What's the Buzz?

1/27 - School Mass led by Grade 6

1/27 - Progress Reports released on Parent Portal after school

1/29 - 9:30am - Catholic Schools Week Mass

1/29 - 10:30-12:00pm - Invite your friends to our SMS Open House

1/30-2/3 - Catholic Schools Week (schedule will follow shortly)

1/31 - Mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral

2/3 - NO Friday Mass

2/5 - Catholic Schools Week Breakfast

2/5 - Snow Me the Money drawing

2/6 - 7pm - HSA Meeting

2/10 - 11:30am Dismissal

2/10 - HSA Ice Skating Party

2/20-24 - Winter Break

3/2 - Literacy Night and Book Fair

3/10 - All School Lenten Retreat

3/24 - Pray and Play

If you would like to order lunch for the week of 2/6-2/10, please be sure to have your order in by 1/30 at NOON.

Lunches are available for this year at no charge.

We are always looking for additional help in the cafeteria. If you are able to join us for just one, two, or all three lunches in a day, we would love an extra set of hands. Volunteers do need to be

VIRTUS trained. If you need to sign up to take the course, go to virtus.org to find available trainings. The buttons below will link you to the days we need help.

Come and join us on Sunday, January 29th at our 9am Catholic Schools Week Kickoff Mass. Students, please wear your uniforms and show your school spirit!

The BISON Fund pre-application form for tuition assistance for the 2023-24 school year is now open for families not currently receiving BISON Fund assistance. To start the process, families can complete a pre-application form online at: http://bisonfund.com/our-scholarships. The deadline is March 15th. Scholarships are awarded using a lottery system from all submitted pre-applications forms and all applicants will be notified of lottery results via email on March 16th.

Please note: Current BISON Fund families do not need to fill out a pre-application, you will be emailed a link to complete the renewal process and add siblings on February 21st.

Registration forms went home before Christmas break. If you are trying to find the packet, there is a neon orange form included...we wanted it to be easily identifiable. If you can't locate your packet, contact the school office and we will be sure to send another one home for you.

The forms look a little different this year. We are working to update what we have in our computer so we've included what we have so that you can make needed corrections/changes.

We are planning some fun things for Catholic Schools Week. Below are our planned out of uniform days. More information next week.

Our theme for the week is If you can dream it, you can do it through faith, excellence, & service

1/30 - Goofy Beach Bash Day - Dress in summer clothes

1/31 - Feel the Spirit Day - Dress in SMS Spirit wear or SMS sports jerseys on top and uniform on the bottom

2/1 - Wonderful World of Wednesday - Dress as a tourist

2/2 - Souperbowl Thursday - Dress in your sports wear

2/3 - Imagineer your Career - Dress for a "Zoom Meeting" - Dress up on the top wear a Zoom camera can see you, and pajama pants on the bottom

RESERVATION FORMS FOR THE SPECIAL GUESTS' LUNCH WILL BE COMING HOME ON FRIDAY

We (Miss Kerwin, Mrs. Gengo, and Miss Reeves) are looking to gauge interest on a potential summer camp for students who will be entering third, fourth, and fifth grade in the fall. The summer camp would operate Monday thru Friday from 8:00 to 12:00 at the school. During this time, students will have opportunities to strengthen and enrich their skills in math, reading, and science!

Based on the feedback we receive on student interest, further details regarding pricing and dates will follow in the near future.

If your child/children are interested in attending this summer camp, please click on the link below and fill out the Google Form:

https://forms.gle/nMcp3iQB2ytcCcbQ7

Thank you,

Miss Kerwin, Mrs. Gengo, and Miss Reeves

Dance Information Flier

Diocese of Buffalo 7th and 8th Grade Dance (givebutter.com)

If you are a current 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade student and would like to check out some really fun real life math with Miss Kerwin, join her on Wednesdays for the Crazy 8's Math Club.

This is NOT homework help, this is just having fun with numbers. For more information, click on the link above.

• Participation is FREE!
• Boys and girls ages 9 to 14 are invited to participate (based on January 1 age).
• Boy and girl champion at each age group.
• Winners determined by best of 15 free throws. Certificate prizes for the winners.
• Registration is at the door.
• Participants must furnish proof of age (copy of birth certificate/passport) and parental consent (forms available at door).

For more information, or to obtain a parental consent form in advance, contact Greg at (716) 713-2222.

Come on out and support our St. Mary's Bees!

• Monday 1/30 - 7pm - Varsity Boys vs. St. Benedict's @ home
• Wednesday 2/1 - 6pm - Varsity Girls vs. Nativity @ St. Peter's Lewiston
• Wednesday 2/2 - 6pm - Varsity Boys vs. St. Andrew's @ St. Andrew's

We’re so pleased to be able to bring back the wonderful Catholic Schools Week Family Breakfast in the gym after the closing mass for this special week on Sun., Feb. 5th. You should have received a yellow flyer home in your child’s backpack to RSVP. Please complete the form and send back into school with payment by Friday, 1/27/23 (TOMORROW) if you’d like to attend. We are also in need of many volunteers to set up, cook, serve, and clean up at the breakfast, as well as donate various pastries, drinks and fruit. Alumni are also welcome to volunteer and get some service hours in! Many hands make light work, please click here to volunteer and make this event a wonderful success! Any questions can be directed to Margaret Terrill at 716-908-7684 (cell) or mterrill44@yahoo.com. Thank you for your support!

All tickets must be turned in at the Parish Office by 3pm today. Hopefully you made the deadline! We’ll be tallying the results over the next few weeks and catching any straggler tickets that arrive in the mail, so we’ll announce which class won the Snowball Fight with the principal and priests, as well as which lucky student won the Spirit Wear at the Catholic Schools Week Breakfast on 2/5, immediately following the Snow Me the Money Raffle Drawings. A sincere thank you to all the school and parish families who purchased tickets, counted tickets, sold tickets after mass, or otherwise volunteered to help make this fundraiser a success. Good luck to all! 1/26/23. Just a $20 donation per ticket affords you 13 opportunities to win cash prizes totaling $15,000.

Help show your appreciation for our wonderful teachers by contributing to the monthly teacher lunches. February’s theme is “Brunch for Lunch”. Teachers and staff will enjoy a classic breakfast menu of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, danishes, muffins, bagels w/ assorted cream cheeses, butter, and fresh fruit. Sign up here to donate.

HSA is currently seeking chairpersons for the following upcoming events:

• Mother/Son Dance: Sat. June 3, 2023

• School Picnic: Tues. June 13, 2023

If you would like to volunteer to chair, co-chair, or help with either of these events, please contact Theresa Hausrath or Kim Chilcott, HSA Volunteer Chairs, and try to attend the 2/6/23 HSA Meeting. Your involvement helps continue some of the wonderful traditions of our school, and makes events like these possible for your children!

Join us in the school cafeteria to hear all the news of upcoming events we’re planning, share your ideas, or volunteer some time or talent. Anyone who attends earns DRESS DOWN PASSES for their students, redeemable the next school day - Tues. 2/7.