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,

Our final rosary for the month of the rosary is Monday. All are welcome to attend. Please sign in at the front office before coming to the cafetorium.

A BIG SMG thank you to Mrs. Richards for organizing our book fair and Literacy Night. The book fair looked amazing. Can't wait to hear how much you were able to raise for the library.

We will attend Mass on Wednesday and Friday this week. Mass uniform is only required on Wednesday.

This week we will get to see all the hard work and effort the students have put into their saint projects and costumes. Everyone is invited to attend the Saint Game Show and Living Saint Museum on October 31st in the cafetorium from 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM.

On Halloween, Home and School will host a trunk or treat event. See more information in this TT. Students will be allowed to wear their saint costume ONLY on Halloween. Students who choose not to dress up as their saint for Halloween are required to wear their normal school unforms.

On Friday, November 1st we will be attending 10:00 AM Mass dressed as our saints. All students are required to dress up on All Saints Day. We will have a litany of Saints at 9:30 AM in the gym prior to Mass that all are invited to attend. Parents need to check into the front office prior to attending the litany. Please direct any saint related questions to your child's religion teacher.

On Friday, students may wear their everyday uniform under their costumes and remove it after Mass or they can wear their costume all day.

Finally, some of you may have heard that Dennis/Mills has closed. We will be providing families grace regarding uniforms during this transition period. We are working to partner with a uniform company that will best serve the needs of our families. I will update you when I have more information.

St. Maria Goretti, Pray for Us!

Blessings,

Amy Utendorf, M.Ed.

Principal

The chicken coop is complete. We will be adding chickens very soon. If you and your family would like to help with the upkeep of the coop, please email Mrs. U!

October Lunch Menu

Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is a multi-day Mexican holiday in which friends, family and communities come together to celebrate and remember the lives of loved ones who have passed on to the spirit realm.

SMG will be creating a Day of the Dead altar, or ofrendas, a structure dedicated to the deceased, upon which gifts and offerings are placed in order to guide their spirits back among the living just for the holiday. The altar will be located in the cafeteria and available to view between Monday, October 28th and Friday, November 1st. If you would like to recognize your loved one, please send a framed photo to Senora Zavala Monday, October 28th. Label the back with your student's name and grade so it can be returned to you.

It is time for our Home and School Butter Braid sale! This is a great opportunity to purchase goodies in time for the holidays, all while supporting our school. Butter Braid is a frozen pastry that comes in delicious sweet and savory flavors. We are also offering break and bake cookie dough!

Set up your family's online store with this link and share with family and friends. Orders may be placed through October 27th. Product will be ready for pick up from SMG on Thursday, November 21st. You will pick up and deliver product to whoever purchased from your online store. Super easy!! Remember- this is a frozen product, so it cannot be shipped.

To celebrate Halloween this year, the Home and School Association Board will be having our annual SMGCS Trunk or Treat and we need your help to make it extra sweet! This will be an indoor event in which volunteers will decorate tables and students will have a chance to safely move from table to table collecting treats. Our 8th grade class will be judging for the Overall Best Decor, the lucky winner will receive a special treat!

✨ Here’s How You Can Shine:

1. Candy Donations: Let’s fill our tables with sweet treats that will bring smiles to all the little ones! If you can bring a bag of candy, it would be a huge blessing!

2. Table Decorating: Put on your creative hats and join us in making our tables festive! Examples of previous themes: books, video games (Mario, Pokemon), Dia de Los Muertos, sports.

If you’d like to decorate a table, please RSVP by clicking-https://forms.gle/JBDa2GaCosPCRdDF8

This will allow us to plan the flow of the event. Feel free to decorate as little or as much as you’d like!

Donating candy/treats:

This can be bags of individually wrapped candy, small toys and stickers, even prayer cards or religious items, etc! Anyone may donate items between 7:30 am and 3:30 pm at the front office through October 30th.

Date: October, 31st, 2024

Time: Setup from 1-2PM; Classes will Trick or Treat from 2-3:15PM

Where: Cafeteria

What to wear/bring: Students are encouraged to wear their Saint costumes over their uniforms! Otherwise, they may wear their regular uniforms. Students will be provided with a bag to collect their goodies, so no need to bring anything!

SPIRIT HOURS:

• 2 hours for decorating your trunk & handing out treats (this includes any decorations purchased)
• 1 hour for every $10 spent on candy/items to pass out (with receipt)

Additional details will be provided as we get closer to the event. Thank you in advance for helping make this a fun Halloween event for our students!

Questions: Alyssa Carrillo, HSA President lysmarie.rod@gmail.com

National Vocation Awareness Week will be celebrated from November 3-9, 2024. One SMG student from each grade level will wear different religious order costumes and various hierarchies within the Church. After Mass on Wednesday November 6th, Fr. Maul will introduce the students and share insights about each costume and the significance of the different habits.

You are invited to join us for our Veterans Day Program at Saint Maria Goretti Catholic School on November 11, 2024 at 9 a.m. All guests will need to receive a visitor's badge at the front office before joining us in the Cafetorium. You may begin checking in at 8:30 a.m.

• To be sure we have adeqaute seating, please RSVP using the following link https://forms.gle/9wceLnzYUUhYAtdZ7
• If you would to honor a veteran in our slideshow, please use the following link https://forms.gle/eGza5YX83G477MhEA

• To help us best prepare, these forms need to be completed by Wednesday, November 6, 2024. Thank you, and we hope to see you there!

