The Weekly Witness

Parents, for more details on these announcements, upcoming events, or general volunteer opportunities, please visit the official SMMS MAC Website.

Saturday, October 4

Help make this year's Parish Festival a success! We are looking for volunteers to assist with inflatable skills games during the afternoon festivities. Volunteer shifts are 2 hours each.

This is a great opportunity for teens, family members, or friends to help families earn volunteer hours for the fall semester while supporting our parish community.

Volunteer Responsibilities:

• Collect game tickets
• Assist participants
• Award prizes to winners

Questions? Contact smdelaro@gmail.com

Cheddar Up Link

We hope to see all of our Maverick families there!

LINK: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/oct-5-parish-festival-volunteer-sign-up/forms

Our 8th-grade class is raising funds to help cover the costs of their retreat, graduation activities, and other special events during their final year at SMMS.

One fun way to support them is by purchasing a Crazy 8 Free Dress Pass. Your donation confirmation serves as your student's pass. Please remember that all students must continue to follow the school's free dress guidelines.

Cheddar Up Link

Thank you for helping create memorable experiences for our graduating Mavericks!

LINK: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/25-26-8th-grade-fundraising-copy/items

Let's show our appreciation for our amazing teachers by helping fulfill items on their classroom wish lists.

SMMS MAC Teacher Wish Lists

Every contribution, big or small, helps support our classrooms and students.

LINK: https://sites.google.com/stmmsa.org/mac/home/teacher-wishlists?authuser=0

We look forward to celebrating the special grandparents in our Maverick community!

Details regarding this year's Grandparents Celebration, including important dates and participation information, can be found on the MAC website.

Visit the MAC Website for Details

LINK: https://sites.google.com/stmmsa.org/mac/home?authuser=2

Our annual fall fundraiser, The Big Give, is right around the corner! This year brings some exciting updates and new ways for our students and families to get involved.

• Giving Period: September 16–27

• The Big Give: September 23 at 6 p.m. – September 24 at 6 p.m.

• New this year: Competition will take place at the grade level

• Student incentives: Awesome prizes and incentives are up for grabs

• Field Trips: Students will have the opportunity to fundraise toward this year’s field trips

Save the dates and spread the word! Share with friends and family and help us rally our community. We need everyone’s support as we work together to close our operating gap and make this year’s Big Give a success.

We want to see how our Maverick families spent August!

Submit your favorite family photos by Monday, August 31 through the SMMS MAC Website submission form. Photos should feature students wearing one of the following:

• SMMS uniform
• Spirit shirt
• CYO uniform
• SMMS athletics apparel

Photo Reward: Students whose photos are submitted and featured will receive a Free Dress Day on Tuesday, September 8.

Featured photos will be showcased on the MAC website beginning Friday, September 4.

Submit Your August Adventures Photos

Don't miss this opportunity to celebrate our Maverick spirit and community!

LINK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIu91H4SbSH-iDAvFZ_J2gBuutzAAcqONLhWdAnZ-AthLTmQ/viewform?pli=1

Our first "Whole School Celebration Mass" will be THIS Wednesday, 9/2! On these days, labeled "Whole School Celebration Mass" in the Calendar below, there will not be the Thursday mass at Segundo.

Regarding uniform on mass day, boys may wear shorts at the parents' discretion. Please note that all students may wear any colored Brainpower polo, the button down, or the SMMS guayabera. Please see more on the uniforms below.

The link to sign up for after school clubs will be sent out on Tuesday at 6:00 pm.

Thank you to our families for helping students get settled into the new school year!

We understand that the first few weeks can be an adjustment, and we have intentionally allowed a grace period for students and families to get familiar with our uniform expectations.

That grace period has now ended. Beginning next week, we will begin documenting uniform violations and addressing students who are not in the proper school uniform.

We appreciate your help in reviewing the uniform expectations with your student each morning and making sure they arrive at school in complete and proper uniform.

Please review the uniform guidelines below.

We ask our Segundo families to please help students develop the habit of arriving on time each day.

Please remember:

8:20 a.m. = Tardy bell rings. Students arriving at or after 8:20 a.m. must stop by the Front Office to receive a tardy slip before going to class.

Grades 5–8: Detention will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:45–4:30 p.m. Every 5 tardies = 1 detention. More than 15 tardies could require further disciplinary action.

Grades 3–4: Students will lose recess as their consequence. Every 5 tardies = no recess.

All absence notes must be submitted in writing to the Front Office.

Families are encouraged to communicate with the Front Office regarding any attendance concerns or questions.

We appreciate your partnership in helping our students develop responsibility, self-discipline, and respect for instructional time!

Thank you for helping our Mavericks Be Ready. Be Responsible. Be On Time!

Mavs, we have 180 days of school each year, and about 10 of those days are noon dismissals. These noon dismissals are counted as full days in order for the school year to reach 180 days. Therefore, absences on these noon dismissals count as a full day absence.

Commitment for the 26-27 school year for Mini Mavs (PreK and Kinder) and Winter Pep (1st-4th)/Cheer (5th-8th) is Sunday, August 30 2026 at 6 p.m. Please register here: https://2024-2025-cheer-registration.cheddarup.com. Once you have registered, you will receive follow up communication from Maverick Cheer with information to pay athletic fees, how to order uniforms, and practice schedules. If you have additional questions, please email maverickcheerleading@stmmsa.org.

SMMS is a Catholic, dual language, co-educational school of empowerment. Students engage in a dynamic academic experience preparing them for college and heaven. SMMS cultivates a growth mindset, biliteracy and strong virtue inspired by the Gospel and Church Tradition. SMMS offers opportunities to grow in excellence through myriad faith experiences, including mass multiple times per week, weekly adoration, daily Religion classes and hourly prayer, Christian service programs, as well as diverse extracurricular programs, including Athletics, Clubs, and academic excellence programs. SMMS embraces and supports students with highly diverse abilities and needs through our Counseling and Academic Intervention programs. The student learning experience is infused with the latest in outdoor learning as well as educational technology, including a 1:1 Chromebook program, Imagine Español, Accelerated Reader, MYON and SuccessMaker academic software. SMMS prepares and supports Pre-K3 through 8th grade students to excel in high school and college through the Graduate Support Program.

St. Mary Magdalen Dual Language Catholic School aims to form lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ, who is its foundation and center. Our education, therefore, works in concert with the Church’s mission of salvation and evangelization to offer robust opportunities to experience personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Ours is a counter-cultural education that prioritizes absolute truth and community, imbuing students with the physical, moral, intellectual and spiritual gifts necessary to build the Kingdom of God. These gifts are strengthened through abundant and myriad experiences of prayer, Sacred Scripture and liturgical and sacramental tradition. Our school prioritizes partnership with parents and families. We recognize and support parents as the primary educators, who have the responsibility to raise their children in a loving, moral and faithful manner. As educators, we seek to extend and deepen this upbringing through our witness and sharing of encounters with Christ. These relationships are rooted in and guided by Trinitarian love, whereby the students learn to trust in Jesus Christ through personal and communal prayer experiences, of which the most important is the mass, the source and summit of our faith. At St. Mary Magdalen Dual Language Catholic School, we develop each student in virtue, educating students to recognize and celebrate their own Dignity as children of God, as well as others. This education in virtue is part of a cultural heritage that cultivates a Christian worldview. In transmitting this heritage, we strive to ensure that our students can think critically and grow in human and divine wisdom, going on to lead lives rooted in virtue and commitment to building the Kingdom of God.