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,

If you bring your gift to the altar
and there recall that your brother or sister has anything against you,
leave your gift. Go first and be reconciled with your brothers and sisters,
then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:24
 
We end this second week of Lent conscious of the many diverse communities to which we belong: our families, our schools, our parishes, our nation, and our world. We're also aware of the disagreements, hurts, grudges, and fears that can block our efforts to relate and minister effectively with each of these as people of the Gospel.
 
Where might we need to pause today, lay down our tasks, and seek reconciliation for the pains we have caused or wrongs we have done? Who might need to hear us say, "I'm sorry?" At all times and in all ways, throughout these Lenten days, we give thanks for the amazing grace of God.

Tomorrow and Friday we will have a large floor prayer labyrinth in the school gym. Each homeroom will have time to walk the labyrinth and pray in a new way while they are on their Lenten journey.

Every year our 6th graders study European History. They end the unit with a big food fair. This year we had to think outside the box, so they created a cookbook instead. Click here and try some of the great recipes they found that represent different locations in Europe. Bon Appetit!

There has been so much in the news about teachers being next for the COVID vaccination. I wanted to give you an update about what is happening here. All our teachers and staff who were interested in receiving the shot had an opportunity to receive their first dose last month from a local pharmacy. We are now working through getting the second shot. We will be done by the middle of March. The teachers are very excited to be getting the vaccine.

I am happy to announce that Nick Puetzer has accepted the position of Athletic Director. Nick and his wife Jessica have two children, Landon, K5 and Avery, K3. Thank you to Tom Mindy for all his hard work and dedication to this position for the last three years.

Tomorrow is the last day of our 2nd trimester. Conferences are Thursday, March 18 from 1:00-7:00. Early dismissal is 11:00am.The sign-up genius for conferences will be coming soon. There is no school on Friday, March 19.

Mary of us are fans of Charlie Berens from the Manitowoc Minute. Did you know that Charlie is a 2001 graduate of St. Mary’s? Check out the Smart Thinking Podcast to hear his story.


Faithfully,
Mrs. Mary Tretow
Principal
mtretow@stmaryeg.org
One of Ms. Lesnjak's students during Mrs. Tretow's daily examen
Thank you to all of the SMV families who have sent their Capuchin Hygiene Bag back to school with their student. These bags provide essentials for Milwaukee area people in need, and as Jesus said, “Whatsoever you do for these, you do for me.” God bless you for your generosity. Bags can be sent back by Friday, March 26.
SAVE THE DATE
SMV Vacation Bible School 2021
Rocky Railway
June 14-18, 2021
9am-Noon
K3-4th Grade
Registration Details Will Be Available Soon
We hope to see you there!
Please contact Katy Cornell @ katy.e.cornell@gmail.com with questions
Office Notes
Parents who are doing playground duty, remember to walk around and make sure that the children are safe. Playground equipment is back out. The students are reminded that they need to bring the equipment back to the statue area to be cleaned before the next group comes out.

If you need to drop something off for your child/children, please make sure that their name is on it and place it on or in the blue bin. If you need to speak to someone in the office ring the buzzer and someone will come and meet with you.
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

March 4 and 5
Labyrinth at school
March 5
End of Second Trimester
March 8
Home & School/School Committee Meeting
March 10
SMV Spirit Wear Day
The 2nd graders showing us their beautiful sidewalk chalk drawings.
Mrs. Scherr's 5th graders are studying the Bible verses related to the 40 days of Lent
K3 students making a train during their week on transportation
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My SMV Family

Home & School News

People in our family…
Matthew, Amy and Emma Joe (8) Van Ells
Our family likes to…
Our family loves to EAT!!!! Really, we do. We love to cook and bake together and have a blast doing so. We also love the outdoors and each summer you will find us anywhere there is water!!The three of us could live in the water and love passing the time in summer by fishing, swimming or just laying on rafts soaking in the sun. We also all love to read and play cards which is what you will find us doing on a lazy Saturday in the winter.
Our family pets are…
We have 2 golden retrievers named Mags and Colby (yes, in case you were wondering...that was a great idea to have two big dogs in our small house) and a cat named Nova and a fish (who we secretly have to replace on a regular basis) named Wave.
Places our family has lived…
Bay View was where our first house was together and we stayed until Emma was almost 2. We then moved to Brookfield. Matt grew up in Greendale and Amy in Brookfield.
Our family loves being a part of SMV because…
Our first SMV school experience was K4 t-ball and we were nervous because we did not know too many other SMV families. By the time that night was over we met so many wonderful families, got phone numbers and even set up a playdate. We feel so blessed to be raising our daughter in this faith filled community and that she is able to grow up with other children who have the same Christian values and beliefs. In these times I feel it’s hard to live your beliefs and I truly believe that the community at SMV does!
Mrs. Schneider's class celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday.
 Mission & Catholic Identity
                      Effective 2016-2021
Blarney in a Box Update!

Blarney Box Sale Deadline This Sunday 3/7/2021
Blarney Boxes must be ordered by March 7th here: https://Blarney.givesmart.com. There will be no same-day sales.
To pick up your box, you will come to SMV on March 13th between 11am-3pm for an Irish themed drive through experience! There will be Irish dancers, leprechauns, carnival games and more fun surprises for the wee ones! A unique experience the entire family will enjoy, just in time for St. Patrick's Day! We also have a few raffle items and a mini auction to participate in.
   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.
   Kid Blarney box- You have two varieties of soda available—imported Irish orange soda and Sprecher root beer (NEW: or two of each in the same box!). 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.
   POPULAR ITEM!!  Cookie Decorating Kit- Once you are done indulging in your Blarney boxes, have the kids decorate 12 shamrock cookies made by Cookies By Design.
  Pot of Gold Box- 1 LEFT!!!!  This box contains all of the items in the other Adult boxes with THE ADDITION of $180 worth of Irish Fun & Entertaining Surprises!
    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!
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! Blarney.givesmart.com

Blarney Volunteers
We could use a few extra helpers to help with set-up & decorations for the event! Please sign-up here.

Blarney Pint Glass Engraving Sign Up
After you have purchased your adult Blarney in a Box, you may sign up here to have your glasses engraved at O'D's on March 20th.

Blarney Buck Cash Raffle
2nd Early Bird, Turn in Day is TODAY! Make sure to send your ticket stubs & $$ to school! You will be entered into the remaining 2 Early-Bird Prize drawings!

St. Patrick's Day Subway Boxed Lunch
The boxed lunches have been so popular, Cub Scouts wanted to offer another day free from packing a lunch! The deadline for ordering is March 12th. You may order online or you may send money & form into the school office. Click here to purchase a boxed lunch and an additional Shamrock Sugar cookie.
The 8th grade students lead the class in a student-designed prayer service on Monday in theology class time


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