Principal's Weekly Update

Dear Families,

I want to take a moment to highlight the outstanding scholarships our 8th grade students have received so far. To date, our 8th graders have received $123,715 in scholarships for 9th grade and $504,860 for 4 years of high school at elite independent college-preparatory and Catholic high schools. As we continue to hear back, we will update you all with their accomplishments! We couldn't be more proud! Thank you to Mrs. Bayazid, our school guidance counselor, who works closely with each 8th grade student to arrange high school visits and assist with scholarship applications. Her work regarding both the social-emotional side and the academic side clearly shows!

Congratulations also to our students who participated in this Winter's MAP Testing. We received exciting news from the Catholic Schools Support Network that our student median achievement in reading increased from 76% to 81% from Fall to Winter. Not only did our scores increase by 5% since Fall MAP testing, but we also scored 39 percentage points higher than the Massachusetts average. I am amazed by the accomplishments of our students and teachers for consistently excelling and surpassing Massachusetts standardized test averages.

Have a great weekend and see you on Tuesday!

March 13th

• Report Cards Released (Grades K2 - 8)
• Spring Clubs Email Preview

March 14th

• Dress Down Day Today
• Parent Teacher Conferences (Grades K2 - 8)
• No EDP Today

March 15th

• No School - Parent Teacher Conferences (Grades K2 - 8)

March 18th

• No School - Pastor's Day

March 19th

• School Mass at 8 a.m. for the Solemnity of St. Joseph. (Grades K2 - 8)

March 20th

• Spring Clubs Registration (Spring clubs will begin the week of April 8th and conclude the week of May 27th)

March 22nd

• Middle School Open House: 9 - 11 a.m.
• Stations of the Cross - Families Invited (Grades K2 - 8)
• Children's Choir Rehearsal: 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.

March 27th

• Progress Reports Released (PreK - K1)
• Academic Advising Night at 6 p.m in the Parish Lower Hall(Grades 3-8 Parents)

March 28th

• School-wide Morning Prayer: 9 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. (PreK - Grade 8)
• Early Dismissal at 11 a.m. for Holy Thursday (PreK - Grade 8)
• No EDP Today

March 29th

• No School - Good Friday

April 1st

• No School - Easter Monday

April 3rd

• School Mass at 8 a.m. for Easter Week (PreK - Grade 8)
• First Penance for Grade 2 (Families Welcome): 8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.

April 6th

• 2024 Black and White Gala: 6 - 10 p.m.

April 9th

• Family: The First School (Session 3) Talk & Discussion: 8 a.m. in the School Cafeteria

April 12th

• No EDP

April 15th - 19th

• No School - April Break

May 31st

• International Family Festival: 4-5:30 p.m.

June 3rd

• Field Day

June 5th

• Commencement Mass for 8th Grade Students: 10 - 11 a.m.
• Reception to follow for students and their families

June 7th

• Spring Concert: 8:30 - 9:15 a.m.

This was a week of many celebrations! We first celebrated Fr. Jonathan's birthday on Tuesday. His unwavering commitment to our students, families, staff, and parish makes us very blessed to have him as our pastor. May God bless him abundantly as he continues to celebrate another year of life and ministry! Then, we celebrated an early St. Patrick's Day on Thursday as our students enjoyed a festive green dress-down day. Finally, we know that the students will be celebrating at home as they enjoy the 4-day weekend!

On Monday, Grade 2 students led the school in Parking Lot Prayers! Students described this month's virtue - perseverance. They created a poster explaining three ways to grow in perseverance, which include learning from mistakes, trying something another way, and asking for help. These pieces of advice can help people of all ages grow, from the youngest students to the most experienced adults in the room!

This week was an action-packed week for K1 students. In Mrs. Creamer's class, students learned about Claude Monet and Picasso as they painted a version of Monet's Sunset in Venice. They also learned all about the letter, "S." For math, they grew in understanding of geometric shapes as they matched the shapes to form nocturnal animals!

Students in Ms. Tiney's K2 class enjoyed studying the weather outside on Thursday! They made their own windsocks to measure the wind, and had a blast running around to test their devices.

1st grade students had an awesome nonfiction writing assignment. They created a teaching book with sentences and pictures about a topic of their choice. Some students taught the class about flowers, while others taught about snakes. Great presentations, 1st graders! In math, students have been working on geometry and they will be creating a leprechaun with shapes, including hexagons, circles, rectangles, rhombuses, squares, and triangles. After coloring and designing, students identified the number of sides and vertices for each shape they used.

Second graders are beginning to learn about the area of different shapes. Students began by exploring how many triangles filled a shape and have moved into square units by the end of the week! This introduction to the concept of area is one that will form great foundations for their school careers in math.

3rd graders are working on their critical reading of Ungifted by Gordon Korman. To better understand characters and associated character traits, students were tasked to create a character page with 6-7 character traits, descriptions of those traits, and a picture of the character. Some of the character traits students wrote about include “determined,” “mischievous,” and “clever.”

Grade 4 celebrated Pi Day on 3/14! In their current geometry unit, students have been learning about measuring angles on a circular rotation as well as some of the parts of a circle, such as circumference, diameter, and radius. First, they read Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi. Then, they decided to test the main character Radius' conclusion that the circumference of any circle divided by its diameter is always the same number--pi! Students tested the theory by measuring the circumference and diameter of the classroom clock, a basket, and then a St. Patrick's Day-themed plate, cookie, and donut and calculating pi. They had so much fun working together to practice precise measurement and to see how close to pi they could get each time! (They enjoyed eating the cookies and donuts, too!)

5th grade students have started a new unit in science on Ecosystems. On Thursday they were prepping bottles to be ready for creating their ecosystems in a bottle. Students will be creating terrariums and aquariums that work together to survive. Each will hold living things and students will use them to learn about the impact humans have on the world around them.

Mr. Febesh's 6th grade students grouped together in their study of volcanos to craft their own physical volcano! Each group chose a different volcano to create a model and presentation. Students were amazed to see the chemical reaction overflow with force down the sides of the volcano!

Grade 6 students in Ms. Allen’s ELA class discussed tone and mood in Lois Lowry’s “The Giver.” The discussion centered on the release scene and the juxtaposition of the main character, Jonas, and Father. Students thoughtfully contributed using textual evidence.

8th grade scientists learned about the role of hydrogen ions in acids and hydroxide ions in bases and how these ions interact to produce varying pH levels. By observing reactions firsthand, students gained a deeper understanding of the significance of pH balance in our environment and daily lives.

Please find the links below to our social media pages. We have been 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/