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.
Permanent Links

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414-249-5048
elmbrook@goriteway.com

Grade seven student Will and his winning design for the SMV Lent poster and jr. high booklet cover. Congrats Will!
 

Gabe showing us his drawing of the Statue of Liberty

Save the Date
March 6
Sunset Playhouse Comes
2nd graders going to the Milwaukee Public Museum

March 9
Home & School/School Committee Meeting

March 10
5th graders go to MSO

March 11
SMV Spirit Wear
Reconciliation grades 3-8

March 12
Parent Track Meeting

March 13
Jr. High going to WCYR

Last Friday, the whole school was invited to walk the Labyrinth as part of their lenten journey

Like us on Facebook!

2nd graders saying Happy Birthday Dr. Suess
Mission and Catholic Identity 2016-2021
5th graders working on a collaborative story in class


The Third graders are learning to measure a perimeter.
Home and School Links/ Community Links/ Athletic Links

How Scrip Works

 

Scrip Forms

 

Box Tops

 

Bricks 4 Kids

 

Christian Women Brochure

 

CMH

 

Coach Casey's Volleyball Camp

 

Concession Stand Subs

 

Elmbrook Swim School

 

Elm Grove Library

 

Financial Aid 

 

Jr. Crusaders Boys Basketball

 

Jr. Crusaders Girls Basketball

 

Jr. Golf Program

 

Pius XI

 

Prayer Request

 

Spring Chess

 

Spring Salad Supper

 

Wauwatosa Children's Theatre


The 6th grade girls are working on their Math Packets

Music Lessons at SMV

Band Lessons

Piano Lessons

First Graders measuring classroom items
Monday, Tuesday,  
and Fridays
9:00am to 4:00pm
  
Thursdays
9:00am to 7:00pm
  
Saturdays
9:00am to 12:00pm
  
Wednesdays Closed
4th graders made sin crucifixes to remind us that Jesus died for our sins.
Principal Notes                                                   March 5, 2020

Dear SMV Families,

During Lent we are invited to undertake a journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We pray for others and ourselves. We give something up. We share our time and ourselves more generously with other people. These traditional Lenten works remind us that denial and struggle, taking up our cross each day-are essential dimensions of living as disciples of Jesus, ultimately bringing new life, and help us prepare for the greatest celebration of the liturgical year, Easter.  What are you doing this Lent?

In case you missed Fr. Peter's weekly Lenten Reflection yesterday, here is the link:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Uar53cVu_eI
We invite you to spend time with your family listening to his message.  

Did you know that a portion of the proceeds from the Seton Volleyball Tournament are designated to be distributed to the Foundation for Religious Retirement and the Waukesha County Catholic Schools Tuition Assistance Fund?  It is used to make Catholic school education a real possibility for those students who would not otherwise be able to afford full tuition. Assistance is awarded in the form of $1,000 grants. Monies are given to the school and are credited to the family.  Since the beginning of the Seton, over $85,000 in scholarships have been awarded to families. The following link will provide you with more information and access to the application. Please know that to be considered, the application must be completed, signed by myself or Fr. Peter and received on or before April 1, 2020. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me.  Seton Scholarship Information

Come cheer on our 8th grade girls and  boys at the Padre Serra tournament at Marquette High School. The girls play Saturday, March 14 at 11:00am. The boys play Thursday, March 19 at 7:45pm. 

Max, an eighth grader, has advanced to the National Geographic State Bee to be held in Madison later this month!  Max outperformed all the other students in junior high by winning the SMV Geo Bee. Then he passed an online test administered through the NatGeo Bee website.  He qualified as one of only 100 students in the entire state to advance to state competition. Congratulations, Max, and best of luck!


