The Phoenix Flyer: St. Thomas More School Newsletter
March 27-31, 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 am looking forward to seeing you at the State of the School. We will talk about some of our accomplishments and celebrations this year, as well as look to next year’s opportunities. I ask that if you haven’t already done so, please complete the Parent Survey. Your feedback is so important to me and helps inform the work that we do and goals that we set.
I had the opportunity to speak with someone at the Fulcrum Foundation last week. They are writing an article on the Fulcrum School Partnership Grant that we were awarded this year to help us with some of the components we need to license our Preschool program. I was asked to send some pictures and am including a wonderful photo I took of Mr. Locke with his 3-year-old class. I am always charmed by these students whenever I visit their classroom.
Baké (“Peace” in Basque),
Elizabeth Glaze
Dates to Remember
3/29 State of the School (Annual Parent Meeting), 6:30om in Dalton Hall
4/4 6th Grade Passion Play, 2 performances at 12:45 pm and 1:45 pm in Dalton Hall
4/7 Living Stations 12:00pm – Dismissal directly after
4/10-4/14 Spring Break
Safety Improvements Update
Last year we received a Fulcrum Grant to install security cameras to improve the safety of our campus. We have started the installation process, and the completion timeline is late April.
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 31, 1:00pm | |
Holy Week | Monday, April 3 – Stone Soup |
Tuesday, April 4 – 6th Grade Passion Play (2 performances – 12:45 and 1:45) | Wednesday, April 5- All School Mass |
Thursday, April 6 – Washing of the Feet Prayer Service | Friday, April 7, 12:00pm (Living Stations) |
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)
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.
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
The 2nd Grade Class had celebrated their 1st Reconciliation on Saturday, March 25th. It was a beautiful time of reflection and ceremony hosted by Fr. Okumu along with visiting priests, Fr. Samir, Fr. Armando, and Fr. Crispin. We want to extend our gratitude to all of the parish coordinators and school volunteers, Sharon Guerrero, Violeta Juzon, McKayla Vu, Mrs. Gibson, Mrs. Mullins, and Deb Berggren. Thank you for all your time and dedication to the school and parish community!
Just a friendly reminder for all the classes to bring their items for the Stone Soup on Monday. Here is a list if you haven’t turned them in already. Thank you to all the families for your contribution!
We’ll see you all at the State of the School mandatory meeting this evening to learn more about next year’s fundraising commitment, tuition and more.
Special thank you to Brandy Corujo and the Corujo Family for coordinating the refreshments and snacks for the speech judges during the speech tournament, for tonight’s meeting, various occasions, and all the behind the scenes work you do to make sure our school volunteers and families are well fed and comfortable!
See you all at next week’s Parent Club Meeting, Thursday, April 6th at 8:30am after drop off.
Have a fantastic week!
Francesca & Suzi
Scrip
Scrip Spring Fling!
Prepare for Spring shopping with Scrip! Get all you need for Spring Cleaning, Gardening, Travel, Gatherings, and new Wardrobes with Scrip Gift Cards.
Last day to place special orders for physical cards will be Friday March 31st for pick up on Wed, April 5th. Going to Disney?! Use Scrip! Get your orders in!
April is the last month to count towards this year’s fundraising… So it’s Contest time! The Class with the greatest rebate will earn a Free Dress Day!
Contact us at stmpsscrip@gmail.com
Need Volunteer hours? Join our team!
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 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):
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
Flag Football
Archbishop Murphy is partnering with the Boys and Girls Club for 5 V 5 flag football. Practices and games will be Sunday nights at Archbishop. Practices will be 1 hour prior to the game. Please see the flyer linked below for more information.
***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, 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.