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Dear STM Families,
It was GREAT to see so many of you yesterday at our Drive-Through Christmas Celebration at STM!! Based on the number of candy canes our Santa shared, we were able to see more than 300 of our students and families on such a beautiful December afternoon. I know it did my healing heart a lot of good to see you and your children!! I am truly looking forward to our return together at STM on Monday, January 4, 2021. We appreciate your flexibility and support as we completed these last weeks of December in the distance learning mode. Your input and ideas through email and phone conversations have been helpful in preparing some changes that will occur. There has been a lot of work going on to help ensure that our return to in-person learning will begin on Jan. 4 and continue through May. Here are some of our continuing efforts to maintain a safe and healthy learning environment for our students and staff:
As a precursor, I have prepared a SHORT (two question) ANONYMOUS survey about your plans for the Christmas holiday. I will share the results of this survey next Tuesday so you will have a good idea of our school community’s travel and plans to get together. Here’s the link to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9XN2SWR Here is a guide from the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services for Holiday Celebrations: https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/holiday-celebrations.php Don’t forget to follow the guidelines to wear a mask, wash your hands often, avoid large crowds, and isolate from anyone who is known or suspected of COVID infection. Your continued prayers are needed for the health and well-being of all of our staff and families at STM. These will be the BEST ways to ensure that we will be able to stay on-site and in school. STM SCHOOL UPCOMING EVENTS: Dec. 21-Jan. 1 Christmas Break--Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Friday, Dec. 25. Happy Birthday Jesus! Merry Christmas! Monday, Jan. 4 First day of school in 2021 Monday, Jan. 4 Mrs. Corkins’ class First Reconciliation Service at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. Last day of 2nd Quarter (1st Semester) Friday, Jan. 15. All STM Activity Fees are DUE Friday, Jan. 15 Diocesan Prof. Dev. Day for all teachers—NO SCHOOL Monday, Jan. 18 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—NO SCHOOL Jan. 24-30 Catholic Schools Week LAST DAY TO BID ON THE CHRISTMAS PUPPY!! Still haven’t found that perfect gift? Our STM Auction has a French Bull Dog (approximately 9 weeks old) up for bid and adoption. Make your bid for him NOW on www.stmauction.org Bidding for him ends TODAY! He is AKC Chocolate Brindle and loves to play and cuddle. He is ready for his forever family. CHRISTMAS MASS AT STM: Make your plans now to attend Christmas Mass at STM. Reservations are required in order to make sure we can accommodate safe social distancing and honor current seating restrictions. Sign-ups will remain open until capacity has been reached. Walk-ins will have to be turned away if capacity has been reached. Please go to www.stmkc.com to reserve your seats. In addition, the 4 p.m. Mass on Christmas Eve will be live-streamed and the 6 p.m., 8 p.m., Midnight, 7:30 a.m., and 9:30 a.m. Masses will be recorded and available on the church website. LEARNING MODE FOR 3rd QUARTER: Please notify Mrs. Crosthwait by email at Crosthwait_linda@stmcyclones.org by Friday, Jan 7 if your child will change learning modes for the 3rd Quarter of our school year. Third quarter will begin on Tuesday, January 19. There is no need to notify me if you do not plan to change your child’s current learning mode. BASKETBALL SWEATSHIRT AVAILABLE: Grey Gildan Hoodie for the basketball season. The cost is $30.00 apiece. Order form attached. All forms should be returned to Tim Waris with cash/ check made out to Saint Thomas More. You can also Venmo @tim-waris. The deadline to order is 12/30/20. You can bring the form to the parish office or leave in the secure black mailbox by the parish office door. The Basketball Hoodie has been approved for Spirit wear. WINTER SPORTS INFORMATION: All students involved in Parochial League Winter Sports should contact the coach of your team or Tim Waris, STM Athletic Director, with any information about