Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 November 3-4 Parent/Teacher Conferences 11:30am Early Dismissal 6 First Communion Parent meeting 10:20am (PAC) 7-11 Scholastic Book Fair 10 PTO Mtg. 6:30pm Duffy Center 11 Veteran s Day School Mass 8am 18 School Mass 8am 19 Golf Tournament @ The Dye Club 8:30am 20 First Communion Parent meeting 10:20am (PAC) 22 Early Dismissal 11:30am 23-25 Thanksgiving Break NO SCHOOL 28 Classes Resume From the Principal We began November with very special visitors. Our Saints were a wonderful reminder of all those souls who we can ask for their intersessions for our needs. We also began our special collection for Haiti, please remember that we are collecting adult and children s vitamins (no gummies please), dial soap (bars or bottles), and regular strength Tylenol. It would also be helpful to send in a dollar or two to assist with shipping. I am looking forward to seeing parents today and tomorrow for our parent/teacher conferences; please let me know if you wish to schedule any time with me. Additionally, report cards went home in the Tuesday envelope along with your child s individual standardized test results. If you have any questions please be sure to ask your child s teacher or I will be available during conferences. I will also be reviewing how to interpret the scores at the November 10 th PTO meeting. 2016-2017 PTO Officers Kylie Clarke John Miller Dianne Jelinek Megan McDonald Debbie Floyd Scholastic Book Fair The book fair is coming! Our Scholastic Book Fair will Take place during the week of November 7 th through 11 th, and during our parent teacher conferences this week. This will be a great opportunity for parents to purchase books ahead of time. The fair will also be open prior to the November 10 th PTO meeting. This year s Fall Book Fair goal is $3,900. Ms. Walters has approved a school-wide dress down day (date to be determined if we achieve our goal). Our teacher s have been invited to create a wish list of books for their classroom libraries. These lists are located by the book fair checkout desk please consider giving the gift of a book for teacher Christmas presents! VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED!! Virtus trained parent volunteers are needed, these hours will count towards your 2 nd quarter fair share hours. Please use the Sign Up Genius link below to volunteer. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0449acab2ba7fc1-book2
Page 2 Golf Tournament 11/19/16 Our Inaugural Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday, November 19 th at 8:30am. This event will be held at the Dye Club in North Myrtle Beach. The cost will be $125 for each player, so hurry and get your foursome assembled! Spaces are limited to 144 golfers so make sure you sign up early!! Hole and corporate sponsorships are available. Registration trifolds are available in the school office. Do you know someone who would like to make a donation to our tournament? Sponsorship forms are also available in the school office. Lunch Duty Volunteers Needed in Nov. & Dec. We have created a Sign Up Genius link for November & December lunch duty. Please note: All adults must have completed Virtus training and a background check before volunteering for lunch duty. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0449acab2ba7fc1-lunch10 - November & December Box Tops, Labels for Education & Tyson Project A+ Saint Michael Catholic School is running a label collection competition! Each group will be broken down by grade. Collect labels for your class grade and turn them into your teacher. Please be sure they are marked with your child s grade in case they get separated from the collection for that grade. There will be a prize awarded to the class with the most labels per student every month. Bring in your labels and make sure you designate what grade they go to. Earn an additional 10% for your class each month by cutting the labels on the dotted lines. The first grade class won the October challenge and chose extra recess as their reward! Thank you for participating. Thanksgiving Baskets Every year, Mrs. Damore and the 2 nd Grade students coordinate a collection of food for the baskets that the Church distributes at Thanksgiving. Each basket the church gives out usually has enough food for a complete Thanksgiving meal, plus extra non-perishable items. Detailed information was sent home in this week s Tuesday Envelope. Teaching our children to give really helps them as much as it helps others they are performing one of the Corporal Works of Mercy, which are actions that we can perform that extend God s compassion and mercy to those in need. Items will be collected through Friday, November 18 th. Below are the listings of items by classroom: PK3 - PK4 Canned vegetables, baked beans K Cake Mix and frosting 1 st Cereal, boxed dressing (such as Stove Top) 2 nd Cranberry sauce, Jello, and pudding mixes 3 rd Canned soup and gravy mixes 4 th Pumpkin Pie Filling, Pet Milk, Pie Crust mix 5 th Peanut Butter and Jelly 6 th Canned fruit and juices 7 th Peanut Butter and Jelly 8 th Canned tuna, Canned chicken, Canned Beef, stew, etc.
