The Phoenix Flyer: St. Thomas More School Newsletter
February 20-24, 2023
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,
I hope you enjoyed the nice long weekend. Now we come back to one of the coldest weeks we’ve had this winter – be sure to bundle up those kiddos!
The 7th grade did a wonderful job of presenting our Ash Wednesday Mass. Thank you to all who came out to celebrate Mass with us. We look forward to this reflective time in which we can examine our hearts and grow our relationship with God.
ειρήνη Eirini (“Peace” in Greek),
Elizabeth Glaze
Dates to Remember
2/26 6th/ Kindergarten Mass, 10:30am
2/27 Noon Dismissal (teacher in-service)
3/2 Parents Club Meeting, 6:30 (on Zoom)
3/3 Primary Speech Presentatoins
3/8-3/9 Speech Tournament, Grades 3-8
Lent Activities
During Lent, the Knights of Columbus will be hosting a fish fry every Friday. Please see the flyer linked below for the more information. “To Go” orders are also available. Call Jim at (425) 248-3157 for more information.
Knights of Columbus Friday Fish Fry
Auction Update
Auction Updates:
Please sign up to attend our Dream Big Fly High – Step Into Spring Gala Auction, this is our school’s largest fundraiser. Come and enjoy a fun evening out with fellow parents, teachers and our amazing school staff, while also supporting our school. Your attendance will help fund programs and provide valuable resources to our staff and students at St. Thomas More. The registration link can be found below.
Gala Auction
Saturday, March 11, 2023
5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
RSVP for the Gala here: Gala Registration (ejoinme.org)
Embassy Suites Hotel Room Block: Embassy Suites Hotel Room_STMS Auction Gala
Dessert Dash Sign Up: Dessert Dash Sign Up
Donate to the STMS Gala Auction in the SWEETEST WAY!
We are looking for 25 procured desserts from local bakeries & businesses to auction off at March 11th’s Auction Dessert Dash! (Please no Costco or grocery store desserts)
Tables donate money and DASH to the dessert table to pick the BEST dessert for their table! The tastier and fancier, the faster they’ll run!
Each dessert donated will count towards ONE hour of auction volunteer hours!
Please sign up below and reach out to Tiffany Butts (miwongtumt@gmail.com) for questions.
Gala Auction Volunteer Sign Up: Gala Auction Volunteer Sign Up
Jessica Lang | Auction Procurement Team | St. Thomas More School
Cell (425) 890-5891 Email: jessica@nvllaw.com
Follow Along @stmsauction
Judges Needed for Speech Tournament
On March 8 and 9, we will hold our Speech Tournament for grades 3-8. We are in need of judges for the different speech events. Parents who do not have a student in the competition are welcome to participate and earn volunteer hours.
If you or someone you know can help judge the tournament, please contact the school office.
Parent Club
Here is our brief update for the newsletter.
Our World’s Finest Chocolate Fundraiser underway! The students took home their Chocolate order forms and packets last week. A huge Thank you to Tara Meucci and Fadia Kassab for leading this effort! If you haven’t fulfilled your fundraising goal, this is Sweet way to do it!
All orders are due by Monday, Feb 27th. Any orders received after that day will only be filled by overage if available.
Additional forms are available in the office. For any questions, please feel free to reach out to Tara Meucci @ 425-218-1787 or via email at meuccita@aol.com! There’s lots of fun prizes and the top class gets a class party!
Have a fantastic week!
Francesca & Suzi
Scrip
SCRIP NEWS!
SCRIP NEWS!
From May 2022 to January 2023, we have earned $12,378.31 for St. Thomas More in REBATES from Families shopping with Scrip Gift Cards!! Imagine how many families could meet their Fundraising Commitment!!? And YOU can too!!
