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Dear STM Families, We began our Lenten journey yesterday on Ash Wednesday. Lent is the season of reflection and preparation before Easter, and a time of sacrifice, penance, and prayer in preparation of the risen Lord. At St. Thomas More School, we approach the Lenten season with great anticipation. We see Lent as the greatest season of the year as we prepare for the second coming of Christ with a sense of renewal, a sense of life, of death, and of rebirth. It’s a time to renew our baptismal commitment and to turn away from sin. Fasting is an important part of the Catholic Lenten season. Fasting ideas that a family can do together include giving up things like sweets, pop, donuts. Here are some other ‘fasting’ ideas you can do with your family, many that came from the newsletter “Teaching Catholic Kids”:
STM SCHOOL UPCOMING EVENTS: Thursday, Feb. 18 Registration packets for 2021-22 School Year went home in backpacks today Tuesday, Feb. 23 Lifetouch at STM for Spring Photos & Graduation Picture Re-Takes Monday, March 1 2021-22 STM School Registration DUE Monday, March 8 Yearbook orders and money DUE Monday, March 15-Friday, March 19 Spring Break; NO SCHOOL REGISTRATION PACKETS SENT HOME TODAY: Registration packets for the 2021-22 school year were sent home with students today. Please check your child’s backpack for this important information. Connected Learners’ packets can be picked up in the STM School lobby. Current Student Registration is due by Monday, March 1. A completed packet includes:
Because of limited class sizes due to social distancing standards, we will only be able to accommodate the following numbers of students: Kindergarten = 41 1st Grade = 51 2nd Grade = 46 3rd Grade = 51 4th Grade = 45 5th Grade = 45 6th Grade = 52 7th Grade = 48 8th Grade = 50 After March 1, we will open registration to new families. To secure your child’s spot in his/her grade level, please be sure to return registration paperwork by March 1. SPRING PICTURES AND GRADUATION PICTURE RE-TAKES: LifeTouch photographers will be at STM to take Spring photos and 8th Grade Graduation Photos for those who missed our first opportunity. Students may choose a school appropriate shirt for Spring Picture Day and wear khakis or jeans. Of course, the STM uniform is always a choice, as well. We will begin taking pictures at 8 a.m. for the Connected Learners. Please bring your Connected Learner to STM at 7:55 or 8:00 a.m. tomorrow for these pictures. All other students will be called by homeroom to take individual photos. Due to social-distancing standards, we will not take class photos or group shots this year. Only individual student photos will be taken. 8th Grade students who need to get a graduation photo taken should wear:
2ND GRADE FIRST COMMUNION: Our 2nd grade students will make their First Holy Communion on Sunday, April 18. There will be three individual Masses for each of the classrooms: 2:00 p.m.--Mrs. Anwander’s class 3:30 p.m.--Mrs. Corkins’ class 5:00 p.m.--Mrs. Spiller’s class More details will follow. Please watch for additional information from your child’s homeroom teacher and/or in upcoming Cyclone Chatter newsletters. COVID INFORMATION BELOW. A suggestion from some parents to cancel Spring Break this year was discussed in previous School Advisory Board and COVID Task Force meetings. I was asked to consider this opportunity again today, so a survey was sent out to members of the School Advisory Board and the COVID Task Force. The results were: 2 votes to cancel Spring Break; 32 votes to not cancel Spring Break. The COVID Task Force did not meet this week. On Feb. 4, the Task Force was asked to read through the related documents from some resources shared by parents. Those documents, some new information from the CDC, and additional conversation topics will continue at the next COVID Task Force meeting on Thursday, Feb. 25. Please share your discussion topics for the next meeting with any member of the COVID Task Force or with Mrs. Crosthwait. STM PROTOCOL FOR TRAVEL: With Spring Break only four weeks away, we have received questions regarding student & family travel guidelines. Attached below is a letter from Dr. Dan Peters, Superintendent of Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese schools. Here is an excerpt from his letter: “As we approach spring break, some parents may consider taking their family on a trip. While taking a family trip is not inherently “unsafe”, meaning it does not necessarily expose those on the trip to the virus any more than traveling to the grocery store, it can unnecessarily expose our school community depending on the circumstances of the trip. For instance, if a family travels by plane to Florida, where few precautions are required by the local civil authorities, and then spends time in Disney World with hundreds of other persons enjoying the rides and exhibits, there is a much higher chance of exposure to the virus then driving to Colorado and spending time in a cabin where there is little or no exposure to others. I highly encourage parents to wait on taking any trips for the rest of this year where exposure to the virus is potentially high. If a family decides to take a trip which has a moderate to high chance of exposing the children to the virus, parents should expect the school may require the children to be placed in quarantine after returning from the trip and attend school virtually. This minimizes the exposure to the rest of the school community.” With this information in mind, STM will enforce the following protocols regarding travel: The St. Thomas More School Travel Policy Travel Information Days in Quarantine By plane OUT of the U.S. 14 days AFTER your return By plane IN the U.S. 7 days AFTER your return Being in crowds of 11 people or more 7 days AFTER not being in crowds of 11 people or more STM HEALTH SCREENING CARDS ARE DUE: Your child’s individual Health Screening Card is due the last Friday of each month. The sheet for February should be returned on Friday, Feb. 26. We appreciate your partnering with us to verify that every child is fever-free and not experiencing:
STM YEARBOOK ORDERS: Order envelopes were sent home with your child for the 2020-21 STM School Yearbook. All orders are due on March 8—no extensions available. If you did not receive an envelope, you can order at ybpay.lifetouch.com and use the Yearbook ID code: 12113021 Following is a short prayer you could pray with your family tonight or any day during Lent: Lord Jesus, please accept our small acts of penance today. As we journey through Lent, let us remember the feast you have prepared for us and let us be filled with thanks to You. Inspire us to pray more fervently throughout this time of penance as we await your resurrection. Peace and Blessings, Linda Crosthwait, STM Principal  Comments are closed.
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Cyclones ChatterThis is a weekly letter that Linda Crosthwait, Principal of STM puts out for school families. Archives
February 2021
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