National Day of Unplugging
Four days from now it is National Day of Unplugging which starts sundown, Friday, March 6th and goes until sundown Saturday, March 7th. Now is a perfect opportunity to talk with youth about how they (and you) would feel about putting tech away for 24 hours (or less or more) for this National Day of Unplugging. The key questions to ask are, "Why do it?", "Will it be restful or stressful?" and "How to do it?" 
Every year, there are over 1,000 events that happen. Even if it doesn't work for you or your kids to unplug for a whole 24 hours, picking just a segment of that time, like maybe the night of the March 6th, would be worthwhile. It is a great way to get the discussion going around these ideas.
Little experiments like these can bring big insights into our habits and help start us on a path of change.

Grades 3 rd -5 th will host their annual Forensics Festival on Friday, March  20th, starting at 9:00. Please join us for this wonderful event.

Here is another installment of Standards Based Grading Information. 
Will All the Standards be shown on the report card? Due to the large number of standards that students are assessed on in a given year, a report card displaying all standards would become overwhelming due to size. Additionally, a report card is only one communication tool used to convey student progress. Our current report card is being revised to provide more specific information about standards and learning targets for each curricular area. When you log into Powerschool next year you will be able to see all the  standards. This new report card will provide parents with even more information about their child's academic progress. 

Are there any disadvantages to Standards Based Grading? Any institutional change requires strategic planning and deliberate action. While this transition will take some time to fully implement, SBG is reflective of best practice and is consistent with national trends. Implementation practices are also embedded within the National Standards and Benchmarks for Catholic Schools and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Teacher Effectiveness Framework. 

*Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates. Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

Faithfully Yours,
Mrs. Mary Tretow

Two Guys and a Gospel          

         In Social Studies, 8th graders put on a skit recounting how the 
                                       US got into WWI.
Office Notes                                                       

Flu at School
St. Mary's Visitation School has been getting information on the Coronavirus from the CDC and from the Archdiocese.  
Please click here for information on the Coronavirus.  
The best things that we can do is to follow a few simple everyday preventive actions.  
1.  Stay home when you or your child are ill.  Please stay home for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever.  This is without the use of fever reducing medicines.
2.  Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue.
3. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.  You may use a hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol based.
4. Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects.
Please contact the school office if you have any questions.

SCRIP
Do you know that you can  purchase Scrip in the office?  Come on in and take a look at what we have. Buy a Scrip card and donate it to the auction!

Last Spirit Wear Sale of the school year
The last spirit wear sale of the school year has started! It's time to buy your patriotic Gladiator shirts for the Memorial Day Parade, to size up for those kiddos who have grown like weeds during the winter, and to buy those track jackets because Spring has (knock on wood) Sprung!


Any questions? Feel free to ask here or email me at katie.schultz03@gmail.com

Makerspace
The Makerspace is looking for any type of tape.  Please send them to the school office. 

Six Flags Read to Succeed
In past years, some of your children in K5-grade 6 may have participated in Six Flags Read to Succeed. This program requires students to keep a log of their minutes read at home, excluding school work. When six hours (360 minutes) of reading is reached, they receive a ticket to Six Flags theme park. The program is now changed. It is no longer administered through school. If you are interested in having your children participate, go to  sixflags.com/books

Use the school code AGXXE for all grades (K5-grade 6) and register your children. You will enter their reading minutes online and submit on or before April 17. You will then receive the Six Flag ticket by e-mail.
Questions? Please contact Miss Benson in the library.

Elementary Forensics
We hope you have all registered your children to participate in our Elementary Forensics Fest!  We really want as many 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to participate as possible.  Friday, March 20th will be our in-house Forensics Fest starting at 9:00am.  Next week, we will be giving each child the rules and rubric for their particular category to help them prepare their pieces.  Coaching sessions will be offered after school on these Fridays: Mar. 6, and Mar. 13 for all the grades.  All coaching sessions will be held in the library from 2:45-3:30pm.  Any questions, email Ann Scott  asartini@yahoo.com  or Julie Perez  jperez@stmaryeg.org

                            K3 Superheros here to save the day
Home & School News

Wave Game
SMV Day  at the  MKE Wave Game : March 15th at 1:07 p.m.
 
Have a blast at the game with your SMV friends & support our school (SMV will receive a portion of the ticket sales)!
 
