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,

What a wonderful first few days of school.

Please be sure that you have signed and turned in the handbook acknowledgement form, social media agreement form, and cell phone agreement (if this pertains to you.)

We will have indoor pickup until September 3, 2024. That is when we will begin outdoor carline. Be on the look out for more information about this new procedure.

The band parent meeting is Monday evening at 6:00 PM in the cafetorium. New parents to the band program need to attend this important meeting.

Mandatory Back to School Nights are this week. One parent must make plans to attend. Children should not come to this evening, child care will not be provided. See more information below.

The mandatory sports meeting will be Thursday evening at 5:15. If your child plans to participate in any sports this year, one parent must make plans to attend this meeting.

Mrs. Morales would like to know who is interested in joining Robotics. If your child is in 4th-8th grade and would like to participate please complete this survey by Monday evening. https://forms.office.com/r/UR7Qh7TF1e

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year ahead! Thank you for entrusting us with the education of your child.

St. Maria Goretti, Pray for Us!

Blessings,

Amy Utendorf, M.Ed.

Principal

This year we will be introducing the Manner of the Week program. We will introduce a new manner each week. The manner of the week this week will be Smile! Please encourage your child to practice this at home and while out and about. I will share the manner each week in the Trojan Times. Please help partner with us at home.

Saint Maria Goretti School received an official proclamation from the Arlington Mayor's Office. We celebrated "Saint Maria Goretti Catholic School Day" on the first day of school - August 14th, 2024.

A special thank you to our guest Mr. Chris Salcedo for officiating and Deputy Mayor Pro Tempore (and SMG Parishioner) Raul Gonzalez for presenting the Proclamation. Ft. Worth Diocese Superintendent Dr. Melissa Kasmeier-Millard and Mrs. Patrice Hall, Catholic Schools Mission Director, also attended to celebrate this special occasion.

Dear SMG parents,

Our lunch program will begin this coming Monday. Milk arrived yesterday and we are very thrilled about the opportunity. Lunch will need to be ordered a day in advance by 12:00pm, however, lunches may be preordered the whole month in advance if desired. (www.laislatx.com). You have the option of ordering other lunches besides the one offered for the day; however if you do so, you need to specify the date you want that lunch delivered. Please do so under special instructions. Under Special instructions, you may do special requests, ex: no tomato. In the event your child forgets his/her lunch and you did not pre-ordered lunch, you will have the choice to allow your student to purchase lunch for that day. You will need to fill out an authorization form to have that option. If you have questions about the lunch program or your lunch account, please contact me at

laislarestaurantpantego@gmail.com. Please allow 1-2 business days for a response.

Respectfully,

Martin Zavala

LaIsla Restaraunt

Authorization form to charge credit card for forgotten lunch

We are happy to announce that we will have lunch five days a week for the students and staff! All food will be prepared offsite and served at the SMG cafeteria kitchen. Payment will be made online when you order. Items which may be purchased at school such as water, gatorade, fries and chips may be purchased with cash.

Contact Martin Zavala at laislarestarauntpantego@gmail.com with any questions.

PK-3rd: Tuesday, August 20th, 6:00-7:30

4th-8th: Thursday, August 22nd, 6:00-8:00

Sports Mtg: Thursday, August 22nd, 5:15

Please reference this paper bag book cover tutorial to assist in covering all text books.

Middle schoolers grades 6-8, prepare to start an amazing adventure with Jesus as you explore Sacred Scripture! Join us on this half day retreat where you will be immersed in the Word of God, engage in scriptural prayer, and discover the incredible story of our salvation.

• Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024
• Time: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Cost: $25 per person
• Location: Cristo Rey High School, 2633 Altamesa Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76133
• Visit the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Ministries website for more information:

https://fwdioc.org/word-made-flesh

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

If you are interested in Volleyball, please submit your information by next Monday, 8/19/2024.

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, August 27th at 7:30 pm EDT
• Tuesday, September 10th at 7:30 pm EDT
• Tuesday, September 24th at 7:30 pm EDT
• Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:30 pm EDT
• Tuesday, November 19th at 7:30 pm EST

Construction has begun on our new playground. Old equipment has been removed and the ground is being leveled and prepared for the new playground structure. During this time, students may use the basketball courts, hardtop or the inside gym for recess and breaks. We have been given a finish date prior to October 4th, just in time for this year's GorettiFest.

Congratulations to all the families and students who volunteered their time to decorate and ride on the SMGCS float. Their hard work resulted in first place in the youth division. Go Trojans!

Sister Thuan had the pleasure of visiting her first Bucees over summer break. She was gifted a mug which she is proudly using at school.

SMG faculty and staff spent the first two weeks of August preparing for the new 2024-2025 school year and the return of students to campus. In addition to setting up classrooms, working on lesson plans, and attending convocation, we also fit in safety training, community service and team building activities.

• PADRE PIO - a great day devoted to sorting school supplies and helping at the Padre Pio House
• CANDY SALAD - each faculty member added a candy that represented their personality to the bowl, creating a candy salad to satisfy our sweet tooth
• ESCAPE ROOM - a fun team building activity
• SCHOOL MISSION-review and planned how we reach our students academically, spiritually, and socially. As a school we talked about best practices to reach these goals this year.
• EPI PEN, AED, CPR - Nurse Beth ensured we are trained and ready for any emergency!
• NEW FAMILY SOCIAL & MEET THE TEACHER
• CONVOCATION - Mass celebrated by Most Reverend Michael F. Olson

Nurse Beth trained substitue teachers in Epi-Pen, Narcan and emergnecy training. New SMG teachers and staff were also certified in CPR/AED. Our entire SMG faculty is now fully trained and prepared for any emergency!

What a pleasure it was for teachers to leave school on the first day and have dinner fixings ready for our families. Many thanks to Home & School and SMG families for your kind gift of First Day Meal Kits.

A special thank you to the anonymous donor who supplied SMG teachers and faculty with a pizza lunch on Friday. It was the perfect way to end our first week of school with the students. Thanks for the delicious lunch!

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.

Our first Terrific Trojans of the year are Noah who cleaned up a water spill in the restroom and Caroline and Sebastian who volunteered to wash lunch tables. New 1st grade SMG Trojan, John, received a Terrific Trojan sticker for being very respectful and patient in computer class when we experienced technical issues.

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

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.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0448ADA622A5FE3-50734438-alunchroom

Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Sports Calendar

Dates & Times Coming Soon!

August 19, Monday: 6:00 Band Mtg, Signed Family Handbook Form Due

August 20, Tuesday: 6:00-7:30 PreK-3rd Back to School Parent Night

August 21, Wednesday: Indiviudal Yearbook Pictures

August 22, Thursday: 5:15 Parent Sports Mtg, 6:00-8:00 4th-8th Back to School Night

August 23, Friday: Signed social media and cell phone agreement forms due

August 30, Friday: 12:00 Early Dismissal

Sept. 2, Monday: No School - Labor Day

Sept. 3, Tuesday: Outdoor Carline Begins

Sept. 12, Thursday: 5th grade field trip

Sept. 16-20: IOWA/COGAT/CLT Testing Week

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/