December 22-January 2
- Christmas Vacation. No school.
January 3 - First day back from vacation.
January 4 - Basketball picture day. See below.
January 5 - Parent Association Meeting at 6:00 pm at the school.
January 9 - 8th grade bottle drive. See below.
January 13 - Early release day. Students are dismissed at 11:30 am. Buses are available. There is no Extended Day.
January 16 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. No school.
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* St. Michael School follows the Augusta School Department for all school cancellations, delays and early dismissals due to INCLEMENT WEATHER. In addition to our School Messenger, these announcements are posted on local television and radio stations
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* Please be sure your child comes to school with BOOTS AND SNOW PANTS in order to play in the snow. Also, remember boots can not be warn all day so please be sure that your child brings shoes to school every day or students can leave a pair of shoes at school.
* Two RINGS were found at two different times on school property. If you or someone you know has lost a ring, please call the school office.
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Merry Christmas to all of our students, and their families. This Christmas is indeed merry, as we as a school community celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in our classrooms and throughout the school every day. Faith is such an important component of what we do at St. Michael School, that in every classroom, every day, we pray, and we work at having all of our students understand the importance of living a moral and virtuous life.
Just a couple of weeks ago, we enrolled our
170
th student. This is a celebration of growth within the school. Two years ago in June when we graduated a very large 8th grade class, we were at a low of only 142 students. But through the hard work of our families, our students, and the various groups within the school and parish, we have grown by 20% since that last day of school in 2015. People in the Augusta area have come to see the true value of a St. Michael School education. When I started as principal two and a half years ago, rumors were rampant about the future of the school. Now the only rumor we hear is that we have wait lists for some of our grades. Those rumors are true. This could not have been done without an amazing support staff, an incredible group of teachers, and the leadership of our Pastor, Fr. Frank.
Some interesting facts about St. Michael School: Our students score significantly higher on national tests than other students in the states and in the county. We are in the 93rd percentile overall in Language Arts, and almost at the 80th percentile in Math. We have seen growth by almost 10% in each of these areas during the last three years. Part of this is due to the fact that our school follows the guidelines of the Hartford Curriculum, and we don't have to use Common Core. Athletically, we are also the only middle school in the county to offer golf and tennis for our 5th-8th grade students. We offer those sports in addition to soccer, field hockey, basketball, softball and baseball. Regarding our facilities, with the help of the parish, we were also able to replace the asbestos tile floors in the school, with non-asbestos flooring. As we move forward, we will always work to be the best at getting better.
A new academic goal of the school, is to move forward with having all of our students do STREAM based research projects. Many people know that STEM, means Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, but that doesn't really encompass all that we teach at St. Michael School. What about the Arts, and what about God and Religion. This is where STREAM comes from. STREAM means Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, the Arts, and Math. This year, our 8th grade students are doing STREAM projects about Water. Some of their proposals include; desalinization processes in the Dead Sea, filtration plants in Rwanda, tidal energy, saving the glaciers, and more effective ways to clean up and prevent oil spills. These are the things our 8th graders are thinking about. Next year, all of our middle school students will be doing STREAM projects. The 6th graders will do projects involving the Air, 7th graders the Earth, and 8th graders will again do Water. These are three of the key elements of life, and part of our job is to use these with due respect given to God. As students progress through school, these will be topics they can look forward to doing when they are in middle school. None of this would be possible without the recent purchase the school made of Chromebooks for all of our middle school students. As we don't get government funding, we have to buy these out of school funds, and we will continue to add more technology for our students as we can afford them. Not so we will become dependent on these items, but so our students will understand how to use these tools respectfully, and thoughtfully. I also offer my thanks to our Business Manager, Noreen Hare, for her guidance as the school has finished in the black, each of the last two years.
Among the 170 students who are currently enrolled at St. Michael School, we have more than 60 students who receive financial aid. This past year, between the Annual Fund, the Chrisanne Burns scholarship, and Team ExCEL, we were able to give out more than $100,000.00 in financial aid, and we were able to meet 100% of the recommended need for every family who applied for aid within the required time frame. As we continue to grow as a school, so will the financial need of our students, and if you can offer any assistance to any of these funds, we ask that you please do. The students of St. Michael School and those who attend Faith Formation classes are the future of the Catholic Church. With all of the distractions these children see, it is important that we continue to offer a rock solid foundation in religious training, and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
As we continue to model our St. Michael School mission statement by being community conscious, we continue to help the Salvation Army with the distribution of Thanksgiving bags of food and turkeys, and this year we also assisted with the distribution of Christmas gifts for the families who need them most. We helped approximately 180 families in the Augusta area this Christmas. This gives our students a great deal of understanding about the importance of giving and being community conscious on a local level, but we are also undertaking a great opportunity to give on a global level. We have partnered with Holy Cross School in South Portland, and Mount Merici in Waterville, to raise $10,000.00 to assist the students and village of Ngamo, Zimbabwe. In addition to doing two dress down days at school, we also donated funds raised at our Christmas concert. Our students witness what they can do to help others, whether they are in the same city, or on the other side of the world. My hope is that these acts will bring our students closer to understanding the real meaning of Christmas.
