St. Thomas More School Newsletter
September 19-24, 2022
Principal’s Message
Building Community – One Body, Many Parts
1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
Dear Parents and Families,
Thank you to all the parents who attended Curriculum Night. It was a great way to start building community this year. Parents spent time in their students’ classrooms getting to know the teachers, the learning environment and getting an overview of the curriculum and educational activities planned for this year. In our general session, we were able to find out about some of the exciting events coming up this year, meet our parent leaders, and recognize our amazing staff at STMS. Francesca Abellera, Parent Club Co-Chair, talked about the wonderful diversity that makes our school and parish community so special. She highlighted that it wasn’t just the differences in culture, but the gifts and strengths our families bring in their cultural background and experiences. I couldn’t agree more or have expressed any better the sentiment that I have had since joining this amazing family.
I look forward to seeing you at the Intercultural Festival this Saturday.
Salam (Peace in Arabic),
Elizabeth Glaze
Newsletter Name
We need a name for our St. Thomas More Newsletter. Students wishing to submit a suggestion, please complete the STMS School Newsletter Name Suggestion form and return it to the office.
Volunteers
Parents who wish to volunteer will need to be current on their Virtus Training, Protecting God’s Children and complete the School Volunteer Agreement attesting to their vaccination status. Parents wishing to volunteer inside the school building will need to be fully vaccinated.
Speech Team
Speech Team will be starting Thursday, September 22. Practice will be every Thursday from 3-4pm in the library until our last competition in January. It is open to all middle school students, grades 6-8.
This is a great opportunity for students to practice their speaking skills and compete against other schools.
Please see the Speech Team Flyer for more information and respond to this email if your student will be joining us for Speech Team.
Thank you,
Miss Tessa Watters
Parents Club
Hello Families,
The school year is well on its way. The strong community of our school friends and families is palpable in the air. We appreciate everyone’s help and collaboration. Thank you for a great start to the year!
Please join us at the Intercultural Festival on September 24, 2020 This Saturday from 12:00-4:30
- We need CANOPY TENTS and VOLUNTEERS for the festival. (Canopy Tent Donation = 1 hr volunteer)
Sign up genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C4BAFAC2CA0FA7-intercultural2
- Raffle Tickets return date 9/19/22 (If you haven’t returned your tickets please return ASAP)
- Please Share the festival flyer on your social media pages, proceeds go to the school and the church.
We have performers, food vendors, and merchants vendors
- Food Vendors: Ixtapa, 88 Cues, Dickies BBQ, Mustache (Bubble Tea), Traditional Eritrean/Ethiopian Coffee, Good Mood Food (Desserts), Knights of Columbus (Hamburgers & Hotdogs), Kool Kids Ice cream Truck.
- Performers: Baile Folklore Colibri, Taekwondo Way, Shelton Highland Dancers (Scottish Dance), Raindrops Choir, Line Dance by STM Health & Wellness Team, Olympic Ballet School, Juliah Nyaga performing songs, Shorecrest Hip-Hop Dancers, Grafton Street Dance Academy (Irish dance), AfroBeats, NW Tap, Sunshine from Polynesia, FACES/Filipiñana.
- Lots of Merchants
- Fun for kids Face Painting and Balloon animals to mention a few.
FOOD and FUN from AROUND THE WORLD!
Can’t wait to see you there!
Other important dates:
- Sept 27th – Room Parents Orientation 6:30 pm, Renggli Room
- Sept 27th – Cookie Dough Fundraising kicks off
- October 6th Parent Club Meeting: Renggli Room: 8:30 am
Kind regards,
Francesca and Suzi
Parent Club Chairs
Dine for Dollars is Back!
We are excited to bring back dine for dollars at Ixtapa.
We will be donating 20% of our sales on the 29th. People from school just have to mention that they are coming from STMS and we will put their tickets aside and add them at the end of the day .
We will deliver a check made to the school the next morning.
For advertising we can say ” On Celebration of Mexican Independence Day”, Ixtapa Mexican Restaurant will be hosting a Dine for Dollars on September 29th from 12pm-8:30pm.
Own and operated by The Barajas Family.
Dine In or Takeout (Call In)
5031 168th ST AVE NE
LYNNWOOD WA 98037
425 742 4300
Box Tops for Education
This is National Box Tops Week! STMS participates in this fundraiser year-round. Since it has become almost exclusively digital, we have seen our earnings significantly decrease. Please consider getting the app on your phone and scanning receipts, as well as encouraging others to do the same. We only have 44 registered users at this time supporting STMS.
