“Look upon yourself as a tree planted beside the water, which bears its fruit in due season; the more it is shaken by the wind, the deeper it strikes its roots into the ground.” -- Margaret Mary Alacoque

Please pray for the families and friends of our SMM community who have asked for our prayers. If you would like us to pray for a loved one, please send Coach Gay an email: gknock@saintmm.org.

For all service men and women; first responders; police; firefighters; health care workers; and everyone who is keeping us safe, protected, and fed during the COVID 19 crisis.

Simone Boell, Dale McCloskey, Dale Davis, Cherie Manuel, Paula Satterlee, Lorraine Olmo, Jessica Bodron, Lisa Ferrer, Rob Bywater, Krista Soileau, Dr. Joel Fokom, Nicholas Eirich, and Gianna Duffey.

For all those sick and suffering from the Coronavirus, may they recover quickly and completely.

For all those who suffered loss of life or property during Hurricanes Laura and Sally; may they receive the comfort, resources, and help needed for a quick and complete recovery.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, please protect us from damage to life and property during this hurricane season.

I recently received an anonymous letter from a parent who had concerns that he/she wanted me to address. Please understand that I do not respond to anonymous letters nor take action. I am very accessible. I have met with many parents this year and have been successful in resolving their concerns and issues.

I am always willing to meet with parents to discuss their concerns. Please be assured that I will not breach any confidences.

Parents may contact me by email at ccollins@saintmm.org; on the school phone at (985) 643-4612; or on my personal cell phone at 1 (504) 884-2285. Thank you.

Our school picture company, Life Touch, has had to push back our date for class pictures and individual retakes. Their labs were closed for several days due to the past two hurricanes. Because of this, we haven't received back our first set of individual pictures yet. Parents will not know if retakes are needed by next week so we rescheduled for Monday, October 26. Students should wear their school uniforms for class and individual pictures.

REMINDER TO 6TH & 7TH GRADE PARENTS: Exams begin Tuesday, October 6 with Math/SS; Wednesday, October 7 - SCI/ READ; Thursday, Oct 8 - Eng/Rel.

HALF- DAY OF SCHOOL OCTOBER 9: Noon Dismissal - Only Morning Bus Service Available - No aftercare

AFTERCARE: Please remember that after care ends at 6:00 pm.

MORNING CAR LINE - The morning car line seems to be flowing well, but it starts backing up about 7:50 am. To help alleviate this minor problem, we ask that you start saying your good-byes, having your kiddos unbuckle, and having them get their stuff ready when you reach the front of the school office building instead of waiting until you reach the gym. Thank you.

LUNCH: We will begin having lunch in the cafeteria on Monday, October 12th. The students will be safe socially distanced by homerooms. Hot and cold selections will both be served from both lines so that homerooms do not intermingle.

Fall artwork by Mia Grace Nguyen K-1

The Catholic School Athletic League has been given permission to resume fall sports but with certain conditions. Some pastors and principals are reluctant to have sports indoors and do not want to allow outsiders in their buildings. Therefore, we will only have two outdoor sports in the fall - boys flag football and girls cabbage ball. We have not had cabbage ball teams in the past because our Northshore schools do not have large enough concrete areas to fit cabbage ball fields. But, we will discuss this at our scheduling meeting next week.

We hope to be able to have basketball in January and February, but it will be dependent on COVID restrictions at that time. We will have girls volleyball and boys cabbage ball in the spring. We do not play soccer in CSAL, but we are free to do so if there is an availability of teams to play. We are also looking at starting CC soon. More details on these sports will follow.

FLAG FOOTBALL TRYOUTS FOR BOYS IN 4TH - 6TH GRADE WILL BE HELD NEXT THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 3:15 - 5:00 PM. PLEASE SEE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS BELOW:

ELIGIBILITY

Students who participate in extracurricular activities, including all student organizations, represent St.Margaret Mary School. Therefore, the following minimum standards must be met in academics as well as discipline:

1. The student must maintain at least a “78” average with no grade lower than a “70” (N in enrichment classes) in any subject per grading period.

