|
|
| August 22 Newsletter: Hooray for the First Day of School!
| |
| It's the MOST wonderful time of the year...
Back-to-School time!
We hope all of our Dragons had a fun and restful summer. We are so very excited to have our learning community back together where students are deeply known and loved, purposefully challenged, and joyfully celebrated. We also extend a very warm welcome to all of our new students, families, and faculty! It is an exciting time to be at St. Michael's!
This first weekly newsletter contains all of the info you need to get through the first week of school. Moving forward, starting August 31, please note that our "This Week @ St. Michael's" newsletter goes out every SUNDAY MORNING from our Communications Office to help you prepare for the week ahead. Copies are also posted on the St M website linked off the home page.
Let's be friends! Be sure to check out and LIKE our St M Facebook and Instagram pages for photos and videos from the first week of school and beyond!
Not on social media? We also have a Media Gallery page on our website under News and Events so you can follow all of our St M social media in one place!
IMPORTANT:
- All students, remember to bring a nut-free snack and a refillable water bottle DAILY to school.
- Beginning in the 2025–26 school year, St. Michael’s Lower School (K-5), Middle School (6-8), and Extended Day Programs (K-8) will become phone-free and wearable-free for students, so please leave phones, smartwatches, and digital devices at home.
- Tuesday, August 26, the FIRST DAY of school, is a NOON DISMISSAL DAY. (Morning Gym is OPEN. No Afternoon Extended Day.)
Welcome Back, Dragons!
| |
Lower School Meet Your Teacher Day and Middle School Orientation Schedule: Monday, August 25 - Lower School: Please note entrance door locations at link below.
- Middle School: Mr. Williams, Middle School Director, shared this letter with Middle School families on Wednesday, August 20, with additional details for Middle School orientation.
- IMPORTANT: All NEW students need to bring their birth certificates to the front offices on MONDAY, August 25.
- Come shop all the great items at the Pop-Up Shop in the Perkinson Arts Center! Shop times below.
| |
Show your DRAGON PRIDE on the First Day of School!A rite of passage each year is the taking of first day of school photos. Click and post!
- Show your DRAGON PRIDE by taking a photo of your child on the first day (Tuesday, August 26) with the St. Michael's sign below and posting it on your social media with the hashtag #STMSchoolRVA. (Copies will also be give out at Meet Your Teacher Day/Oriantation.)
- Or, email your photos to Mrs. Amore in our Communications Office for posting. Go DRAGONS!
| |
School Hours (Starting Wednesday, August 27)
Wednesday, August 27, is the first FULL day of school for ALL students. It is also the first day of Afternoon Extended Day.
For the 2025-26 school year, St. Michael’s standard school hours are:
- School Day: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Free Morning Gym beginning at 7:20 a.m.
- If not attending free Morning Gym from 7:20-7:45 a.m., the morning drop-off window is 7:45-7:55 a.m. (Students should be in their seats and ready to start the school day by 8 a.m.)
- Afternoon pickup is between 3 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. (Any students not picked up by 3:15 p.m. will be sent to Extended Day and billed the drop-in fee.)
Middle School Sports: Field Hockey and Cross Country begin after school on Wednesday, August 27. Soccer begins on Thursday, August 28. Mountain Biking begins on Wednesday, September 3.
| |
Carpool Maps and Assignments
A lot of thought has gone into our carpool procedures. We do ask for your patience, support, and understanding as families learn new patterns and routines.
To help our families learn the carpool routine for campus drop-off and pick-up, below please find a carpool map. Each family is assigned a carpool location by color with color assignments noted on car visor placards.
IMPORTANT INFO ON CARPOOL LANE ASSIGNMENTS:
LOWER SCHOOL:
- Lower School families will receive their carpool placards/loop assignments at Meet Your Teacher Day on Monday, August 25.
- If you did not pick up your carpool placard/loop assignment: for the first day, Lower School families should drop off/pick up at the loop corresponding to each family's youngest child. Families with a K-1 youngest student should drop off/pick up ALL riders in the BLUE loop and families with a Grade 2-5 youngest student should drop off/pick up ALL riders in the GREEN loop. We will send the carpool placards home with your student on Tuesday.
