May 13, 2021 - News & Notes |
|
Announcement From Father Tom |
|
As we come to the end of the school year, I am very grateful for the work of our Interim Principal, Sue Kerr. During a very challenging year, she has steered us through a time of substantial growth. I’ve been impressed not only by her skills as a Catholic educator and administrator but also her willingness to take on any task that needs to be done for the good of the school. It will be difficult to say our goodbyes at the end of the year, but at this point in her career Mrs. Kerr feels her calling is to short-term assignments.
We are now pleased to announce that Carlos Connell-Torres has been named Principal of St. Michael’s Catholic School. He will join us in early June and spend most of that month working with Sue Kerr for a smooth transition. Carlos and his family have been a part of St. Michael’s Parish and the Prior Lake community for approximately 15 years. He and his wife Tatiana have two children, Catalina (13) and Santiago (12), who have been raised in the rich traditions of their Catholic faith and Colombian-American culture. Carlos acquired a B.A. from the University of St. Thomas, an M.Ed. from the University of Minnesota, and K-12 Principal licensure through the U of M Administration Baccalaureate Program.
Carlos has dedicated much of his professional life to educating elementary and secondary children in the Hopkins Public Schools and Intermediate School District 287. He has served as an EL teacher, Program Coordinator and Assistant Principal in both traditional and online settings, and has worked extensively with mainstream and gifted students, children with special needs, and multilingual learners. As an academic leader, Carlos strives to create positive learning environments founded on shared values, strong relationships and high-quality educational programming. In his new role as Principal, he will support and promote our mission of shaping disciples of Jesus by igniting the spiritual, academic and social growth within each child.
Carlos comes to us because he and his own children have benefitted from a Catholic education, and he feels God is calling him to serve in a new way. I am excited to work with Carlos in the coming years, and I know you will enjoy meeting him. I’m grateful to the search committee of Patrick Glynn, Nikki Draine, Molli O’Halloran, Jill Kaczmarek, and Sue Kerr who have been working with me over the past few months to find our next leader.
|
|
From The Desk of Principal Kerr |
|
Wow, we are busy! Everyone is working to fit everything into the end of the school year. This morning we celebrated our 8th grade athletes with a light breakfast, awards and speeches from our coaches. In a year where many youth sports opportunities were cancelled, including our own league (the SSYO), our athletic director, Melissa Shimek and parent coaches got creative and built truncated seasons for the kids. Many thanks to everyone who pitched in to make this possible for our Blues.
Many classes are celebrating with culminating activities and projects. It is amazing to see the progress our kids have made since the start of the year. Kindergarteners are working independently; 1st graders are doing double digit addition; 2nd graders are making their first Holy Communion; and 3rd graders are planning plays and a talent show! They have all grown so much! By the time they reach middle school they will be doing research papers, writing essays with ease, doing multiple step math problems that take a whole page to solve, public speaking with confidence, and so much more!
We have hired one new teacher for next year, Monica Graske, who has been teaching first grade in a Catholic School in Wisconsin for the past 9 years. Her enthusiasm and passion for Catholic education will be an excellent addition to our faculty. We are still interviewing for an additional teacher position and a library media specialist. We have met some excellent candidates and will keep you posted as we make progress.
At our faculty meeting yesterday, our new principal was introduced to the teachers and staff. I am a firm believer that God sends us the right person at the right time, and I look forward to working with Mr. Connell-Torres to make a smooth transition into the 2021-22 school year. (Bonus: He is a Tommy and a Gopher!) I am confident he will make an excellent leader for the future of St. Michael Catholic!
Keep your eyes on the News and Notes, things are happening fast around here. I’m looking forward to the end of year picnic on the 27th and our last school Mass which will includes the full student body for the first time this year.
God bless your families this beautiful weekend and go Blues, go Gophers!
Mrs. Kerr
|
|
|
|
A huge thank you to an anonymous donor who gave to our Music Department wish list! Among the donations received were 2 full sets of Boomwhackers, triangles, tambourines, a second set of handbells,new guitar strings for all our guitars, and more! We are so blessed! Our second and third graders are learning to read music by playing the colorful tuned Boomwhackers!
|
|
Please complete this survey to help us plan for 2021-22 PTO Meetings
|
|
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! |
|
Sign Up For the Family Picnic! |
|
Plan to join us for our Family Picnic on Thursday, May 27th! |
|
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.
|
|
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
|
|
Junior Leader Opportunity |
|
Don't let learning stop over the summer!
- Summer tutoring provides an opportunity to review difficult material.
- Working with a tutor during the summer helps students retain past content for a smooth transition into the following academic year.
Teachers are available to provide summer tutoring to students. Please email them directly for more information or to schedule tutoring.
Mrs. Kelley DeGross, K-5 Math and Reading (Orton-Gillingham trained), degross@saintmpl.org
Mrs. Amy Peterson, 1st grade teacher, K-1 Math and Reading,T-W-Th, peterson@saintmpl.org
Ms. Deanna Vochoska, All Grades and All Areas, vochoska@saintmpl.org
|
|
Extreme Faith Camp Registration is LIVE! |
|
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.
|
|
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!
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Routine COVID-19 Saliva Testing
The State of Minnesota has provided free COVID-19 test kits for schools so that we can offer COVID-19 tests for all students to take home and return to school to be sent to the lab. Please contact kulstad@saintmpl.org or herbst@saintmpl.org for more information and for the schedule of when tests will be available for pick-up.
In order to slow the spread so that we can continue learning in-person, we encourage every family to take advantage of this opportunity to get their students tested for COVID-19. As long as students don't have symptoms and have not been close to someone with COVID-19, they do not need to stay out of school, sports or activities while awaiting test results. Learn more about student COVID-19 testing.
Minnesota is experiencing high circulation of variants of COVID-19. For example, it is currently estimated that 60% of all COVID-19 cases in Minnesota are the B.1.1.7. variant strain, which is a new version of the virus that spreads more easily. The spread of COVID-19 variants, including B.1.1.7, is contributing to a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases statewide in Minnesota and in particular we are seeing more cases concentrated in the school-age population.
Anyone can have COVID-19 and not know it, almost 50% of people with COVID-19 have no symptoms. Getting tested is the best way to know you are healthy and allow us to continue to offer in-person learning and activities, especially with the increasing spread of virus variants in our state.
This testing program is intended to help identify asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 so that we can prevent further spread. If students are experiencing any symptoms, they should stay home, and get a test from one of Minnesota's free community testing sites or through their health care provider.
At any time, any Minnesotan can order a test kit to be sent directly to their home, through a program offered by the Minnesota Department of Health. Once you have completed the test, you can drop off the test kit at school to be sent to the lab every other Thursday. Please check with the school nurse for the schedule.
Additionally, all youth in grades 6-12 who are participating in club or school sports are strongly encouraged to get tested at least once per week for COVID-19. Learn more on the Stay Safe Minnesota – Organized Sports webpage.
Thank you,
St. Michael Catholic School COVID-19 Committee
|
|
Holy Family Dance Team: 2021-22 Tryouts
Join the Holy Family Dance Team for the 2021-22 season! Tryouts for the team will be held on May 24-25 from 4:00-6:00pm and May 26 from 3:30-6:00pm at Holy Family Catholic. The team is open to students at St. Michael who are currently in grades 6-8th. A virtual meeting for new athletes & parents will be held on Monday, May 17 at 6:00pm. Email Coach Megan at holyfamilydanceteam@gmail.com for more information about the program, to receive the virtual meeting link or to register for tryouts.
|
|
School Office: (952) 447-2124
Fax: (952) 447-2132
24/7 Absentee Line: (952) 447-2230
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