Shopping with Scrip is Fundraising while you shop! Are you on the RAISERIGHT app yet?? School Code:
IN PERSON SALE TIMES:
Wednesday 8-9am
Friday 2:45-3:30pm (not on half days)
Every other Sunday 9:30-10:30am – next Sunday sale will be March 5th
FEBRUARY CHALLENGE:
LOCAL VENDOR HIGHLIGHT:
Double DD Meats in Mountlake Terrace has 3000 different HOT sauces, 1000 BBQ Sauces, 500 Dry Rubs, and a variety of 100% natural meats! With Easter around the corner, consider buying Scrip Gift Cards with 20% rebate for your Ham or Roasts! www.doubleddmeats.com .
SAFEWAY GIFT CARD *CLEARANCE* SALE
Safeway cards currently in our inventory are no longer reloadable. NEW reloadable cards will NOT be purchased until the current ones are sold out. So we’re having a CLEARANCE SALE! All Safeway Cards purchased from Feb 8th until we are out of the non-reloadable cards will EARN 8% REBATE! Get them while they are still available!
Email us at stmpsscrip@gmail.com for questions!
WSCC Catholic Schools Quarterly Newsletter
Below please find the links to the WSCC’s Catholic Schools Quarterly Newsletter for Winter Quarter 2023 in English and Spanish.
English https://www.wacatholics.org/_ui/img/global/Schools-Quarterly-Newsletter-02.07.2023.pdf
Spanish https://www.wacatholics.org/_ui/img/global/Noticias-de-la-WSCC-para-Escuelas-Cat%C3%B3licas.pdf
Specialist Spotlight
Our specialists work hard to provide a variety of interesting and engaging activities for all of our students. We would like to share some of the highlights of their work, as well as a little bit more about each of them.
Miss Watters thinks she has the BEST job at STMS – librarian! Miss Watters came to St. Thomas More in 2008. She moved here from the small town she grew up in and where she had spent seven years teaching high school special education before getting her Library Media endorsement. Despite being away from her family, she found family and community here at St. Thomas More. It is support and sense of community that Miss Watters appreciates most about St. Thomas More.
One of the best things about Miss Watters’ position is getting students excited about books and fostering their love of reading. One of her greatest joys is when students are so excited for the next book in a series or they find one that they are so excited for that they can barely contain their excitement waiting to get it. Miss Watters loves seeing the smiles on their faces as they check out books or when she brings them that special book they’ve been waiting for.
Miss Watters also teaches students how to use the library and how to find and use information. For her lessons, Miss Watters pulls from Common Core English and Language Arts Standards and the Washington Library Association’s Library and Information Technology framework. For middle school, Miss Watters uses Common Sense Media’s Digital Citizenship curriculum.
Besides Librarian, Miss Watters gets to wear other hats at STM. She has and is currently teaching the 8th grade Honor’s Literature class. She loves the focus on novel study and getting to experience the books with her class. For approximately ten years, she has been the Student Council advisor guiding them in decision-making and stewardship activities for our school. She has been a Speech Team Coach in some capacity since 2008. Speech Team is an extracurricular activity for middle school students to compete at tournaments sponsored by Archdiocese high schools. For the last three years she has taken on the role of Yearbook Advisor, so this is why you will often see her with a camera around school.
Miss Watters loves all the different hats she gets to wear at STM both figuratively and literally. She loves to dress up for all the spirit days. It was her love of school and learning that made Miss Watters go into education so she does all she can to instill this to as many students as she can through the library and her many other roles STM.
Hot Lunch
All pizza lunches will include choice of drink (water, soda, juice) and a treat.
Hot dog lunches will include choice of drink (water, soda, juice) bag of chips and treat.
Cost is $5 per lunch extra slice or hot dog is additional $1. Please see the link below for the order form.
