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,

Happy New Year! What an unusual way to start the year, one day back and 2 snow days!!

Due to the inclement weather and school closures, we will be in school on:

• Wednesday, April 16, 2025-full day
• Thursday, April 17, 2025-noon dismissal and NO SMEED
• Friday, May 2, 2025.

Remember the school will be closed Monday, January 20, 2025 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

It is that time of year again....time to name the SMG Volunteer of the Year. Please use this link to nominate someone for this honor. We will announce the winner at Mass on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. https://forms.office.com/r/W66V3Fdh4b

We are also looking for people to nominate for the First Annual Alumni Awards. This award will be given out during the Platinum Gala on April 26, 2025. Use this link to nominate someone today! https://smgschool.org/alumni-awards

Catholic Schools Week is coming up. Be on the look out for more information about activities during this fun week.....a few are listed in this edition of the TT.

St. Maria Goretti, Pray for Us!

Blessings,

Amy Utendorf, M.Ed.

Principal

Nominations are due January 26th: https://smgschool.org/alumni-awards

Gratitude is seeing everything as a gift and being thankful. When we receive gifts from others, we respond by saying, "Thank you!" To have the virtue of gratitude means to always have a "thank you" in your heart, especially to God, Who has given us the gift of life.

Saint Francis was born into a wealthy family but gave up everything he had to follow God. Saint Francis was so thankful to God for all that He had created that he wrote songs about the sun and the moon, the plants and the animals, and all of creation. He taught others to see everything as God's gifts.

As a young girl, Saint Julie was so poor that she did not go to school very much. In spire of this, she knew her faith very well and would often teach other children about God.

She promised her life to God when she was 14 and spent the rest of her life serving and teaching the poor. She started a group of Religious Sisters whose purpose was to teach young girls, and the name she gave her community was the Sisters of Notre Dame - the Sisters of Our Lady.

Sister Julie was known for always smiling, even though she was bedridden for 22 years until cured by a miracle. Saint Julie once said she was ashamed that she had not already died of gratitude to God for all He had done for her!

Born in 1902 in the small town of Barbastro in northern Spain to a prosperous textile merchant and his wife, Jose Maria was the second-oldest of six children, only three of whom were to survive to adulthood. Jose Maria himself almost died of a serious illness at the age of two, but his devout mother commended him to the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and he made a full recovery, which he always attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Mother.

He entered the seminary, was ordained a priest, and served in various ways - as pastor, confessor, and teacher, ministering to the poor, sick and abandoned. He founded Opus Dei, a movement to help ordinary lay people pursue holiness in the midst of their work, sanctifying the world around them, and bearing great spiritual fruit for the whole Church.

All his life, Saint Jose Maria felt a deep gratitude to God for the gift of his family, especially the formation in living a Christian life provided by the example of his parents. Throughout his priestly life promoting Opus Dei, he would always regard the family as the first school of holiness, the place where both parents and children would learn to "sanctify themselves and sanctify others."

Our Performing Arts Class borrowed three large set pieces from NCHS. This includes two large OAP window frames and a door. We need some strong individuals with a full-size truck bed and/or a trailer to help us return them. If you are able and willing, please contact Mrs. Richards as soon as possible so she can help coordinate with the NCHS Theatre team on the other end of the delivery.

RRICHARDS@SMGSCHOOL.ORG

I am so excited about our Spring Season for the Saint Maria Singers! SMS is our student choir for third through eighth grade students.

Our Spring Rehearsals will take place Thursday mornings from 7:15-7:45 a.m. in the Library. Our first meeting is this Thursday, January 16th.

If you participated in our fall season, you are registered and paid. Please let me know if you need to make a change to your level of involvement. Students in Thursday PSIA groups can alternate as needed.

If you would like to join us, please use the link below to sign up and read through our club information, drop off details, and expectations. We ask that you sign up as soon as possible. When you sign up will determine which event will be your child’s first time to sing with us.

https://forms.gle/ewJLjABJZgd1ERXt6

Contact Rachel Richards for additional information.

January Lunch Menu

Teachers attended a retreat after Mass on Tuesday where we discussed Mary's role in Salvation History. We also looked at the many titles of Mary. Following our discussion, the SMG Rosary group came to teach us how to make our own rosaries. It was a beautiful way to begin the New Year. Mother Mary, pray for us!