2. The student may not earn a grade lower than “78” in conduct.

3. Students who are members of the National Junior Honor Society and Student Council are held to a higher standard (See requirements in sections 1100-1 and 1100-2).

Note: Students must meet minimum requirements to "tryout" for all organizations. When a student is disqualified from participating in extracurricular activities during the quarter, eligibility may be reconsidered when interim reports are issued, unless organizational by-laws prohibit such consideration. Moderators are responsible for monitoring student eligibility status and may establish participation criteria which exceeds minimum standards.

We will begin acknowledging birthdays on WSMM this week. Since we must still socially distance and maintain our static groups, we will do it by homerooms in grades K through 2. Grades 3 through 7 will be done by grade. Students will be expected to wear their masks the entire time. We will backtrack to summer birthdays beginning July 16. Every few weeks, we will work through the cycle. Here is the first schedule:

1-1 Mrs. Griffith on Wed, Oct 7 - July 16 - Oct 8 birthdays

1-2 Mrs. Andrews on Thurs, Oct 8 - July 16 - Oct 8 birthdays

2-1 Mrs. Secrist on Wed, Oct 14 - July 16 - Oct 15 birthdays

2-2 Mrs. Riviere on Thur, Oct 15 - July 16 - Oct 15 birthdays

3rd Grade on Tues, Oct 20 - July 16 - Oct 22 birthdays

4th Grade on Thurs, Oct 22 - July 16 - Oct 22 birthdays

5th Grade on Tues, Oct 27 - July 16 - Oct 29 birthdays

6th Grade on Wed, Oct 28 - July 16 - Oct 29 birthdays

7th Grade on Thurs, Oct 29 - July 16 - Oct 29 birthdays

SINCE PARENTS ARE STILL NOT ALLOWED ON CAMPUS, YOU MAY VIEW THE WSMM MORNING SHOW LIVE ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE MONDAYS THROUGH THURSDAYS AT 8:10 AM. WSMM WILL BE POSTED ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AFTERWARDS AT SAINT MARGARET MARY SCHOOL @ SLIDELL

We will begin recognizing Students of the Month on WSMM next week while following safe social distancing protocol. Students must wear their masks the entire time. Here is the schedule:

Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd - Monday, October 5

3rd, 4th & 5th - Tuesday, October 6

5th & 6th - Wednesday, October 7

SINCE PARENTS ARE STILL NOT ALLOWED ON CAMPUS, YOU MAY VIEW THE WSMM MORNING SHOW LIVE ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE MONDAYS THROUGH THURSDAYS AT 8:10 AM. WSMM WILL BE POSTED ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AFTERWARDS AT SAINT MARGARET MARY SCHOOL @ SLIDELL

It's that time of the year again when it gets a little chilly. Please make sure that your children are following the SMM dress code for outerwear. Please read below the excerpt form the SMM student handbook:

900-3 BOYS AND GIRLS

01. Only the following uniform items may be worn in the classroom as outerwear over the uniform shirt:

A. Uniform gray pullover sweatshirt with SMM logo

B. Uniform blue zip-up sweatshirt with SMM logo

C. SMM windbreaker or SMM fleece-lined jacket

D. Navy blue, v-neck buttoned cardigan sweater with SMM logo (girls only)

E. Approved club or athletic sweatshirts may be worn by current, participating members or players

02. No sweatshirt or windbreaker other than the SMM sweatshirts and wind breaker may be worn on campus. On very cold days, students may wear a heavy coat or jacket outside only.

PLEASE ... PLEASE ... PLEASE ... put your child's name on his/her outerwear. We already have several pieces of unmarked outerwear in Lost n' Found. Thank you for your cooperation.

The 7th grade fee has been billed to your FACTS account. The fee covers items associated with the 7th grade promotion, fun day, retreat, and big field trip. The fee is due in full by January 15, 2021, but you may make payments on it until then.

High School admissions personnel and administrators have been working hard to brainstorm ways to work with our students this season. Keeping in mind all guidelines for masking and social distancing, schools during Phase 2 may host small admissions activities and private tours outside of school hours that focus on 7th graders, taking into consideration their elementary school groups as they are able. Students may also be invited to participate in many virtual activities.

