The Phoenix Flyer: St. Thomas More School Newsletter
April 17-21, 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 all enjoyed the Easter holiday. Although I missed Good Friday, I was able to see the dress rehearsal of the Living Stations on Thursday. Here are some of the pictures of our 8th graders and their powerful portrayal of the Stations of the Cross.
Thank you for you words of support and encouragement. My hip replacement surgery went well and I will continue to recover at home the remainder of this week. Margot McLaughlin, our Development Director will be offering on campus support. I expect to be back at school April 24-28.
I look forward to seeing everyone again soon.
Heddwch (“Peace” in Welsh),
Elizabeth Glaze
Dates to Remember
4/26 Stewardship Mass
4/26 Confirmation, 6:00pm
4/26 Dr. James Knight, 6:30pm, Renggli Room
4/29 Family Auction
5/4 Parent Club Meeting, 8:30am, Renggli Room
Special Event with Dr. James Knight
Please note: this event will now be held in the Renggli Room.
Fulcrum Article
The Fulcrum Foundation wrote an article on how we are using this year’s School Partnership Grant to complete the steps in the process of obtaining a license for our PreK program. Please see the link below for the published article.
Fulcrum Grant Makes a Big Impact for St. Thomas More School
Staffing Update
Ms. Maddock will be going on medical leave for the remainder of the year. She is speaking to the students this week so they are not surprised. We welcome back Mrs. Julie Parsons, who will be filling in for Ms. Maddock.
Specialist Spotlight
Rodney Ocfemia grew up in Edmonds Washington and fell in love with music at a very young age. As a Filipino American, he grew up singing Karaoke with his family, and ended up falling in love with singing through watching old Youtubers make covers of songs. He bought his first guitar in the third grade, and his music journey officially started. He went on to learn Clarinet and eventually the double bass, which became his main instrument during his years at Edmonds-Woodway High School. He went on to get his BA in Music Education at Whitworth University, where he was able to perform with many stellar artists such as Joshua Redman, Ryan Keberle, and Maria Schneider. He is excited to be teaching in his first year at STMS and looks forward to the future time spent here.
Family Auction
Hello STMS families,
Step right up and have a ball! Our Family Auction is next Saturday! An exciting new addition to this year’s auction is the 50/50 Raffle. This means you buy a raffle ticket for $5.00 and if you win you get 50% of the whole pot! You can purchase tickets starting Sunday, April 23rd after both masses, in the school office, or in the parking lot throughout next week. Ticket sales end at 1:30pm on the day of the auction (April 29th). Please note, the raffle is CASH ONLY, you must be 18 and older to purchase, and present to win. Please do not send money with your child to purchase tickets. We will see you at the auction, next Saturday, April 29th from 12:00pm – 4:00pm. Remember to save up for those Taylor Swift concert tickets, once in a lifetime teacher experiences, Okai Electric Scooter, and much more amazing items in our live and silent auctions!
Sincerely,
The Family Auction Team
Barajas, Hardi, and Golla Families
Local Area Events
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.
St. Brendan Middle School Dance
Our Middle School students are invited to attend another dance at St. Brendan’s Middle School. on Friday, April 28th from 6:30-9:00 PM. The dress is casual. The cost of the dance is ten dollars per student. Students will need to bring their student ID and a signed permission form (attached). Additionally, we will be selling concessions, so students are welcome to bring extra spending money for that.
Please see the flyer for more information.
St. Brendan’s Dance – April 28
Parent Club
Hello Families!
We hope you had a wonderful Easter with your families and a fun relaxing Spring Break!
CYO Fun!!
We wanted to recognize all of the Boys and Girls Volleyball Teams for all of their hard work and accomplishments! Thank you to each of the team members, the coaches and volunteers for their time, dedication and commitment and making this such a fun volleyball season for everyone!
Congratulations to the 8th grade boys A team for making it to the playoffs! Come out and show your support on Saturday, April 22nd at 2pm at Our Lady of the Lake, 8900 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115. Go Phoenix!
We’re excited for the kick off of our track season and looking forward to supporting our Phoenix Team at their track meets. Please check out the CYO page for more details.
We are looking forward to the STM Family Auction on Saturday, April 29th!! So many great items and fun for the entire family! Bring your family and friends! See you there!
Here’s a glance of some events coming ahead…
Please SAVE the DATE for May 18th, 6:30- 8:30pm for Bunco Night! Doors open at 6pm. Shout out to Brandy Corujo for coordinating this event for school! This will be a fun event for the whole family!
- April 26th, Wed, 6pm – Confirmation
- April 29th – Family Auction Yay!!
- Teacher Appreciation Week – May 1st – May 5th (Daily themes to be announced soon)
- May 4th 8:30 am after drop-off – Parents Club Meeting (last PC Meeting)
- May 5th – Jogathon
- June 1st 8:30am – Parents Club hosting an Appreciation Breakfast for all volunteers
More details to come.
Thank you to all the parent and family volunteers for all your time, your continued support and contributions in all the ways you and your family help our school and parish community! We appreciate each and everyone of you for all you do!
Have a great 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. Download the RaiseRight app and consider using E-Gift Cards for all your Spring Break needs!
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! Family with the highest rebate earned will win a $25 Gift Card!
Remember to keep using Scrip in May and through the Summer to get a headstart on fundraising for the 2023-2024 school year!
Contact us at stmpsscrip@gmail.com
Need Volunteer hours? Join our team!
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
| 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.
| 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 Volunteer Handbook acknowledgement form.
Here are some upcoming training dates that are nearby (register on Virtus):
4/19 St. Joseph, Seattle, 6:30pm
Online sessions are also available. Visit Virtusonline.org and click on the Current Registration tab.
Trainings are good for 3 years. If you need to renew your status, you can do so online at Virtusonline.org.
CYO
CYO Update
It’s the end of the CYO Volleyball and 3rd Grade Boys Basketball season. Congratulations to all the athletes. Thank you to all the parents who came out to support them.
A special shout out and congratulations to the 8th Grade Boys Volleyball team for making it to the playoffs. Their first game is against Holy Family Seattle Saturday, April 22nd at 2:00 PM at Our Lady of the Lake (8900 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115). If you’re free, please come and cheer them on.
CYO Track and Field registration is still open thru Friday, April 7th. All practices will be at Meadowdale Middle School (6500 168th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98037) Tuesday and Thursday from 5-7 PM starting Tuesday, April 18th.
Meet dates and location: 5/6, 5/13, 5/20, 6/3 Highline Stadium ( 400 S 156th St, Burien, WA 98148)
Register at: https://www.teamsideline.com/seattlecyo
GO PHOENIX!!!!!!
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.