I conclude with this quote from
Desiderata
"Therefore, be at peace with God, ... and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul". This applies to the 170 students of St. Michael School, their families, and all of the members of this parish. I continue to feel blessed that your children are here at St. Michael School, and that you are entrusting to us. It cannot go without saying how lucky and thankful we are to have families who are so supportive of what we are doing.
Wishing God's blessings upon us all as we celebrate this Blessed Season! Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Kevin Cullen
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Christmas Concert
The annual St. Michael School Christmas concert was held last Thursday in the school gymnasium. Students not only sang to their hearts content, many grades played instruments including melodicas, recorders and even kazoos. You can be certain that everyone left school filled with Christmas cheer that evening. Great job St. Michael School students! Also, a big thank you to Mrs. Driscoll for her time and effort working with the students.
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Middle School Clay Project
Middle school has been working on some clay projects this week with guest teacher, Mrs. Laura Hamilton. She is the mother of John Hamilton in 7th grade. Mrs. Hamilton has a strong background in art. She has a large studio in her home where she paints, sculpts, and fires clay in her kiln among other art endeavors.
We are so fortunate that she offered to provide her knowledge and instruction to each middle school student along with providing the clay and utensils and then taking it home to fire it! It was a fun time for all. Thank you Mrs. Hamilton!
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 Caroling at Maine Veterans Home
On December 16th, our 7th grade students went to the Maine Veterans Home to sing Christmas carols and visit with our wonderful veterans. Under the direction of Mr. Hickey and their music teacher, Mrs. Driscoll, the students performed brilliantly. After singing, our young people gave cards to the vets and spent time chatting with each and every resident. Both the residents and students had a great time. Super job 7th grade!
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 Pre-K3 Receives A Visitor
On December 16th, Joshua Hoffman came to visit with his friends in Pre-K3. He enjoyed his visit and playing with the children on the new playground earlier this year. The students had been asking about him ever since. Joshua decided to come in and read some Christmas books to his friends. The children really enjoyed his visit and hope he will come again some time! Thanks Josh!
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 Cobbossee Watershed Visit
Our 4th graders became part of a food chain in a lake as Cobbossee Watershed visited their class. After discussing the definition of a food chain and what "creatures" would be part of a loon's food chain, students became zooplankton, minnows, perch, and a loon. They solved the mystery of how the loon became poisoned by mercury and discussed how we should conserve energy and take care of the wonderful resources that God has given us!
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 Students Help Salvation Army
Our middle school students helped the Salvation Army distribute presents to those in need on Tuesday, December 20th. At 7:00 am, approximately 30 students helped unload two U-Haul trucks that included outer wear, toys and even bicycles. Large bags filled with desired items were numbered for each registered family. Then items for families to "shop" from were laid out on tables. Families were asked to come at designated times based on the number they were given so that they could take their time. A total of 60 students helped the Salvation Army by finding and carrying bags and even make recommendations while families shopped. After each family collected all of their items, they were given an opportunity to write a prayer on the provided paper ornaments for the Christmas tree that the Salvation Army had set up. Sixth grader, Jill A., said "I'm honored and thrilled to be a part of something so important." Brady H. said "Participating in something like this shows the true meaning of Christmas. After all, isn't that what God wants us to do...be more like Jesus and give to others who have less?" The students worked during the day in one hour shifts starting at 8:45 am and ending at 2:30 pm. View the Kennebec Journal article for more information about this project.
 
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Egyptian Pyramid Winners Announced
The 6th grade students recently "constructed" Egyptian pyramids as a class project for Social Studies. Grades 4, 5, 7, and 8 (63 voters) selected the top pyramids.
Best Overall: Ava Nadeau , "Blue Magic" (35 votes)
Most Original: Eve Driscoll, "Sock Pyramid"
Tastiest: Luke Alvarado "Christmas Treat" (39 votes)
Congratulations! Great job 6th grade!!
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Basketball Picture Day
The St. Michael School basketball teams and individual pictures for the boys JV and Varsity and the girls basketball teams will take place on the stage at St. Michael School on Wednesday, January 4th. Below is the schedule:
2:45 pm -
Girls Team-we will call them down a few minutes before dismissal for them to be ready and report to the stage area to have orders/payment collected and line up.
3:05 pm - Boys Varsity Team-must be dressed and ready in the front lobby by 2:55 pm to have orders/payment collected and line up.
3:25 pm - Boys JV Team-must be dressed and ready in the front lobby by 3:15 pm to have orders/payment collected and line up.
Order forms can be downloaded here. Coaches will also hand out hard copies of the schedule and order form to players on the Tuesday we come back to school, January 3rd. All orders and payment are due on picture day. Players must be dressed in full uniform for pictures.
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8th Grade To Host A Bottle Drive
The 8th grade students will be hosting a bottle drive on Saturday, January 7th, from 9:00 am to 12 noon. Students will be visiting neighborhoods to collect bottles for their 8th grade trip or you can bring your bottles to school that morning. We will have a student and parent present at the gymnasium parking lot for those who want to drop off their bottles instead. If you can't get them to the school that morning, they can be dropped off during the week so save your bottles from the holidays! Thank you!
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