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The Messenger
November 7, 2014
Vol. II, No.12
 
 
St. Michael's Academy
Reminders
News
Upcoming Events
Prayer Corner
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I truly see the strength of our Catholic school on Conference Day.  Teachers spend oodles of hours calculating grades and reflecting on just character formation marks and parents adjust their daily work schedule to accommodate the conference schedule.  All this is done so that teacher and parent can come together to confer over the child's progress.  Truly, the child's well-being is at the center of both home and school.  This spirit of cooperation is the cornerstone for the success of our students.  I thank you all for your continued support. 

 

Peace,

 

Ann E. Dougal, Principal 

 
Reminders
  • There will be NO SCHOOL on Tuesday, November 11 in observance of Veteran's Day. 

  • SMA Spiritwear is available through Donnelly's. Click here to check out the variety of affordable items. Spiritwear may be worn to compliment the uniform on Fridays. 

 
Admissions Report

  
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Advancement Report

Homecoming

When you first hear the word, Homecoming, what do you think of?  Do you envision a high school football game in your hometown, a dance that encourages alumni to attend, or a soldier stepping off of a flight after a long deployment of service to our country?   No matter what portrait is painted in your mind, the word inspires images of people returning to a place of warmth, where they feel welcomed and loved.

 

During the past two week, several SMA alumni returned to St. Michael's Academy for a variety of reasons.  Laura and Kaytlin, 2012 graduates, stopped by to visit with former teachers and catch up on all the latest news at SMA.  Jordan, also a 2012 alumni,  visited to touch base with his former Middle Level teachers and share some of his latest life experiences.  I believe he also wanted to prove to his former ELA teacher that he could still recite "The Road Not Taken."  It was important for all three students to cultivate the relationship that was established several years ago. We look forward to many more visits from alumni, and encourage all of our former students to stop in and visit. 

 

Please consider a gift to The Fund for St. Michael's Academy.  Your gift to The Fund is the primary way that you can partner with us to support the mission of SMA.  As of today, our current total is $103,544.  Don't forget to spread the word about our New Donor Challenge Fund.  This challenge allows our first time donors to make a significant contribution to The Fund this year.  Every new gift up to $25,000 will be matched.  Right now, our New Donor Challenge Fund stands at $1,899.  Gifts can be made online here or in one of the convenient ways described here.


If you have any questions, please contact the Advancement Office at (413) 782-5246 Ext. 1202.   We are grateful for your dedicated support, and we will continue to keep you in our prayers.

 

From the Teacher's Desk...Mrs. Mathews, 1B

 

Our first grade students have been very busy learning many new skills in all subject areas with an emphasis on reading and math. All are reading and have been practicing our short vowel sounds, consonant blends, and decoding by blending sounds.  They know what an informational text is, and the difference between nonfiction and fantasy. 

 

They have been working on nouns, verbs, and adjectives as they learn to write interesting sentences using the correct punctuation.  And of course many new words have been learned by all.

 

Math finds our first graders discovering different strategies for adding and subtracting numbers as well as solving word problems now that they can identify and write numbers beyond ten.

 

But of course our learning doesn't stop there.  We have a great deal to learn beyond reading and math.  On Wednesday we had a visit from two very important people in our community.  Namely, Mr. Cournoyer and Mr. Sullivan, who are the dads of Matthew and Lily.  They came to talk to our first grade students about fire safety.  How many of you have at least three smoke detectors?  Our first graders know that when you hear the beep you get out and stay out.  Let the firemen go into the burning building if there is someone or something that needs to be rescued.  Should you be afraid to call 911?  No, not if you think there may be a fire.  What do you do if you are in a room filling with smoke?  

Our first graders know to stay low where it is cooler and clearer.  They also know to hang something out a window and call for help if there is no way to escape.  Firemen can look scary in all their gear but they are our friends and are there to help us to safety.  Hopefully our children went home and talked about how important a meeting place is, should the need arise.

 

Thank you Mr. Cournoyer and Mr. Sullivan for helping to keep our community a safer place to live by educating our youngsters on fire safety.

 

 

Eddywood Car Line

 

After review with the Springfield Police Department, the Eddywood Car Line will return to its original pattern of forming down Eddywood and around the corner onto Allen Street.  When forming the line, please do not block driveways.  Thank you!

 

Parent-Teacher Conferences

 

On Tuesday, the halls of St. Michael's Academy were filled with parents and family members. Thank you for taking the time to meet with your children's teachers. Conferences like these are just one of the ways that we strengthen our partnership with parents to benefit your child's education!

 

 

A Message from the Diocese 

 

We wish to inform you that Bishop Rozanski made a statement yesterday about a review process regarding Cathedral High School. For information on this topic please click here. 

 

Scholastic Book Fair!

 

This week we hosted our annual Scholastic Book Fair. Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make this event possible.

 

 

Catholic Communications Donation

 

As noted in last week's issue of The Messenger, the faculty, students and staff collected change for October's Measurement Monday. The total donated to Catholic Communications was $871.96!

 

Walk-a-Thon Awards Ceremony

 

Friday afternoon we held the awards ceremony for the Walk-a-Thon. Miss Dougal reminded students that the Walk-a-Thon is a great event that serves two purposes. It reminds students of the importance of being physically active as well as raises funds for our Academy.  Students and classes were awarded for participation and funds raised. Congratulations to all of our winners! 

 

Attendance Incentive 

 

In an effort to encourage all of our students to have good attendance, 
SMA has instituted a new incentive. Each Monday, a student name will be drawn at random and if that student was in schoolon time, and did not get dismissed early every day the previous week, the student will receive a dress down day on Tuesday. 


 

This week, a fourth grade student, Brian, received a dress down day!

Upcoming Events
Monday, November 10:
Walk-a-Thon Limo Ride for Middle Level Award Winners

Tuesday, November 11: 
No School, Veteran's Day

Wednesday, November 12: 
Banking
Drumming

Friday, November 14:
Walk-a-Thon Dress Down Day for $25.00 or more in sponsors
Parish Corner

From Holy Name Parish in Springfield - Just a friendly reminder to parents of second graders who will be making their First Communion next spring to please register with the Religious Education Office as soon as possible.  Applications are available at the Church and at the Rectory.  Classes have begun, but it's not too late to enroll.  Any questions, please contact Claudine Bouchard Collins at 733-5823, ext. 123.

Prayer Corner
St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us!

We pray for all St. Michael's Academy students, families, faculty, and staff, and their special intentions.

This week we pray in a special way for Norma Jones, Shirley Germain, Wendall Gilbert, Mr. & Mrs. Richard Sitnik, The Velez Family, The Carrier Family. 

Our prayers continue to be with Mr. Rancitelli, who is undergoing treatment for a cancer recurrence. Each week, a different homeroom sends him cards. If your family would like to send a card, please send it to school with your child, clearly marked for Mr. Rancitelli. His family has set up a blog to write about this experience. Click here to read the blog. 

We also remember in our prayers the deceased: Melissa Hathorne.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.
St. Michael's Academy - 153 Eddywood Street - Springfield, MA 01118
413.782.5246 office - 413.782.8137 fax