May 20, 2021 - News & Notes |
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From The Desk of Principal Kerr |
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Scenes from around school this busy week:
Our 7th and 8th grade Girls softball team, otherwise known on Tuesday afternoon as the Bombas, had a great showing against Jordan this week. Our Blues came out swinging, won handily, and had a great time cheering each other on and showing good sportsmanship. Congrats girls!
On Wednesday the St. Mike's band was able to perform in front of other people for the FIRST time since December 2019. The kids greatly enjoyed playing an outdoor concert for all of the 3rd and 4th grade students, and sounded in excellent form after a year of practicing together, but at a safe distance. If you are interested in having your child join the band next year, contact information is in the News and Notes below.
In general music, kindergarteners are learning simple beats and rhythm; 1st graders are using xylophones, triangles, canastas, shakers, and hand drums; 2nd and 3rd graders continue to learn note reading and playing their boomwhackers; the 4th graders are demonstrating their proficiency in note reading on the xylophones; 5th graders have started guitar and already know 7 chords; 6th grade just wrapped up their unit on jazz and are working on body percussion; 7th graders are doing bucket drumming; and 8th graders are finishing the year with their study of rock and roll.
Our 7th graders have been busy with their dissection unit in life science. Ms. Karnes has done an excellent job introducing many levels of dissection including earthworm, clam, crayfish, and starfish. This week they are concluding with the dissection of a perch and then a frog. They also studied the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary as part of their May celebration of Mary, and decorated our hallways with their posters.
The 1st graders concluded their animal research projects and are presenting them on Wednesday and Friday this week. They have grown so much in reading and writing ability and this project will be a chance for them to show off their 1st grade skills!
We celebrated a move-up day on Wednesday with pre-k students joining kindergarten teachers, kindergarten students working in the first grade classrooms, and 5th graders joining the middle school. The 8th graders worked with their 1st grade buddies to free up the 1st grade teachers. There was a lot of excitement and looking forward to the coming year!
8th graders have been trying on graduation gowns, finishing up their final projects, and dealing with all the emotions around a milestone transition to high school. Maybe being cooped up together all year wasn’t such a bad thing after all? Although we do look forward to returning to a more traditional middle school model next year!
Our new Principal, Carlos Connell-Torres or “Mr. C”, has joined me greeting the kids in the morning and has made visits to every classroom. He will continue to pop in to visit when he can and will officially start here on June 7th. He will be here for the family picnic on May 27 and also for our last school Mass on June 2nd.
Just a reminder: We have several teachers offering tutoring over the summer.
Go Blues and go Gophers!
Mrs. Kerr
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St. Michael Catholic School is accredited by the Minnesota Nonpublic School Accrediting Association (MNSAA). Every seven years we go through a re-accreditation process. Currently we are in year four, and will be up for re-accreditation in 2024. The last 12 to 18 months of the accreditation cycle are spent in a self study, a collaborative process led by an administrative steering committee. The school community has a chance to reflect on how well they are meeting the MNSAA accreditation standards and write narrations on each area. The information gathered is used to define the school’s strengths and opportunities for further growth.
A team from MNSAA then visits the school to observe, conduct interviews of stakeholders, and review documentation. The team works to evaluate whether there is sufficient evidence of compliance with the accreditation criteria, and offers feedback on the self study narrations. A school strategic plan for improvement is then written with objectives, strategies and action steps for the next six years of the accreditation process.
Every year on June 15, MNSAA schools are required to submit an update on the progress they have made toward the goals on the strategic plan. Tomorrow we will send a separate communication including highlights on our progress this year. We will post the updated strategic plan on our website following the submission to MNSAA in mid June.
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Contact Your Elected Officials! |
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Below please find a listing of elected officials for District 55 in case you want to reach out to share your ideas about how the next school year should look for our children. Also the Education Omnibus Bill which has passed committee this session included an increase in funding for non-public pupil education and non-public pupil transportation aid programs. The Minnesota Independent Schools Forum (MISF) lobbies on behalf of Catholic schools (and other non-public school options). We would like to see Minnesota join 7 other states in instituting Educational Savings Accounts (ESA) that allow families more choice in education. You can learn more here https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/types-of-school-choice/education-savings-account/
Rep. Tony Albright (R) District: 55B
259 State Office Building *
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-296-5185
E-mail: rep.tony.albright@house.mn
Senator Eric Pratt (55R)
