St. Thomas More School Newsletter
October 3-7, 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,
St Francis of Assisi is one of my favorite saints and we celebrated his feast day with a Blessing of the Pets on Tuesday. We had a wonderful turn out for the event. In addition to a fair amount of dogs and a few cats, there were also fish, chickens, turtles, birds, and goats! In addition to the actual blessing, our Student Council read scripture and sang songs in celebration – they performed beautifully.
We have lots of exciting things happening in October – next week we have the Mass of the Holy Spirit, our cookie dough fundraiser is underway, and parent conferences are coming up (see more info below). I hope to get a chance to connect with more of you.
Shalom (Peace in Hebrew),
Elizabeth Glaze
Conferences
We will be sending out a Sign Up Genius for conferences this Friday. Please follow up with the school next week if you don’t receive it.
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. A free dress pass will be awarded to the person with the chosen name.
Patrol
Anyone looking for volunteer hours? We can always use your help in patrol!! You will receive 1 hour for every AM or PM day. Please contact me (Robert Trias) for which days you are available and either mornings (AM) or afternoons (PM) or both. You contact myself @ (206)353-2000 or TRIAS0175@yahoo.com , I will also be doing patrol every Monday (PM), so you can talk to me at school.
Thank you!!!
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.
Auction Update
AUCTION HELP NEEDED
We are still looking for procurement leads for the following grades: K, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Shoutout to 3rd Grade and Kelly Schmid for signing up to help!
Your participation in this team will fulfil your auction hours, as well as help you secure your $250 procurement requirement.
Please send me an email at jessica.e.nunn@gmail.com if you are interested in helping on the procurement committee.
EXCITING NEWS – SPONSOR A FLAMINGO
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, St. Thomas More will be turning PINK for OCTOBER 10-21! This will be a festive and visible fundraiser where St. Thomas More will be donned in those beautiful pink plastic birds.
We would love to have your support and sponsorship of a Flamingo. With sponsorship of a flamingo your name, business name, or someone you know who fought or is fighting Cancer currently will be printed on a laminated card and hung around the flamingo’s neck.
Cost of sponsorship is a $10.00 donation with 20% of the proceeds going to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Please join us in turning the grass hill between the parking lot and the school PINK by sponsoring a Flamingo or two!
Please complete the order form and return to the school office/collection plate with cash or check to St. Thomas More School: Sponsor a Flamingo_2 (stms.org).
Jessica Lang | Auction Procurement Team | St. Thomas More School
Cell (425) 890-5891
Follow Along @stmsauction
Parents Club
Hello Families,
Cookie Dough Fundraiser (September 28th to October 12th)
St Thomas More School’s Cookie Dough fundraiser ends October 12. Just a reminder that 40% of your sales goes towards your fundraising obligation. Please register online and reach out to friends and family. Delivery will be mid November.
It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3!
- Register September 28 at www.ShopFund.com
- Share custom support links with family & friends via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email, Text and more.
- Student Goal: 5 Online Supporters.
REGISTER-SHARE-WIN: Sharing gets you tickets for chances to win from over $100,000 in instant prizes.
Fundraiser Links:
- Kick-Off Videos – (https://youtu.be/HvAuJzU0gI4)
- Parent Letter – (https://bit.ly/3reEH0V )
- Prize Program – (https://bit.ly/3PDuDbR )
Any questions feel free to reach out to me at meuccita@aol.com
*Sneaker 4 Funds: Reminder to turn in your shoes to Sandra. 20 pairs = $15 towards your fundraising requirements!
*Stay tuned for more information about Trunk & Treat October 29th 6:15pm @ the STM Parking lot!
Other important dates:
- October 6th Parent Club Meeting: Renggli Room: 8:30 am after drop-off
- TBD – Intercultural Festival Potluck Debrief
- October 24th Noon Dismissal
- October 29th – Trunk & Treat after 5pm mass at 6:15pm @ the STM Parking Lot
Kind regards,
Francesca and Suzi
Parent Club Chairs
CYO
Saint Thomas More CYO Basketball registration is open for girls and boys in grades 4th – 8th.
