I was really proud of our students’ response to our virtual bake sale to benefit the Annual Catholic Appeal. Despite the lack of gratification of a big ol’ sugary delight, our students and their families raised $1007.00! What a nice way to think about the needs of others before their own. This self-denial and generosity of heart meets two of the three challenges of Lent: fasting/sacrificing and almsgiving, with the third being prayer. We definitely have a good head start on Lent this year!

Unfortunately, we will be on vacation next week and so our students will not have the opportunity to begin this holy season with Ash Wednesday Mass and the mark of ashes on their foreheads here at school. I would respectfully ask that families refer to the Mass schedule here and make plans to attend Mass together as a family. It would also be nice for families to discuss their plan for fasting/sacrificing, almsgiving and prayer during Lent. Need some ideas as to what to give up? Click here for some suggestions. And, as usual, we will be participating in the Rice Bowl program again this year.

I hope all of you enjoy a restful, healthy and safe vacation. Looks like we may be doing some shoveling! Please remember the mighty three: masks, hand washing and social distancing. We need to remain vigilant. And if you’re traveling….e-mail the nurse!

Registrations for current students to attend next year (2021-22 academic year) will be going home at the end of February. If you plan to have your child attend St. Michael's Academy next year, it is CRUCIAL that you return your registration materials BEFORE THE END OF MARCH. You will have one month to complete your paperwork and return to the school with your deposit.

Under certain circumstances in the past, we have worked with some families that had extraordinary circumstances preventing them from meeting the deadline but this year we will NOT be able to do so. We have already been inundated with applications for next year and will still have to enroll using covid numbers. If your paperwork is not returned by the end of March, your child's slot will be lost and filled with another student and unfortunately we will need to place your child on a waiting list.

Please plan ahead and submit your registrations materials before the end of March.

At this point and as requested, all new siblings of current students should have their applications in, especially for the preschool program. The preschool classrooms are almost full!

Hats off to our three top winning teams from our SchoolsNEXT competition this year!!

If you are traveling out of state for the February vacation, you must follow the guidelines issued by the state of Massachusetts travel ban. The specifics can be found here:

Please do not send your child to school if you have traveled out of state.

For your child to return to school you must do one of the following:

1.      Quarantine 10 days upon arrival to Massachusetts

2.      Provide a negative test that was taken no more than 72 hours before return to Massachusetts.

3.      Get a negative Covid test upon return and provide results.

Please contact the school nurse with your dates of travel so that she can track the appropriate date of return to in person learning at m.penna@smaspringfield.org

Once again, we thank you for partnering with us to keep our school community safe so that we may continue in-person learning. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the school nurse.

Thank you!

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