Sister Mary Monica and her students conducted a chalk blessing. A "chalk blessing" over a classroom door typically refers to the traditional Catholic practice of writing the letters "C", "M", and "B" with chalk on the doorframe around Epiphany (January 6th), representing the names of the three wise men (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar) and symbolically asking for God's blessing on the home or, in this case, the classroom space; it signifies a wish for wisdom and guidance for those entering the room.

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.

Use gift cards or shop online through RaiseRight for your everyday purchases and earn money for your organization. It's easy to enroll today! To enroll email Olivia Bradley at scrip@smgschool.org for the enrollment code.

START EARNING NOW!

• Earn cash for our school just by scanning your receipts! It's as easy as that.

• Download the Box Tops app and make every shopping trip count.

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

Please consider volunteering to help with the chickens on the weekends. Service hours will be earned. Click on the signup genius link for a description of duties.

Sign-Up Genius

Hello Catholic School Families,

I would like to personally invite you and your family to our Future Viking Night at Nolan Catholic Basketball next Friday, January 17th. FREE admission to the games. Fr. Metzler and AD Mattox will be grilling FREE hamburgers. There will be fan giveaways and photo opportunities for all our Future Vikings as well. Please see flyer below for tip off times. We’d love for you to wear your school spirit shirts so we can see where all our wonderful families attend school. It’s also fun for our high school athletes and fans to see others from their alma mater. Of course, Nolan Catholic blue is also perfect!

We currently have 58 student athletes participating in our basketball program at Nolan Catholic; 52 of them are graduates from our partner school campuses. What an amazing percentage! It’s been a blessing to see their growth over the years and excited about all our future Vikings who are currently participating in sports at your campus. We look forward to seeing you and your family on Nolan Catholic's campus soon.

SMG Alumni: Sofia Serna, AmandaAnyanwu, Gianna Gonzalez, Will Paladini, Raiford Proctor, Sean Smith, Nate Sanchez

Hope to see you next Friday!

Shannon Irwin

Diocesan Athletic Director

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
• 3:30-4:15 PSIA Spelling (Daly) Computer Lab Jan. 13, 27, Feb. 3, 10, 24
• 3:30-4:15 PSIA Maps/Graphs/Charts (Utendorf) Rm. 110 Jan. 13, 27, Feb. 10, 24
• 3:30-4:15 Math Tutoring 6th-8th (Tran) Rm. 121
• 3:30-4:15 PSIA Ready Write 4th-8th (Vasquez)

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

Wednesday

• 7:15-7:45 Math Tutoring 2-5 (Sister Mary Monica) Rm. 116
• MOVED TO THURSDAY Saint Maria Singers (Richards) Library MOVED TO THURSDAY
• 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)
• Feb. 12, 26, March 12, 26, April 9, 30, May 7

• 3:30-4:15 PSIA Drawing (Jamison) Art Room
• Jan. 15, 29 Feb. 12, 26

• 3:30-4:30 Chess Club (Tran) Rm 121
• 3:45-4:15 Science Tutoring (Saladino) Rm. 109
• 3:30-4:00 Rosary Group (Utendorf) - Conference Room

• 7:15-7:45 AM Saint Maria Singers (Richards) Library NEW DAY
• 7:15-7:45 AM PSIA Math 2nd/3rd (Sr. Mary Monica) Rm 116
• Jan. 16, Feb. 6, 20

• 7:15-7:45 AM PSIA Math 4th/5th (Sr. Mary Monica) Rm 116 Jan. 9, 23, Feb. 13, 27

• 7:00-7:45 AM PSIA Math 6th-8th (Tran) Rm 121
• Jan. 16, Feb. 6, 20

• 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

Friday

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

Jan. 20, Monday: MLK Jr. Day - No School

Jan. 21, Tuesday: Movie Night at Studio Movie Grill at the Highlands

Jan. 26-31: Catholic Schools Week

Jan. 25, Saturday: 6:00 Spaghetti Dinner

Jan. 26, Sunday: 8:00-3:00 Spaghetti Dinner, 10:00-2:00 Open House

Jan. 30, Thursday: 11:00 Playground Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

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/