Please see below the admission calendar of important dates. In addition, please click on the attachments that follow for the updated list of Open House dates and the actual application process.

Pope John Paul II High School has officially rescheduled their 2020 Open House for Wednesday, November 18 from 5:30-8pm. The online registration link is www.pjp.org/future-jaguars/.

Here’s some information regarding how PJP is following the COVID-19 guidelines for Open House:

• All guests must reserve an appointment in advance. Walk-ins are not permitted.
• Every 15 minutes, 5 families will be scheduled for their tour check-in. Faculty/staff will monitor entrance for social distancing and masks. Masks will be worn the entire time by everyone.
• Families will be toured through the campus by 1 or 2 PJP Student Ambassadors. Ambassadors/Faculty/Staff will remain socially distant from the families.
• The essential/required faculty/staff will attend. No additional personnel or students will be present.
• There will be NO general gathering at any time.

Their plan is to have almost 50 slots available for families on Open House night. They are also providing the following options, which will be scheduled on an individual basis as requested:

1. Private/personal tours for a family on campus outside of regular school hours.
2. Virtual tour/appointment via Zoom

All of the options can be requested or scheduled on our website at www.pjp.org/future-jaguars/ or via email/phone to me.

Attention, all Louisiana citizens: on the November 3rd election ballot, you will be asked, “Do you support an amendment declaring that, to protect human life, a right to abortion & the funding of abortion shall NOT be found in the Louisiana Constitution?” Please vote YES for Amendment #1. In Louisiana, we love babies & their mothers, so we want to make sure that no judge “finds” a right to abortion or the taxpayer funding of abortion in our Constitution as they have done in 13 other states.

The 40 Days for Life Prayer Campaign is from September 23 and November 1. We are asking everyone to pray &/or do some type of penance during those 40 days for an end to abortion. If anyone is so inclined, St. Margaret Mary has adopted October 17 as our day to go in front of the "Women's Health Care Center," an abortion facility in New Orleans, to pray for an hour sometime between 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM. We will have a sign-up sheet in the church vestibule.

You no longer need to make reservations for weekend Masses, but Fr. Ed asks that we still follow safe social distancing protocols.

Every page of every issue of the Clarion Herald is available through its e-edition at http://clarionherald-la.newsmemory.com.

Monday, October 5

HOT: Salisbury Steak; Mashed Potatoes; Seasoned Green Beans; Chilled Applesauce; Southern Butter Roll; Milk

SANDWICH: Grilled White Cheese; Fries; Chilled Applesauce; Southern Butter Roll; Milk

Tuesday, October 6

HOT ONLY: Crispy Beef Taco w/ Shredded Cheese, Shredded Lettuce, Chopped Tomatoes; Golden Corn; Chilled Pears; Cinnamon Stick; Milk

Wednesday, October 7

HOT ONLY: Brunch for Lunch; Pancakes; Sausage Patty; Tater Tots; Chilled Strawberries; Milk

Thursday, October 8

HOT: Fish Treasures; White Beans & Rice; Mandarin Oranges; Milk

SANDWICH: Hamburger on Bun; Baked Beans; Shredded Lettuce/tomatoes/Pickles; Mandarin Oranges; Milk

Q: Why do birds fly south in the fall?
A: Because it’s too far to walk.

Why did Waldo go to therapy?

To find himself.

PARENTS, DON'T FOGET TO LOGIN TO SMILE.AMAZON.COM WHEN BUYING ONLINE. A PART OF YOUR PURCHASE GOES TOWARDS SMM. WE ARE LISTED AS "ST. MARGARET MARY SCHOOL" IN SLIDWELL, LA. (OUR ORIGINAL INFO WAS INACCURATELY ENTERED, THUS THE MISSPELLING OF SLIDELL)

Just Click Below … You Shop … Amazon Gives

Watch the WSMM Morning Show

Email: smmschool@saintmm.org
Website: www.saintmm.org
Location: 1050 Robert Boulevard, Slidell, LA, United States
Phone: 985-643-4612
Facebook: http://facebook.com/SMMSlidell/