Dear Families,

Earlier this week during Parking Lot Prayers, Ms. Kousidis grade 3 class beautifully presented on the virtue of mercy. The students spoke about the life of Saint Faustina who dedicated her life to spreading the message of God's boundless mercy. At the heart of Saint Faustina’s message is the simple yet profound prayer: "Jesus, I trust in You."

As the Principal of St. Mary's, I see mercy as an essential foundation for building a school community where students, families, and staff feel valued, supported, and understood. Mercy is more than kindness—it is the willingness to see beyond mistakes, extend compassion, and foster a culture of grace and growth. Mercy is what allows us to see Christ in one another, to forgive as we have been forgiven, and to create a school community that reflects the love of God.

Every week, students are challenged to memorize a Bible verse. Whoever gets called on to recite the Bible verse wins a prize! This week's Bible verse is: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7.

I hope you have a restful weekend!

February 8

• Girls' Basketball Game (Grades 5-8) @ St. Theresa of Avila

• Boys' Basketball Game (Grades 5-6) @ Holy Name Parish School

February 14

• NO EDP

February 17 - February 21

• NO SCHOOL - February Break

February 23

• Girls' Basketball Game (Grades 5-8) @ Mount Alvernia

• Boys' Basketball Game (Grades 5-6) @ Mount Alvernia

February 24

• Welcome Back to School!

February 28

• Winter Wonderland Dance (Grades PreK-2)

March 4

• Mardi Gras Breakfast for Lunch

March 5

• Ash Wednesday Mass at 12:10 (Grades PreK-8)

March 7

• Trimester 2 Grades Close (Grades K2-8)

• Girls' Basketball Game (Grades 5-8) @ Jackson Walnut Park School

• Boys' Basketball Game (Grades 5-6) @ Jackson Walnut Park School

The deadline to re-enroll through the FACTS SIS Family Portal and reserve your space for the 2025-2026 school year is March 1st. If the re-enrollment packet is not submitted by March 1st, your family's enrollment status will be considered withdrawn for the 2025-2026 academic year. If there are any extenuating circumstances regarding your family's decision to re-enroll, please make us aware as soon as you are able. If you have already informed us that your family will not be re-enrolling, we ask that you still log into the FACTS/SIS Family Portal and select the "Will Not Re-enroll" option.

If tuition affects your ability to re-enroll at St. Mary's, please contact Dr. Nadjarian and Gloria Reyes at cnadjarian@stmarys-brookline.org and greyes@stmarys-brookline.org.

St. Mary’s saw an increased number of students out sick this week. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health sent an alert out to school nurses informing us of an increase in cases of Influenza A and gastrointestinal illnesses in Massachusetts. Please keep your child home if they are not feeling well, have a fever or experiencing nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Keeping your child home will help prevent the spread of illness to other students and staff. Call the office or send me an email to me when your child is home sick. This information will help me keep track of illnesses in our school. Refer to the chart below for guidance as to when your child should not come to school and when they can safely return. Children should not be given fever-reducing medication before coming to school. Although their fever is relieved by medication they are still contagious and the medication typically wears off by lunch time requiring dismissal from school due to fever. You can always reach out to me for guidance as to whether your child can come to school when not feeling well by emailing cwu@stmarys-brookline.org.

Check out our middle school newsletter below for more information and to learn about what's going on in our middle school!

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/