Principal's Weekly Update

This week, we have many blessings to be grateful for.

Firstly, as we approach Memorial Day, we pause to honor and remember the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. Their courage and sacrifice are the foundation of the freedoms we enjoy today, and we are deeply grateful. We wish you and your families a peaceful and restful Memorial Day Weekend. Please remember, there will be no school on Monday, May 26th in observance of the holiday.

We would also like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to some of the unsung heroes in our community. A special thank you to our facilities team, Mr. Eddie, Mr. John, Mr. Edwin, and Mr. Ronald for keeping our school safe, clean, and welcoming every day; to Nurse Catherine for her dedicated care and compassion; and to Guidance Counselor Nisreen for the invaluable support and guidance she provides to our students. At our Parking Lot Prayers on Monday, it was a joy to celebrate these people. Students and staff shared their personal experiences and gratitude through stories, posters, and cards. Mr. Eddie also shared his love for the school community which he has been taking care of for many years!

To celebrate the end of the school year and show our appreciation, we invite you to join us for a special community celebration on Thursday, June 6th. Please RSVP through the Evite link sent earlier this week. We hope to see you there!

St. Mary of the Assumption – PreK Summer Program

June 16 – August 15: Select any number of weeks that works for your family!

Calling all families, friends, and neighbors in the Brookline community and St. Mary’s Parish – we’re excited to announce the opening of our PreK Summer Classroom at St. Mary of the Assumption School! If you are already registered, share with your friends and family!

Join us for a high-quality, fun-filled summer program tailored just for our youngest learners. Our caring, fully EEC-certified teachers are ready to welcome your children for a season of learning, laughter, and discovery.

What We Offer:

• A private, on-site playground for safe, outdoor play
• Indoor fun in our spacious auditorium, equipped with exciting play gear – perfect for rainy days!
• Engaging field trips to the Brookline Fire Department, Brookline Public Library, and a local ice cream shop
• Hands-on arts & crafts and playful academic activities that spark creativity and curiosity
• Exciting STEM experiences that encourage young learners to think critically, experiment, and discover the world around them

Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to give your child a joyful summer filled with new friends and memorable experiences.

Enroll Today – We Can’t Wait to Welcome You!

May 26

• No School - Memorial Day

May 28

• Spring Concert (PreK-8) at 9 am

May 29

• Holy Day Mass of the Ascension of the Lord (PreK-8) at 12:10

May 30

• Trimester 3 Grades Close (Grade 8)

• Discovery Day at 9 am

• Snow White and the Seven Endings Performance (Grades 6-8) at 9 am

June 2

• Field Day at Larz Anderson Park (PreK-8) from 10 am - 1 pm

• Infant & Toddler Field Day at St. Mary’s from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm

June 3

• Middle School Science Fair at 1:30 pm

June 4

• 8th Grade Commencement Mass at 10 am

June 6

• Band Concert at 12:30

• 125th Anniversary Mass at 1:30 pm and Reception

• NO EDP

June 7

• Dads 3v3 Basketball Tournament at Pierce Basketball Court at 10:30 am

June 10

• Grades 3-7 Social Studies Fair from 12:45 - 2:15 pm

• Uniform Swap from 2:00-2:45pm

June 11

• Uniform Swap from 2:00-2:45pm

June 12

• Pizza Thursday - No lunches from Brookline Food Services

• Trimester 3 Report Cards Released (PreK-7)

• Last Day of EDP

• Uniform Swap from 2:00-2:45pm

June 13

• Last Day of School Dismissal Infant - Grade 7 at 11 am

• NO EDP

This is a friendly reminder that the deadline to apply for financial aid is fast approaching. All applications must be submitted by Monday, May 27, 2025. If you haven’t completed your application yet, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible to ensure your eligibility for assistance.

How to Apply

• For families with children in Grades K2–8: Please visit www.factsmgt.com and follow the instructions to submit your application.
• For families with children in Infant through K1: Please visit https://cccboston.org/ to complete your application. Families in this age group may also be eligible for state vouchers to help cover the cost of care. For questions or personalized support, you can also dial 2-1-1 to speak with someone who can help assess your needs.

If there's anything we can do to support you during this process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Gloria Reyes at greyes@stmarys-brookline.org.

We’re excited to invite all dads and father figures to take part in our upcoming 3v3 Dads Basketball Tournament!

📅 Saturday, June 7
🕥 10:30 AM
📍 Pierce Basketball Courts (Brookline)

Whether you’re a seasoned player or just looking for some fun and friendly competition, this is a great chance to connect with other dads in the community.

We have some exciting news! St. Mary's has been named a finalist in three of Boston Parent's Family Favorite categories! It is thanks to the support of our community in the first round of voting that we were able to move forward in all three of these categories for the first time ever!

St. Mary's has been named a finalist in the following Categories:

Best Faith-Based Preschool

Best Faith-Based Elementary School

Best Faith-Based Middle School

Please continue to support our school in the final round of voting through the link below

You can find us under 3 categories: Early Education, Schools - Elementary, and Schools - Middle Schools.

We appreciate your continued support in helping our school to be recognized!

Check out some of our very own St. Mary's students signing with Voices Boston in this commercial!

Congratulations to the girls volleyball team on a fantastic showing at last weekend’s tournament! They started strong with an impressive win in their first game and followed it up with a hard-fought, close second match. The team has shown incredible improvement throughout the season so far, especially with their serves, which have become noticeably stronger and more consistent. Great job, girls!

