Defender News

School Day Office Hours:

7:30 am - 3:30 pm

Office Phone Number: 419-423-2738

Fax Number: 419-423-2720

The school must be notified by 8:00 am of a student absence. Please advise school of symptoms and expected length of absence.

Phone: 419-423-2738

Email: attendance@findlaystmichael.org

Sept 2 — MAP Testing (Reading)

Sept 4 — MAP Testing (Math)

Sept 7 — Labor Day

Sept 8 — MAP Testing (3-8 ELA)

Sept 10 — MAP Testing (5/8 Science)

Sept 15 — BEe

Ms. Lynn Van Der Veer, 2B aide

Ms. Diane Yoakam, 1B aide

Ms. Melissa Dietelbach, KB aide

Ms. Sue Denney, lunchroom aide

Ms. Natalie Waltz, lunchroom aide

Mrs. Jaclyn Pessell, Co-Athletic Director

We would like to give a warm St. Michael welcome to Mrs. Jaclyn Pessell as the new co-athletic director for all SMS athletics. Mrs. Pessell brings with her years of experience and knowledge related to athletics, as well as a long history with St. Michael School. Mrs. Pessell has coached for SMS for many years, including coaching her oldest son’s class since they were in kindergarten. She is currently in her third year of coaching 7th grade basketball, as well as running basketball camp, and is in her second year of running Mighty Mikes. We are Defender Proud to have Mrs. Pessell as part of our program in her new role.

Families, we are at almost 100% compliance. Please finish up your required Final Forms submissions! If you have yet to turn in class fees, please do so to Mrs. Lane ASAP.

The Final Forms system rolled over to the new school year on July 1st. Current families, please log in to your Final Forms account to update your school forms for the 2026-2027 school year. New families, please go to https://findlaystmichael-oh.finalforms.com to create your account and complete your forms. All school forms must be completed by August 13th.

**The K-8 handbooks were updated this year, please be sure to read through them carefully.

**The preschool handbook was just updated and replaced on July 15th, if you had previously completed your forms you will need to sign in and resign the handbook portion.

We're experiencing a serious risk to our students and staff due to cars pulling out of the line at the curb to bypass the cars in front of them. While we understand the end-of-day time crunch many families experience, this is neither acceptable nor safe. In most cases, it actually causes the line as a whole to move more slowly, as staff and students are forced to split their attention between the students being loaded and the cars moving unpredictably around them. This is especially happening during school pickup by parents who are waiting for older siblings.

The only exception is when an SMS staff member steps out to direct traffic. We are trying to be proactive in doing so when prolonged bottlenecks occur; however, we have had a number of drivers leaving the line erratically, and students and staff members have almost been hit multiple times. We have consistently been ending school pickup in about 10–12 minutes, and the dropoff line has been moving quickly enough that there is no wait at the curb by 7:55AM each morning. There is simply no reason to put a student or staff member in danger by attempting to move faster than that.

Monday we will begin documenting infractions and contacting families to discuss potential consequences if this behavior does not stop. If you have additional family members assisting with dropoff and pickup, please communicate our expectations to them.

Also, a few quick reminders:

• Drop off begins at 7:30AM and not before. Parents are not to drop their students off and leave before 7:30AM. Parents assume all responsibility and liability for their children until 7:30AM dropoff begins.
• Please do not get out of your cars. A staff member will assist with helping your student. Please wave us down to get our attention if your student needs assistance and no one has come to retrieve them.
• Please do not stop and wait to watch your students walk in. In fairness to everyone and to maintain an orderly line, please depart immediately as soon as the car in front of you begins moving.

Lastly, effectively immediately, school pickup will end at 2:45PM. If you have not arrived by 2:45PM, students can be picked up at the front office.

Parents, please see the excerpts from the 2026-2027 Parent-Student Handbook regarding communication expectations.

Communication to teachers, staff, and administration should be cordial in tone. As parents and school officials are partners in the students’ education and faith formation, we expect to be treated with respect and will in turn treat parents with respect as the primary caretakers and educators of their children. While constructive criticism is always welcome, rude or unprofessional communication will not be responded to, as we expect parents to follow the same behavioral standards as the students.

Teachers and staff are expected to respond to parents in a timely manner, within 24 hours (business days) of a correspondence. However, teachers are not expected to respond past 3:30PM or on weekends, holidays, extended breaks, or any days in which the school is closed. Teachers may choose on their own accord to respond during these circumstances, but they also deserve to have time with their families or personal time.

It has recently come to our attention that there are some books floating around our classrooms that may not be suitable for the classroom setting, specifically in a K-8 building. While we love that our students want to read and are finding books that pique their interest, it is important to remember that not everyone is allowed to read the same content within their respective homes. Therefore, we ask that any books that have strong themes that might be questionable for school remain in your home. We respect your decisions as the parents and support your choices for what your child can read when they are with you; however, within our building we would like to limit, reduce, and eliminate exposure to strong and questionable themes. If you are unsure if your child’s book falls in this category, please reach out and we can help you make that determination.

As we end our first two full weeks of school, there have been a few issues regarding lunch that have come to our attention.

