We will honor St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of the environment and animals,
​with special events this Friday, October 2nd.
Events to include:
Weeklong Penny Drive benefiting animals impacted by fires in Western US
Blessing of the Pets
Free Fall Feast lunch for all students
Fall Festival games at recess

Through their role as Catholic school teachers the faculty at St. Mary's School is responding to the call to BE a witness, sharing the gift of faith with others while deepening their own faith.
Lord God, source of all wisdom and knowledge, you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to live among us and to proclaim his message of faith, hope, and love to all nations. In your goodness bless our brothers and sisters who have offered themselves as catechists for your Church. Strengthen them with your gifts, that they may teach by word and by example the truth that comes from you. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Thank you for trusting us with your children. Thank you for partnering with us in forming them to be who God intends. Thank you for accepting changes so that we can be here in person fulfilling our vocations.

​REMINDER: MAP assessments begin this week!
HOW CAN YOU HELP FROM HOME? You can help from home by ensuring a good night sleep, a nutritious breakfast, and providing a water bottle for hydration on test days. If absences can be avoided during these weeks, we would really appreciate it. Third through eighth grade begin testing Monday morning. Second grade will begin on Tuesday, and first grade will begin testing on Wednesday.
*First grade takes only Reading and Math assessments and second grade takes only Reading, Math and Language Usage.
Our remote learners will receive a separate message about how we will conduct your testing.
NWEA MAP assessments, the systemwide interim testing suite required by the Diocese of Grand Rapids, will be administered to our first through eighth grade students. These online assessments in Reading, Language Usage, Math, and Science* provide a personalized assessment experience for your child, one that adapts to your child’s level of learning. If your child answers a question correctly, the next question is more challenging. If the answer is incorrect, the next question is easier. In this way, this adaptive test provides a unique experience for each student that results in a detailed picture of what your child knows and is ready to learn. Due to the online nature of MAP assessments, results are immediate and accurate, helping teachers to identify the strength and growth opportunities for each child in their classrooms. Results from this first testing window will help our teachers plan meaningful instruction and set goals to meet the needs of each St. Mary’s student. This is especially valuable this year given the challenges of learning at home last Spring.

In Mrs. Rhein's Language Arts class, 5th graders “graffiti” the room as they respond to the Watsons go to Birmingham 1963. Even our virtual learners were able to participate! ​

A BIG shout out to Carol Ventocilla, St. Mary's School class of 2018, for painting bases and a 4 square on our recess play area. Your encouraging message is so sweet. We miss you too! ​

Today, we discussed our lock down procedures when someone unwelcome is in the building. Doyle's Daily helpers this month are our 7th and 8th grade class who did a great job leading the Memorare and Pledge of Allegiance. ​

Mrs. Mullally’s 4th graders are studying economics on their chrome books - enjoying the sunshine and fresh air! ​

​LAST CHANCE FOR RAFFLE TICKETS TODAY!!!  Who’s going to win the $10,000 prize?
Come buy your raffle tickets at our parish booth on the grass on the NW corner of the church, near the parish office, from 10 am until the drawing at 8 pm TODAY! THANK YOU to those families who signed up to have their students hold signs letting people know that the raffle sale is going on. It's our final push... the raffle financially benefits our school. Thank you!

Watch as Father Dave shares a beautiful prayer with our students and staff this morning. Open Wide Our Hearts linked below: https://drive.google.com/.../16kWykcdkhC1jWzRp3bN.../view...
Reminder: You are all invited to join Bishop Walkowiak for Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew at 7 p.m. TONIGHT Sept. 9. The Mass will also be available via livestream on Facebook @DioceseofGrandRapids, or at www.grdiocese.org.

St. Mary's School answered the Bishop's call to pray for Racial Healing today, on the Feast of St. Peter Claver. Father Dave joined Ms. Doyle during her Doyle's Daily, sharing a beautiful prayer from Open Wide Our Hearts. After learning that our role in racial healing is to offer every person LOVE, KINDNESS, HUMANITY, JUSTICE and PEACE, each class took time to visibly pray for these hopes for all God's children outdoors.

Our teachers met with each student last Thursday, to go over schedules, hand out computers and answer questions.
We all hope and pray for the day when we are all back together. Until then, we are dedicated and ready to support our students in our classrooms and learning from home.

Ms Doyle's Daily announcements were live streamed and our 7/8 grade class joined her in prayer, Pledge of Allegiance and our traditional flag raising ceremony with a brand new flag to also honor our great country. ​

Fr. Dave will lead us in prayer with our students during Wednesday's Doyles Daily and several of our classes will participate in peaceful outdoor demonstrations around our campus throughout the day.
We encourage our school families to attend Mass live streamed from the cathedral Wednesday evening on the diocesan website https://grdiocese.org/ and Facebook page @DioceseofGrandRapid. Also, please read Open Wide Our Hearts: the enduring call to love, the U.S. Bishop’s Pastoral Letter against racism found at https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/...

​Did you know?
Our students gather Monday - Thursday at 9AM for our principal lead "Doyle's Dailies from a SHORTER distance". This gathering is virual with students remaining with their cohorts in their classrooms. Each class interacts by participating in announcements, morning prayer, pledge of allegiance and more!

 BIG THANK YOU to Katya's grand parents for the orchard fresh apple donation to the hot lunch program!
Another BIG THANK YOU to our compassionate facilities maintenance staff who brought in fans & air movers to the kitchen to offer our lunch staff relief from the heat this past week!