Principal's Weekly Update

Happy November! On Monday, we began our Virtue of the Month, Charity. Mrs. Enrqiue and Ms. Tiney led the school in Parking Lot Prayers and students gave examples of charitable acts at home and at school. This is especially important this month as we prepare for Thanksgiving. Once again, our school will collaborate with the parish to provide Thanksgiving meals to local families in need. Our Thanksgiving Food Drive will begin the week of Monday, November 14th and will conclude the morning of Friday, November 18th. Below you will see a list of what each grade level is invited to donate.

This Thanksgiving Food Drive or any of our school events would not be possible without the generosity of you, our parents' donation of time and talents. If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to your child's Room Parent or Mrs. Enrique at menrique@stmarys-brookline.org.

November 8th:

• Brookline Public School is closed (bring lunch from home)

November 11th:

• No School-Veteran's Day

November 14th-18th: Thanksgiving Food Drive

November 16th:

• Walk-Around-Wednesday

November 23rd:

• Thanksgiving Liturgy at 9:30 a.m. (PreK-8)

• Thanksgiving Reception at 10:30

• Early Dismissal at 11 AM

November 24th-25th:

• No School Thanksgiving Break

November 28th:

• K2-8 Report cards go home

• Parent-Teacher Conferences begin

December 8th:

• Immaculate Conception Mass (PreK-8) 12:10 p.m.

December 9th:

• Admissions Open House

December 13th:

• School-wide Christmas Concert and Pageant

December 16th:

• Last Day of school before Christmas break

December 17th-January 2nd

• Christmas Break

January 3rd:

• Welcome Back!

The Fall Annual Fund letters will be mailed next week to all homes. St. Mary of the Assumption School is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and as such we are able to receive matching gifts from companies that match their employees charitable giving. If you are interested and able to arrange for St. Mary's to receive a matching gift from your employer, please contact Dan Griffin, Director of Advancement, dgriffin@stmarys-brookline.org.

This year, St. Mary's will have basketball teams with teams for both boys and girls. If there is enough interest, we will have a grade 5/6 boys team and girls team and hopefully a grade 7/8 boys team and girls team. The teams will play 4-5 games against other Parochial schools in the Boston area from mid December to March as well as weekly practices in the gym. Survey to follow soon!

Congratulations to our Cross Country team that competed in the Mayor's Cup! The team competed in their first ever meet and every student had lots of fun representing their school and trying their best.

Please remember to label all outerwear for your child(ren). This includes gloves/mittens, hats, scarves, and especially jackets or sweaters. Thank you so much for your cooperation!

Sra. Sanchez and her middle school students prepared a celebration for Dia de Los Muertos. They made Mexican hot chocolate from scratch, learned all its ingredients, and took turns cooking it slowly and carefully. Students set the table, invited office staff as guests, and had conversations about the traditions surrounding this very important Mexican holiday. Students learned about the symbolism of the Monarch mariposa (butterfly), colored flowers meaning different emotions, and the Pan de Muerto. The homemade Pan de Muerto was delicious! They also decorated butterflies and wrote messages of love to remember our deceased relatives. What a beautiful and special experience!

Early childhood learned all about "Día de los muertos!"

Father Jonathan celebrated a beautiful mass for all students, grades PreK-8, this past Tuesday. It was the first time our youngest attended mass this school year and they did a great job! During Father Jonathan’s homily, he told the story of the eagle egg who was raised as a chicken until one eagle flew down and reminded him of who he really was. This analogy helped the students to understand how we are called to live saintly lives full of forgiveness and love. The students identified the saints around the church, naming the statues, pointing at the stained glass windows, and looking toward the altar. It was an interactive time for students to listen attentively and participate. A big thank you to Ms. Smith, our Music teacher, who practiced the Litany of the Saints with the students ahead of time. The children’s voices could be heard loud and clear! We even had a special guest, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Tom Carroll, attended mass!

Our K2-4 teachers participated in a Bridges Math Professional Development on this week. Anne Marie Condike, our Math Consultant, observed teachers and students during their morning Number Corner time. They met together as a group afterward to debrief and discuss best practices and student engagement.

Mr. Suriawinata taught his students all about conversion factors and proportions.

Grade 6 learned about volume and water displacement. Students were tasked in filling out a chart that included the following traits:

• Mineral
  
• Color
  
• Streak
• Hardness
  
• Crystal structure
  
• Density
  
• Special properties

Some of the minerals observed included:

• Fluorine
  
• Milky Quartz
  
• Graphite
  
• Magnetite
  
• Talc
  
• Alabaster
  

Grade 6 presented their group projects on Utopian Societies. Students described their community in detail including government, transportation, education, family life, and housing. Ms. Stroia reminded students to be active listeners so they took notes on reasons why the Utopian Society was or was not an ideal community.