Congratulations to our St. Mary’s students who performed in the 20th Massachusetts Catholic and Private School Honor Band through the Paul Effman Music Service at Faneuil Hall last weekend! They have spent so much time preparing for this special occasion, and their dedication to rehearsal showed in their performance. We are so proud of our students in the Honor Band!

Students in grade PreK-3 had a visit from Bubbles and the team from Goldfish Swim School-Brookline! They learned about W.A.T.E.R. safety and heard the following tips as we all prepare for a summer by the pool, lake, beach, etc. Bubbles also gave each child a souvenir!

• W: Wear your lifejacket

• Always be sure your child's life jacket is U.S Coast Guard approved and fits your child properly

• A: Act - Throw, don't go

• If someone else is in trouble in the water, throw an item that will float for them to grab on to

• T: Take swim lessons

• Swimming lessons are a great first step towards your child being safer in and around the water

• E: Educate yourself on swim safety skills

• Skills to focus on include treading water, rolling onto your back, climbing out of the pool and moving down the wall to get to a ladder

• R: Respect - Play it cool and follow the rules

• Listen to the lifeguard

• Don’t run

• Always swim with an adult or lifeguard present

At their last meeting, the St. Mary’s Girl Scout Troop wrote and delivered letters to Dr. Nadjarian and Dr. Enrique about their Take Action project ideas. They also planned their next event: Teddy Bear Tea. The girls will be working on their Cooking Badges (Snacks for Brownies and Simple Meals for Juniors) and applying what they learned about etiquette and event planning from the Making Friends and Social Butterfly Badges they completed earlier this year!

Our infant students are learning about the solar system this week! Students made observations about the different planets in the solar system. Then, they finger painted rocket ships to prepare them for a space adventure! Great job, scientists!

Students in the Toddler classroom have been learning about different types of animals. They read the books Giraffes Can’t Dance and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Then, they painted their own giraffes while learning that giraffes are native to Africa, they have long necks, and they are yellow with brown spots. Students also completed an animal sort between real and pretend/cartoon animals, and they painted the feet of their toy animals to observe that different kinds of animals have different footprints.

Students in Miss Porcello’s PreK class are learning about life cycles! They learned about the life cycle of a flower and what plants need to grow, and then they planted their very own seeds. All students took turns scooping soil into cups, sprinkling grass seeds onto the soil, and spraying the seeds with water. Then, they made predictions about what our grass will look like in a few days. Each day, the students are making observations.

They are also going to be learning about the life cycle of a butterfly, and they met their own classroom caterpillars this week! They will observe the process of the life cycle in real time.

Professor Bugman came for a visit to PreK this week! Students had so much fun and learned so much about arthropods. They learned that there are many kinds of arthropods, insects, crustaceans, myriapods, and arachnids! They got to see and even touch all of these bugs: beetles, rolly polly, millipede, scorpion, hissing cockroach, grubs, whip spider, and leaf bugs. They also learned about venom and camouflage.

K2 has been celebrating their alphabet countdown to the last day of school over the past week! They had Happy Birthday Day and got to celebrate all the summer birthdays, enjoyed ice cream on Ice Cream Day, and had fun with Lei Day today!

The first graders in miss Johnson's class started their writing unit on poetry! The class began by learning about haikus. They practiced counting syllables in words and then made their own haikus!

Mrs. Sterge's grade 2 class has also been celebrating their alphabet countdown to the end of the school year! Check out this pictures from Hat Day and Ice Cream Day. Students both enjoyed ice cream after lunch and participated in ice cream themed math!

Students in grade 3 continued working on their social studies projects this week! They are studying government and community, and they are building models of important government buildings. Make sure you stop by the social studies fair during the last week of school to see the finished projects!

Fourth graders investigated how energy moves through water. They explored making big and small waves using various tools. They had to draw a diagram of the waves they created. Students also observed what happens when you set a small straw on top of the water and create waves.

Sixth grade social studies students in Miss Falcone's class recently teamed up in pairs and small groups to prepare for their upcoming quiz on the Ancient Israelites and the development of Judaism. While reading from their textbook laid the foundation, students also had the unique opportunity to watch selected scenes from “Fiddler on the Roof”. The film clips sparked thoughtful discussions as students explored the traditions, values, and beliefs of Judaism. They made meaningful comparisons to Catholicism and drew insightful connections to their religion class, deepening their understanding through both historical content and the powerful messages in the film’s music and storytelling.

Grades 6–8 attended Mass today as an extension of their Latin class. Fr. David celebrated the Mass ad orientem and in Latin, offering students a unique opportunity to experience the language in a sacred and historical context. Students actively participated by practicing liturgical responses and singing hymns in Latin, beautifully accompanied by Mr. Lynch on the organ. This immersive experience deepened their appreciation for and understanding of both the Latin language and the rich traditions of the Church.

Our 8th grade students enjoyed a great day trip to Hyannis and Cape Cod this week with Ms. Falcone and Dr. Nadjarian. Highlights of the day included a visit to the JFK Museum, time at St. Francis Xavier Church—the Kennedy family’s parish—mini golfing, and a special moment of spiritual reflection and discussion on the beach. As graduation approaches, the trip allowed them to connect with one another and reflect on all they’ve shared throughout their time at St. Mary's.

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/