The Phoenix Flyer: St. Thomas More School Newsletter
March 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,
Last week we had some excitement on Friday as our very own resident leprechaun made a surprise visit (or maybe not so much of a surprise, except to me). Although the students were not able to catch him, they were delighted with the green balloons and shamrock confetti all through the elementary wing. Father Okumu also visited all the classrooms in his festive St. Patrick’s Day attire. The students always love seeing him in their classrooms – he always has storied and inspiring words to share.
On Sunday, our 3rd grade class did a stellar job of hosting the 10:30 Mass. It was evident that they had worked hard to get all their parts down. They were so impressive!
As always, thank you for all you do to support
Síocháin (“Peace” in Gaelic),
Elizabeth Glaze
Dates to Remember
3/24 Stations of the Cross, 1:00pm
3/27 Noon Dismissal (Extended Care until 3pm only)
3/29 State of the School (Annual Parent Meeting), 6:30om in Dalton Hall
4/7 Living Stations 12:00pm – Dismissal directly after
4/10-4/14 Spring Break
Parking Lot Reminder
The safety of our students, as well as our wider school community, is of utmost importance. Lately there have been several incidents in the parking lot that have caused concern. Please remember the following procedures during pickup:
- Parents of students in grades PreK-2 should park in the timed parking lot for pick up. Once parked, you may only move your car once all the students have cleared the area (approximately 3:15).
- Parents of students in grades 3-8 will process through the snake line, leaving the left side of the line free for advancing cars.
- Once your car has entered the area with green cones, your student may make their way to the car. Once your student is safely inside your car, you may carefully pull out of the line and advance to the school exit.
- Cars may NOT go back out the entrance (or enter through the exit)
- After you collect your student(s), please keep them close to you – children should not be playing in the parking lot or the big toy until after 3:15, when most of the cars have been cleared.
Stewardship
The 7th Grade has been partnering with the Lynnwood Food Bank as their Stewardship project. After an initial orientation visit in October, students have been taking turns visiting the Food Bank during one of their food distribution times.
Yearbook Sales
Pre-order your child’s yearbook now. Only $30 for 68 pages of precious memories! To ensure your child gets one, yearbooks MUST be pre-ordered by Friday, April 7th. Get your order in TODAY! Print the attached flyer and send to school with the exact cash payment or checks payable to STMS. 8th graders will be receiving a free yearbook and do not need to submit an order form.
Lent Activities
St. Thomas More School/ Parish – Stations of the Cross & Holy Week Activities
| March 24, 1:00pm | March 31, 1:00pm |
| Holy Week | |
| Monday, April 3 – Stone Soup | Wednesday, April 4- All School Mass |
| Thursday, April 4 – Washing of the Feet Prayer Service | Friday, April 7, 12:00pm (Living Stations) |
St. Thomas More Parish – Evenings of Reflection
During Lent, St. Thomas More Parish will be hosting several special evenings of reflection:
Wednesday, March 22 at 7pm – Men’s Night of Lenten Reflection
Please see the Lent Reflect and Renew Flyer
Knights of Columbus Fish Fry
Please join the Knights of Columbus for their annual Fish Fry’s on the following Fridays during Lent from 6PM to 7PM in the parish hall:
Friday, March 31st
Our delicious cod is cooked fresh each of these Fridays with our “secret” recipe that will delight your taste buds. Meals include fries, coleslaw and dessert for one inexpensive price.
You can also place an ORDER TO GO by calling Jim in advance at (425) 248-3157.
Come out for a truly great meal and share in the Lenten Fellowship Event!
Knights of Columbus Friday Fish Fry
Knights of Columbus Sponsors The Passion of the Christ
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish will have two performances of the Passion of the Christ on Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 25. Both performances are at 8:00pm.
Please see the flyer below for more information.
Family Auction
Hello STMS families,
We had a great response to our Family Auction Sign-Up Genius last week! Thank you to everyone who has signed up so far. If you can volunteer on the day of the event, we still need your help. Some open spots include running the kids games, facilitating the dunk tank, live auction spotters, silent and live auction goffers, and clean-up crew. Don’t worry, we will explain how to do everything!
An exciting new addition this year will be a small “petting zoo” provided by The Fairbank Farm!
Sincerely,
The Family Auction Team
(Barajas, Hardi, Golla)
State of the School
STMS State of the School
3/29/23, 6:30 in Dalton Hall
Dear Families,
On March 29 we will have our annual mandatory parent meeting. In addition to receiving information on next year’s tuition, we will review how the budget for next year was determined and the parents and community representatives who were involved in the process. We will also discuss our progress this year thus far, and the goals for St. Thomas More School for 23-24 and beyond. You will receive your enrollment packet at this meeting.
