Happy Sunday SMS Families,
We hope everyone had a nice three day weekend! We are back to it, but just 7 days of school left before Thanksgiving Break!
Last week, our focus was the true meaning of love, giving of ourselves, expecting nothing in return. This is a fitting topic given that we also had our Veteran's Day program to honor so many who have given to our country, without expecting anything in return. We are proud to honor our veterans. Thanks to all of our veterans who came to the program, thanks to the Ripley Jr ROTC who came to present colors, and thanks to Mrs. K and Mrs. Dengler for organizing the program. This week, we will be reading from the Gospel of Luke. Again, I encourage all of our families to read along with us at home!
As far as class schedule goes, this should be a relatively routine week. On Tuesday, our 7th and 8th grade will go on their field trip to Maria Stein. Please remember to pack a lunch for your child, and that they will not be home until around 5:00 pm. Also, if you have not yet filled out your permission slips yet, please log into OptionC under your eforms to fill them out. Students should also bring $10 to help with the cost of the trip. As of today, only half of the permission slips have been completed.
On Friday, David Wint will visit our 5th/6th and 7th/8th grades to talk about a number of subjects including the importance of saving money, and financial planning.
We have a very busy schedule over the next couple weeks as far as fundraising goes. Please help out where you can, as our fundraisers directly benefit your children. The SMS community is at it's strongest when we all work together!
First, the annual Harvest Dinner is this Sunday, November 23, beginning after Mass at St. Michael, and will go on until 2:00. Thanks to all of the parents who have offered to help at the dinner Sunday! It is important that everyone plans to eat at the dinner, and invite friends and family! We also will need more desserts for the dinner itself. Please plan to drop those off at the Parish Hall on Sunday morning.
Also, please don't forget about the Dessert Auction that is going on right now on our public Facebook Page! We will take bids all the way up to Friday at noon. At that time, we will notify those who had winning bids, and plan for them to be picked up at school on Monday, November 24. So, if you pledged one of the desserts that are being bid online, please plan to have those to the school Monday the 24th. In the meantime, go bid, or encourage others to go bid on some awesome desserts to take to your Thanksgiving celebrations!
If you are planning to get family Christmas photographs, please consider getting your pictures done next Sunday afternoon. There are still a few spots left. Proceeds go to help our 7th and 8th grade students with the cost of their trip to Washington DC. Sign up here.
Our annual SMS Family Thanksgiving will be held Tuesday, November 25. Thanks to everyone who signed up to donate rolls and pies for the dinner. If you did sign up, please drop those items off to the school no later than Monday (Nov 24) afternoon. There are still a couple items left to sign up to donate if you have not yet done so. This is always a special day at SMS, and we are thankful for our SMS family!
We are still seeking some help with our float for the Ripley Christmas Parade on Friday, December 12. If you would be willing to help, please let us know! Also, we hope many of you can attend, as we hope to have many students ride the float and participate in the Ripley Community Christmas Tree Lighting!
Looking ahead:
Dec 6- Pork Loin Dinner benefitting St. Michael School at St. Patrick in Fayetteville
Dec 7- SMS Christmas Musical- 2:00 pm @ Gaslight Theater in Georgetown
Dec 8- Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Dec 15- 5-8 field trip to Ohio Supreme Court (Please fill out permission slip!)
Dec 18 & 19- No Ripley Bus
Dec 19- Last Day before Christmas Break (12:30) dismissal
Finally, as some of you know, I had the opportunity to spend two days in professional development at Miami University last weekend, with principals from all over the Archdiocese from Cincinnati, and the Dayton area as well. There were many important subjects discussed from A.I. to school safety and everything in between. Although I feel I gained a lot from this professional development and the opportunity to collaborate with other principals, probably the thing I left with more than anything was a feeling of gratitude that I have for our little school community. So, thank you for being a part of this, thank you for your support. I am humbled by the importance of our mission in this chaotic world, and look forward to serve Jesus in our service to our students and community. Have a great week!