MARCH 9, 2023

Art and Athletics

Saint Mary School Annual Marathon Kids T-shirt art contest winners have been selected.

First Place: Riley Gallego, 6th grade

Second Place: Adriana DeVito ,4th grade Third Place: Raeleigh Pizzi, 5th grade.

Riley's design will appear on the front of the Marathon Kids t-shirt, which our team can wear for all practices and for race day. Riley also received a free registration for the program, and a the winners received Carvel gift cards. There were so many great submissions–Saint Mary has a lot of talented artists! Thank you to our art teacher, Mrs. Laneve, for coordinating the contest again this year.

See Marathon Kids registration information below. The deadline is tomorrow.

NOTICE

Principal's Message

"For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."–Isaiah 56:7

This Tuesday marked the Second Week of Lent. You may be hearing from your children how they are going to the church a couple of days a week now. As a school we are praying the Stations of the Cross every Wednesday until Holy Week. This is a Lenten tradition that is valuable for our students and builds our Faith community. As we move closer to Saint Patrick's Day we lean on our Fr. Jeff Kegley and Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M; regarding the question of a special dispensation for the holiday. I was glad to hear Bishop O’Connell has announced a dispensation for the Friday obligation to abstain from meat for for St. Patrick’s Day only, instead, he has asked us to fulfill the spirit of the obligation through other works or actions. At Saint Mary School, I urge you to consider adoring our eucharistic Lord at Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament Shrine on the campus of Mary, Mother of God Church. You can sign up to be an adorer here: www.stmarychurchnj.org/adoration. Join Fr. Jeff this Sunday to learn more about what we can do through our works of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during the season of Lent.

God bless,

Craig Palmer

Principal

PTA EVENT

This event will sell out. If you are interested in attending, purchase your tickets right away. Cash or Check are accepted. Your RSVP card must be with payment to be registered.

FACULTY HIGHLIGHT

Mel O'Neal

Gym Teacher

Glassboro State College

Bachelor of Arts in Communications

Retiring after a 30-year career—10 years in government and 20 as executive director of the YMCA—I began teaching at Saint Mary School last September. Our students and families have a genuine interest in creating a healthy, vibrant community, and I’m very excited to contribute to the school’s youth-focused mission. The spiritual foundation here is an excellent cornerstone of success and culture. It’s a big reason why I chose to send all four of my children to Saint Mary.”

FAMILY INFORMATION

Saint John Vianney is providing Saint Mary students with free youth cardiac screenings in conjunction with Nicole’s Heart Foundation. If you would like your child to have a free cardiac screening, please join us at SJV on Sat., Mar., 18, from 9am–noon. This cardiac screening is being held in conjunction with Nicole’s Heart and Alpert, Zales, and Castro Pediatric Cardiology. All appointments must be made (and are time specific) by contacting Assistant Principal Mr. Richard Lamberson at lamberson@sjvhs.com. Parents/guardians, please bring the completed waivers. All female students should wear a sports bra under their top. All appointments are time-sensitive and no “walk-ins” are allowed.

Parent Homework

REGISTRATION CLOSES FRIDAY, MARCH 9

Marathon Kids 2023, in coordination with the Spring Into Summer 5k, is a program for our Pre-k-6th grade students to motivate them to become more physically active. We involve our participants in a series of warm-ups and training exercises on the Mater Dei track/Saint Mary Church campus. This program prepares students to participate in the official 1 mile race that kicks off the Spring Into Summer 5K Race on Sat., May 20, 2023.

Practices beginning Mon., April 24, and culminate with the Spring Into Summer 1-mile race on Saturday, May 20, at 8:10 am. The practice schedule is below and time is 2:30 pm–3 pm.

• Mon., April 24

• Fri., April 28

• Monday, May 1

• Friday, May 5th

• Mon., May 8th

• Friday, May 12th

• Mon., May 15th

• Friday, May 19th

• RACE DAY, SATURDAY, MAY 20, at 8:10 am!

Important Information and registration link here.

Revised February Lunch Menu

The cafeteria will be closed on pizza day. You must pack a lunch if you are not participating.

March menu here.

Lunch form here.

The GIFT GALA is coming up fast. A vast majority of the prizes for the gala are generously donated by the parents of SMS students, as well as local businesses. Please consider donating an item from our wish list click link. Items can be shipped to the school or dropped off to the main office. Thank you in advance for your continued generosity!

Tuition Assistance Program 2023-24

For families with children attending Catholic schools

The first round of diocesan aid for next year is now open to our families through FACTS. All families, current and new, should apply for aid if needed. (One application per family.)

Applications are available online now at https://online.factsmgt.com For Grades K-8: The deadline for round one applications has passed. The deadline for round two is May 12, 2023. For more information, click here.

Scrip is now RaiseRight. Below are a few videos that explain how the program works and how Saint Mary School benefits. There's no selling, no extra time, and no extra money. Just purchase gift cards to pay for everyday (and not-so-everyday) expenses. The Amazon Smile program has been discontinued for all companies. Scrip is another great way to donate to the school.

Simply the Right Way to Fundraise

https://youtu.be/BZNu-ftcPKo

Getting Started with RaiseRight

https://youtu.be/c-v65F0xr2c

Saint Mary School Enrollment code is F741E6AB15L6.

Call or email Loretta Rivera, Bursar, anytime with questions. lrivera@stmarychurchnj.org

Phone: (732) 671-0071 ext. 244

After School Activities

SAINTS AFTERCLUB

Aftercare is available. Please read our brochure for more information. For the morning, children can be dropped off as early as 7:15 am and gather in the cafeteria.

Make sure you follow Saint Mary Athletics on Facebook here.

Baseball, softball, and track schedules will be announced soon.

5th-8th grade students who are interested in joining the Chess Club should join Mr. Pat Melosh on Monday, Mar. 13. The club will be held in room 113 from 3:15-4:45 pm. All needed chess materials will be provided. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Melosh at pmelosh@stmaryes.org Students can also see him during the school day in room 109.

Girl Scouts

Our next meeting is Fri., March 10, right after school in the cafeteria. ALL cookie money is due at this meeting. If you plan on marching in the parade on Saturday you must hand in your school and Girl Scout permission slip. Please remember to bring in your World Thinking Badge homework. Our Troop's Facebook page link is here.

Saint Mary offers a wonderful assortment of music programs for grades 1 and above. Have your child try an instrument and enrich their learning of the arts.

1st grade and above can start on piano, ukulele, or drums.

3rd grade and above can start on voice, guitar, trumpet, trombone, strings, bass, flute, clarinet, and saxophone.

5th grade and above can start on all the instruments, including bagpipes, and learn music recording and production.

More information here.