Monday Holiday/ConferencesA friendly reminder that Monday, April 13, is a school holiday and NO CLASSES WILL BE HELD. Virtual Parent/Teacher Conferences will also be conducted.
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Parent Coffees
The social-emotional well-being and mental health of our students and their families during this unprecedented time is paramount.
This week, St M invites our parents to attend virtual coffees (by grade level) on Friday, April 17, with Head of School Bob Gregg and Dr. Kimberly Hilton, a seasoned Licensed Clinical Psychologist/affiliate of Westhampton Family Psychologists. Each session will last 45 minutes and will include a short presentation and Q&A on how to help children navigate stress and anxiety stemming from the pandemic.
- 1 p.m. -- Grades K-2
- 2 p.m. -- Grades 3-5
- 3 p.m. -- Grades 6-8
How to Attend? St M will send an email on Friday a.m. with the video meeting links.
Dr. Kimberly Hilton is a seasoned Licensed Clinical Psychologist and affiliate of Westhampton Family Psychologists who provides assessment and psychotherapy services for children, adolescents, adults, and couples. Additionally, as a long time consultant with St. Michael’s School and other independent schools in the Richmond area, she completes cognitive evaluations as part of the admissions screening process. Dr. Hilton is especially interested and skilled in helping children, adolescents, and their families and teachers develop effective coping strategies and self-care practices to address life’s many stressors, including these challenging days of social distancing and self-quarantining.
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Teacher/Staff Appreciation Day
This Thursday, April 16th will be a day of celebrating and thanking our fabulous St. Michael’s faculty. First, show teachers and staff your love and appreciation by mailing or emailing them personal letters. Second, be on the lookout for future announcements. We have more fun in store! -The St. Michael's Parents' Association
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April Fitness Challenge
Welcome to the St. Michael’s April Fitness Challenge! This is a fun, non-competitive, month-long event for the whole family. In an effort to promote outside activity, we are encouraging each student and family member to get outside and try to log as many steps as possible with the goal of walking, running or biking "virtually" to Busch Gardens by the end of the month. (Info was shared with students last week.)
- Click HERE for more information and journal log.
- Click HERE for a ranking of Lower School participants to date.
- Click HERE for a ranking of Middle School participants to date.
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FAQs
In the coming weeks, we will do our best to answer frequent questions we are receiving. As well, a summary of all FAQ responses maybe found on our Remote Learning website page HERE.
How will St. Michael's grade during remote learning?
- St. Michael's understands that unplanned closure of schools has altered the educational landscape requiring new avenues of instruction, support, and assessment. An email was sent to all families on April 10 outlining how we are adapting our grading during remote learning.
- A copy of the letter may be found HERE.
How can I support my child's social-emotional needs during this difficult time?
- This past week, we introduced weekly K-5 virtual "Meet-Ups" to enable our Dragons to engage socially with their friends. See newsletter for this week's Meet-Up schedule. In the Middle School, grade-level social meetings and optional lunch bunch opportunities with Mrs. Stargell were also shared with students to foster social interaction.
- This Friday, St M is hosting three parent coffees on Friday, April 17, with Dr. Kimberly Hilton, a seasoned Licensed Clinical Psychologist/affiliate of Westhampton Family Psychologists. Dr. Hilton has a long relationship with our School and she will be offering insights and answering questions on this topic. See details in the newsletter.
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Spirit Week/Magic Dragon Day
We're excitied to announce plans for Spirit Week and Magic Dragon Day. While we won't be able to be together for these beloved St. Michael's traditions this year, there are plenty of ways to show your Dragon pride remotely!
Spirit Week Schedule:
- Monday, April 27: America Day (show your USA pride)
- Tuesday, April 28: College/University Day
- Wednesday, April 29: Inside Out Day
- Thursday, April 30: Character Day (dress as your favorite figure from pop culture, history, books, etc.)
