We hope everyone had a great Christmas Break, we were happy to see everyone when we started back Wednesday, and looking forward to a great 2024!
Testing: Next week, students in grades K-8 will be taking the MAP test, which provides us with data points to be able to better meet our students' needs and monitor growth. Nothing to study for necessarily, but it will be important that students to avoid missing school. One of the positive sides of MAP testing is that it doesn't derail the entire week's schedule like the IOWA tests have done in the past. So other than a few periods, their days should be relatively normal. Grades 3-6 will test on Monday and Wednesday. Grades 1, 2, 7, & 8 will test on Tuesday and Thursday. Our kindergartners will test on Friday and the following Tuesday, January 16.
No School Monday: We will be out next Monday, January 15 in observation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day.
First Reconciliation: Our Catholic 2nd graders will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on Saturday, January 20 following the 9:00 am mass. Please join me in praying for our second graders as they prepare for this important Sacrament!
Community Soup Supper: Every January, SMS sponsors the Community Soup Supper at the Methodist church in Ripley. This year the supper will take place on Thursday, January 25. We will need our families to donate food items, and our students will prepare the soup and sandwiches during the school day. We also, will need some volunteers to help serve and clean up in the evening. If you would like to help, please let us know in the office. Also, please feel free to come that evening for food and fellowship with our community! Sign up to donate ingredients here
SMS Science Fair: The SMS Science Fair will take place on Friday, January 26. The Science Fair is for students in grades 3-8. Please make sure you touch base with your child to make sure they are working on their projects. Due to the judging that is going on in the Hall, we will have pizza available for lunch that day. It will count as a school lunch charge. Lunch will be eaten in homerooms that day.
Open House : Our annual Open House for new and prospective families is set for Sunday, January 28 following mass until 1:00 pm. Anyone who is considering SMS for next year, or for future years, are encouraged to come find out more about our school and the application process.
Registration for the 2024-25 School Year: Next week, we will be sending home registration forms for our current families for the 24-25 school year. It is very important that our families register as soon as possible, as we will begin accepting applications from prospective families at Open House. To register, you just need to fill out a 2024-25 SMS Registration Form and turn it in along with your $200 (per family) registration fee. Remember, anyone who sells 30 tickets for the $10K drawing will have their registration fee waived.
$10K Fundraiser: Update on our $10K fundraiser, so far, we have had about 300 tickets turned in. It is early, but the first Fish Fry is less than six weeks away! Our goal is to sell at least 2,000 tickets, so we have a long way to go. Remember, every family is responsible for at least the original ten tickets we sent you, but it is to your advantage to sell 30 to get that registration fee waived! If you need more tickets just let us know.
Catholic Schools Week: I will talk more about Catholic Schools Week in the coming weeks, but it will take place the week of January 28. Just a few things we know about for sure that week, our 8th grade will travel to the cathedral in Cincinnati for CSW mass. We have also reserved the bowling alley in Aberdeen for a fun day for our students. Again, we will have more on this in the coming weeks.
Spring Field Trip to Cincinnati Museum Center: Read Story
Hopefully you are caught up now. We will also send out balance statements this week along with registration forms. Ill text out a heads up the day we send the white folders home. I encourage you to keep up with us on our website, use our app, check out our events page, lunch menu and other features available there. Also, please be sure to read texts and notifications that come from the school, to help you stay in the loop. If for some reason you don't think you are receiving all of the messages, please let us know. Communicating with our families is very important to us.
Have a great remainder of your weekend! Be safe!