NewsNotes St. Mary’s Elementary School

Upcoming Events: 1/29 Distinguished Graduate Mass 8:30 am 1/30 Spirit Game at 3:00 pm SME students who participated in "Future City" this year WON the "Most Unique Engineering Design Award" for their Transporter Platform. We are so very proud of all our students who partcipated and to our teachers, Mr. Lemiesz and Mrs. Shappert for all their time and dedication to "Future City". The competition took place Saturday, Jan. 23rd at Mount St. Mary's Academy in Kenmore. GREAT JOB: Benjamin Hadsell (7th Grade) Olivia Dobiesz ( 7th Grade) Nick Weldon ( 7th Grade) Mekensie Weinholtz ( 7th Grade) Noah Paterek (8th Grade) Jadon McCartney ( 8th Grade)

1/30 Catholic Schools week mass at 4:30 pm 1/30 Ice Cream Social at 5:30 pm 2/2 Spring Pictures 2/3 Pre-K & 8th Grade Graduation Pictures 2/15-2/19 No School– Mid Winter Break 2/22 School resumes 3/4 No School– Staff Professional Development Day

Battle of the Books

Battle of the Books Winners! SET is proud to announce this year's winners of Battle of the Books. In the 4th & 5th grade division the Fantastic 4 team won a very close competition with a correct answer to the last question. The Fantastic 4 team members were Quinn Flaherty, Cosette Ziolkowski, Anna Brown and Isabella DeMarzio. The middle school winners were the Christmas Creeps: Jocelyn Janik and Christine Wolford. They were the only team to answer every question correctly. Congratulations and thank you to all the students and teachers

OPEN HOUSE- WEDNESDAY JANUARY 27TH 6:00-7:30 JUST A REMINDER OUR OPEN HOUSE THIS WEDNESDAY WILL BE FOR NEW FAMILIES INTERESTED IN OUR SCHOOL. IF YOU ARE A CURRENT FAMILY HERE AND WOULD LIKE TO COME TO THE OPEN HOUSE YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ATTEND. F.Y.I. SME FAMILY OPEN HOUSE/ART SHOW/BOOK FAIR WILL BE APRIL 27 TH FROM 6-8PM

Ready SET Read & Battle of the Books Wow! What a great evening had by all, once again SET really out did themselves with this wonderful event for our students. Thank you to our S.ET. team our teachers and everyone else who help out, you ALL did an AMAZING JOB!!!

“The Lion King Jr.”– Dinner Theatre Lion King Dinner Theatre Tickets on Sale Now!!! Thursday, April 7, 2016. Dinner at 6pm, Show immediately to follow. Tickets $30 Dinner consists of: Choice of beer, wine or pop. Rolls and butter, shrimp cocktail, fresh salad, Chicken Francaise with a lemon, butter sauce AND beef tenderloin with a bordelaise sauce, a vegetable blend, twice baked potato, dessert and coffee or tea. There is no need to send in a dinner selection; both meats come with the meal. Please see Mrs. Frank in the school office for tickets or information. 683-2112. Thank you so much for your continued support! St. Mary's Drama Club

Easter Candy Sale It's the last week for the Easter candy sale! All order forms along with payment by check or money order are due by Tuesday, February 2nd. Thank you for supporting our fundraiser! If you have any questions, please contact Cheryl Walczak at 716-901-1673 or [email protected].

R.E.A.D Camp SME Core R.E.A.D. Camp Just a reminder there are several spots still open. Please send in registration form by Monday, February 1 to secure a spot. Contact Mrs. Schlesinger or Miss Serafini with any questions.

Athletic News SPIRIT GAMES are coming! Saturday, January 30 at 3pm in the Gym. Come out to support your 8th grade boys /girls vs. 7th grade boys/girls in a Co-ed Basketball game. There will be concessions, half court shot contest and Admission is $1.00. Following the game is Mass @ 4:30 and Ice Cream Social in the parish center. Thank you, Athletic Dept. ** Spring Sports are approaching. Please make sure your physicals are up to date in the nurse's office.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK CONTINUED….. All the students have been having a great time Monday We had pajama day and everyone sat back with their favorite blanket, had some popcorn and watched a movie Tuesday Was CrAzY hAt day. The 4-8th graders were challenged in a Spelling Bee Battle while the younger students cheered them on, and the winners who won will receive a pizza party at lunch and a dress down day certificate. Wednesday Was class color day and well this may have been the best day ever…. Pre-K-5th grade had visitors from Nickel City Reptile and the students got to meet some pretty awesome looking reptiles and our Middle School students spent the morning at the Lancaster Lanes bowling…Wow so much fun today!

