What's the Buzz?

Remember to utilize our SMS Google Calendar subscription (click here to view), or view the “Events” page on the SMS website.

Dec. 13: NO SCHOOL Report Card Conferences - 7:30-10:50am

Dec. 16: HSA Bills Dress Down Day will be moved to a "playoff week" hopefully

Dec. 16: Crazy/Ugly/Festive Christmas Sweater Day

Dec. 17: Blue and Gold Sabres Dress Down Day

Dec. 18: PJs Day (wear your Christmas PJs, or other PJs)

Dec. 19: MK-2 Dress up day, Montessori 3s and 4s and 3-8 Grinch day, dress in green or as a Who from Whoville

Dec. 19: Snow Me the Money Early Bird Deadline

Dec. 20: Dress in your Christmas best

Dec. 20: 9 am School Mass led by St. John the Apostle Faith Family (Miss Gon)

Dec. 20: School Adoration following Mass

Dec. 22: Snow Me the Money Early Bird Drawing after 9 am Mass

Dec. 23 - Jan. 5: Christmas Recess, No School

Dec. 27-28: Sister Sheila Memorial Basketball Tournament

Jan. 3 -Montessori "Break it Up” Playdate, 9:00 – 11:00am

Jan. 6 -School Resumes, Feast of the Epiphany

Jan. 16 - LEAD Night (Early Childhood Open House)

Jan. 20 -NO SCHOOL, Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Jan. 24 -HSA Parent Winter Social, Pizza Making Night

Jan. 26 - 9am - Catholic Schools Week Mass

Jan. 26 - Donut Sunday in the school cafeteria sponsored by the HSA

Jan. 26 - 10:30-12pm - Open House - invite friends who are looking for an education that shares their family values

Jan. 27 - Special Persons' Lunch - 5th Grade

Jan. 28 - Special Persons' Lunch - Montessori, 2nd, 6th

Jan. 29 - Special Persons' Lunch - Kindergarten, 3rd, 7th

Jan. 30 - Special Persons' Lunch - 1st, 4th, 8th

Jan. 31 -11:30 AM Dismissal for MCH full day - Grade 8

Jan. 31- HSA Ice Skating Party

Feb. 12 - Flavors of Fellowship International Night

Please note the following menu change for Dec. 17th - Popcorn Chicken has been changed to Chicken Nuggets.

The January Lunch Menu link is now live, please be sure to order lunches for your student(s) by THIS MONDAY, DEC. 16th FOR JANUARY.

ORDER JANUARY LUNCHES

If you are interested in helping out in the lunchroom and are VIRTUS trained please sign up below using the buttons. If you have any questions, you can email Mr. Mangione at attendance@st.maryschoolswormville.org.

A reminder for not only our children, but also for our SMS adults (parents, grandparents, and staff). This is such a busy time of year with all of the extra events, shopping, sports, and parties. Remember bedtime routines are critical for a good night's sleep. Take those few extra minutes for a warm bath, a story, and nighttime prayers. Research suggests that screens/phones shouldn't be watched an hour before you want to settle in for the night. We are still learning and working hard here at school, and despite all of our disinfecting, the stomach bug seems to be rampant. A good night's sleep will do wonders!

• Students should be dropped off by 7:45am, this gives them time to get to class before our day begins at 7:50am
• If your child is absent, please either email or call the office so that we know if they will be in attendance that day.
• If your child is tardy, regardless of the reason, a note is also required.
• New York State considers 3 tardies the equivalent of one absence.
• Even if you have made a phone call, we require a written excuse for our files. You can either send in a handwritten excuse or send an email to Mr. Mangione at attendance@stmaryschoolswormville.org and he will print it for our files.
• If your child will be going home in a way other than is their typical means of transportation, we will revert to the information we were initially given. We cannot take your child's word for it that they are taking the bus, going to JFK, or being picked up. Please avoid the inconvenience of them being in the wrong place by sending in a note.

Monday, December 16th - Friday, December 20th, staff & students are invited to get festive and start celebrating the Christmas season early with NO UNIFORMS! See below for what to wear each day of the week, or reference the school digital calendar, or flyer that came home:

Please remember that if you haven't ordered milk or juice for your child, they should bring something to drink with them in their lunchbox or bring their water bottle to lunch with them.

