Principal's Weekly Newsletter
March 13, 2026
A Message from PreK teacher, Mrs. Kristen Porcello, and PreK teacher assistant, Ms. Yazmin Cruz
Dear Families,
As Spring is soon upon us at St. Mary’s, Miss Yazmin and I have been reflecting together on the previous seasons of the school year, noting all the growth and learning of our students.
As a part of the process of learning collaboration, communication, and partnership, students see us working together to accomplish our shared goals through teaching together. While we communicate our thoughts or ideas with each other, problem solve a situation, or simply work together to clean up from lunch time, our students are observing these real-life social skills in action. Collaboration is modeled to our students through our whole-group and small-group lessons.
In our PreK classroom, students are finishing an in-depth study of construction. Students have learned about the process of building a structure, the materials used in a project, and trucks and tools. Additionally, we have focused on developing collaboration and communication skills, as well as working together as a team to accomplish a shared goal. Collaboration and communication in the classroom are not only important skills for students, but for teachers as well. It is essential to us that we model these valuable social skills for our young students.
I introduced students to the concept of construction demolition during a whole-group lesson by reading the book “Demolition” by Sally Sutton and facilitating a class discussion on the topic. Miss Yazmin then led a demolition-themed math small group where students copied patterns to build structures and used construction trucks to demolish the block structures. Miss Yazmin used the vocabulary the class learned during the whole-group lesson and made references to the story we read. Following small-group time, we observed students using the lesson vocabulary while working as a team to build towers in the block area and knock them down.
We are able to work strongly as a team through our mutual respect and understanding of each other. Our hope is that our students carry the skills of collaboration, communication, and partnership with them as they grow in life and academics, both at school and at home.
Have a great weekend!
Fenway Night!
VOICES Boston has secured a Red Sox game night on April 6 at 6:45 PM (Red Sox vs. Milwaukee). Some of our St. Mary's students will be performing the National Anthem. Participating schools like SMAS can join in on the fundraiser and community event with $5 per ticket going directly back to our school.
We hope that you will be able to join St. Mary's and our VOICES students for this special evening! Purchase your tickets using the link below.
Parking Lot Prayers
Grade 2 has been leading our March Parking Lot Prayers about the virtue of Perseverance. To demonstrate how perseverance helps us to grow, each student made a leaf about something they persevere in and added it to a "Perseverance Tree" in the cafeteria. Students shared about sounding out tricky words, not being discouraged when they miss a soccer goal, and trying new things even if they are tricky. 1st grade and middle school have joined the fun adding their leaves as well! We can’t wait to see how our students, faculty, and staff all grow through perseverance!
PreK
Students in Mrs. Porcello’s PreK classroom are wrapping up their construction unit and welcomed a special guest this week, her father, Mr. Paul the Electrician! Mr. Paul answered their thoughtful questions, such as “What tools do you use?” and “How long have you been an electrician?” Students became apprentices and assisted Mr. Paul in feeding wires through the pipes. He gifted the class an electrical board with wires and switch covers. They discussed safety around electricity, and he reminded them to never touch electrical outlets. Students were very engaged and loved this hands-on learning experience with Mr. Paul. Thank you, Mr. Paul, for coming to St. Mary’s and sharing your expertise with our students!
K2
As part of their American symbols study, K2 students explored the Statue of Liberty this week! They followed a step-by-step directed drawing to create their own statues and investigated why the Statue of Liberty is green through a hands-on penny experiment. They learned that its copper surface reacted with oxygen and moisture in the air over time and created a green coating.
Grades 1 and 2
Last week, first and second graders kicked off their March Reading Madness with a Dunkin’ Day! The classes joined together to participate in some fun Dunkin themed centers! Students were able to design their own donut, complete menu math, read fun books about donuts, and fill out their order forms for munchkins and chocolate milk later!
Grade 3
Third graders recently explored geometry and area during our Bridges Math lesson, Paper Rectangles. In this hands-on activity, students used paper rectangles to investigate different ways shapes can be divided into equal parts. As they folded, cut, and rearranged the rectangles, students discovered how one whole can be partitioned into halves, thirds, fourths, and other equal shares. They also focused on finding unknown area of the rectangles, using colored tiles and background information, the area of other shapes.
This lesson helped students strengthen their understanding of fractions while also encouraging problem solving, area and mathematical discussion. Students compared their strategies, explained their thinking, and noticed that the same whole can be divided in multiple ways while still representing equal parts. It was wonderful to see their creativity and perseverance as they worked through the challenge together!
Mr. O’Connor’s Grade 6 Science class recently investigated crystal formation as part of their Rocks and Minerals unit in geology. To model this process, students created rock candy, observing how dissolved sugar in a supersaturated solution gradually crystallizes as the solution cools and evaporates. This experiment helped illustrate how, in nature, minerals dissolved in water can slowly form crystals as conditions change, contributing to the development of rocks and mineral deposits within the Earth’s crust.
Middle School Leadership Seminar
This week we hosted our Student Government Association’s monthly Town Hall with the entire cohort. It was truly something special, and I have to say I was completely blown away! The decorum, professionalism, thoughtful engagement, and fluidly communicated comments from our students were remarkable. As you know, we were being filmed during the Town Hall, and I felt incredibly proud to be part of the Middle School cohort as I watched students confidently raise their hands, speak clearly, and contribute meaningful ideas to the conversation! During the Town Hall, we audited our community service hours and celebrated the many ways our students are giving back to the SMAS community. To top it off, Dr. Nadjarian even treated the students who have been generously volunteering their time for the SMAS community to lunch as a thank-you for their service and commitment.
We also shared some excitement about the Spring Yearbook Club, which is shaping up to be a wonderful opportunity for students to collaborate creatively and capture the memories of this school year. Middle Schoolers are invited to join the club at the regular club rate, and they will have their own section in the yearbook!
Students also participated in a debrief of our social justice film series, reflecting on themes of race relations, perseverance, and teamwork from “Remember the Titans.” It was so encouraging to hear students thoughtfully discuss the lessons from the film and connect them to our own community and the values (S.T.A.R.S. or otherwise) that we strive to live out each day.
Looking ahead, I reminded students about Middle School Community Time, which will take place THIS FRIDAY! The goal is simple and important: build bridges, break bread, and have fun as a Middle School community. It has been a fun and energizing week. Moments like these remind me just how special our Middle School students are, and I couldn’t be prouder of the way they continue to represent our community with thoughtfulness, and heart. Have a great weekend!