Page 3 Saint Michael Catholic School Thanksgiving Celebration: This year will mark the 5 th Annual School-Wide Thanksgiving Celebration hosted by Mrs. JoAnn and Ms. Vivian our cafeteria staff. Each year, our students enjoy a Thanksgiving lunch with the faculty and staff of St. Michael s School and Parish to celebrate thankfulness for one another. This year, the luncheon will be held on Tuesday, November 15 th at 11:30 am. If you would like your child to purchase this special lunch ($3.50), please make sure you circle the date on the November lunch menu. Since sufficient time is needed to order and prepare this special meal we will be unable to accommodate late orders. For those who do not wish to purchase this meal, you are still allowed to bring in a bagged lunch. Gator Athletic Updates: Passion, dedication, and spirit are three words that describe our Saint Michael's soccer players. Our players have been able to learn new drills and exhibit these skills during practice and our games. Soccer is not about kicking a soccer ball around, but the idea that we are a family and we need to protect our home, which of course is our goal. The players never give up during games and we always keep our head held high towards our Lord for guidance. This is our second year coaching soccer for Saint Michael s and we could not be more proud of each of the players. Each of our players exemplifies that being a Christian Athlete doesn t mean praying for your team to win. God doesn t give an edge to those who don t. To those who pray over those who don t. Hard work does that. Being a Christian athlete means competing for CHRIST, in a way in which you always give your all for him. Win or lose, you thank Him for the ability and opportunity to play. It means giving all to the glory to God, no matter WHAT the outcome. -Coach Melissa and Coach John Our wonderful volleyball team with their second place trophy! Winter Sports For those students planning to play Basketball or join the Cheerleading squad, please be sure to have your physical scheduled, and your sports form completed and turned in by November 7 th. Basketball is open to boys and girls in grades 4-8. Cheerleading is open to girls in grades 1-8. Please email Coach Mark with any questions at: mbartholomey@saintmichaelsc.com.
Page 4 Volleyball ~ Faculty/Parents vs. Students ~ Highlights A fun time was had by all who participated in last nights (female) faculty/parents vs. girls volleyball team in a close match. The girls team put up a good fight but ended up losing to the faculty/parent participants. Help4Kids The Help for Kids van will be here tomorrow, Friday, November 4 th. Donations of cakes, gently used clothing, blankets, bedding, towels, etc. are most welcome. Thank you! SMCS Middle School Youth Group For all middle school students in grades 6 8 we invite you to join us for an evening of Faith, Friendship, and Fun on Friday, November 18, 2016 from 6:30 8:00pm in Duffy Center. Pizza, soft drinks, s mores and prizes will be provided. We ask that you please detach and return your RSVP to the school or parish office if you are interested in attending. Feel free to bring a friend(s), too! For questions you may contact Grace Morlan at genrwm1@comcast.net. We look forward to seeing you there!! Faith G A T O R Want to submit something for the weekly publication of the Gator Bites? Email Nancy Esposito nesposito@saintmichaelsc.com and cc Ms. Walters at pwalters@saintmichaelsc.com All submissions are subject to approval.
Page 5 Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them. O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them. O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them. (Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here) Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever. Amen. All Saints Day Mass, Fr. Ed with students from PK4 3 rd grade
Page 6 Fathers Club Meeting ~ Calling All Dads!!! We had our first Fathers Club meeting on Friday, September 30 th. The Fathers Club is a new organization we are trying to develop at St. Michael s to support our children through organizing and hosting community/church events, helping out around the school, and fundraising. In order to make this club successful the participation of all Fathers is necessary. At our first meeting we discussed several large projects and activities we would like to tackle such as constructing storage closets for Music, Drama/Arts, and crafts. The time you commit to this club will go towards your family s fair share hours. If you are interested, please contact Sean Brown (908-451-8600). Our next meeting will be held on Monday, November 14 th at 6:30 PM in the Parish Activity Center (PAC Hall, located across the parking lot from the Church). Your children, the school as a whole, and parish will be so appreciative of the support and time you can commit! Ladies of the Rosary: Are you interested in praying the rosary but not sure how to begin? Or are you seasoned in the recitation of the rosary and looking to pray with others? Or are you simply interested in learning more about the rosary? The SMCS Ladies of the Rosary invites you to join us in a spiritual journey to enrich our faith lives by fostering a deeper understanding of, love of, and devotion to the Holy Rosary. As we contemplate the mysteries of the rosary by meditating on the scenes our Lord s life, death, and resurrection we grow stronger in faith. As we ask for the Blessed Mother s intercession for the needs of those in our parish and school community, we uplift our school community. All parents and faculty, regardless of experience praying the rosary, are welcome to gather together with us every Friday immediately following the school mass. For those unable to pray with us on Friday s, please join us every Saturday morning immediately following the Saturday 8:00 a.m. Mass. For additional information or questions please contact: Tonya Parisi (518) 879-9498 tonya.parisi10@gmail.com or Jacklyn Brown (908) 451-8599 jacklyn.brown.03@gmail.com Marriage Enrichment Ministry The Marriage Enrichment Ministry is presenting a Special Event! on ~ Mercy and Marriage ~ Finishing the Year of Mercy with a Focus on our Beloved All are encouraged to attend the FREE presentation by: Guest Speaker Deacon Regi Armstrong from Florence, SC. This event will be held at St. Michael Catholic Church on Saturday, November 12, 2016 following Continental Breakfast after the 8AM Mass. We hope to see you all there!