try-outs, practices, etc. MRS. CORKINS’ 2ND GRADE CLASS FIRST RECONCILIATION: The First Reconciliation Service for the students in Mrs. Corkins’ 2nd grade class has been rescheduled for Monday, January 4 at 6 p.m. in the church. During this service: · Fr. Justin will begin with an introduction, · share a gospel passage, · give final instructions to the 2nd graders, · and then our three priests will hear the 2nd graders' (only the students') confessions. · Fr. Justin will share a concluding prayer at the end of the service. STM HOLIDAY SPIRITWEAR PICK-UP: We don’t have a solid date/time for STM Spirit Wear delivery and pick-up. Please continue to check your email for updates. Thanks for your orders—and your patience! Here we are at the final week of Advent! May your preparation for the celebration of our Lord’s birth at Christmas bring you all the joy and blessings of the season! Week Four Prayer - A Prayer for LoveHeavenly Father, The whole meaning of Christmas can be explained in one little four letter word…LOVE. You sent your gift of pure love to us that first Christmas. Love descended from heaven to be born of a virgin. Love lay in the scratchy hay of a manger in a meager barn in Bethlehem. All of your love, God, was robed in the delicate skin of a baby and wrapped in swaddling clothes. This final week of Advent, help us to reflect on the magnitude of love that was made manifest in Jesus. Your word became flesh and you made your dwelling among us when Jesus was born. You set aside all of the glory and splendor of heaven and chose the most humble way to enter into your kingdom. Beneath the stars, surrounded by all of the hosts of heaven, Love came. Welcomed by an earthly mother and father, shepherds and wise men, Love came. The greatest gift of all came that first Christmas. It wasn’t wrapped in a beautiful package and set under a decorated tree. The greatest gift came wrapped in the flesh of baby Jesus and laid in the rough wood of a manger. Our perfect gift would later be rewrapped in the scars of our sin and nailed to the rugged wood of a cross on Calvary, all because of love. Father, this final week of Advent, fill our hearts and minds with the significance of that truth. Thank you, Lord, for loving us enough to send Jesus. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to all of you! St. Thomas More, pray for us. Peace and Blessings, Linda Crosthwait, STM Principal
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Dear STM Families,
Thank you for your input and insights during the last week regarding our move to distance learning through December 17. I have attempted to personally call as many of you as possible, but I’m running short on minutes. If I have not called you, please know that each correspondence is very important to me in making future plans and decisions for our learning mode. Many of you have shared meaningful and intuitive suggestions that we will consider in our planning, as well. It’s hard to believe that we will begin our third week of Advent next week, so it is almost time to light the rose-colored candle. This Sunday is known as Gaudete (Gow-DAY-tay) Sunday which means “rejoice.” We rejoice that the birth of our Lord is near! The liturgical colors at Mass include rose (not pink—just ask Fr. Justin!), as well. Please take a look at some of the activities that will culminate the final week of school before Christmas break (and beyond): STM SCHOOL UPCOMING EVENTS: Dec. 10-Dec. 17 Distance Learning for all students Friday, Dec. 11 Final turn-in for Fun Raffle tickets Monday, Dec. 14 Fun Raffle Drawing Thursday, Dec.17 Last day of school before Christmas Break Thursday, Dec. 17 Drive-by Christmas Celebration; 2:30 p.m. in STM parking lot Dec. 21-Jan. 1 Christmas Break--Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Monday, Jan. 4 First day of school in 2021 Monday, Jan. 4 Mrs. Corkins’ class First Reconciliation Service at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15 Diocesan Prof. Dev. Day for all teachers—NO SCHOOL Monday, Jan. 18 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—NO SCHOOL FINAL TURN-IN FOR FUN RAFFLE TICKETS IS TOMORROW! All sold Fun Raffle ticket stubs must be returned by tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 11 (NOTE: the dates on the ticket are now incorrect). Please turn those in before noon tomorrow at the STM school office. The drawing for a grand prize of $500 or STM Family Registration for the 2021-22 school year will take place on Monday, Dec. 14. Also drawn that day will be the 2nd Prize for $300 Cash or Gift Card and 3rd Prize for $100 Cash or Gift Card. For every ticket sold, you will receive dollar for dollar a credit on any remaining 2020-21 STM School Activity Fee amount. CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION DRIVE-BY EVENT: Our STM teachers and staff would love to be able to spread some cheer and physically see our students and parents to wish you all a ‘Merry Christmas and a Happier New Year!’ Please join us at 2:30 p.m. next Thursday, Dec. 17 for a Drive-By Christmas Event in our front driveway. The teachers will social-distance and stand on the sidewalk to greet, wave, and maybe even sing a carol or two with you!! We would love for you to come if you can! Our students are sorely missed by all of the teachers and staff! We are SO looking forward to our return on Monday, Jan. 4!! WINTER SPORTS INFORMATION: All students involved in Parochial League Winter Sports should contact the coach of your team or Tim Waris, STM Athletic Director, with any information about try-outs, practices, etc. MRS. CORKINS’ 2ND GRADE CLASS FIRST RECONCILIATION: The First Reconciliation Service for the students in Mrs. Corkins’ 2nd grade class has been rescheduled for Monday, January 4 at 6 p.m. in the church. During this service:
STM HOLIDAY SPIRITWEAR PICK-UP: We don’t have a solid date/time for STM Spirit Wear delivery and pick-up. Please continue to check your email for updates. Thanks for your orders—and your patience! STM AUCTION—HERE’S A CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA FOR YOUR FAMILY! We have a family that is going to donate a French Bull Dog (Approximately 9 weeks old) to the auction. We are going to do a special online bidding for him on www.stmauction.org starting Friday through 12/18. He is AKC Chocolate Brindle and loves to play and cuddle. He is ready for his forever family. Take a look at his cute face on the attached flyer. Here’s his little message to you: I am a puppy as you can see, A pup that needs a family to love little me!!! I promise to play with you every day!!! To shake and go fetch and even learn to stay!! So, go tell your parents to bid on me cause I would love a place under your tree! Following is a short Family Prayer Service for the 3rd Week of Advent that you might share at home: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Leader: Come Holy Spirit! In this third week of Advent, we ask You to fill our hearts with joy as we prepare for Jesus, who is coming soon! All: Come, Lord Jesus. Family member lights the first and second purple, as well as the rose candle. Leader: Lord, as we journey closer to Christmas, center our joyful anticipation on Jesus’ coming. Of course You know that we are excited about gifts, decorations, gatherings, and treats. Let all of these passing joys point us toward the unending joy that we find in knowing and loving Jesus. All: Come, Lord Jesus. Leader: Lord, as we joyfully look forward to Christmas, guard us against worry, stress, and unnecessary obligations. Help us clear out whatever busyness distracts us from Jesus or steals our joy. Give us clear eyes and hearts so that, without distractions, we might joyfully prepare for Jesus’ birth. All: Fill our hearts with hope, peace, and joy! Amen. Peace and Blessings, Linda Crosthwait, STM Principal Dear STM Families,
I appreciate your emails and messages regarding our shift to Distance Learning through Thursday, Dec. 17. I have made an effort to reach out to each of you who responded, and I look forward to answering any other questions or concerns you might have. Our teachers are working hard to build creative and rigorous lesson plans through these nine days until Christmas Break. Many of you have asked for details regarding Specials classes and the formats/schedules for each. I am accumulating that information by grade level and will share it with you as soon as possible. Our first day back after Christmas Break will be Monday, Jan. 4 when our in-person learners will need to bring all of their supplies back to the classroom to begin 2021 (Woo-hoo!) as a Brand New Year!! Below are some of the highlights of our coming days: STM SCHOOL