Fourth grade made All Saints’ Day Trail Mix. Each shape symbolized a different aspect of the saints’ lives such as halos, St. Peter’s fish, St. Bernadette’s firewood, and St. Francis’ friends.

Grade 4 also enjoyed their ice cream party. What a sugar rush!

Fourth and Fifth graders spent the day at the Harvard Museum of Natural History where they had the opportunity of exploring rocks, minerals, fossils, skeletons, and more!

Today Grade 3 responded to their Swedish pen pals. This is their third interaction, and this week they are describing how their classroom looks!

To celebrate All Saints' Day, first graders made portraits of themselves and talked about how they are practicing to become a saint.

K2 began their senses unit a couple of weeks ago. So far they have covered sight, touch, and smell. Ms. Tiney and Ms. McAuliffe have worked very hard in creating activities for their students to explore their senses!

Some much fun in the K1 classrooms this week! The students worked on shapes, colors, rhyming and counting skills.

Ms. Porcello's PreK class participated in a "What's inside a Pumpkin?" activity. The class guessed what was in a pumpkin and then explored what was inside!

We will be collecting donations of all food items to create gift bags so all members of the parish community will be able to enjoy the blessing of a Happy Thanksgiving celebration. Labeled tables will be in the Cafeteria for parents and families to drop off items. Each Classroom in PreK-8 will have a food assignment.

Donation requests by grade are as follows:

PreK……Broth (Chicken, Veggie) or Canned Soups

K1..……..Canned goods (Green Beans, Gravy, Corn)

KII….…..Cooking Oil (Canola or Vegetable)

Gr 1..……Cans/Jars of Cranberry Sauce

Gr 2..……Powdered Milk

Gr 3..……Coffee, Tea, Apple Juice

Gr 4..……Bags of Sweet Potatoes

Gr 5..……Canned goods (Green Beans, Gravy, Corn)

Gr 6..……Cake/Cookie Mixes

Gr 7……..Apple Sauce, French Fried Onions

Gr 8……..Corn Bread Mixes

Students may bring donated food items to the Cafeteria from Monday, November 14th to the morning of Friday, November 18th. Parish volunteers will assemble the donations on Monday, November 21st.

Please see this joint letter from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Included are guidelines and recommendations to help keep your children healthy this Fall Season.

Dear Families,

The Commonwealth, the Northeast, and much of the US are seeing increases in respiratory illness in infants and children. Some of these infants and children are requiring hospitalization for support with breathing and hydration. Emergency departments and other acute care health facilities have been managing significant increases in the number of patients requiring care.

Most of these illnesses are caused by respiratory viral infections, including common seasonal viruses like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinovirus and enterovirus, and influenza. Infants and children may be particularly susceptible to seasonal respiratory viral infections during the 2022-2023 fall and winter because they have had limited previous exposure to these respiratory viruses. We anticipate that there could be more respiratory illnesses as RSV continues to spread and influenza season ramps up.

The Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics want to remind parents and families about steps to take to prevent illness and stay healthy this season:

1. Vaccinate your children ages 6 months and older against influenza as soon as possible.

2. Vaccinate your children ages 6 months and older against COVID-19; children 5 and older who had their primary series more than 2 months ago should receive an updated COVID-19 booster as soon as possible.

3. Remember, you can get a COVID-19 vaccine and flu shot at the same time.

4. If your infant has been offered treatment with protective antibodies due to their prematurity or another condition, keep on schedule with their monthly treatments.

5. Practice hand hygiene frequently with soap and water or hand sanitizer. Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, or if a tissue is not available, cover them with an elbow, not a hand.

6. Clean high-touch surfaces in your home frequently with household disinfectants.

7. Keep children home from daycare or school who have a fever, especially with a cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, congestion, runny nose, or sore throat, until they are fever-free for 24 hours without medications that reduce fever.

8. Avoid social gatherings if you or your children are ill.

9. Contact your pediatrician or healthcare provider if you believe your child needs medical care. Your provider can offer advice on whether your child needs to be evaluated in person, tested for COVID or flu, and the best location (doctor’s office, urgent care, emergency room) for care.

   Thank you for doing all you can to keep you and your family healthy during this fall and winter season.

   
   

   Dr. Estevan Garcia, Chief Medical Officer

   Massachusetts Department of Public Health

   
   

   Dr. Mary Beth Miotto, President

   Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

   
   

Please find the links below to our social media pages. We have been constantly uploading posts and stories so if you are interested in seeing more of our day-to-day happenings, please follow us!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/st-mary-of-the-assumption-school

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stmaryschoolbrooklinema

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stmaryschoolbrookline/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stmarybrookline