In this issue (click to jump to a section):
Click here for an information page with all the details about Mission Day!
MISSION DAY TICKETS
Click here to buy your child's booth tickets and pizza lunch! Only TICKETS will be accepted at Mission Day booths. Last day to purchase tickets online is October 15. Tickets also may be purchased with cash or check on Mission Day. Tickets are sold in 50¢ increments. Pre-paid tickets will be disbursed to the student's homeroom on Mission Day.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We need YOU to help make Mission Day a success! With more than 30 ways you can volunteer on campus for Mission Day, there is something for everyone! Organizing and preparing, setup and cleanup, food, game booths, basketball, volleyball, silly string, hair and nail painting, cake walk, inflatables, and more! Please click here to volunteer for Mission Day. Remember, to volunteer on campus, you must complete Child Protection Certification. Click here to view the Child Protection requirements.
COKES AND CAKES NEEDED!
Please consider donating 1- and 2-liter bottles of Cokes (or other soda) for the ring toss game! Your child may bring bottles at morning drop-off now through Wednesday, October 18. Please consider donating a cake for the cake walk game! Your child may bring cakes at morning drop-off on Wednesday, October 18.
2023 MISSION - VILLAGE SCHOOLS INTERNATIONAL
St. Thomas More’s annual Mission Day is one of the special long-standing traditions of our parish school. This one-day fall festival for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade generates funds for a mission in need of support. The money raised at Mission Day is donated to an organization chosen by the 8th grade students. This year, our 8th graders have chosen Village Schools International, which has a dual mission: to enable those in African villages who would otherwise never get to go to school to have the opportunity to get an education and to send missionaries into villages where missionaries have never lived before to share the Gospel. Click here to learn more about Village Schools International.
Due to safety and liability coverage, we cannot allow any other children or siblings, younger or older, not enrolled at STM, to attend Mission Day. Only students enrolled in Kindergarten through 8th grade at STM may be present.
Parents, family members, alumni, and friends of STM, get your dancing shoes ready! We're going to the STM Prom, hosted by the STM School Board! Go to stmbr.org/prom to buy your tickets and nominate your prom king and queen! ($5 per nomination)
Congratulations to the STM students who earned Principal's List and Honor Roll for the first quarter of the school year! Click here to view the students who achieved these honors.
Extended Care will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31. Have a safe and fun evening while trick-or-treating!
The administration and faculty/staff of STM have the security of our campus as our number one priority. We have many layers that provide wonderful protection for our staff and students: one entrance into campus, key codes on the buildings, 100% child protection compliant, visitors checked in prior to entering campus, and locked classroom doors. We are looking to add an additional layer to our systems by adding a police officer to our staff. Please consider taking a moment to click here and respond to our survey. Thank you for your time and input!
DISEASE OF THE WEEK: Strep throat, or streptococcal pharyngitis. Symptoms of strep can mimic other illnesses, and include: fever, red/sore throat, headache, rash, swollen lymph nodes, and nausea/vomiting. Strep is caused by bacteria and can be diagnosed with a throat swab. Strep is treated with antibiotics. Please remember our 24-hour illness policy: Students should be free of fever (<100.0 without the aid of medication), vomiting, diarrhea or other contagious symptoms for 24 hours prior to returning to school. Students diagnosed with strep must be taking antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school, even if no fever is present.
UNIFORMS NEEDED: Gently used uniforms are kept in First Aid for emergencies. The following items are needed if you have donations: Girls’ bloomers or “undershorts” in all sizes, including adult/Jr. High sizes, jumpers size 12 and up, and men's shorts and pants (sizes 38” and larger). These can be sent to the office or First Aid labeled “First Aid donation.”
Although healthy living and being kind to all are messages we focus on all year long at STM, to mark the beginning of National Red Ribbon Week, on Monday, October 23, all students are invited to wear red t-shirts in place of the uniform shirt or over the jumper, colored socks, ties, turtlenecks, bows, jewelry, beads, hats (not worn inside), scarves and sweatshirts.
The National Institutes of Health suggests that school-age children need at least 10 hours of sleep daily, teens need between 9 and 10 hours, and adults need 7 to 8 hours. According to surveys, however, nearly 30 percent of adults reported an average of fewer than 6 hours of sleep per day. And only 31 percent of high school students reported getting at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.
