The Trojan Times

St. Maria Goretti is a living testament to our Lord's work in His youngest disciples, exemplified by academic excellence, spiritual formation, and compassionate service to others.

St. Maria Goretti Catholic School aims to form what is True, Good, and Beautiful in the souls of our young disciples of Christ.

Dear St. Maria Goretti Catholic School Families,

Thank you to everyone who attended the Home and School meeting on Tuesday. It was great to see so many families in attendance! I have attached the Raise Right information below. Please create an account and try to purchase some gift cards. This is an easy way to stay on budget and help your school earn some money. And I've been told you can send them to the GorettiFest crew too!

Thursday night, September 26th, you don't have to cook! Dine in or order pick-up dinner at Portillo's! If dining at the restaurant, show the flyer in this edition of the TT OR if ordering on-line, enter the code PORTILLOS80 and SMG will earn 20% of the orders! This is good all day! So take the office out to lunch and then pick up dinner for the kids. Please come support SMG School!

The final stages of the playground are happening THIS WEEK!!!! We will be planning an opening ceremony, stay tuned for details.

If your 5th-8th grade child is interested in playing soccer for SMG, the deadline to register is Monday, Sept. 30th. See the QR code in this edition of the TT to sign up.

Beginning Wednesday, October 2, 2024 all students are required to wear their cardigan sweater to Mass with the circular crest patch on the left side. The pull over sweater or sweater vest is not correct Mass uniform, nor are the old patches. Teachers have been sending home uniform violations for students who have the wrong crest on their outer wear and they are not allowed to wear it in the school. You still have two weeks to get their Mass uniform, please be sure that your children are ready for October 2nd. Thanks for your partnership.

Make up IOWA/COGAT/CLT testing will take place on Monday and Tuesday. I am sure the students are ready to get back to the normal school day. Please continue to ensure they are getting enough rest and eating breakfast before coming to school everyday.

Don't forget that students may wear their GorettiFest T-shirts every Monday with uniforms bottoms. GorettiFest is 13 days away! Please check gorettifest.com for updates and ways you can help make this event a success!

Tomorrow our 8th graders will be in retreat on campus. Please keep them in your prayers.

St. Maria Goretti, Pray for Us!

Blessings,

Amy Utendorf, M.Ed.

Principal

Thank you to Sister Mary Monica for sharing the news regarding the first-class relic of St. Padre Pio. It was installed in St. Peter the Apostle Parish of Ft. Worth on Sept. 18th. You may read the entire news release in the North Texas Catholic.

Please take a look at the signup below to see if you'd like to help with donation needs. Donations help keep our costs down so that GorettiFest can be as successful as possible! Donations may be turned in to the School Front Office by NOON on Wednesday, October 2nd.

1 SPIRIT Hour / $10 spent with receipt

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0448ADA622A5FE3-51311169-gorettifest

September Lunch Menu

October Lunch Menu

What is PSIA?

With 19 contest categories covering a wide range of disciplines, PSIA (Private School Interscholastic Association) is an exciting opportunity for private school students in grades 2 through 8 to engage in academic competition with their peers throughout the state of Texas.

Contests are open to students in various grade levels. There will be study sessions after school to prepare for the meet and students will be asked to study in addition to their normal work load. Parents are required to pay a fee of $12 per category contest at the District level to participate and work at least TWO (2) shifts at the PSIA District meet. Students may become eligible for State competition which will include additional fees and shifts as neede

Please select the link below to sign up your child to prepare and compete this year with SMG PSIA. If you have more than one child that would like to participate, please complete the information for each additional child. For more information or questions, please contact Mrs. Vasquez.

https://forms.office.com/r/6ApSrn7QUx

Sign-ups are due by Wednesday, September 25th.

PSIA practices will begin the week of October 7th

Calling All Girls, attending Kindergarten to High School! We are inviting YOU to join our American Heritage Girls Troop this fall! AHG is a Christian Girls’ character building organization, where we Love God, Cherish our Family, Honor our Country and Serve in our Community! You can learn more about us by visiting www.American Heritage Girls.org

Additional information

Please enjoy this audio/visual experience of the goings on of Saint Maria Goretti. Consider that a "Subscription" to the YouTube channel and/or a "Like" on any video will help us grow our exposure and impact. Please do share anything you enjoy with other family members and friends that would similarly delight in the successes and accomplishments of the students.

https://www.youtube.com/@smgbroadcast2001

SMG students receive a Terrific Trojan sticker when they are "caught" being safe, responsible and respectful. After wearing the sticker during the day, the Terrific Trojan places it on the hallway bulletin board. We love seeing how full the bulletin board becomes by the end of the school year.