If you volunteer to help with our Hot Lunch fundraisers, please use the Sign Up Genius below:
STMS Hot Lunch Fundraiser – Volunteers Needed
Hot Lunch Schedule through March
Feb 17 Pizza | ||
Feb 24 Grilled Cheese | Mar 3 Pizza | Mar 10 Pizza |
Mar 17 Grilled Cheese | Mar 24 Pizza | Mar 31 Pizza |
School Mass & Assembly Schedule
This year each grade level will lead the 3rd Sunday Mass (or Saturday vigil Mass), which coincides with Coffee & Donuts (with the exceptions of December, April, and June). Please see the table below for Mass times and participating grade level . All participants and attendees in school uniform will get a free dress pass. Please note we have made revisions to the scheduled Masses.
Feb 22, 9am | Ash Wednesday Mass |
Feb 26, 10:30 * | 6th Grade and Kindergarten |
Mar 19, 10:30** | 3rd Grade |
April | Spring Break |
May 21, 10:30 | 5th and 1st Grades |
*The February date has been changed from 2/19 to 2/26 to not conflict with President’s Day weekend.
**The March time has been changed from 8:30 to 10:30
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.
Here are some upcoming training dates that are nearby (register on Virtus):
2/16 St. Madeleine Sophie, Bellevue, 6pm
2/18 St. Mary Magdalen, Everett, 9am (Vietnamese)
2/28 Holy Family, Kirkland, 6:30pm
3/15 St. Mary Magdalen, Everett
Trainings are good for 3 years. If you need to renew your status, you can do so online at Virtusonline.org.
CYO
4th Thru 8th Grade Track and Field
(3rd Graders may run if we do not have enough 4th graders)
Prelim Meet 5/6, Relay Meet 5/13, Qualifying Meet 5/20, Championship Meet 6/3
Meet Location: Highline Stadium (400 S 156th St. Burien)
8th Grade Pentathlon 5/21
Meet Location: West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th Ave. SW Seattle)
Registration Deadline: 3/31 Coach: Jerome Angeles, need assistant coaches
Practice: TBD Practice Location: Meadowdale Middle or Alderwood Middle
Register at: https://www.teamsideline.com/seattlecyo
***We still need assistant coaches for Track and Field. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Karen Pena at kjpena77@gmail.com
School Commission – Committee Members Needed
The School Commission is looking for parents interested in joining the committees designated to work on school priorities. If you are interested in joining any of the committees, please email Vickie Jarman, “Vickie Jarman” vljarman@hotmail.com or Maria Houser, “Maria Houser” maykahlo34@yahoo.com.
- Safety/ Facilities & Maintenance: Review facilities for safety concerns; help make recommendations on needed services and materials.
- Technology: Review tech needs and make recommendations.
- Fundraising: Review fundraising efforts for viability and make recommendations for future fundraising activities.
- Grants: Research grants that meet needs of school. Write grant proposals.
- Strategic Planning: Assist with long-range school planning based on accreditation goals.
Guidelines for COVID, Flu and RSV
Please continue to keep your child at home if they are ill. We will continue to follow the advice and recommendations of the Snohomish Health District as we navigate the cold and flu season. If students have active symptoms from any respiratory infections and/or have a fever, they should not come to school.
Please see the letter published from the Snohomish Health District from November 18, 2022.
St. Thomas More School is following the COVID guidelines published by the Washington State Department of Health and the Snohomish Health District. As of the end of October, STMS had 7 reported cases of COVID-19 positive test results to date.
The Snohomish Health District has recently revised their guidelines. The link to the guidelines can be found below:
If your child exhibits COVID-19 symptoms at school, they will be asked to wear a mask, and we will call home. We have COVID-19 testing available and may require proof of a negative test prior to their return to school. The options for testing are:
- Testing is conducted at home by the parent, and a copy of the negative test is sent to the school.
- Testing is conducted by the parent at STMS with our testing supplies.
- Testing is conducted by one of the office staff at STMS.
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. Negative tests should be emailed to the STMS office staff. 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.
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!!!
Coffee & Donuts
Please see the links below to sign up. We need more people to sign up for the 8:30 Mass.
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.