Your talented 5th and 6th Grade Performing Arts students are working hard on their Epic Ensembles! Once we started working through our material, I noticed a need to add additional skits so that each student had a greater opportunity to shine. We are now working on six short selections full of humor and fun. The additional texts will take more time to rehearse so we are changing our performance date to accomodate. Originally we were slated to perform before Thanksgiving Break at 9 a.m. on November 21st. We will now be performing before Christmas Break on Thursday, December 19 at 2 p.m. You are still invited to attend, and we will record for those who cannot make it. This performance is their final test grade for the first semester. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Use gift cards or shop online through RaiseRight for your everyday purchases and earn money for your organization. It's easy to enroll today!

Our goal is to have 100% of the families enrolled. Be sure to enroll by September 30th so that your child’s class has a chance to win an ice cream party! To enroll email Olivia Bradley at scrip@smgschool.org for the enrollment code.

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.

Arlington Water Utilities took part in the national observance of Imagine a Day Without Water on Oct. 17 by announcing the winners of the 2024 Value of Water Mini Poster Contest. The annual competition drew 365 entries during September and October. A team of judges chose one winner in grades pre-k through fourth grade.

The winning entries illustrated water’s many uses, including for dental hygiene and fun activities like water balloon fights. They also showed how water is essential for Arlington residents and the wildlife in our city. In addition to their artwork, students were asked to describe their drawings and why water is important to them. This year winning entries came from the following students.

Third grade – Jameson T. - Saint Maria Goretti Catholic School

“Without water there would be no fish. No water in our body, so we’d die. No cruises … no water slides, water balloon fights. You can’t wash your hands, take showers, no gas. You can’t water your plants or slip-n-slides.”

We were honored to have members of the SMG Rosary Makers group lead our rosary on Monday. This group has been providing rosaries to the school students since 2017. These rosaries travel with the students as they move from grade to grade. When they leave us in 8th grade they will take the rosary with them. They shared with the students how they make the rosaries and answered questions. They also wanted to extend an invitation to all SMG parents to join their group. They meet Tuesday nights in the Saint David's Cottage. Check the church bulletin for more information.

Thank you for helping us dive into our Fall Book Fair! We earned over $1,700 in Paper Pie books for our library and classrooms. We also raised over $175 for library supplies. A special thank you to our parent volunteers, to the the families who helped with our teacher wish lists, to the Grant family for purchasing the Ultimate Squishy Human Body for our science classes, and to the 20 families who participated in our first Book Fair Literacy Night. We are grateful. Happy Reading!

Mrs. Richards hosted a fun and engaging Family Literacy Night.

Mrs. Utendorf reviewed our October virtue of Reverance and handed out Virtue Awards to deserving students. PreK entertained us with a song about Saint Hyacinth of Poland. After discussing the upcoming November virtue of Stewardship, big and little buddies met to make cards for our upcoming Box of Joy project. (see explanation below). Small gifts which will fit inside a shoe box are due by Nov. 5th. This allows us to package and send the Boxes of Joy in time for Christmas.

Saint Maria Goretti is participating again this year in the Box of Joy program. A Box of Joy is a Christmas shoebox that is donated and packed with toys, clothing, supplies and other treasured items by U.S. parishes, schools and groups. Each child who receives a Box of Joy also receives a rosary and a booklet titled The Story of Jesus. Box of Joy provides hope to children in need, each gift represents Christ’s love, and may be the only Christmas gift they receive. Gift ideas are provided below.

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

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

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, November 19th at 7:30 pm EST

I hope your schedule allows you to join us for the Learn About Cassata Luncheon on Tuesday, October 29th from 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.

Feel free to RSVP directly to me.

Maggie Harrison, Ph.D.
Principal
Cassata Catholic High School
1400 Hemphill Street
Fort Worth, TX 76104
Tel: 817.926.1745
Fax: 817.926.3132

www.cassatahs.org

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 Oct. 28, Nov. 4, 11, 18, Dec. 2, 9, Jan. 13, 27, Feb. 3, 10, 24
• 3:30-4:15 PSIA Maps/Graphs/Charts (Utendorf) Rm. 110 Oct. 28, Nov. 11, Dec. 9, 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) Nov. 4, 18, Feb. 3
• 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 Math Tutoring 2-5 (Sister Mary Monica) Rm. 116
• 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)
• 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
• Oct. 30 Nov. 13 Dec. 4, 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
• Nov. 7, 21, Dec. 5, Jan. 16, Feb. 6, 20

• 7:15-7:45 AM PSIA Math 4th/5th (Sr. Mary Monica) Rm 116 Nov. 14, Dec. 12, Jan. 9, 23, Feb. 13, 27

• 7:00-7:45 AM PSIA Math 6th-8th (Tran) Rm 121
• Nov. 7, 21, Dec. 5, 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 Begins 10/26

Friday

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

Oct. 28 - Nov. 5: Box of Joy Collection

Oct. 28 - Nov. 1: Day of the Dead Altar Displayed

Oct. 29, Tuesday: 8th grade shadow day at Nolan Catholic

Oct. 27, Sunday: Butter Braid Sales End

Oct. 30, Wednesday: 10:15-11:30 Living Saints Museum

Oct. 31, Thursday: 9:10-10:10 Living Saints Museum. 2:00 Trunk or Treat - Saint Costume or School Uniform, 4:00 Saint Game Show & Living Saint Museum

Nov. 1, Friday: 9:30 Litany, 10:00 All Saints Day Mass - All students required to wear saint costume

Nov. 5, Tuesday: Box of Joy Items Due

Nov. 6, Wednesday: Veterans Day RSVP & Pictures Due

Nov. 8, Friday: 6:00-8:00PM Jr. High 80's Dance

Nov. 11, Monday: 9:00 Veterans Day Program

Nov. 21, Thursday: Butter Braid Pick Up

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/