INCENTIVE: First 20 (children) to purchase tickets will be able to participate in a pre-game high five tunnel. Children will give high fives to Wave players as the run on the field! 5 SMV adults will accompany the children on the field!
 
  Click on this link below to purchase your tickets. You will automatically be seated in SMV's section. Each ticket holder will receive a Wave drawstring bag!
                               
Auction News

LAST CALL FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!
Saturday, February 29th is the last day to receive a discount on your tickets! 
Discount code is PROST2020

Grandparent Tickets!
We would love to have Grandparents attend the Auction. We are offering a special grandparent ticket for $40.  Visit the ticket site above and select Grandparent ticket!

Seating for 10 Discount!
Gather your friends and buy a seating for 10.  Seating for 10 discount offers a $50 discount off the table price.  Visit the ticket site above and select table for 10 tickets!

With gratitude,
Elizabeth Hagman and Michelle Thomet  
2020 Auction Co-Chairs

THE AUCTION COMMITTEE NEEDS YOUR HELP!
The Auction for Education Games Committee really needs your help with our Wine Pull and our Gift Card Wall.  Please consider donating a bottle of wine or a gift card (any denomination of gift card, but ideally $25 value or more)  These gift cards can be from places you frequent: gas stations, coffee shops, Target/Wal-Mart, restaurants, grocery stores, the mall, etc.  Purchase the gift card from SCRIP and you will earn money toward your tuition for next school year!  Did you receive some gift cards at Christmas that you will not use?  Please consider donating them to our auction's gift card wall. Please drop off these gift cards and/or bottles of wine in the school office.  We appreciate your help and generosity.
The Auction Games Committee                                                         
Deanna Pilgreen, Katie Fee, and Julie Perez

                        
Positively SMV

As a parent at SMV, you most certainly have received an email or letter from Cheryl Peters in the parish office.  Cheryl is the Director of Finance for SMV and has been for the past 9 years.  She has two daughters and loves to travel.  Last year she visited China, this year Ireland, and next year she hopes to go to Croatia to explore her heritage!  She also loves to be outside and active and therefore spends much of her free time doing just that.  Cheryl enjoys her job at SMV because of the "deep faith of the multi-generational families and their love for this parish."  Thank you Cheryl for all you do to make SMV such a great parish and school community!


SMV Alumni

A 2013 grauduate of SMV, David Harmeyer just recently competed in the  International Collegegiate Programming Contest's North American Championship and advanced to the world competition. David and his team took the Bronze medal. David is a senior at the University of Central Florida and is a computer science major. To read more about David and his team please click here.   

Congratulations to SMV alumnus Thomas Harmeyer who recently achieved the
rank of Eagle Scout from St. Mary's Visitation Troop 32.

    
SMV Athletics 

Jr. Golf
David Roesch Golf and SMV are gearing up for another great spring season of junior golf lessons. David has an impressive resume (2014 WI PGA Player of the Year; 2018, 2017 and 2013 WI PGA Teacher of the Year; led the 2004 US Open after the first round - finished tied for 31st).  Assistant instructors will be Erika Pirkl, Wisconsin PGA Player Development Coordinator and Sam Kuchenreuther, Assistant Pro at North Hills CC. Following are details:
  • 5 weekly group lessons and range balls (focus on short game and swing instruction)
  • Lessons on Thursdays and Fridays at Storms Range in Brookfield starting May 7 and ending June 5 (rain dates rescheduled)
  • Choose Thursdays or Fridays from 4-5 PM
  • $90 per student for all lessons and range balls
  • Program open to K5-8th grade
  • Kids should bring their own clubs (limited amount of extra equipment available)
If interested, go to   http://www.davidroeschgolf.com/  and look for the link under "Spring After-School Junior Golf Program"


Parish News


                                
Needed: Vacation  Bible School Volunteers
Looking for students in grades 6th-12th.  Help make SMV's 2020 Vacation Bible School the best ever!  Please go to SMV website to sign up.