Currently, the 5th grade class is at the top of the Box Tops Leader Board, and 7th grade is right behind them in second place. Users can designate earnings to any class they wish to track, but ALL earnings benefit the entire school! If you have any unexpired Box Tops clips laying around you can put them in my office mailbox – deadline for mailing is October 28th.
See the program website for more information on the Box Tops for Education Program.
Thank you for your help in spreading the word about this fundraising opportunity. Share the news, refer a friend, earn for STM! Happy Box Tops Week!
Your coordinator, Joana Ransford
Dates to Remember
9/24: Intercultural Festival, 12:00-4:30
9/26: Noon Release – Teacher Professional Development (free dress)
10/3: School Pictures
10/14: No School – Teacher Professional Development
10/20: Conferences, Noon dismissal
10/21: Conferences- No School
School Mass Schedule
The All-School Masses (through October):
Tuesday, Oct 4 | Blessing of the Pets | 12:00 | Student Council |
Wednesday, Oct 12 | Mass of the Holy Spirit | 9:00 | Fourth Grade |
Monday, Oct 31 | Pumpkin Fest | 1:00 | Music |
Also, this year each grade level will lead the 3rd Sunday Mass, which coincides with Coffee & Donuts (with the exceptions of December, April, and June). October 16 will be led by the 8th graders. All participants and attendees in school uniform will get a free dress pass. Please see the attached sign up sheets in the email for this week’s newsletter.
Pet Food and Toy Drive
Pet Food and Toy Drive
September 26th – October 4th
Our Pet Food and Toy Drive for Pasado’s Safe Haven starts on Monday and ends with the Blessing of the Pets on October 4th. Help us care for all of God’s creation by bringing in food, toys, blankets, etc. A list of suggested donations can also be found at pasadosafehaven.org/ways-to-give/wish-list.
Pastoral Council
The Pastoral Council is a consultative body to the Pastor which serves the people of God through visionary leadership and direction.
The purpose of the Pastoral Council is:
- To create, inspire, and demonstrate leadership and enthusiasm for all matters relating to the spiritual and temporal affairs of St. Thomas More Parish
- To provide recommendations for Parish priorities, directions, and policies through pastoral planning.
- To Promote communication, visibility, and understanding among the Parish Commissions, Committees, Community, Archdiocese, and universal Church.
- Informing community, Council members are challenged to ongoing renewal through prayer, study, listening, and dialogue.
- In developing priorities and directions for the Parish, the Council is to become the means to achieving full participation by the Parish in its mission by giving its voice in guiding and directing Parish life.
- In fostering communication, the Council encourages and initiates dialogue among parish leadership and organizations and brings the concerns to the larger Church.
We invite you to become a part of our Pastoral Council. Our regular schedule is 4th Thursday September- June. However, the September meeting will be on 9/29 jointly with Finance Council.
For more information, please contact Nick Golla, (818) 903-9140 nngolla@gmail.com
Important Reminders
Dismissal
Please do not arrive for dismissal before 2:45. We are creating a line on the street, which impacts our neighbors. We appreciate your cooperation with this. Parents of K- Grade 3 students (who do not have an older sibling) should park in timed parking.
Monday Morning Prayer Service
On Mondays we go directly into Dalton Hall for a prayer service, with announcements following. Parents are welcome to join us – we ask that you gather at the back of the hall.
Scrip
Shopping with SCRIP is fundraising while you shop! The STMS SCRIP Program is a year- round fundraiser that sells gift cards and the brands give back to our school in rebates! There are over 750+ brands to choose from to buy GAS, GROCERIES, CLOTHES, TRAVEL, TOOLS, & more! Rebates from your SCRIP purchase count back towards your Family’s Fundraising Commitment, and you don’t have to sell a thing!
We carry a limited number of brands in our physical inventory sold on Wednesdays at Drop off 8:00-9:00 and Pick Up 2:45-3:30 and on Sundays 9:30-10:30. This depends on volunteer availability. NEED VOLUNTEER HOURS!? Join the SCRIP TEAM! We have various opportunities.
DOWNLOAD The RaiseRight App and to get SCRIP e-gift cards right at our fingertips. Email us today for the enrollment code at smpsscrip@gmail.com. THIS WEEK ON THE RAISERIGHT APP: Raise Days! Sept 15-16. Get BONUS Rebates on E-Gift Cards and Reloadable Gift Cards!
We’re so excited for this New School Year! Welcome back!
-Your SCRIP TEAM
Website
We are continuing to revise and improve the website. You can now access the calendar under the Parents tab for to see upcoming events. There is also updated Auction information. We will continue to keep you informed of updates and improvements throughout the year.