95 University Avenue W.
Minnesota Senate Bldg., Room 3219
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-296-4123
US Congresswoman Angie Craig
2442 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-2271
US Senator Amy Klobuchar
425 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3244
US Senator Tina Smith
720 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5641
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It truly takes a village to raise and educate our children, and we have an awesome volunteer village here at St. Michael. Many important fundraisers, extracurriculars, classroom activities, and staff appreciation efforts are run by our parent and community volunteers. Our Student Advisory Council (SAC) and PTO members provide support to the administrative team and teachers in countless important ways; classroom, lunchroom, and recess volunteers help us meet the needs of our children and keep things running smoothly; and the awesome teams who run our fundraising and social events, and welcome new families as ambassadors help us advance the mission of our school. We appreciate all the help we receive and recognize the sacrifices parents make for the benefit of our school and our children. We are planning ahead to next school year and have many opportunities for volunteers. Please see the link below to sign up. God bless you and thank you! |
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It's Time to Order School Supplies for 2021-22!
Make sure to order your supply kit now so you don’t have to run from store to store in August!
Orders placed by June 10, 2021 will ship directly to school FREE and arrive before school starts in September. Supply kits can be customized by removing items or adding additional supplies as needed.
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Join the St. Michael School Band |
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The band meets one day per week at St. Mike's and students receive individual or small group lessons, and a large group rehearsal each week. Any student in 4th-8th grade is welcome to join! Want to learn more about the band program? Head on over to our website at www.encoreensembles.com, or reach out to band director Laura Thompson at thompson@encoreensembles.com. Thank you!
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Register for Summer Adventures Plus 2021
NEW THIS SUMMER
Summer Adventures Plus (SAP) is open for ages 4 and older.
Limited spaces are available. Registration is required.
Hours of Operation
Monday through Friday 8:00 am-4:00 pm
SAP reserves the right to close due to lack of enrollment.
SAP will be open June 14-August 20
PLEASE NOTE: SAP will be closed the week of July 5-July 9 for routine building maintenance.
Fees
Registration Fee – $60 per child
Session Fee – $50
All fees will be billed via TADS Billing Management
Why choose our program?
Each week a new theme will be introduced. The following special events and activities will tie in with each weekly theme.
-Community service project
-Spiritual theme and bible verse
-Virtual or in-person field trips
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Extreme Faith Camp Registration is LIVE! |
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Extreme Faith Camp is a week-long Catholic camp with all the adventures of summer camp added in. Activities include crafts, swimming, laser tag, rock wall climbing, high ropes, ziplining youth minister hunt, messy olympics, bonfires, 9-square and more traditional games like basketball, volleyball, floor hockey, and dodgeball. While we dig into fun, we also dive into our faith with daily encounters with God through Mass, Reconciliation, Adoration, praise and worship, keynote talks, and build our community with small group conversation. Get ready to experience their faith in a whole new way! Registration for Extreme Faith Camp 2021 is open! Please visit stmichael-pl.org/extreme-faith-camp for more information and registration.
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SAVE THE DATE!
Vacation Bible School is scheduled for this summer,
July 26-30th, 9:30am-12pm
Watch for details and registration information to come!
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Your Help is Appreciated! |
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Lunch and Recess Volunteers Needed!
All volunteers must be up to date on Virtus training.
Please visit virtusonline.org to log in or to create an account and complete the required steps to be a volunteer.
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COVID-19 Testing for Kids and Families
The MDH announced a recommendation for all youth attending school in-person, and their families to get tested every two weeks through the end of the school year. While it is not a requirement, regular testing complements other safety measures already in place, such as masking and social distancing.
Getting tested every two weeks from now until the end of the school year can help keep schools open and sports operating, and ensure we are limiting the spread of COVID-19.
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2021-22 Spanish Program for K-5th Grade |
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Looking for summer fun?
Check out all the summer camp options at G Team!
Join the G Team on Prior Lake for wakeboarding or wakesurfing sessions beginning on May 23. No experience necessary and we provide the gear, fun and coaching! We also offer full day camps and overnight summer camps too. G Team also offers skateboard (in Prior Lake), mountain bike, conditioning (in Prior Lake) and trampoline sessions for all ages and no experience is necessary!
Learn more about our programs, meet coaches, eat and have fun at our G Team Meet & Greet at our partner and summer base, Charlie's on Prior on Monday, May 24, 4:30-6:00pm!
St. Michael's families also receive 5% off with promo code: GOBLUES
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School Office: (952) 447-2124
Fax: (952) 447-2132
24/7 Absentee Line: (952) 447-2230
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