As a special incentive, we are offering the following to each family who is present:
- Double volunteer hours for time in attendance
- A pizza party for the class with the highest attendance
We look forward to seeing everyone there.
Family Survey
As we head into the last quarter of the school year, we want to reach out to families with a survey to determine how things are going for you and your child(ren). Please take a few minutes to provide some valuable feedback.
Chocolate Sale Winners
Congratulations to our top sellers in our World’s Finest Chocolate Fundraiser.
| Kindergarten | Jaelah |
| 1st Grade | Johan |
| 3rd Grade | Jessiah |
| 4th Grade | Kaitlyn |
| 5th Grade | Kendall |
| 6th Grade | Nina |
| 7th Grade | Stephen |
| 8th Grade | Antonio |
Congratulations to 7th grade for having the most sales – they earned a class party.
Local Area Events
AMHS Easter Egg Hunt
The National Honor Society at AMHS is hosting their second annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 2 from 12:00 – 2:00. Please see the link to the flyer below for more information.
Flag Football at AMHS
The Boys & Girls Club of Snohomish County is hosting a Flag Football program at AMHS for students in Grades 1-8. The program runs from Sunday, April 23 through May 28, 2023. Please see the link to the flyer below for more information.
Parent Club
Our World’s Finest Chocolates were delivered last week! Thank you again to all the families that participated and to our parent volunteer Tara Meucci for leading our fundraiser! Stay tuned for announcements of the class winners!
For any questions with orders, please feel free to reach out to Tara Meucci @ 425-218-1787 or via email at meuccita@aol.com!
This weekend will be the 2nd Graders First Reconciliation! Please pray for our candidates as they continue on this special journey of faith with their families.
Please don’t forget to sign up to help out at the Family Auction and be sure to RSVP on the STMS Facebook Page! It’s a fun event for the whole family!
Join us at our next Parent Club meeting on Thursday, April 6th at 8:30am or after drop-off in the Rengli Room! Looking forward to seeing you!
Have a great week!
Francesca & Suzi
Scrip
SCRIP NEWS!
There’s a QR code for the RaiseRight App! Download the app and sign up to earn Rebate Bonuses towards your fundraising contributions when you buy and use scrip E-Gift cards!
[Insert attached QR code]
You may invite friends and family to help you earn faster.. just let us know so you can get credit.
IN PERSON GIFT CARD SALE TIMES:
Wednesday 8-9am — Friday 2:45-3:30pm — Every other Sunday 9:30-10:30am (March 19th)
Email us at stmpsscrip@gmail.com for questions!
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.
Tim Feeney graduated from Central Washington University with a B.A. in Education. Tim has coached many softball and basketball teams. He has been a basketball official for over twenty years and has refereed at six Washington High School State Tournaments. Mr. Feeney ran Washington Prep Basketball, which runs high school girls basketball leagues, for ten years. Tim is married to Kim, who works at Boeing and they live in Orondo. They have two daughters, Megan and Erin and 3 grandchildren, Remi, Tristan, and Lola (just born February 24). Mr. Feeney enjoys reading, jogging, traveling, camping, boating, and using his SeaDoo and going to the gym.
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
| Mar 24 Pizza | Mar 31 Pizza | |
| April 7 Half Day (Spring Break) | April 14 Spring Break | April 21 Hamburger |
| April 28 Pizza | May 5 Hot Dog | May 12 Pizza |
| May 19 No Hot Lunch | May 26 Hamburger | June 2 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.
| April | Spring Break |
| May 21, 10:30 | 5th and 1st Grades |
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):
3/15 St. Mary Magdalen, Everett, 6pm
3/26 Our Lady of the Lourdes, Seattle, 11:45am (Vietnamese)
4/19 St. Joseph, Seattle, 6:30pm
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: Tues & Thurs 5-7 PM 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, 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!!!
Pastoral Council
For those who are interested about the 4- year plan for the Archdiocese’s Partners in the Gospel, see info below on a webinar on 3/29 at 10am.
Learn how parishes can prepare their communities to engage with Partners in the Gospel. Helen McClenahan and Corinna Laughlin will review the guide and key resources, like the Exploring the Liturgy teaching series.Virtual webinar on Wednesday, March 29 at 10:00am.Simultaneous Spanish translation will be available.No need to register.Just click below and join the Zoom link.Passcode: 512166Click to read the Tilling the Soil Guide in English and Spanish. Click here to join the Zoom link
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.