Thursday Sports Day how cool is this, please wear your favorite sports team clothing and please keep in mind if you have any Bandits Attire please wear that because the Bandits will be here all day!!!! Whoo Hooo! Friday Dress Dress up day! Yes, please wear your best attire. Girls please wear a dress or skirt (knee length) and boys please wear dress pants/dress shirt and tie (bow ties welcome). Grades Pre-K – 5th will play BINGO in the afternoon and middle school will have a dance (Pre-K, Kinder & 1st grade will team up with their buddies for a little while at the dance before they go to bingo!!

Saturday To end Catholic Schools Week there will be a Spirit Basketball game with our 8th & 7th grades students at 3pm, our Catholic Schools Week Mass at 4:30pm and the BEST ever ICE CREAM SOCIAL FOR DINNER at 5:30pm in the PC Gym!!! WINNER WINNER!! Come One Come ALL!

Ash Wednesday Clam Chowder Dinner Our parish will hold its traditional Clam Chowder Dinner on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2016 from 4:00-7:00pm in the Parish Center. The ticket price of $8 includes your choice of fish or grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup or New England Clam Chowder, dessert and beverage. All are invited to dine-in and enjoy good food and fellowship or, if you prefer, get your meal(s) to-go and share with those who may not be able to join us.

Service Opportunity Our parish will hold its annual Clam Chowder Dinner on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2016 from 4:00-7:00pm in the Parish Center. Adults and youth volunteers are needed for this event in the following areas: Setup: 12:00-2:00pm - (Adult volunteers) Servers/Kitchen Help: 3:45-7:00pm (Adults and students in 5th grade and above) Cleanup: 6:30-8:30pm (Adults and students in 5th grade and above) Volunteer service hours will be given for this event. This is a fun social event to work as a volunteer, and a great opportunity to be part of the parish community. If you are interested in volunteering, please use the sign-up sheets located in the SME office, at the rectory, or contact Heather Pierce - event coordinator at [email protected] or 683-6445 ext. 10

BISON GAME – BISHOP TO THROW OUT THE FIRST PITCH!!! INFORMATION NEEDED: ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A CATHOLIC SCHOOLS NIGHT OUT – BISON GAME JUNE 3RD, 2016? PLEASE SEE FLYER ATTACHED TO THE NEWSNOTES TODAY!

Mega Raffle To date, 290 tickets have been sold for the Mega Raffle. 41 of those tickets were sold or purchased as part of the fundraising option of the tuition agreement. Please remember that each family who has opted into the fundraising option is required to sell or purchase one ticket. The first 50 families to sell 5 tickets will earn $50.00 in SCRIP credit when the fundraiser ends on June 3rd. All tickets must be paid in full by 4/15/16. The prize winners will be announced at the live drawing on Friday, June 3rd at 7:00 in the Parish Center. If you are interested in earning service hours, or have any questions regarding the Mega Raffle, please send an email to: [email protected].

Stream Fair SAVE THE DATE! SME STREAM FAIR March 31, 2016 6:30-7:30 pm in the PC Our students will have their STREAM Academy projects on display. Students will talk about their projects and their process in creating them. We hope you will come to support our students and their work.

Year Book Attention Parents: Yearbook order forms were sent home last week. Additional forms can be picked up at the office. The SME yearbook is a great way to provide our children a lasting memory of their grade school years. For greater efficiency, please place your order online directly with Life Touch at: ybpay.lifetouch.com using the yearbook ID code: 1501616. The cost of the yearbook is $11.50. If paying by check, please make payments to: Lifetouch. The order deadline is March 18, 2016.

Service Project For Catholic Schools week, we have partnered with a Charter School in Buffalo for a service project. The school is in need of supplies. Examples are crayons, pencils, markers and glue. Please see enclosed flyer to see what the school is in need of. We hope that you could give any donation, small or large, for the service project. Thank you for your support!

8th Grade Valentine’s Day Sale The 8th grade will be holding a Valentine's Day sucker sale. Please see blue folder for order form and more details.

St. Mary’s 2 St. Mary’s Hill Lancaster, NY 14086

“...visible examples of gospel

Phone: 716-683-2112

www.smeschool.com

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