Leo, 5th grade, Luke, 5th grade

JT, 1st grade, Luke, 1st grade

Mrs. Roka went above and beyond! She created a magical coffee bar in the teacher's lounge, gifted us new containers, salt & pepper shakers, napkin holders and more!

Thank you to Mrs. Ashley Nobles for caring for our garden box by our entrance, and the planters by the back doors.

Please consider volunteering to help during lunch and recess. Service hours will be earned. Click on the signup genius link for a description of duties. All volunteers must be current with their Virtus training.

Sign-Up Genius

Purchase tickets using this link. (The link in the flyer is not working)

https://www.mlb.com/rangers/tickets/specials/school-events?partnerId=redirect-tex-schools

The life of an SMG student is not 7:50 to 3:30. Cheerleaders come early to workout and practice, then stay late for games. The Rosary Club meets Wednesday mornings to pray the rosary before Mass. Chess club members are having such fun challenging Mr. Tran to matches. Jillian represented us as a Hospitality Minister where she served donuts and coffee after Mass on Sunday. You too can enjoy these activities and many more. Sign up for an SMG Club today!

Thanks to SMG Alumni Sam for handing out free tickets to the Future Viking Night. Briden was also hard at work distributing Home & School posters

Mrs. Zavala's 1st grade Spanish students express their feelings as they leave class each day. In this video clip, some had a "muy buen" day, some a "mas or menos", while other had a "malo" day.

Sixth grade students proudly displayed posters which describe countries in Central America.

Mrs. Hill's students enjoyed dancing while learning letters and math. They also drew pictures of something God created. Watch students sing a song about Jesus.

Thanks to all who attended the Home & School Meeting. If you were unable to attend, check out the Slideshow for items discussed. A special Shout Out to Mrs. Richards and the Kindergarten and 1st Grade students who performed. Take a few moments to listen to their sweet voices!

Many thanks to Nurse Beth for providing this valuable training to our students.

7th and 8th grade students completed a SafeSitter Babysitting course. They dedicated their time on a Saturday from 9 to 3.

• Sebastian, Chrstina, Maddie, Sophia, Catie

5th grade students comcpleted HeartSaver CPR/AED training:

• Back Left: Andres, Anthony, Emmanuel
• Front Left: Jake, Luke, Arthur

3rd grade students learned Infant CPR:

• Ava, Rose, Alisa, Grace

5th grade CPR

• Lilianna, Anastasia, Caroline, Eliza, Lily

Mrs. Torres' class learned how to set boundaries by respecting personal space and dealing with peer pressure. Watch their class video.

5th Grade celebrated God's creation - The Full Moon. It's also called the Mid-autumn Festival.

Hello Catholic School Families,

Please view attached flyers if your child is interested in any of the following diocesan sports opportunities. These are programs offered through the Diocesan Athletic Office and hosted at Nolan Catholic High School. Please direct any questions to me via email at sirwin@fwdioc.org

• Flag Football – Kindergarten – 6th Grade
• Diocesan Swim Team – 6th-8th Grade (try out team)
• Diocesan Basketball – 6th-8th Grade (try out team)

In addition, we invite all families to join us for Nolan Catholic Football and Future Viking Night on Friday, September 20th. There are also several opportunities for middle school aged students to participate in our Viking Spirit Groups, but we hope to see all our families and future Vikings there!

Use the QR codes to sign up and help us plan how many teams we will have. Once teams are set, you will be contacted via email with the coach, practice times and payment information. You may contact the SMG Athletic Director, Ms. Bara, with any questions at cbara@smgschool.org

Use the QR code or the Catholic Diocese Sports Calendar link in the SMG Clubs/Athletics/Tutoring section below.

One SMG parent must complete this training so that their child can participate in athletics. This training is for new families, parents who have NOT completed the training, or parents with students who are in 5th grade and want to participate in any sports this year.

• Link to Register: https://playlikeachampion.wufoo.com/forms/mhwglp5036xjyp/
• Cost is free, use code: FortWorthParent
• It’s only necessary for one parent to registered. Parents can enter the code above into the coupon code box and that will take their cost down to $0.

