Principal's Weekly Newsletter
February 6, 2026
A Message from the Principal
Dear St. Mary's Families,
It was another wonderful week of learning, growth, and fun here at St. Mary’s! Our students continue to remain engaged in learning as we move toward February break. A highlight of the week was Thursday’s spirited dress-down day, when our school community dressed in New England Patriots gear and colors to support the Pats as they head to the Super Bowl on Sunday. The excitement and school spirit made for a truly memorable day for students and staff alike. Check out all of the fun gear and spirit below!
We wish you all a wonderful weekend. Go Pats! 🏈
St. Mary's Girl Scout Troop
The St. Mary's Girl Scout Troop will be selling cookies on Tuesday, February 10th at dismissal from 2:30-3:30pm. Stop by their table in the parking lot in front of the glass vestibule to purchase some delicious cookies!
Professional Development
Today’s professional development was a powerful reminder of the importance of continuous learning, collaboration, and teamwork at St. Mary’s.
We began the morning with an all-hands team meeting led by Dr. Nadjarian, setting a strong and inspiring tone for the day. Ms. Kfoury, our Dean of Students, then guided faculty through an in-depth training on giving and receiving meaningful feedback while deepening our shared understanding of each person’s role on the St. Mary’s team.
Teachers concluded the day by thoughtfully working on curriculum maps for the upcoming weeks, ensuring engaging and purposeful learning experiences for our students.
We are grateful for the opportunity to grow together as educators and remain committed to providing the very best for every child we serve.
Infant
This week in the Infant Classroom, our youngest learners had a wonderful time exploring a variety of musical instruments! From shaking and tapping to listening and discovering new sounds, the infants loved making music together with their assortment of musical toys. They especially loved singing, dancing, and moving along to some of their favorite nursery rhymes, creating fun and connection throughout the week.
Toddler
This week in the Toddler Classroom, our students had so much fun exploring shapes through stories, art, and hands-on play. During circle time, Ms. Sabryna read Bear in a Square and talked about different kinds of shapes and where we can find them in our world. The toddlers listened closely to the story, examined the pictures, and practiced using new shape-related vocabulary.
PreK
Students in Mrs. Porcello's PreK class have started their unit all about color! They have been enjoying the week with a variety of color activities. Students used liquid watercolor and droppers to "paint" paper towels. They noticed how the paper towel absorbed the color! As a class, they read the story Dog's Colorful Day while sitting at the tables. As they read the story, students had to find the matching color crayon and add spots to their own dog illustrations. So much fun!
K2
K2 is practicing how to write a sentence and draw a picture to match their sentence. During Writer’s Workshop, students have been writing sentences using the following components: A sentence begins with a capital letter, tells a complete idea, has space between the words, and ends with a punctuation mark. Great job, writers!
They are also in the middle of their American symbols unit in Social Studies. Students learned about the history and symbolism of the American flag and then go to create their own.
Grade 1
Students in Ms. Johnson's first grade class enjoyed a busy and engaging day during reading centers this week. On the rug, students played a marching game using picture cards and glued sounds to practice phonics skills. At the U-Table, students read a short story together with Ms. Johnson, focusing on building reading comprehension. At their tables, students worked on a rainbow tracing board and practiced creating words using glued sounds. In the library, students enjoyed independent reading time. Great job, readers!
Grade 2
Grade 2 students enjoyed fun Super Bowl led by Mr. Cavanaugh, filled with learning across subjects. Students practiced identifying nouns and verbs and using compound words, and they worked on writing a complete paragraph using their skills. They then read a nonfiction passage about this year’s Super Bowl and learned interesting facts about the big game. In addition to literacy activities, students strengthened their math skills by practicing three-digit addition. They ended the day by designing their own football jerseys!
Grade 3
This week, students in Ms. Kousidis’ Grade 3 class wrapped up their science unit on weather and natural disasters. For their culminating project, students ranked weather topics from most interesting to least interesting and were placed into groups accordingly.
Over the past few weeks, students researched their topics and created multiple drafts of their projects. Their final posters included a title, an explanation of how the weather pattern forms, how it impacts the land, ways people can prepare for the weather, at least four fun facts, and pictures.
Students worked incredibly hard on their research and planning, and today they were excited to present their finished projects. Great job, Grade Three!
Grade 5
Led by Miss Kfoury and supported by Mrs. Palmer and Dr. Nadjarian, we hosted a successful 5th grade Community Session on Tuesday afternoon! The objective of our 5th Grade Community Time was to bring students, families, and staff together to openly acknowledge any growth areas from this year, reset expectations, and strengthen our collective partnership. Through team-building and shared reflection, we aimed to support our teacher, help students take ownership of their choices, and commit, together, to the behaviors, effort, and mindset needed to finish the school year strong, respectful, and united. We did 4 team-building activities that were enjoyed by all, students and parent/guardians alike. We then debriefed with our grown-ups: how did they think their child has changed since the beginning of the year? What is one thing they wished their child understood better about being in 5th grade? And so much more. It was wonderful time spent together and I cannot wait for the next one!
Middle School
In Ms. Falcone’s Grade 6 social studies class, students have been diving into the fascinating world of early human civilizations, with a special focus on Mesopotamia and Sumeria. This week, students learned about what makes a civilization, including features like organized government, specialized jobs, and systems of communication. They explored Sumeria’s writing system, cuneiform, and discovered why writing was such an important development in human history. To bring learning to life, students even had the chance to practice writing in cuneiform themselves! They wrote their names on clay tablets. This hands-on activity helped them better understand how early civilizations recorded information and communicated ideas.