Get ready to dive into reading at the STM Book Fair! Please help STM meet our goal and inspire a love of reading in our students. Scholastic will give back a portion of the goal as rewards to our school when you shop.
Students will have the opportunity to shop at the Book Fair according to their grade level's designated day and time. They will receive a schedule on October 30. The Book Fair also will be open to students and their grandparents on Grandparents Day (November 10 for grades 1-8 and November 13 for grades PK and K). You also can shop online from November 7-20.
Click here to visit the STM Book Fair website and set up your child's eWallet, a safe cash-free way for your child to shop the Fair. You can set up eWallet beginning October 17. Share your eWallet link with friends and family—anyone can contribute!
Book Fair Family Night is Thursday, November 9, from 3:30 to 7 p.m. in the STM Library. Join us for books, fellowship, food trucks, photo booth, and a visit from Thomas the Eagle! Come shop the Book Fair and enjoy some good fun and food with friends.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES We need volunteers on November 9, 10, 13, 14, and 15 to help with shopping and the registers! Click here to view and sign up for a time slot. Remember, to volunteer on campus, you must complete Child Protection Certification. Click here to view the Child Protection requirements. Thank you!
We are excited to welcome grandparents to campus on Grandparents Day at STM! Grandparents are invited to spend the morning with their grandchild(ren) for a reception, musical presentations, old school games and Book Fair shopping! November 10 is for grades 1-8; November 13 is for PK3-K.
Later this year, the Diocese will transition to a new system for Child Protection Certifications. To ensure all current applications are processed before this rollover, we ask that anyone who wishes to volunteer at STM and has not completed all Child Protection requirements, please do so by December 1. Click here to view the Child Protection requirements.
Community Coffee Cash for Schools: Please continue collecting Proofs of Purchase from all your Community Coffee products. Funds collected go directly to STM teachers for their classrooms! Save your own Proofs of Purchase, plus consider posting this easy ask flyer at
your or your family’s places of work or your STM family-owned local places of business. Send Proofs of Purchase to your child’s homeroom teacher or the front office – whichever is easier! For questions about Community Coffee Cash for Schools, contact chairs Colleen Bryant and/or Beth Morgan.
Home & School is a home-school partnership involving collaborative working relationships between families and schools and we look forward to working with you! Go to stmbr.org/hsa23 for information about STM Home and School events and committees, and to sign up as a volunteer. Please note that to take advantage of these volunteer opportunities you must be Child Protection Certified. Go to https://www.stmbr.org/volunteer23 for more information.
For the STM Athletics full calendar of events, go to stmbr.org/school/athletics.
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Make plans to join us on Sunday, October 29 for the STM Parish Picnic! This special day begins with Mass on the field at 10 a.m. followed by lunch (hamburgers, hot dogs, jambalaya, water, Cane’s sweet tea and lemonade) and then Trunk or Treat. All cars and trucks are welcome to join the Trunk or Treat fun, but you must complete registration prior to the event. Click here to register for Trunk or Treat. Volunteers are needed to assemble burgers and hot dogs, serve bottled water, run supplies, help with Trunk or Treat, and assist where needed: Click here to volunteer.
OCTOBER 12-16: No EBR bus transportation
OCTOBER 19:
• Mission Day - Grades K-8 - Due to safety and liability coverage, we cannot allow any other children or siblings, younger or older, not enrolled at STM, to attend Mission Day. Only students enrolled in Kindergarten through 8th grade at STM may be present.
• School Mass (grades K-8), 8:45 a.m.
OCTOBER 20: Fall break - no school on this day
OCTOBER 23: Red Accessory Day
OCTOBER 26: School Mass (grades 5-8), 8:45 a.m.
OCTOBER 29: STM Parish Mass on the Grass, Parish Picnic, and Trunk or Treat
OCTOBER 31: Black and Orange Accessory Day
NOVEMBER 1:
• Solemnity of All Saints - Holy Day of Obligation; School Mass (K-8), 8 a.m. (Students may wear spirit shirts)
• Wonderful Wednesday
NOVEMBER 3: STM Prom (21 and older)
NOVEMBER 9-15: Book Fair
NOVEMBER 10: Grandparents Day - Grades 1 to 8
NOVEMBER 13: Grandparents Day - Grades PK3, PK and K
NOVEMBER 17: No EBR bus transportation
MARCH 9: Dad & Daughter Dance - Grades K-8
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St. Thomas More Catholic School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at its schools. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic, and other school administered programs.