Virtual Workshop Dates

• Tuesday, September 24th at 7:30 pm EDT
• Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:30 pm EDT
• Tuesday, November 19th at 7:30 pm EST

Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Sports Calendar

Monday

• 7:00-7:40 Cheer (Saladino/Risinger) Gym
• 12:16-1:01 Open Library Checkout (4th-8th)
• 12:16-1:01 STUCO (Daly) Computer Lab Begins TBD
• 3:30-4:45 Folklorico Current Members (Zavala) Hope Rm - New Members Begin Sept. 16
• 3:30-4:15 PSIA Spelling (Daly) Computer Lab Begins 10/7
• 3:30-4:15 PSIA Maps/Graphs/Charts (Utendorf) Rm. 110 Begins 10/14 (2nd & 4th Mondays)
• 3:30-4:15 Math Tutoring 6th-8th (Tran) Rm. 121
• 3:30-4:15 PSIA Ready Write 4th-8th (Vasquez) Begins 10/7 (1st/3rd Mondays)
• 6:00-8:00 Robotics (Morales) 4/5 Sci Lab

• 7:00-7:40 Cheer (Saladino/Risinger) Gym
• 12:16-12:36 Library Leaders (Richards)
• 12:16-1:00 NJHS (Jones) Begins TBD
• 3:30-4:15 Cantoring (Breed) Church

Wednesday

• 7:10 AM Rosary Group (Utendorf) - Cafetorium
• 7:15-7:45 AM Saint Maria Singers (Richards) Library Begins 10/9
• 12:16-1:01 Open Library Checkout (4th-8th)
• 12:16-12:36 SMG Broadcast (Jones) Rm. 120
• 3:30-4:15 4th-8th Detention Rooms Vary
• 3:45-4:30 Run Club (Gutierrez)
• Begins Oct. 9, 23, Nov. 6, 20, Dec. 11, Feb. 12, 26, March 12, 26, April 9, 30, May 7

• 3:30-4:15 PSIA Drawing (Jamison) Art Room
• Begins Oct. 16, 30 Nov. 13 Dec. 4, 18 Jan. 15, 29 Feb. 12, 26

• 3:30-4:30 Chess Club (Tran) Rm 121
• 3:45-4:15 Science Tutoring (Saladino) Rm. 109

• 7:15-7:45 AM PSIA Math 2nd/3rd (Sr. Mary Monica) Rm 116 Begins 10/3
• 1st/3rd Thursday of the month

• 7:15-7:45 AM PSIA Math 4th/5th (Sr. Mary Monica) Rm 116 Begins 10/10
• 2nd/4th Thursday of the month

• 7:00-7:45 AM PSIA Math 6th-8th (Tran) Rm 121 Begins 10/3
• 1st/3rd Thursday of the month

• 3:30-4:45 The Trojan Troupe (Richards) Library/Stage
• End time extended to 6PM beginning in March
• 3:45-4:45 Card Club (Saladino) Rm 109 Begins 10/26

Friday

• 12:16-1:01 Open Library Checkout (4th-8th)

Sept. 23. Monday: 8th Grade Retreat

Sept. 25, Wednesday: Group Pictures & Individual Makeups/Retakes, PSIA sign-ups due

Sept. 26, Thursday: GorettiFest T-Shirts delivered, Dine Out at Portillo's

Oct. 3, Thursday: 3:00 Pet Blessing

Oct. 4, Friday: 12:00 Early Dismissal, NO SMEED

Oct. 5-6, Sat/Sun: GorettiFest Weekend

Oct. 9, Wednesday: 10:30 Jr. High Field Trip, Run Club Begins

Oct. 10, Thursday: 3:30 Trojan Troupe Auditions

Oct. 11, Friday: No School, Diocesan Inservice Day, End of 1st Quarter

Oct. 15, Tuesday: 4th Grade Field Trip

Oct. 16, Wednesday: Vik-a-thon at Nolan

Oct. 21-24: Fall Book Fair

Oct. 25, Friday: 12:00 Early Dismissal, Parent Conferences

We all do!! The St. Maria Goretti Catholic School Community would love to pray for you and your intentions. Please send all prayer requests to: smgprays4u@smgschool.org.

St. Maria Goretti Parish Website: https://www.smgparish.org/

Serving the North Texas Catholic community by providing the faithful opportunities to grow in Christian discipleship and strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ.

https://fwdioc.org/

Email: development@smgschool.org
Website: https://smgschool.org
Location: 1200 South Davis Drive, Arlington, TX, USA
Phone: (817)275-5081

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smgcatholicschool/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StMariaGorettiArlington/