A St. Michael Catholic School Monthly Newsletter
January 2016
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Friday, January 1, 2016
Winter Break
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  • Thursday, January 7, 2016, 6:00 PM
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  • Thursday, January 14, 2016, 6:30 PM
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  • Monday, January 18, 2016
    Staff In-Service/Martin Luther King Day
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  • Thursday, January 21, 2016, 6:00 PM
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  • Monday, January 25, 2016, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
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  • Thursday, January 28, 2016
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  • Thursday, January 28, 2016, 7:40 AM - 12:15 PM
    Staff Meeting
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  • Friday, January 29, 2016
    Staff Work Day
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  • Saturday, January 30, 2016
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    A Message from the Principal

    Dear St. Michael Catholic School Families,
     
    Amazing Catholic Schools:
    I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Amazing Catholic Schools initiative. It's our deep desire to provide our community excellent Catholic educational opportunities. We know that to attain and sustain excellence, we must continue to measure ourselves against a proven framework for excellence and commit to continuous improvements in all areas of our school.   In the short few weeks since we began this journey, we have quickly identified key strengths and attained clarity on improvement opportunities in the first domain of the Amazing Catholic Schools process. Further, I am thrilled with the prospect of our school having access to the Solomon365 equipping platform to allow for ongoing measurement, access to best practice resources and means to develop, update and monitor our strategic plan built from the framework for excellence.
     
    Advent, Christmas and Band Concert:
    The anticipation of Christmas' arrival continues at St. Michael Catholic School as we celebrate Advent. Monday mornings during Advent the entire student body enters the darken gymnasium with only the light of the Advent wreath to lead us. This week the third candle was lit, the candle of rejoicing. Our Christmas concert traditionally ushers in the Christmas season a little early for our school families. Upon hearing the children's voices singing of Jesus birth, we, as family, rejoiced together before our Christmas break. One parent summed it up this way, "The students' angelic voices and big smiles always brings me back to the true meaning of Christmas." Both of our bands played beautifully today for our school body. The students enjoyed hearing Christmas songs bringing them into the nostalgia of the season. A big thank you to Ms. Paulsen and Mr. Callope for preparing the students for the Christmas and band concerts.
     
    Ms. Welle:
    Thank you Ms. Welle for serving our school as our second grade long-term substitute. We wish you the best of luck and will keep you in our prayers as you enter into the Blind and Visually Impaired Masters of Education program.
     
    God's blessings be upon you and your family during this Christmas season.
     
    Mrs. Maxwell
     Tuesday, December 22nd
    Let's all celebrate the spirit of Christmas!  Students may wear GREEN, RED or WHITE from the WAIST UP on Tuesday!

     
     Congratulations to Mrs. Morgan!
     
    Congratulations to Mrs. Morgan and her 7th grade classes, as she has been notified she is the recipient of a $700 field trip grant for 2016! The money will be used for the annual Anne Frank field trip in May at the Park Square Theater in St. Paul for her Literature classes. As a result of this donation, student play admission tickets will be paid for and families will only need to cover the cost of bus transportation. Thank you, Target!


      
    We Need Your Help!
    Kindergarten is always in need of metal juice can lids.  Please save them and send them into school for Mrs. Rohlfsen or Mrs. Engel.  Thank you for help in this!
     
      
    School Office
    The school office is closed during the Christmas break.  We'll reopen on Monday, January 4th. 
     
      
     Tardiness




    There has been an increase in tardiness.  Students need to be in their seats when the bell rings at 7:40 am. 
    Coat Drive Update
    We collected over 80 coats for the coat drive.

    A big Thank You to Christine Hockman for delivering them to Joseph's Coat in St. Paul.
    WANTED - New SCRIP Coordinator
    Thank you to Amy Lenz and her dedicated service to the SCRIP program.  Amy will be stepping down as coordinator as of Dec. 31st.  We are in need of a new coordinator.  Responsibilities include:

    • coordinate scrip volunteers (this is a set schedule already in place)
    • place weekly scrip orders
    • handle any scrip issues that arise. 

    Contact the school office for more info!  447-2124

    From the Athletic Director

    Dear St. Michael Catholic School Families,
     
    I am pleased to inform you that there is a new Athletic Apparel Website that has been created.
     
    Purchasing athletic apparel has now been made easier for everyone. There are a handful of items to chose from with the option of personalizing each one with a name on the back. You can order these items for team comradery or for just personal interest. Anyone can order, youth and adult sizes available.
     
    This website is now open for purchasing and will close on January 8th, 2016. Items will arrive in time for Catholic Schools Week.
     
    This athletic apparel website will be open three times throughout the school year with the idea being open for each seasonal sport. The link to the website is listed below, along with the St. Michael's Blues (athletic) website.
     
    Please note that this new athletic apparel website does not replace our spirit wear website. We are delighted to be able to offer you both options.
     
     
    Enjoy!
     
    Thank you,
    Melissa Shimek
    St. Michael Catholic School
    Athletic Director
    952.226.1361
    QUIZ BOWL 2015
    L-R Carter Effertz, Matthew Becker, Veronica Wolfe & Emma Kuboushek
    On December 16, four 8th grade students participated in the 23rd annual Catholic School Eighth Grade Quiz Bowl at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Our team competed against 43 other catholic schools throughout the Archdiocese. St. Michael's did very well, tying for 12th place overall. They had a great day and it was a lot of fun! We are very proud of our students!
     
    *Thank you to Sister Melissa for coordinating this each year!






    Vision & Hearing Screening Volunteers Needed
     
    The Prior Lake/Savage Licensed School nurses will be screening students on 1/12/2016 starting at 8:00 am. They will screen 1st grade for vision and hearing, 3rd grade for hearing only, and 4th and 7th grade for vision only. We would appreciate 6-8 volunteers this day to help out with the screening. Please email hayleykulstad@saintmpl.org if you are able to volunteer. Thank you!
     2015-2016 Yearbook
    Order your yearbook today!  Only $20.00.  You can send a check made out to St Michael Catholic School to the office or pay online:
    YBPay.lifetouch.com  Yearbook ID Code: 12368116
    Uniform Compliance
    Please revisit the uniform policy for this year. The uniform policy will be enforced at St. Michael.  There are times during the year when students become less attentive to the requirements and it is our job to make sure the code is followed.  Your help is much appreciated as we work to adhere to the standards set in the policy.  We will send violation notices home with students who are not in compliance, and appreciate your support in responding positively to these violations. http://www.saintmpl.org/uniforms
    St. Michael Catholic School Advisory Council Members
     
    Pastor: Father Tom Walker
    Principal: Laurie Maxwell
    Board Chair: Jason Daniel
    Vice Chair: Kim Tremain
    Parish Council Liaison: Dave Orham
    Board Members:
     Meghan Chappuis
    Cory Goracke-Postle
    Neal Hauser
    Amy Lenz
    Leslie Meyer
    Dale Pavek
    Kate Stockman