St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School

February 1, 2023

Newsletter

Mission Statement:

St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School is a community that proclaims the gospel by our dedication to quality instruction while fostering our commitment to the needs of others.

We pray. We learn. We care.

A Message from Mr. Mihalyo

Dear StMM Families,

Happy Catholic Schools Week 2023! Thank you so much for choosing St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School and Catholic education for your children. Praying, learning, and caring with them each day is an honor and a privilege.

This morning, we had the opportunity to celebrate Mass with multiple priests and a seminarian. Joining Fr. Chris for Mass this morning was Fr. Wally from Boston. Fr. Wally was one of Fr. Chris’s teachers in the seminary. In addition, we welcome Fr. Patrick from the Diocese of Detroit to StMM. Fr. Patrick is a close friend of Mrs. Wilson, our second-grade teaching assistant. Finally, Brother Eduardo Urdaneta from Rome was in town visiting his parents and was able to be part of the Mass with our school community in the lower grades. Thank you so much for celebrating this Catholic Schools Week with us!

This week has been filled with many fun happenings, with more to come. Today in celebration of our students, we had several dance breaks during the course of the day. You could hear our Monarchs stomping upstairs during the Cha-Cha Slide at 8:15 this morning. In addition to the dance breaks during the day, we have had a game of Bingo for our students to participate in, with numbers called each hour.

We have something fun to get your Monarchs ready for NEXT Friday, February 10. Since we know the Philadelphia Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs, we want to know who our students and faculty think is going to win the Super Bowl! What better way to determine this than by allowing everyone to vote with a Super Bowl Spirit Day. If you think the Eagles will win, wear green! Think the Chiefs are going to win? Wear red! If you don’t know who you think will win, pick the color you like better (or have) and wear that with the bottoms of your choice. Let’s see who our Monarchs think will be the Super Bowl Champion this year. Parents, feel free to play along by wearing your team colors in carpool next Friday as well.

It has been great seeing so many parents walking and picking up their children in the mornings and afternoons. This was something our community missed so much over the past few years. Parents are welcome to walk students to the school’s front doors to drop off their son/daughter, but parents may not walk their children to the classrooms. Thank you so much for your support and understanding on this matter.

Thank you so much for all of your support of St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School not only during our Catholic Schools Week but every week. We are so blessed to have such an amazing group of families. Happy Catholic Schools Week 2023!

St. Mary Magdalene, Pray for us!

John Mihalyo, Principal

UPCOMING EVENTS

1/29 - 2/4 - Catholic Schools Week

2/4 - Second Grade: First Reconciliation Retreat

2/7 - Basketball Playoff Games

2/8 - Opportunity Scholarship Application Meeting

2/13 - 2/17 - Staff Appreciation Week

2/17 - Early Release

2/20 - President's Day: NO SCHOOL

2/21 - Staff Professional Development Day: NO SCHOOL

2/22 - Ash Wednesday: All School Mass, 10AM

**Click here to view our online school calendar.**

RE-ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN

Families with children currently enrolled in grades PK3-7 are invited to re-enroll their children for the 2023-24 school year! Please login to your parent portal through RenWeb either on a computer or via our StMM app and click "Apply/Enroll" then, "Enrollment/Re-Enrollment" to begin the process. Priority re-enrollment runs now until February 10.

New student applications, including preschool applications, are available here.

ATHLETICS NEWS

GOLF Coach Needed in order to proceed with upcoming season: We are looking for an individual who may be interested in coaching GOLF for StMM this Spring. If you or someone you know may be interested in coaching Golf, please reach out to Athletic Director Jeff Bessler by Monday Feb 13.

PENDING Coed Golf Tryouts will take place Feb 27 & 28 at MacGregor Downs Country Club from 3:30-5:30 both days. Attendance on both days is required. First day will start at the short game area and the second day will meet at the driving range. Be sure to wear proper golf attire. No denim. Collared shirt, tucked in. (Golf coach needed by Feb 13th in order to field a season)

Girls Soccer Tryouts and Boys Baseball Tryouts will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb 22 and 23 from 3:15-5:15. (Friday, Feb 24 if needed due to weather.) Girls and Boys participating in tryouts should report to the gym locker rooms at dismissal time.

Optional Open Field Girls Soccer Workouts, open to all 6th-8th grade girls interested in soccer, will take place on Feb 16, 3:15-4:30 and Feb 20, 10:00-11:30AM.

Girls Softball Tryouts will take place Feb 27 and 28 from 3:30-5:30PM. Girls participating in tryouts should report to the Activity Building UPSTAIRS restrooms to change and meet coaches prior to tryouts.

Optional Preseason Softball Workouts will take place every Tuesday-Thursday from Jan 31 to Feb 16. To be added to the email distribution list, please email Coach Tirado.

Girls and Boys Lacrosse Tryouts will take place on Feb 27 from 4:30-6:00PM.

Lacrosse Coaches Needed: We are still looking for a couple of individuals who may be interested in coaching Boys or Girls Lacrosse for StMM this Spring. If you or someone you know may be interested in coaching Lacrosse, please reach out to Athletic Director Jeff Bessler.

Upcoming Lacrosse Interest Meetings will take place during 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th grade lunchtimes on Feb 13 for students interested in boys or girls lacrosse.

