FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL

Please click here to view, download, and print the list of back-to-school dates.

ACADEMIC CALENDAR

Please click here to view the 2023-2024 calendar.

school day hours

Morning extended care: 6:45 to 7:20 a.m.
Morning carpool: Begins at 7:20 a.m.
All students must be on campus promptly by 7:40 a.m. Morning assembly follows carpool every morning. Students not present for the start of morning assembly are considered tardy.
Afternoon dismissal and carpool: 2:48 to 3:15 p.m.
Afternoon extended care: 3:15 to 5:30 p.m.

Click here for details and to register for Extended Care.

Parents or guardians of children who will be absent should make the office aware by 7:30 a.m. by calling 225-275-2820. Students in grades PK-8 arriving at school after 7:40 a.m. must report to the office for a tardy slip. For safety reasons, Preschool and Kindergarten students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian when arriving late. After receiving a tardy slip, the student then reports to the homeroom teacher. If a child is tardy on a Mass day, he or she will wait in the office until Mass is over. See pages 5 and 6 in the Parent-Student Handbook for the complete policies for absenteeism and tardies, including homework requests.

carpool

CARPOOL SIGNS
Preschool and Kindergarten families: You will receive your child's carpool sign at Meet and Greet.
Returning families in grades 1-8: On the first day of carpool, please use your carpool signs from last year if you still have them. New carpool signs will be distributed on your child's first day of school.
New families or returning families in grades 1-8 without signs: On the first day of school, please write your child's name in large, bold letters on a sheet of paper and display in your windshield. New carpool signs will be distributed on your child's first day of school.
CARPOOL TIMES
Morning carpool: Begins at 7:20 a.m.
All students must be on campus promptly by 7:40 a.m. Morning assembly follows carpool every morning. Students not present at morning assembly are considered tardy.
Dismissal and afternoon carpool: 2:48 to 3:15 p.m.Students who are not picked up in afternoon carpool by 3:15 p.m. will be sent to Extended Care as a drop-in. If a student is not previously registered for Extended Care and is sent by the office (due to the office closing), the parent must register the child at that time and pay a fee. Please contact Mrs. Gretchen Thibodeaux with any questions about Extended Care.

‍PRESCHOOL
‍For both morning and afternoon carpool, vehicles will line up on Sylvan Drive heading north (toward Sherbrook) and will turn into the carpool line through the gate between the Preschool building and Kindergarten building. To exit carpool, vehicles leave the drive by turning right onto Sherbrook.
Click here for the Preschool Carpool Map.

‍GRADES K-3: GYM CARPOOL
For both morning and afternoon carpool, vehicles will line up on Parkwood Drive heading west (toward Sherwood Forest Blvd.) and will curve south onto Dartmoor Drive. At the intersection of Dartmoor and Sherbrook, vehicles will proceed straight across Sherbrook and will immediately turn left into the school parking lot. Vehicles will form a line in front of the library and school office. Students will be called by a member of our team and will be assisted into the vehicles. To exit carpool, vehicles leave the parking lot in front of the gym, turning right onto Sherbrook.
‍Click here for the K-3 Carpool Map.

‍GRADES 4-8: CHURCH CARPOOL
Vehicles will approach the school on Goodwood Blvd. heading toward Sherwood Forest. Vehicles should form a line down Goodwood in the bike lane to allow non-carpool traffic to pass. Vehicles will proceed past the athletic field/playground and will turn right into the church parking lot. With the field to your right, drive toward the 5th and 6th grade building to drop off or pick up. To exit carpool, drive through the parking lot toward Goodwood Blvd. with the church on your right. While still in the parking lot, turn right and drive past the church before turning left to exit the parking lot onto Goodwood Blvd. going west.
Click here for the 4-8 Carpool Map.

UNIFORMS and backpacks

‍Please click here to read complete dress code, uniform and grooming guidelines beginning on page 24 of the Parent-Student Handbook.