- Friday, May 1: Blue/White Day (show your St. Michael's spirit)
- Throughout Spirit Week, we encourage you to share/tag photos and videos on social media under #STMSpiritWeek.
At 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 2nd, join us online for Magic Dragon Day opening ceremonies and field games that you can play in your backyard. Stay tuned for details on this and other fun Spirit Week activities!
A Blue vs. White field day competition will be held at the start of the 2020-21 school year in place of this year to determine which team will have bragging rights and will paint the basketball goal.
Maypole: This year's kindergarten class will also have an opportunity to do the traditional Maypole Dance in the coming school year. Go Blue! Go White! Go Dragons!
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Grade Level Social Meet-Ups
Join us this week for Meet-Ups hosted by our Extended Day teachers for community time, games, and more! This is a moderated, safe space for students to gather with friends. To attend, login on the Extended Day Google Classroom page (code: hqkrqac) under "Classwork."
Tuesday April 14
- Kindergarten, 3-3:30 p.m.
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1st Grade, 4-4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 15
- 2nd Grade, 3-3:45 p.m.
- 3rd Grade, 4-4:45 p.m.
Thursday, April 16
- 4th Grade, 3-3:45 p.m.
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5th Grade, 4-4:45 p.m.
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Show Your Dragon Pride!
For the rest of this school year, Dragon Dress days are now EVERY Friday! Whether blue or white, show your school spirit and wear your St M spiritwear with pride. Send us/tag your pics with #STMDragonsUnited. Go Dragons!
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Summer Camp at St M
IMPORTANT UPDATE: As of now, St. Michael's is still planning to hold all scheduled summer camps as planned. Registration REMAINS OPEN! Summer camps are all REFUNDABLE in case COVID-19 continues and they need to be canceled. Click HERE to register for summer camp.
To learn about the camps that will be offered, click HERE for a preview of our camp flyer. Camps are listed by GRADE. Please contact Ashley Buffey, Director of Extended Programs, with any questions.
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Let's Be Friends!
Get connected to keep abreast of St M news, events, calendar changes and information.
Current and past issues of "This Week at St. Michael's" are now archived on our website under " News and Events," as well as under " Community."
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| Dates to Remember Please check our online School Calendar for updates. For planning purposes, click HERE for key dates for the NEXT 2020-21 school year.
Never miss an update! Subscribe to our School calendars and receive automatic updates! Please subscribe to the ALL SCHOOL calendar, PLUS the Lower School or Middle School calendar (or both) as needed.
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Remote Learning Info
Click HERE to access our Remote Leaning website page. The Middle School online learning schedules may also be found via the link.
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COVID-19/St M Operations Info
Click HERE to access our Covid-19/School Operations website page, along with a listing of all parent communications.
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This Week:
Easter Monday Holiday: A friendly reminder that Monday, April 13, ia a school holiday/teacher conference day and NO CLASSES WILL BE HELD.
Also, KEEP READING! Mrs. Wise shared that the Junior Library Guild is offering FREE access to an extensive collection of e-books at elementary, middle, and high school levels. Click HERE for access and more information.
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Resources for Your Family & Prayer Requests:
Mr. Hansen has compiled a site with resources for your family, prayer and meditation, ways to help others in RVA, religion class resources (optional) and a page to reach out about prayer requests or concerns for your family during this time apart. Or, if you would prefer, Mr. Hansen will be posting links from this site to his Google Classroom (Code: cni5f7k).
Remote Times of Worship: You are welcome to join us for Facebook Live Sunday worship through the St. Michael's Church page (@StMichaelsBonAir) and adult formation time on Zoom. Links posted on the Church Facebook page.
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In Case of Illness
If your child is ill and unable to participate in Remote Learning activities, please send an email to your child’s teacher (Lower School) or advisor (Middle School.)
If your child and/or an immediate family member is ill with COVID-19, we ask that you confidentially inform Merrill Geier (Lower School) or Jessica Stargell (Middle School).
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