PSO NEWS AND INFORMATION

FACULTY AND STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK IS

FEB 13-17

Faculty and Staff Appreciation week is quickly approaching! The PSO would like to thank all of the families who have volunteered to provide dinners for our hard working StMM team. Our teachers and staff are really looking forward to this! There are still some open meal slots, so please sign up HERE before the February 3 deadline if you can help!

WANT TO HELP WITH MOE THE MASCOT?

We are holding a virtual informational meeting on February 8 at 7PM about how you can volunteer with Moe the Monarch! This session is open to students, parents, and staff to discuss the volunteer opportunities as part of the Kaleidoscope Crew. We are ideally looking for 7th and 8th graders, but any grade is welcome to attend. You can join the Zoom meeting HERE. For questions, contact Ann Marie Taepke.

USED UNIFORM STORE

Did you know, the Used Uniform Store is a wonderful source of income for our PSO?!? Stop by and shop at our store anytime the school office is open. And thank you to our wonderful families who continue to donate keeping our store stocked and thriving!

SAVE THE DATES

February 4 Daddy / Daughter Dance

February 5 Monarch Monday

February 13-17 Staff Appreciation Week

February 24 Spirit Day

March 11 School Wide Service Project with Brown Bag Ministries

April 21 Spring Festival

April 28 6th/7th Grade Dance

May 19 8th Grade Dance/Event

May 22 Monarch Masters Golf Tournament

Please contact Erin Bonasso with any PSO questions.

PARISH NEWS

SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING

In order to foster a safe environment, we screen all prospective volunteers as required by the Diocese of Raleigh and the Safe Environment Team at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church and School. All parents who would like to volunteer in the classroom or cafeteria, participate in field trips or be involved with class travel must be Level C certified. Upcoming sessions are booking now. If you have any questions, please contact Bertha Smith.

Wednesday, Feb 15 at 7PM. Enroll HERE.

Tuesday, Mar 21 at 7PM. Enroll HERE.

SAVE THE DATES: KofC ANNUAL LENTEN FISH FRY RETURNS!

The Knights of Columbus are back and in person, ready to fry some fish! Join us in the Activity Building on the following Fridays during Lent for a delicious fish fry with fellowship and fun for the whole family!

Friday, February 24

Friday, March 10

Friday, March 24

Enjoy a great meal while supporting many worthy community causes championed by the Knights of Columbus. We are also sponsoring a free throw contest for boys and girls aged 9 to 14 in the gym during the March 10 Fish Fry.

SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

8th GRADE RECOGNITION AD DEADLINE FOR SCHOOL YEARBOOK - FEB. 9

Feb. 9 is the last day that parents can order a recognition ad in the Josten's 2022-23 StMM School Yearbook! Commemorate your student's final year at StMM and order your recognition ad HERE.

BLESSING BAGS FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Tuesday January 31 is “Celebrate Community” day for Catholic Schools Week. We are asking Middle School students to participate by bringing in items for Blessing Bags to give to nursing home residents starting on Monday, 1/30 until Friday, 2/3. The following items are needed:

· Fuzzy socks

· Puzzles

· Adult coloring books/colored pencils

· Small stuffed animals

· Small books

· Gallon size freezer bags

There will be marked bins in the school lobby for daily drop-off. Then on Friday, Feb. 3, our StMM Serve Elective students will help fill storage bags which will then be delivered to local nursing homes. Thank you for contributing to this wonderful service project!

FROM THE HEALTH ROOM

We continue to have students testing positive for STREP THROAT and COVID in school. Keeping your child home when they are not feeling well is good for both your child and the community. I just wanted to remind you that:

A child should remain at home if they have a fever of 100.0 degrees or above and be fever free for at least 24 hours before returning to school.
A child should be free from vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school.
A child being treated with antibiotics for something like strep throat or pink eye should be on the medication for at least 24 hours before returning to school.

Following good hygiene practices can also help prevent infections. This includes washing your hands with soap and water regularly, cleaning frequently touched surfaces, and coughing or sneezing into a tissue or into your elbow or sleeve.

StMM SUMMER CAMPS

Summer camps are here! Please sign up using our summer camp page or reach out to Ms. Jordan at jordan@stmm.net. If you are interested in working our summer camp program, please reach out to Ms. Jordan at jordan@stmm.net.

FROM THE CAFETERIA

LUNCH MENU

Monday, 2/6 - Chicken Nuggets

Tuesday, 2/7 - Pigs-in-Blankets

Wednesday, 2/8 - Pizza

Thursday, 2/9 - Mini Italian Subs

Friday, 2/10 - Quesadillas

St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School is a peanut/tree nut free school. To review the nut policy guidelines, please click here.

Offering so many healthy and freshly baked menu items in our cafeteria quickly and efficiently takes many helping hands. Please consider volunteering in the Cafeteria! Your student will earn a free meal on the day that you work, and volunteering in the kitchen is a great way to meet other parents and see your student in action during their lunch period! All volunteers must be Level C certified. Signups are HERE. Thank you for supporting our school lunch program with your time!

COVID-19 UPDATE

We are looking forward to returning to many normal routines and procedures we have come to expect. In the event of a positive Covid-19 case, the school has outlined the policy we will follow for this school year. Click here to review these. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Walsh in the health room.

St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School www.stmm.net