Dear St. Michael's families,
I hope this note finds you and your family enjoying some summertime fun with each other and loved ones. With the calendar turned to August, I wanted to reach out to make sure that you had everything you will need whenever your mind begins to think about Back to School time. No rush, by all means, soak up all that summer has to offer. However, all around campus, faculty, staff and friends of the School have been busily working to prepare for the 2016–17 school year. Below please find important updates and information.
Back-to-School Basics
Directory Updates Needed
Did you move this summer? Has your email or phone number changed? Do you want School communications to go to a particular email address?
Please send any changes by Thursday, September 1, as we are finalizing the School directory. Returning families need only to review their current listing (in last
year's directory) and forward all new/corrected information (e.g., address,
email, phone numbers,
etc.) to
Erbie Godwin at egodwin@stmschool.net. New families will be
email separately to confirm contact info.
Extended Programs and Co-Curricular Registration
Registration for our Extended Day program and Fall Co-Curriculars will open later this week. We will be sending this information out in a separate e-mailing so please check your inboxes in the coming days.
Lunch
In response to broad community requests, St. Michael’s is making some exciting changes to our lunch program to make it more nutritious.
Last school year, I heard a great deal of feedback on the School’s “hot lunch” program. While folks were grateful for the convenience of lunch being provided at School and happy to support the School via SMPA’s Pizza Fridays fundraiser, comments, email, and meetings touched on concerns with nutrition, waste, volunteer bandwidth and logistics.
I'm happy to announce we have partnered with the following vendors: Ellwood-Thompson, Frank's Ristorante, Tropical smoothie, and Chick-fil-A.-
Due to the company's commitment to and experience with providing healthy food that kids will actually eat with minimal ecological impact, Elwood-Thompson will serve as the primary vendor.
-
Frank’s Ristorante will assume responsibility as our vendor for pizza days, which will shift to Tuesdays from Fridays under the thinking that families often order pizza for dinner on Fridays, and we didn't want to double up on the same day.
- Tropical Smoothie & Chick-fil-A will provide "sometimes treats” on a roughly monthly basis. more details on those events will be forthcoming.
Another exciting enhancement to this year's program will be the convenience of online ordering and payment. In partnering with orderlunches.com, families will be able to select and pay for meals online, and have a digital record of their order.A separate email will arrive soon with further details on the program, as well as details on signing up at orderlunches.com.
Academic Calendar for the 2016-2017 School Year
Click here to access a printable copy of the School's academic calendar for coming school year which contains the dates of important events and school early closings/holidays.
All school calendars are available on the School
website under
"News and Events/Calendar" and specific
Gmail calendars are located at the following addresses:
Information Pickup
Emergency cards, carpool name cards, and picture forms should be picked up at one of the August back-to-school events below. If you do not plan to attend orientation, please plan to come into School at the start of the first day to fill out the necessary paperwork in the School library.
Key Orientation Dates-
Week of Aug. 22: Lower School homeroom teachers and Middle School advisors will introduce themselves to students and their families.
-
Wednesday, Aug. 24 (7:00 p.m.): Kindergarten parent night, where parents of kindergarteners get oriented for the first day of kindergarten.
-
Thursday, Aug. 25: Lower School “meet your teacher” day, where students can drop off supplies and get situated in their new classroom.
- 8:30 a.m. Kindergarten students
- 9:15 a.m. Students with a kindergarten sibling
- 9:45 a.m. New students in grades 1-5
- 10:00 a.m. Returning students grades 1-5, last name A-
- 10:30 a.m. Returning students grades 1-5, last name G-
- 11:00 a.m. Returning students grades 1-5, last name N-Z
- Monday, Aug. 29: Lower School half-day
- 8:00 a.m. Normal morning arrival
- 11:00 a.m. Kindergarten dismissal (Extended Day opens at 11 a.m.)
- 12:00 p.m. Grades 1-5 dismissal
- Monday, Aug. 29: Middle School orientation
- 9:15 a.m. All grade 6 and new students in grades 7 and 8
- 10:30 a.m. Returning students grades 7-8
- Tuesday, Aug. 30: First full day of school for all students.
- Monday, Sept. 5: Labor Day Holiday/No School
- Thursday, Sept. 8: Lower School Back to School night in the Church Sanctuary.
- Tuesday, Sept. 13: Middle School Back to School night in the Great Hall
Class Calendars
In a few weeks, you will receive an email from SMPA president, Kim Dobzinyiak, asking you to sign up for various volunteer opportunities throughout the year. In addition, you will receive an invitation to a grade-level social gathering – a chance to meet and mingle with the parents of your child’s classmates. Due to the high percentage of new Kindergarten families, the Kindergarten gathering will still encompass a volunteer scheduling element.
Please be sure to reply promptly and thoughtfully to these volunteer requests because your time, talent, treasure and friendship are main ingredients in the magic of St. Michael's strong community.
Introducing Middle School Soccer!
We are pleased to announce that we are adding soccer this fall to the list of inter-scholastic sports offered at our Middle School for grades 6-8. The team will be coached by John Mills '85.
Mr. Mills invites our 7th and 8th graders who are interested in playing soccer this year to come to the Middle School for a pick-up soccer game on Thursday, August 18 from 5-6:30 p.m. Please bring water, shin guards (mandatory) and a ball. Please contact
Athletic Director Wally Kern with any questions.
***
As always, the folks in the School office are here to help. If you have questions, please reach out at 804-272-3514.
Now, back to enjoying the summer. We look forward to seeing you in late August!
With warm regards,
Michael G. Turner
Headmaster