The 8th grade shoe collection is being extended to December 31st. Thank you to all those who have already cleaned out their closets. If you are buying new shoes or sneakers for yourself or children for Christmas, please consider bringing their outgrown shoes to the bin in the school entry or church entry.

The SMS Athletic Committee is excited to announce that the Sister Sheila Memorial Basketball Tournament is back after a few year hiatus. WNY Private Schools have been invited to register their Boys & Girls JV Basketball teams to participate in this single elimination, four team tournament. Our own SMS Boys & Girls JV teams will be competing, and our 3rd & 4th grade teams will be facing off against each other in the “Christmas Classic” game in-between tournament games! Come on out to support our SMS/Nativity teams on Dec. 27th & 28th. Food & drinks will be available for purchase at our snack stand during all games.

We are in need of volunteers to be announcers, keep the book, manage the clock, and help work the concession stand, please watch next week’s Buzz for the link to sign up!

Click here for more info on the tournament.

Your words, a fond memory, a positive experience - all of these things cost NOTHING to share besides a few moments of your time & strokes of the keyboard, but they are an invaluable resource to St. Mary School. In honor of this week’s "Giving Tuesday", we invite you to please give to SMS by sharing your review! Click the link below to find out how.

https://www.stmaryschoolswormville.org/give

Friday, January 3, 2025 from 9:00 – 11:00am in the St. Mary School Gym.

Get out of the house over school break and let your children run around in our gym a little to expend some energy! Colder weather is upon us and we could all use a little change of pace. Let your children visit with their friends from the MCH classroom and make a winter themed craft while you enjoy a coffee and chat with some fellow St. Mary's Montessori parents.

Please RSVP to this FREE event by clicking here.

We will leave these here as a link so that you can double check the time you signed up for.

If you need a conference with one of our specials teachers, please contact them directly through email.

ART - Mrs. Genovese

MUSIC - Mrs. Daigler

COMPUTER/MAKERSPACE - Mrs. Leong

PHYSICAL EDUCATION - Mr. Reeds

RELIGION - Mrs. Bishop

and don’t forget to bring your Baby Jesus to Mass with you this weekend for a special blessing on Gaudate Sunday!

HSA’s “giving manger” is starting to fill up with straw from all of your students’ good deeds! The bulletin board near the school office has been transformed into a nativity scene awaiting Baby Jesus, and students are invited to continue to add straw to it that they earn by doing good deeds at home or in school from now until Christmas break.

Read more about the project here and if your family needs another envelope of “straw”, let the school office know and we’ll send more home. To watch a video of the book “The Giving Manger” read aloud with your family, click here.

Gaudete Sunday is this weekend, the name comes from the Latin word which means "rejoice". This week the rose colored candle will be lit on the Advent wreath, and our focus shifts from "The Lord is coming" to "The Lord is near". Bring your Baby Jesus figurine from your family’s nativity set for a special blessing at all weekend Masses!

Get your tickets in before Thurs., Dec. 19th for a chance to win an extra $250 for Christmas! Tickets for our annual HSA “SNOW ME THE MONEY” Cash Raffle came home last week, just a $25 donation per ticket affords you multiple opportunities to win cash prizes totaling $15,000!

SMS students have the special opportunity to win a snowball fight with our principal & priests if they are the in the class selling the most tickets! So purchase your own tickets, give them as stocking stuffers, split the cost with others, encourage family, friends, neighbors, & coworkers to join in the fun and give the gift of support for Catholic education this year.

Lost your tickets, have no cash in your wallet, need more tickets, or just want to share with friends and family easily? Click the link below to purchase tickets ONLINE - our volunteers will fill out the stubs for you and place them in the raffle drum so you can (hopefully) win big!

Click here to purchase SNOW ME THE MONEY Tickets online

We still need volunteers to help count & sell tickets... please consider donating a few hours of your time to help count tickets for the drawing. Please click the link below to volunteer.

What's Advent All About? (Middle School - High School)

We invite you to join our Youth Ministry team as they share the history and ways to experience all the hope, peace, joy, and love this Advent season brings. All four sessions will take place on consecutive Sundays from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

• December 15th - BRING THE GOOD NEWS!