The Messenger

May 15, 2015
Vol. II, No.36

St. Michael's Academy

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St. Michael's Academy

As the weather gets nicer, our students are enjoying their field trips, both indoors and outdoors. This week our seventh graders traveled to Cobble Mountain to learn about our water supply, and they also had a great time participating in the annual retreat day, provided by New Spirit, Inc. Meanwhile, our little ones in the PreK-3 program visited with Mother Goose. (Very cute!) Scroll down to see some of the pictures from these events.

This weekend is full of all sorts of activities such as First Communions, Graduations, sports games, the New England Air Show and Pancake Breakfast. If you attend the Breakfast, look for some of our students who will be singing as part of the opening program.

On Saturday we'll also have some of our second grade students playing violin as part of the Long Meddowe Days celebrations.

Despite all this activity, we still have work to do here at school. Please take time to review the fourth quarter progress reports sent home today. This is a hard time of year to stay focused. Our students need us to help them keep their priorities straight, at least for 24 more school days (but who's counting!).

Have a great weekend!

Peace,

Ms. Ann Dougal

Reminders

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Kindergarten Field Trip

Lupa Zoo

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

School Board Meeting

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Grade 3 Field Trip

Worcester Ecotarium

Friday, May 22, 2015

Grade 4 Field Trip

Storrowton Village

Friday, May 22, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.

Grade 6 Grandparent Event

"The Emperor's New Clothes"

From The Advancement and Admissions Offices

Advancement

End of the Year Grandparent Events

Our next two grandparent events involve our 6th and 4th grade classes. 6th grade will be presenting "The Emperor's New Clothes" on Friday, May 22nd at 9:30 a.m. in the SMA gym. On Thursday, May 28th, 4th grade grandparents will enjoy a special presentation of the 4th Grade Chorus Recital at 9:30 a.m. in Holy Cross Church. We look forward to seeing you there!

Pleaese remember, a gift to The Fund for St. Michael's Academy is the first and foremost way that YOU can partner with us to support the mission of St. Michael's Academy. If you would like to make a gift, please contact Phyllis Lund at (413) 782-5246 ext. 1202 or visit our website to make a gift online or by clicking here.

Thank you for your commitment to Catholic education and your dedicated support of our mission.

Admissions

Attention Parents - We still have some students who have not returned their registration forms for next year. Even if you are not planning on returning to St. Michael's next year, please notify us as to your intentions in order for us to establish our openings. The last thing we want is for a child to want to return next year and not have an available space for them. If you need another set of forms, please contact the Admissions Office or main office at 782-5246. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact our Admissions Director or Tuition Manager.

Invest in a child's education AND their FUTURE...

St. Michael's Academy

Classroom Highlights

News from the Desk of...Ms. Baines - PreK 4

The year is going by fast in PreK4-A and we are continuing to have fun and get ready for Kindergarten. We are going to be finishing up learning the last two letters of the alphabet. Also, we began learning about different insects that we start to see again in the springtime. So far the children have learned the full life cycles of a bee and butterflies!! Our class will continue the year with themes such as ocean life and summer.

The children are very excited that they will be Kindergarteners in six more weeks!

Thanks Buddy!

Mrs. Ruell's kindergarten class says "Thanks Buddy!" to each of their 8th grade friends who helped them write special messages to The Blessed Mother. After completing, the cards were placed at the feet of our crowned Lady in the main lobby.

Grade 5 Science Experiments

Friction, viscosity, acidity, growing mediums...sound like science experiments? You guessed it! The 5th Grade students shared their science experiments with the 3rd and 4th grades who were all eyes and ears as each group explained their hypotheses and outcomes. Nice job 5th grade!

Grade 7 Field Trip

On Tuesday and Wednesday 7th grade students went on a field trip to the Cobble Mountain reservoir and treatment facility. Students learned how water flows from the Cobble Mountain Reservoir to the West Parish Water Filtration Plant in Westfield, where it is filtered and treated to provide water to the greater Springfield area. In addition, the students had the opportunity to do some hands on identifying of some of the living things that are in the Cobble Mountain watershed.

New Spirit Retreat

Grade 7 students had the pleasure of joining Barry Kingston and Pat Sears in a New Spirit retreat today. The students enjoyed a day of positive faith experiences helping them to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Mother Goose Comes to Town

Children in the PreK-3 classroom were star-struck as Mother Goose came to visit them this week! Armed with her bag of tricks, Mother Goose acted out several nursery rhymes and even got the parents involved!

Grade 4 Art Class

Wait until you see what the 4th graders have been up to in Art class. Mrs. Connolly's guidance has done it again! Using paper mache, students have been creating dachshund dogs. Such talented artists!

And The Winners Are...

As promised in last week's edition of The Messenger, click here for a listing of the Grade 8 Science Fair winners in each of the categories. Congrats to all!

Perfect Attendance!

Hats off to our perfect attendance winners! Isabel from Gr. 5 received the dress down privilege for the week of 4/27 and Paul from Gr. 8 for the week of 5/4. Good attendance pays off!

Happy Birthday!
Everyone at St. Michael's Academy sends out very special birthday wishes to a very special lady. Happy Birthday Sr. Ruth!

Student Catholicity
The students attended a beautiful Mass on Ascension Thursday with Msgr. Connelly which was hosted by the 4th Grade. Thank you Msgr. for celebrating Mass with us!

Read to Succeed !

Six Flags e-Tickets Have Arrived!

Seventy-two students in Kindergarten through Grade 6 have earned a ticket to Six Flags in the Read to Succeed program after completing 6 hours of recreational reading. These tickets have been issued as e-tickets; a single sheet that has a certificate on the top and the actual ticket on the bottom. Please note the tickets are valid July 6 - September 20, 2015.

Congratulations on a job well done! Have fun!!!

From Cathedral
A Message from Our Friends at Cathedral High School As you may know, the D'Amours have pledged $500,000 to Cathedral High School to be used strictly for tuition assistance. Click here to help Cathedral High School meet their challenge grant.

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:

Mr. and Mrs. Drew Hayes

Dorothy Rexford

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Sotiropoulos

Michele and Donald D'Amour

Mr. and Mrs. Francis Ryan

Mrs. Mary Ann McDonald

And we pray for all the recently deceased:

Evangelina Ford

Sr. Catherine Leary, SSJ

Helen D'Amour

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.

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.


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