UPCOMING EVENTS: Dec. 7-Dec. 18 Distance Learning for all students Tuesday, Dec. 8. Holy Day of Obligation for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception; Special STM School Mass will be broadcast at 11:00 a.m. Friday, Dec. 11 Final turn-in for Fun Raffle tickets Monday, Dec. 14 Fun Raffle Drawing Thursday, Dec.17 Last day of school before Christmas Break Dec. 21-Jan. 1 Christmas Break Monday, Jan. 4 First day of school in 2021 Friday, Jan. 15 Diocesan Prof. Dev. Day for all teachers—NO SCHOOL Monday, Jan. 18 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—NO SCHOOL FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: This Tuesday, Dec. 8 is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Fr. Justin and our priests have agreed to celebrate a special Mass for our STM students. The Mass will be recorded and teacher will share the celebration with all students at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Please plan to tune in (if possible) with your child(ren). STM AUCTION—HERE’S A CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA FOR YOUR FAMILY! We have a family that is going to donate a French Bull Dog (Approximately 9 weeks old) to the auction. We are going to do a special online bidding for him on www.stmauction.org starting Friday through 12/18. He is AKC Chocolate Brindle and loves to play and cuddle. He is ready for his forever family. Take a look at his cute face on the attached flyer. Here’s his little message to you: I am a puppy as you can see, A pup that needs a family to love little me!!! I promise to play with you every day!!! To shake and go fetch and even learn to stay!! So, go tell your parents to bid on me cause I would love a place under your tree! PASS THE ‘VIRTUAL’ TEACHER CHRISTMAS GIFT FUND BUCKET: There’s no doubt about it, everyone at STM is working hard to keep our students on track during this crazy COVID time. It’s that time of the year where we kindly ask each family to help spread the love and joy to the teachers and staff with their Annual Gift. Every dollar raised goes directly to them! Donating is easy and takes no time by simply texting “STM” to “243725”. If each family gives $25-$30, we’ll be able to provide the same amount as last year. Text to give today and follow instructions or if you prefer to send cash or check, mark envelope ‘Teacher Gift Fund’ and submit to the office. Any questions, feel free to email Courtney Fahey at: crfahey@me.com FUN RAFFLE TICKETS: ‘Fun Raffle’ tickets were sent home in backpacks three weeks ago and more are available in the school office. Each ticket costs $10, and you were sent a pack of five tickets. For every ticket sold, you will receive dollar for dollar a credit on any remaining 2020-21 STM School Activity Fee amount. We have extended the sale for an extra week due to the Virtual Learning Week that was announced by the diocese today. All sold ticket stubs must be returned by Friday, Dec. 11 (NOTE: the dates on the ticket are now incorrect). The drawing for a grand prize of $500 or STM Family Registration for the 2021-22 school year will take place on Monday, Dec. 14. Also drawn that day will be the 2nd Prize for $300 Cash or Gift Card and 3rd Prize for $100 Cash or Gift Card. WINTER SPORTS INFORMATION: All students involved in Parochial League Winter Sports should contact the coach of your team or Tim Waris, STM Athletic Director, with any information about try-outs, practices, etc. SMILE! SMILE! SMILE!: Just in time for holiday shopping! As you begin your holiday shopping, please consider getting yourself, family members and friends set up to use the STM AmazonSmile program so that all your purchases donate a small amount back to our school! Since August 2020 we have just over $643.00 for STM!
If you have any questions at all, please contact Jill Schweiss at 816-942-5581 or schweiss_jill@stmcyclones.org Here is a simple prayer to share as we end this first week of Advent: Jesus, you are light even in the darkest places. Help us to trust in you when we are lost or lonely. Shine hope into our hearts we pray. Amen. St. Thomas More, pray for us. Peace & Blessings, Linda Crosthwait, STM Principal |
Cyclone ChatterThis is a weekly letter that Linda Crosthwait, Principal of STM puts out for school families. Archives
March 2023
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