Register at: https://www.teamsideline.com/seattlecyo
League Games: 11/19, 11/20, 12/3, 12/4, 12/10, 12/11, 12/17, 12/18, 1/7, 1/8, 1/14, 1/15, 1/21, 1/22, 1/28, 1/29
Coaches:
4th Grade Boys – Andre Lang and Alfredo Barajas
5th Grade Boys – Darren Walker
8th Grade Boys – Jerome Angeles
5th Grade Girls – Andre Taylor (St. Pius)
Practice locations, days, and times are TBD. I will reserve local or parish gyms in Edmonds or Mukilteo for practice. The days and times will depend on the coach’s availability.
We still need coaches for 4th-grade girls, 6th-grade boys and girls, and 7th-grade boys and girls. If you are interested in coaching, please contact Karen Pena: at kjpena77@gmail.com.
Dine for Dollars
We appreciate everyone who came out to support our 1st Dine for Dollars at Ixtapa in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month! Thank you to the Barajas Family for hosting this fun event! We had a great turn out in such a short time frame and everyone had a good time! There were 31 total tickets from STMS and 3 or so from the parish! In the past Dine for Dollars on 1/29/20 at 41 tickets- $533.80, and on 12/10/20 with 45 tickets was $564.95. The total contributed to STMS last Thursday, 9/27/22 was $395.47! Thank you to our school and parish community for all your support!
Parents club is always happy to partner with our families to host these fun Dine for Dollars events and we look forward to our next Dine for Dollars @ Ixtapa again in the future.
COVID -19 Guidelines
St. Thomas More School is following the guidelines published by the Washington State Department of Health. During the month of September, STMS had 7 reported cases of COVID-19 positive test results. Please continue to monitor your children for symptoms of COVID-19 and keep them home if they are ill. If your child tests positive, the quarantine period is 5-10 days. If after 5 days, your child is symptom free he/she may return to school (wearing a mask) as long as you provide proof of a negative test result. Siblings of a child who test positive, or if a child is exposed to someone else in the home who tests positive, may return to school as long as there are no COVID-19 symptoms with proof of a negative and remain masked.
Dates to Remember
10/7 CYO Spirit Day (for current CYO participants in fall sports; please wear uniform bottoms)
10/13: Blue Thursday
10/14: No School – Teacher Professional Development
10/20: Conferences, Noon dismissal
10/21: Conferences- No School
10/24: Noon Dismissal – Teacher Professional Development
10/28: Blue Friday
School Mass Schedule
The All-School Masses (through October):
Wednesday, Oct 12 | Mass of the Holy Spirit | 9:00 | Fourth Grade |
Sunday, October 16 | STMS School Led Mass | 10:30 | 8th Grade |
Monday, Oct 31 | Pumpkin Fest | 1:00 | Music |
Also, this year each grade level will lead the 3rd Sunday Mass (at the 8:30), 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.
Coffee & Donuts
Please see the links below to sign up. We need more people to sign up for the 8:30 Mass.
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
Thank you to everyone who purchased Scrip, signed up on the Raise Right App, or signed up to volunteer at last week’s Curriculum night! The winner of the $25 Gift Card was Mrs. Joana Ransford! Congratulations!
If you are NEW to Raise Right please stop by any of our in-person sales for help or tips! Let us help Scrip work for you! In person sales are on Wednesdays at Drop off and Pick Up and Every other Sunday or School Coffee & Donuts pending Volunteers.
Looking for hours, a way to meet new people, or something to do Friday Mornings? Email us at stmpsscrip@gmail.com and join our Scrip team! We NEED Friday Morning, Saturday after Mass, and Sunday drop in Volunteers! Thank you! For more information on the Scrip Program, please see the Scrip Flyer.
-Your STMS 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.