiser order forms are due Tues., Nov. 1. Make sure to turn them in on time for yummy pies from Delicious Orchards!

October Lunch Menu. Remember–the cafeteria is closed on pizza day, so you must pack a lunch if you are not participating.

Download the October menu here. Download the November menu here.

HALLOWEEN

ART

FUN!

Art teacher, Michelle LaNevel, highlighted the art and films of Tim Burton and created “semi-self portraits” for Halloween. Our 4th and 5th graders used chalk pastel, while 6th, 7th, and 8th graders used charcoal. A demonstration was given on how to draw a portrait in the correct proportions and how to shade and blend the features. Then, the students learned how to tweak the features to make them “Burtonesque." As you can see, the students had a lot of fun learning about Burton and all his movie characters and stories. They also took a deep dive into some of his fine art exhibited at and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

WAYS TO GIVE

Saint Mary School Halloween Fundraiser sponsored by

Swing Loose Outdoor Golf Range

Saturday, Oct., 29, 1–10 pm

Featuring live music from Bon Jovi’s Matt O’Ree. Live music plus, food, fun, and golf. BYOB. 25% of gross proceeds will be donated to Saint Mary School.

The field directly behind Bell Works, 101 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel

Activities:

Daylight Golf Basket Rates: 45 balls/$11; 75 balls/$16; 100 balls/$20; 175 balls/$29
Pumpkin Painting/$5 per pumpkin
Costume Contests/Free to enter
Long Drive Contests/$5 Entry fee
Closest to the Pin Contests/$5 Entry fee
5–8pm Wine & Bourbon Tasting sponsored by Robert Meinsen of Lux Wines/Free
6 –8pm Live music from The Matt O’Ree Band/Free
7–10pm Night golf featuring glow-in-the-dark golf balls and illuminated targets/$20 per bucket
8:30 pm–One Minute Challenge / Each player will have 1 minute to hit target/3 rounds/$10 per player
Prizes will be given throughout the day

Burgers, Cider Dogs, Chips, Popcorn, Hot Chocolate, Apple Cider, Water, Gatorade, etc.

After School Activities

SAINTS AFTERCLUB

Aftercare is available. Please read our brochure for more information. For the morning, children can be dropped off as early as 7:15 am and gather in the cafeteria.

Congratulations to our cross country team! This week at the Monmouth Ocean Parochial League Championship Meet,10 teams competed. Everyone from Saint Mary School who ran recorded a personal best–that is 16 of our 21 runners! Congratulations to our coaches. We are grateful to you, our wonderful athletes and supportive families.

Floor Hockey and Flag Football have begun. Visit here for more athletic information and standings.

Boys Varsity Soccer is underway. Come out and cheer on our Saints. Boys Schedule

eSports

Practices are 2:40-3:45 pm

Oct. 27

Nov. 9

Nov. 16

Nov. 30

Practice on half days is right after school until 1:10 pm.

All practices are in Room 119. Students are encouraged to bring their own controllers. They do not have to bring their own system. We are taking the winter to practice for big tournaments in the spring.

Girl Scouts

Our next meeting is Fri., Oct. 28, right after school in the cafeteria. This is also our Trunk or Treat night. Remember to return your health forms and order your uniform. Be sure to join the troop's Facebook page to see all of our activities.

Saint Mary offers a wonderful assortment of music programs for grades 1 and above. Have your child try an instrument and enrich their learning of the arts.

1st grade and above can start on piano, ukulele, or drums.

3rd grade and above can start on voice, guitar, trumpet, trombone, strings, bass, flute, clarinet, and saxophone.

5th grade and above can start on all the instruments, including bagpipes, and learn music recording and production.

More information here.