Our three uniform vendors are Inka's, School Time, and Young Fashions. Our uniform vendors have sales throughout the summer:
Click here to view Inka's sales.‍
Click here to view School Time's sales.
Click here to view Young Fashions' sales.

PASS-IT-ON UNIFORM SALE: Gently-used uniforms will be for sale on Saturday, June 17 in the STM Cafeteria from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Come stock up on uniforms at great prices!

‍ON MASS DAYS, out of respect for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, girls must wear their jumpers, skirts, skorts, or long pants. Boys must wear long pants with the uniform shirt tucked in. Due to warmer temperatures in Louisiana, boys may wear shorts to Mass in August and September.

‍PE UNIFORMS: 5th - 8th Students in grades 5-8 wear the STM PE uniform. The PE uniform is a specific t-shirt and shorts that can be purchased at any of our three uniform vendors.

SWEATPANTS: Sweatpants may be worn in place of skirts, skorts, pants or shorts from November through February. They are available at Inka's.

COLD WEATHER OUTERWEAR: Students may only wear STM jackets, fleece and sweaters purchased from Young Fashions, Inka's or School Time, or sweatshirts purchased from Inka's. When temperatures dip below 35°F, STM authorizes students to wear heavier, non-STM outerwear. This means that non-STM heavier outerwear may be worn over students' STM outerwear. It should be non-distracting, appropriate, and relatively easy to remove. Students may not wear hats or hoods inside of any building or classroom. Students in violation of these guidelines will lose conduct points and will not be allowed to wear the unauthorized outerwear at STM.

‍SHOES
Tennis Shoes: Must be traditional low quarter (low cut) style with shoe laces. The shoe color must be navy blue, black, grey, white or any combination of those colors. The laces must be in the same color scheme (navy blue, black, grey, or white), solid, and traditionally tied. Characters, plaid, checkerboard patterns, lights, Velcro, zipper, skateboard style, slip-ons, and wheels are not allowed. PK students may wear Velcro shoes.
‍‍Leather Shoes: Solid navy blue, solid brown or solid black; no boots. (on P.E. days, tennis shoes should be worn.)
‍Socks: Socks must be visible, above the shoe and solid white with no logos. They cannot be below the shoe line.

‍BELTS
‍Preschool boys may wear pants with elastic waistband; no belt is required. Boys in Kindergarten through 8th grade should wear a black, navy, or brown belt. Magnetic belts are permitted.

TOTE BAGS (PK and K) and BACKPACKS (1st - 8th) Preschool and Kindergarten students use the blue STM tote bag provided by the school. Students in grades 1-8 use backpacks, which may have wheels and may have any colors, patterns, etc. consistent with school values.

hepatitis a vaccine requirement

The Hepatitis A series has been on the required list of vaccinations for school for several years. We were recently made aware that the Louisiana Immunization System (LINKS) will be checking for Hepatitis A starting with the 2023-24 school year. Many of you will not need to do anything because your children are already vaccinated for Hep A. Nurse Rochelle will check all of our student records in grades K-8 in June, and you will be contacted by email if your child(ren)’s immunization records are not up to date. You may only need to provide an updated record if our record does not show the Hepatitis A vaccinations but your child has received the series. If your child has not started the Hepatitis A series, we will let you know the procedure to get up to date.

school meal program

VOLUNTEERING AT STM

St. Thomas More must provide a safe environment for children and youth. We hold ALL adults who work with minors to a code of conduct that is Christ-centered and professional. The Safe Environment Program implemented by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge requires us to evaluate the background of all paid personnel and volunteers whose duties include ongoing, unsupervised contact with minors. The Diocese of Baton Rouge has adopted a Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

‍Anyone who wants to volunteer at St. Thomas More must be in compliance with this policy. Please consider taking care of this now so we can include you as a volunteer during your child’s field trips, retreats, Book Fair, enhanced learning days, Mission Day or other special events. ALL requirements must be met in order to volunteer. Any parent/adult (18 and older) who would like to volunteer with children on the St. Thomas More campus must fill out the requirements as mandated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Click here to view the volunteer requirements.