MIDDLE SCHOOL:
- Middle School families will receive their carpool placards at Monday's orientation.
- If you did not pick up your carpool placard/loop assignment: Middle School pick-up is in the YELLOW LOOP (unless your family also has a K-5 sibling, in which case pick-up is in the youngest sibling's assigned loop.)
ALL FAMILIES:
- PLEASE ENSURE YOUR CARPOOL PLACARDS are always on your RIGHT passenger side VISOR.
- For student safety, you must have a visible placard for a child to be placed in your car. If no placard, you must park and go to the front office for an identification check.
CARPOOL SAFETY GUIDELINES - Always drive S L O W L Y
- Always STOP at the 4-way and 3-way intersections
- Always have your name placard visible on the PASSENGER SIDE SUN VISOR (We’ll print you as many as you’d like)
- Always go to your assigned loop, even if a student is absent
- Always pull up to the farthest cone/car line sign
- NEVER PASS another car (ALL carpool lanes are NO PASSING zones)
- NEVER EVER be on the phone while in carline
| |
Time to Order Hot Lunch!
At St. Michael’s, students may bring their own lunch or pre-purchase lunch in advance through our hot lunch program. Our hot lunch program begins on Wednesday, August 27.
- Instructions: Registration and Ordering
- Order for the entire month, or by the week, or by the day, as long as orders are placed by NOON on the day prior to any selected day.
- School Passcode: SMES
| |
Friday, August 29 is DRAGON DRESS DAY!
Which class will have the MOST school spirit?
Friday, August 29, is our first Dragon Dress Day of the school year and we want to see a SEA of school colors in the halls.
Wear blue and white OR St M spiritwear shirts with pride!
| |
Dress Code & Spiritwear
As our students select their clothes for the first day of school, please remember to refer to our 2025-2026 Dress Code below. Parents, we need your help. Thanks for ensuring students are dressed appropriately each day. This year, ONLY St M hoodies and sweatshirts are allowed to be worn on campus.
Spiritwear: Be sure to check out all the St M items available through our Spiritwear website! We have lots of exciting items!
| |
Volunteer Today!St. Michael's is a vibrant learning community because of strong volunteer support from our families. We count on you! There are ample opportunities to get involved at St M. It is also a perfect way to meet members of our school community!
Learn more about volunteer opportunities HERE. Sign up to volunteer below. (Additional classroom volunteer opportunities will be shared through class calendars.)
| |
Safety FirstAs part of our school safety protocols, all school doors (including the front doors) are locked during the school day.
Parents and visitors to the School will need to be buzzed in at the main office entrances by front office staff in each building, sign in, and wear a visitor badge. We want to reassure you that our number one priority is the safety and security of our students and faculty.
| |
Directory Updates Needed by September 1
Did you move this summer? Has your email or phone number changed? Do you want School communications to go to a new email address?
Please send any changes by 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 via the form in the button below. Thank you!
| |
Let's Be Good Neighbors: Please Drive Carefully!
As our campus is in a residential neighborhood, thank you for driving VERY slowly and carefully as you drive to and from School.
SPECIAL NOTE: Due to construction underway at Trinity Episcopal School, Trinity has consolidated all of their morning drop-offs to their front entrance loop, which may back up traffic turning from Cherokee Road onto Pittaway Drive. If you utilize Cherokee Road from Old Gun Road to get to St. Michael's in the morning, please allow for extra time OR choose an alternate route.
We expect that Richmond City Police may have an increased presence around our campus monitoring the posted 25 mph (10 mph around the curves) speed limits.
If you are approaching a pedestrian exercising, walking a dog, or pushing a stroller, especially given that neighborhood roads are narrow and without sidewalks, we also EXPECT our families to significantly reduce their speeds to WELL BELOW the posted limits (<20 mph). Thank you!
| |
| 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."
| |
|
|
|
|
