Saint Mary School

The last day of the 2021-2022 school year is upon us! Tomorrow, June 16, is the last day of school and it will be a short, but busy day. The Awards Assembly will take place in the church between 9:30-10:30 am. Students should wear formal uniform. Students will be dismissed from their classrooms at 11:00 am. As a reminder, all outstanding balances must be paid by tomorrow. Thank you for your continuous support! We wish you all a wonderful and blessed Summer!

Title I, Part A, of No Child Left Behind, provides supplemental educational services to students in public and parochial schools. The purpose of the Act is to provide additional help for children so that they can acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenging standards that all students are expected to meet. This information is very important. It will help us continue our participation in Title I supplemental educational programs, such as reading and/or math after school programs that help our children. Your tax dollars are paying for these programs. Please help us to keep them. This school is asking for 100% participation so we can receive the allocated funding. Please take the time to fill out the Survey (the survey was emailed and can also be found in the documents section of the app). One (1) survey is needed per student. All you need to do is circle the YES or NO after each question. Your answers will be strictly CONFIDENTIAL. As an incentive, if surveys are complete, students will receive free dress passes (please see the email sent for specifics). The final date to submit the survey is May 26, 2022. Thank you for your continued support!

A Message Regarding Student Drop-off & Pick-Up Good Afternoon Parents and Guardians of St. Mary School, We are happy to announce that we are one step closer to getting back to normality. We are changing back to pre-pandemic drop-off and pick-up. As a reminder all children must be in the classroom by 7:55 am. Parents, you can choose to drop-off your child/children in front of the large gate between 7:30 am - 7:55 am. The large gate will close at 7:55 am and at that point, you will need to take them to the front office. Or parents can park in the church parking lot and walk your child to the large gate. All parents walking their children to the front gate must use the crosswalk. A SMS staff member will be there to assist. At this time, parents are not allowed to enter the school during morning drop-off. Dismissal will be at 3:00 pm and gates will open at 2:55 pm. Parents will then proceed to their child's classroom to sign him/her out. At 3:15 pm students will be taken to daycare. ***Parents*** If you need to come to the office, the only entrance remains through Avenue R-4 Traffic Pattern Enter at the entrance gate as in the past. If you're dropping off your child, stay on the right side. If you're going to walk your child to the front gate, stay on the left side and park. Please always use the crosswalk to walk your child to the gate. As always, please be courteous and patient with each other as we all get accustomed to this new traffic pattern. Let's be mindful of our speed in the parking lot because now our students will be walking. Thank you for your cooperation. In Christ's Peace, Ms. Rios

Our annual Father/Daughter Dance is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 30, 2022 from 5:00pm-8:00pm in the new parish hall. Tickets are being sold in in the office and are $15 each. We encourage parents to buy tickets in the office before the 30th as only a limited number of tickets will be sold at the door. We hope that is event will be special, memorable, and fun for all those who attend. Please see the flyer for more information.

Every year, we have an almsgiving collection for the Missionary Childhood Association during Lent. On April 12th and 13th, our school will have this collection by paying a dollar for each piece of clothing item that is not part of the school uniform. The money collected will be sent to help the people of Ukraine. Thank you for your participation in helping those in need through your support. Have a blessed week.

Friendly Reminders: Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 1st lunch will be provided for all students as part of the Mardi Gras celebration. Those who paid for lunch for Tuesday, March 1 will be credited. Please see the dining section of the app for an updated menu. Lunch orders, with payment, are due this Wednesday, March 2nd. Ash Wednesday is this Wednesday, March 2nd. Mass will be live streamed and teachers will distribute ashes to students. There will be 11:00am dismissal on Wednesday and there will be no after school day care. In-person Mass schedules can be found at: https://www.saintmarys-ave.org/news/ash-wednesday-lent

Thank you to the parents/guardians who completed the Wine & Beer Festival Survey! Those who completed the survey may send their student(s) in free dress on Monday, February 28. We will have the list of names to reference. Please remember the free dress policy (no skinny or ripped jeans; all attire must be appropriate). Thank you again for your time!

Covid testing is a safe and effective way to keep our campus safe. As a reminder, Heluna Health will be back on campus this Friday, February 25th to test those students who have registered. If you are interested in having your child tested please see the registration information that was emailed.

