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Dear STM Families, What a wonderful Catholic Schools Week we have had at St. Thomas More School! We keep Christ at the center of all we do each day at St. Thomas More, and this week we celebrated in so many ways. Our students and staff have had a great time each day with activities that highlighted our joy and thankfulness for learning and working in a Catholic school. Thank you for making this learning environment possible with your never-ending prayers and support! We had some fun with a friendly competition with St. Lawrence School in Tampa, FL. Through your generosity we have collected 1,095 cans of soup for our Soup-er Bowl and $716.28 in our Penny War with them. We won’t get their totals until Tuesday since they have a ½ day of school tomorrow and NO school on Monday because of the Super Bowl. We really hope that STM and the KC Chiefs will be victorious after this weekend! KSHB-TV did a short segment about STM and our Tampa rivalry. You can see it at this link: https://www.kshb.com/sports/road-to-repeat/schools-in-kansas-city-tampa-compete-in-soup-er-bowl Have a wonderful action-packed weekend! I’ll be bidding with/against you at our STM Virtual Auction on Saturday!! Let’s cheer on our Chiefs for a ‘Run it Back to Back’ Super Bowl victory on Sunday!! Peace and Blessings, Linda Crosthwait, STM Principal STM SCHOOL UPCOMING EVENTS: Friday, Feb. 5 Celebrating Volunteers and Teachers: NO SCHOOL; Student Learning Conferences; Staff Appreciation Luncheon and Surprise Saturday, Feb. 6 Celebrating Families: Families celebrate each other by sharing time together Saturday, Feb. 6 STM VIRTUAL AUCTION! (details below) Sunday, Feb. 7 St. Thomas More’s Birthday Tuesday, Feb. 9 Spring Photos; Re-takes Thursday, Feb. 11 Registration packets for 2021-22 School Year go home in backpacks Friday, Feb. 12 NO SCHOOL; Teacher Professional Development Monday, Feb. 15 NO SCHOOL; President’s Day Wednesday, Feb. 17 Ash Wednesday Monday, March 8 Yearbook Orders Due STM VIRTUAL AUCTION IS SATURDAY! The challenges we face to successfully educate our children today have changed. Keeping our students and faculty connected during this difficult time is essential for effective learning, and every student deserves access to an exceptional education. As a community, we can RAISE UP and provide each and every student at St. Thomas More the tools they need to access that education. The 2020-2021 Fund-A-Need campaign will use every dollar raised to buy individual student learning devices for every student enrolled at STM. While the job is big and the future is unclear, one day we will be a community learning, playing and praying together again. Please plan to attend our virtual auction on Saturday, Feb 6th and donate to our 2020-2021 Fund-A-Need campaign. We can RAISE the money needed for this goal!! Thank you for your continued support of our St. Thomas More students. Ready to support our amazing school?! Then, don't miss out on St. Thomas More's Virtual Auction this Saturday, February 6 at 7 p.m. All money will go towards Fund-A-Need. Our Fund-A-Need goal is to put an individual learning device in the hands of every student. Auction Items include:
Fundraising Powered by OneCause, creator of BidPal www.stmauction.org Here is how to logon to BidPal:
COVID-RELATED INFORMATION: SEE PHOTO BELOW The COVID Task Force met this afternoon. The team processed the information from Superintendent Dr. Peters’ letter and agreed to the standards of quarantine at STM for students who travel (see below). Also discussed was information and resources shared by parents who requested a review of the quarantine and/or closure of STM in the case of COVID exposure. It was related that some pediatricians will clear a child for return to school after a shorter period than recommended by the KCMO Health Department. There are several variants ‘out there’ involving the length of quarantine periods. The Task Force was asked to read through the related documents from some resources shared by parents. Those documents and additional conversation will continue at the next COVID Task Force meeting on Thursday, Feb. 18. Also shared was information about an online program sponsored by Children’s Mercy Hospital that will take place tomorrow called “What’s New in COVID-19 Risk Mitigation.” Several members will take part in this program. Information will be shared at the next meeting. STM PROTOCOL FOR TRAVEL: With Spring Break only five 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 : PLEASE SEE PHOTO BELOW STM HEALTH SCREENING CARDS ARE DUE: Please send your child’s individual Health Screening Card with records kept from Jan. 4-Jan. 29 to your child’s homeroom teacher. These sheets are 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:
TRAFFIC REMINDERS AT DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP: Just a few safety reminders about morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up: All K-8 students should always exit the car on the side of the car closest to the school building. Parents of PK students should park and escort the child to the Gym Lobby Entrance. Both child and parents should be masked when entering the building. Please do not park in the drop-off lane as it backs up the process for everyone else. If a grandparent or friend is picking up your child, please email the teacher and the office so that we will allow the child to dismiss with that person. Please make sure that anyone dropping off or picking up your child has the who was trying to back out of a parking space in front of the gym and exit at that light and it was causing confusion. Your child should exit the car from the door closest to the sidewalk. Exiting from the parking lot side is a definite safety hazard. Thank you for your support in keeping our parking lot a safe place for all students. SPRING PLKC SPORTS INFORMATION: Boys’ volleyball registration for grades 4-8 is now open on the PLKC website. The session will run from March 8 through May 7. Games will be Friday nights. I am looking for coaches for teams as well so please let me know if you are interested. Rules for season will be same as girls COVID rules which are posted on the website. If you have any questions please feel free to email Jenny Smith at jkalbsmith@gmail.com. Registration for boys and girls track for 4th through 8th grades is also open. Please contact Tim Waris for more information. 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 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK ESSAY CONTEST WINNER: STM 7th & 8th graders compete in an essay contest each year during Catholic Schools Week. Teachers ask the students to consider the benefits they have personally experienced because they attend a Catholic school. The winner of this essay contest would normally be able to read it aloud at the CSW All-School Assembly. Because we are not able to have such an event during these COVID times, I’m sharing it with all of you and your families. I am not sharing a prayer with you this week since I see this essay as one of the best prayers of thanksgiving I’ve ever read. Congratulations to Zackary, STM 8th grader, the winner of this year’s essay contest: “What Catholic Education Means to Me” People always ask me what it is like to go to a Catholic school. I always respond with the same thing. Going to a catholic school means being a part of a family that always supports you. The teachers, students, and staff always want the best for you. Most importantly, your classmates are welcoming to anyone who wants to join our family. A Catholic school is not as much about the education, it is about the faith and the people. A Catholic school means that I can come to school and not just learn how to multiply or read. I can learn about God and why Jesus Christ came onto the Earth to save us from our sins. But faith is much bigger than God and Jesus. Faith also means to believe that we are one with God. A Catholic school makes you feel one with God with all your classmates and teachers. It gives you the opportunity to participate in the Mass and receive the Eucharist. They provide us a chance to go to Reconciliation. A Catholic school makes you feel at home. They believe that everyone was created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, we should all be accepted and treated with respect. A Catholic school allows you to embrace your God-given talents. Whatever your talent may be, they want you to use them. I have gone to this school since preschool and have never once thought I was being manipulated or bullied by another student. A Catholic school is a group of people all striving towards one goal: heaven. A Catholic school allows you the ability to come to school and talk about Sunday’s Mass and discuss the scripture. A Catholic school is a family that cares for one another, treats each other how God would have wanted and together celebrates the good of God. A Catholic school gives me an opportunity to participate in weekly Mass. Most of all, it gives me a place to feel safe and cared for.   Comments are closed.
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Cyclone ChatterThis is a weekly letter that Linda Crosthwait, Principal of STM puts out for school families. Archives
March 2023
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