First, there are many students opting to bring lunch that needs to be microwaved, especially in grades 6-8. While this is completely acceptable, it is affecting the amount of time our students have to eat each day. Both last year and this year we had generous donations of new microwaves, which have allowed lunches to heat up more quickly. However, all microwaves have roughly 6-8 students waiting at a time. You are more than welcome to continue sending a lunch that needs to be heated, but we wanted to make you aware that the time for some students is becoming very limited. As a reminder, lunch is only 20 minutes long, with heating food cutting into that time considerably.

Secondly, if your child packs his or her lunch and requires a spoon or fork, please send those things with your child if you are able. The utensils we provide are specifically designated for those students buying lunch and technically should not be handed out to students who do not buy lunch. Recently, we were asked to discontinue this practice unless we purchase extra utensils beyond what is needed for lunch. We have made this purchase, but once the utensils are gone, there will not be further purchases.

Our Preschool dress code encourages comfortable and loose fitting clothing so that we can have freedom of movement in our large motor activities. Preschool students do not need to wear uniforms, however, uniforms are permissible.

• KR students are required to keep a clean pair of tennis shoes at school for use in the gym.

• Tennis shoes are preferred for safety during playtime.

• All shoes must have an enclosed toe and heel or ankle strap.

• CROCS or croc like shoes, fashion boots, sandals, and shoes that light up, roll, or are platform style are not permitted.

• Boots may only be worn to/from school or during recess (regular shoes will be worn in the classroom).

• Socks must be worn at all times.

• JEANS are not permitted.

• Be sure the clothing allows for the child to easily use the restroom by themselves.

Students in grades K-8 are expected to wear school uniforms as described in the handbook available in Final Forms or on the school website. Students are also expected to follow the Out of Uniform policies for those occasions when uniforms are not worn to school. Parents are asked to monitor the dress of their child(ren) before they come to school. Faculty and staff members are expected to enforce the student dress code at all times through reasonable observation of the students.

You may only purchase approved uniform pieces from Educational Apparel. We also have a Used Uniform Sale twice a year at school. Used items may include previously approved items from French Toast or Land’s End. Used items should match approved Educational Apparel items in pattern, color, and style.

• Educational Apparel options for purchasing:

• Shop online www.educationalapparel.com - Saint Michael School-Findlay #88

• Shop the store: Hilliard Store, 3906 Brown Park Dr., Hilliard, Ohio 43026

• At-school sales: Held 3 times/year (summer, late fall, spring) in our building

Findlay City Schools have partnered with Sodexo to provide a hot lunch option to our KR - 8th grade students.

1. The meal cost will be $3.25/milk a la carte $0.55
   

2. You can find the lunch menu for our building here, or download the Nutrislice app! These menus can be translated into multiple languages by clicking the sidebar on the right.

3. Complete the free/reduced lunch application on PaySchools!

4. Load money on your student’s lunch account within PaySchools. You will need your student ID which can be found by signing into FACTS. Information on signing in is found in the FACTS section of the newsletter.

5. Your student's lunch ID number is in Final Forms on the lunch accounts and free/reduced applications form.

If you have any questions about school lunch, please email Kadie Lindsay.

Unless a student has an educational plan in place stating that he or she is allowed to have fidgets and other such devices, no student will be permitted to bring fidgets and/or toys from home to keep in the classroom.

All students who plan to play a sport at St. Michael School will need a sports physical. Please take all paper work to be signed by a physician and then upload to Final Forms. Physicals must be completed before the athlete will be able to begin practices or play in games with the team.

Registration is now open for the 2026-2027 Cross Country Season. Click here to register.

Link to register: https://my.scouting.org/online-registration/47b99836-e8e7-442b-9fa6-7b8d8205a504/applicant-type

Parent guide: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1iGE5jLQueCKc984eS1d9fVo42sSvbWAN/edit?rtpof=true&sd=true

Attention all SMS Dads! Please consider joining That Man is You! You can reach out to Richard Kroeger at 419-235-5162 or richgrad@yahoo.com for more information!

All families are enrolled in the Family Portal of FACTS using the email and cell phone provided on student enrollment forms. This allows families to:

• check student grades
• access your child's ID number to make a hot lunch account
• track student attendance
• receive behavior notifications
• check the school calendar

To access your account visit https://sms-oh.client.renweb.com/pw.

Our district code is SMS-OH.

Any new family will need to "Create New Family Portal Account" using the email address provided to the school. For more information about the Family Portal, please go to our FACTS page.

Did you know you can help earn money for St. Michael School while you shop at Kroger? Join their Community Rewards program with code BD113 to help benefit our school. Check out our Kroger Rewards page for more information.

K-8 School Mass: Thursdays at 8:35 am (during school year only)

Parish Mass Times:

Weekday mornings: 6:45 am (main church)

Saturday: 8:00 am & 4:30 pm (main church)

Sunday: 8:00 am, 10:00 am, and 12:00 pm (main church)

9:00 am (downtown chapel)

Principal: wking@findlaystmichael.org

Dean of Students grades K-4: lvonlehmden@findlaystmichael.org

Dean of Students grades 5-8: hnusbaum@findlaystmichael.org

Office Manager/Receptionist: mgrady@findlaystmichael.org

Attendance: attendance@findlaystmichael.org

Website: http://www.findlaystmichaelschool.org

Phone: 419-423-2738

Fax: 419-423-2720

723 Sutton Place, Findlay, OH