Dear Parents & Guardians: As we prepare for the spring Wine & Beer Festival, we would like your feedback to help us plan an event that the entire community can enjoy. We ask that each family please fill out the survey. Family's only have to answer one survey to get free dress for their children for Monday, February 28th. All surveys must be filled out by this Friday, February 25th, at 2:00 pm. Thank you for your feedback! Here is the link for the survey: https://surveyfactory.net/s/893/WB-Fest22

Through a generous donation, COVID testing kits are available for all of our Saint Mary School families. Due to the rise in COVID cases, parents/guardians are encouraged to stop by the office to collect a testing kit. As a reminder, our office is open from 7:30 am - 3:30 pm. Please call the office should you have questions or concerns.

COVID testing is a safe and effective way to keep our campus safe. On Friday, February 18, 2022, we will have COVID testing available on campus for our students. No appointment is necessary, but we do need all students registered. We ask that all parents read through the attachment that was emailed (and found in the document section of the application) and follow the instructions to register your child. If any questions or concerns should arise, please feel free to contact the office at 661-273-5555.

As we slowly make our way back to in -person learning, daycare will be re-opening. Morning and after school care will officially open on February 8, 2022. Morning care will open at 6:30 am and afterschool care will be open from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm. On Friday, February 18, 2022 our students will start attending Mass in person once again. Ash Wednesday Mass will be held on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. School will be dismissed at 11:00 am this day. To keep our students safe Mass will be live streamed for them and our teachers will distribute the ashes to our students. Please call the office if you have questions or concerns. Thank you.

Saint Mary School previously announced an Open House on January 30, 2022. Due to the rise of COVID cases in our community and County, the school has postponed this event. Once a new date has been established, we will announce it to the community. If new families are interested in applying for enrollment for this school year or the next school year, please call the office to schedule a meeting and take a tour of the school. Applications are accepted year-round and tuition assistance is available year-round as well. Thank you.

UPDATED Return to School Important Announcement! Due to the increase of COVID cases, especially in our own community, we will do distance learning beginning: Monday, January 10th until Friday, January 21st. We will resume in-person classes on: Monday, January 24th. Please see the email sent, calendar, and news post on the app and website for an updated material pick-up schedule and protocols for returning to in-person instruction. Please note that the office will be open from 8am-1pm Monday-Thursday for the next two weeks.

Happy Saturday! Thank you for supporting our Christmas Program yesterday. We hope everyone enjoyed it. Here are a few reminders for the week: 1) Lunch orders with payment for January 10-21 are due on Monday, Dec. 20 2) There is noon dismissal - 12:00 pm - on Wednesday, Dec. 22 & there will be NO DAY CARE on this day 3) Families who pay tuition in person & have a January 5th due date are asked to pay their January tuition in the office no later that December 22nd 4) Christmas break begins December 23rd and the office will be closed until we return on January 10th. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and blessed New Year!

Thank you to our parents and students who attended our Christmas Paint Night today. There were lots of smiling faces and the signs look wonderful! This a great way to spend quality family time and build community.

Today is our Christmas themed Family Paint Night at 5:00pm. School families are welcomed to come paint, sip some hot cocoa, sing a few Christmas carols and relax with friends and family. We want to thank our PTO for organizing and hosting this event!

We want to wish all our parents, students, staff, community members, and supporters a Happy Thanksgiving! God is good and there is so much to be grateful for. May your Thanksgiving be full of love and continued blessings. Just a reminder that the office will be closed during Thanksgiving break (11/22-11/26). Classes resume on November 29th. We also want to remind parents that if you should travel out of the country, students will need to quarantine for 10 days before returning to school. It is our mission to keep our students as safe as possible. Finally, please visit our Wine & Beer Festival article for an UPDATED list of those who supported the event (https://www.stmaryspalmdale.org/article/590394). God bless you all.

We are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow (11/19) as a school community! We are busy preparing a Thanksgiving Feast for our students and still need parent volunteers - specifically for Kinder, 2nd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade and 7th grade. If you can volunteer please sign-up using the following link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4aafab22abfbc07-thanksgiving Just a reminder that volunteers need to be VIRTUS trained, fingerprinted, and cleared with the office. An e-blast was sent with the link as well. Thank you for your help!

Have you purchased your tickets for the Wine & Beer Festival on Saturday October 16? The SMS School Board has been working diligently to make this event happen and we need your help to make it a huge success. Please join us for a night of wine & beer tasting, live music, D.J., live Hawaiian dancers, great food, and a silent auction. All proceeds help our school. You can purchase your tickets on the school website, in the school office or upon arrival at the door. We hope to see you there!