Principal's Weekly Update

Dear Families,

We are one week away from our first major event of the school year -- the Third Annual St. Mary's 5K! This event is a great way to bring the whole community together at the start of the year. Not only does it raise funds for our school, it also is so much fun for everyone! We are excited to have some of our sponsors with tables at the race, a live DJ, and awards for the top finishers in each group! All are welcome to come walk or run the race, and strollers are welcome.

We are one week away, but there is still time to register and guarantee your race t-shirt! Sign up TODAY!

I look forward to seeing all of you next Saturday, September 20th!

We are in need of course marshals along the 5K race course on September 20th! If you are not able to participate by walking or running, join us as a volunteer for the festivities! Please complete this Google form if you are interested in volunteering. Volunteers will also receive a t-shirt.

September 20

• 5K at 9:30 a.m.

September 21

• Protecting God’s Children (VIRTUS) Training in the Lower Hall 1:15 - 4:25

September 23

• Bring lunch from home - Brookline Public Closed (Rosh Hashanah)

• Curriculum / Back to School Night from 5 - 7 p.m. (Infant - Grade 8)

September 26

• Band Forms due (Grades K2 - 8)

September 29 - October 3

• Fall NWEA MAPs testing week

September 30

• Coffee with the Principal 8 a.m.

October 2

• Picture Day (Infant - Grade 8) - wear uniform

• Bring lunch from home - no Brookline Food Services

October 6

• Picture Make-Up Day

• Blessing of the Pets at Parking Lot Prayers at 8 a.m.

October 10

• First Day of Band Lessons (Grades K2 - 8)

October 13

• No School - Christopher Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Infant - Grade 8)

October 14

• No School - Staff Meeting Day (Infant - Grade 8)

Thank you to those who attended our first Parent Volunteer Council meeting of the year! We had a wonderful meeting and are looking forward to everything that our volunteers will do for the school community this year.

To opt in to Parent Volunteer Council communication, please complete this Google form. This will allow you to receive emails about all meetings. Also within the form is a place to show interest in being an event co-chair or committee member as well as two ongoing volunteer opportunities. More details are within the form.

All families are required to volunteer 10 hours of time to the school. There is a wide variety of opportunities to complete these throughout the year. Be on the lookout for another email with directions of how to log your family volunteer hours on FACTS.

EXCITING NEWS! Our school store is back by popular demand! It is only open for a limited time, so be sure to get your orders in by September 26th before the store closes! This is the perfect chance to restock your merch for the new school year. We love seeing our students and other members of our community wearing their gear. Thank you @airosports for designing these amazing products for us! Scan the QR code or visit the following link to order.

Last season, Boston Baroque was thrilled to welcome members of the St. Mary of the Assumption School community to their performances. This year, they are offering a 20% discount for our community members for the 2025/2026 season concerts.

At Boston Baroque, they believe that music is for everyone, at any age, and they are delighted to continue building connection with St. Mary’s, making live Baroque music accessible and meaningful for our students, families, and community members.

Use the special St. Mary's community code 2526SMOAS for 20% off all standard-priced tickets. Students can always purchase $15 tickets as well by directly selecting the student ticket for any concert.

Students in the infant classroom have been getting used to the whole school being back together! They had a great week spending time outside, working on fine and gross motor skill development, and using their imaginative play area.

Students in Miss Bryna's toddler classroom have been having so much fun playing outside. They enjoy going on walks, climbing, and exploring the playground. They also had their first Music and Movement class with Miss Pereyra.

In Mrs. Porcello’s PreK place, students had such a fun week learning all of their classroom rules and routines. At story time, the class read Llama Llama Mess Mess Mess and discussed keeping the classroom clean. They discussed having to work together to make sure they tidy up and keep a clean space. Students then learned how to use their mini brooms and dust pans during center time. Everyone had a turn sweeping the "crumbs" into their square and then brushing it into the dust pan. They even practiced dumping the dust pan into the trash!

Students in K1 had a great first week of school! They've been enjoying their time on the playground each day and learning their classroom routines.

Students in K2 started Fundations this week. Their snowy owl puppet Echo brought the first letter of the week, Letter T, to the class! Students practiced the proper lowercase formation of the letter T.

In Miss Johnson’s first grade math class this week, students practiced counting by 2s. Students were asked to color in their math workbooks on a 100 grid! They ended their week with a fun outdoor popsicle party after counting how many popsicles they would need for the whole class!

This week students in Ms. Kousidis' third grade class worked to brainstorm their hopes and dreams for writing class during the 2025-2026 school year. They began by brainstorming things they were good at and then thought of things they want to work on or accomplish in writing class this year. Students displayed their thinking on an anchor chart and it will be hung up in the classroom as a reminder all school year!

This week 5th grade students worked on building a picture book for their PreK buddies. Students used, "The Day the Crayons Quit," as a mentor text to support them in writing and illustrating a page about how to use a school supply properly. The book will be shared with their buddies and will help them learn how to use their learning materials properly.

In Latin, 7th and 8th grade students reviewed the grammar they learned last year with a group competition. Students went from station to station and completed activities such as identifying declensions, filling in the proper conjugation, and translating passages from their textbook. The students who completed the most of each activity won.

Ms. Falcone's 6th Grade ELA class sat in a circle and shared stories they wrote with each other. The prompt told them they could only choose one item from a sinking raft to bring with them to the deserted island (sunglasses, a blanket, a book, etc…) nearby. The students had to choose their item and then explain their choice. Their answers were very creative and thought-provoking!

ELA class for 8th Grade was held outside last week. The students wrote letters telling what they did over the summer, they also generated goals for school this year.

Please find the links below to our social media pages. We are constantly uploading posts and stories so if you are interested in seeing more of our day-to-day happenings, please follow us!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/st-mary-of-the-assumption-school

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stmaryschoolbrooklinema

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stmaryschoolbrookline/