Principal’s Desk News & Information Upcoming Dates School Care News

Dear SMSA Families,
We hope this message finds you well and in good spirits. As we move through the school year, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude for your continued partnership and support. Together, we are creating a nurturing and enriching environment for our students.

This week marked a special occasion for us—Happy 116th Birthday to the SMSA Ledger community! We celebrated 116 years of St. Mary’s Springs education, reflecting on our shared journey. Birthdays offer us three wonderful opportunities. We get to reflect on the past year, envision the future and all it may hold and live in the present, cherishing the moments shared with family and friends along our life paths. All three gifts remind us to be grateful for our experiences and the community we have built together.

Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences will be held on September 30 and October 1, 2025 from 3:40 PM to 6:00 PM. Grades 6-8 conferences will be held in an “open house” style. Grades P3 – Grade 5 conferences should be scheduled through Skyward with your homeroom teacher and any specials teachers you wish to meet.

As a reminder Skyward sent out a message on September 11th regarding the scheduling process for parents. Parents/guardians can start scheduling on Monday, September 15th through Skyward. We are excited to continue building partnerships with each and every one of you!

Thank you for your continued partnership with SMSA. Together, we inspire others to live purposeful lives, develop God-given strengths, and commit to academic excellence—all rooted in Christ’s teachings. We are grateful for your ongoing support in making SMSA a loving and vibrant community. We look forward to seeing you at the upcoming conferences and continuing our collaboration for the benefit of our students.

God Bless,
Steven Kelnhofer

A long standing tradition at SMSA continues again this year with the Christmas Card Fundraiser, in which students in Grades 4 through 8 will be creating and selling handmade Christmas Cards. These cards will be sold for $2.00 each by the St. Mary’s Springs families after all the masses at Holy Family Parish sites on Saturday, December 6th and Sunday, December 7th. We will also be having a movie and popcorn afternoon, the day before Christmas Break, where students can bring in a donation to watch the movie of their choice and enjoy popcorn. Everyone will be able to participate, whether they bring in a donation or not. All proceeds from the card sale and movie/popcorn will go to benefit a local child (Fond du Lac County) and his/her family, who is currently or has had medical concerns/conditions.

If you know of a child and their family that you feel is deserving of a nomination, please fill out the below form. All nominations will be reviewed and a recipient will be chosen by random draw.

Nominate a Family Here

To help keep our library books safe and in good condition, all students in 4K through 3rd grade have been (or will soon be) given an extra-large Ziploc bag. Please ensure your child is using this bag and keeping it in their backpack at all times.

If your child’s bag gets lost or damaged and you have a jumbo Ziploc bag at home, feel free to use that as a replacement. If not, please let your child’s teacher know—if we have extra bags available, the library will gladly provide a replacement.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email us at library@smsacademy.org.

Thank you for helping us keep our library books safe!

We can’t do it without you! Please consider volunteering to help at our Book Fair. The story starts with you! Sign-up at https://signup.com/go/YPZEjnP or contact your Book Fair Host, Kayleigh Lemery, at (269) 625-8853.

It’s Basketball Time! 

                               Information and Registration Night 

                         Wednesday, September 24th, 2025 6:30 PM

(Coaches meeting to follow)

High School Cafeteria

• Coaching and skill development
• 1st – 3rd Grade practices
• 4th Grade team plays Saturday league and 2 tournaments
• 5th – 6th Grade teams play up to 5 tournaments
• 7th – 8th Grade teams play up to 7 tournaments

Membership: 

• 1st – 3rd Grades $50 (includes t-shirt)
• 4th – 8th Grades $125 + uniform cost

Membership fees are reduced by $25 for each additional family member, excluding 1st and 2nd grades. Any questions please contact: 

Mike Heaney heaney.reconstruction@gmail.com

Patrick Ellestad patrick.ellestad@gmail.com

Jason Rathke rathkejj24@hotmail.com

Karen Feld karenevelyn85@gmail.com

We are looking for additional board members.  This year specifically a tournament logistics person.  Let one of us know if you are interested in becoming a board member. 

Click Here – JLBC Registration 2025

Are you a fan of Ledger Athletics? SMSA Adult Sports Passes are now available for purchase. The SMSA Sports pass covers admission for any HOME Ledger sporting event where an entry fee is charged. (Excluding WIAA playoff games) Football, Volleyball, Basketball, and Hockey are examples of the sports that would be included in the pass. The SMSA Sports pass is $50.00 and are available for purchase in the North & South Hall Offices, the Scrip Suite, and at our home sporting events. Cash or checks made payable to SMSA will be accepted.

If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Mueller at kmueller@smsacademy.org. Thank you for supporting Ledger Athletics!

If you are interested in getting involved at SMSA, be a part of the SMSA Parent Connectors Group! Our group focuses on building connections with our SMSA families through our events during the school year as well as celebrating our amazing SMSA Staff. If you have a child(ren) in grades preschool through 5th Grade, you received a blue Parent Connectors Volunteer Form at supply drop off day. If you are interested in helping with our group, please fill out the form & return it to your child’s teacher by Friday, September 5th. Only ONE per family is needed to be filled out. If your youngest child(ren) is in 6th Grade or older, please email me, alnuss@charter.net, letting me know you would like to be included in the group emails as they didn’t receive a volunteer form. Once they are all collected and entered, you will receive an email. Each year a NEW email group is created to keep it updated so even if you have been a part of the group email in years past, please let us know you continue to want to be. We greatly appreciate ALL of our volunteers! We couldn’t do what we do without all of your help! It is going to be a great school year! If you have any questions, please email Andrea Nuss, alnuss@charter.net.

Volunteer-Form-2025-2026

Want to learn more about our SMSA Parent Connectors Group or have ideas on events we could add to our school year…come to one of our beginning of the school year meeting…Thursday, September 11^th at 6:00 pm in the Library on the 3^rd floor, please enter through the North Hall Entrance. It is a fun way to meet families & give back to our amazing school.  If you are interested in learning more about this group but aren’t able to attend, please reach out to Andrea Nuss, alnuss@charter.net.   We are so grateful for all of our volunteers!

Are you a parent or grandparent looking for a meaningful way to give back to our school community? Then the library is the perfect place for you to make a difference, meet new people, and share your love of reading and learning with our students.

We are looking for dedicated SEE trained volunteers to assist with a variety of activities including:
-helping with children’s reading programs
-Assisting in shelving and organizing books

We currently are in need of volunteers for Wednesdays (11am-3pm), and substitutes. If you’re interested in volunteering but can’t commit to our current open shift, feel free to reach out—we’ll do our best to find a time that works for you. Your time will make a huge impact. Email Lisa; library@smsacademy.org.

SMSA is blessed and excited to have so many individuals that would like to volunteer with our students on campus. As part of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Safe Environment requirements, all volunteers must complete their Safe Environment Certification before being able to volunteer within our school. If you are considering volunteering, attending field trips, or participating in class parties, please make sure to complete your Safe Environment certification as soon as possible.

St. Mary’s Springs Academy will be holding an in person Safe Environment Training Session on the following date:

Wednesday, September 17th: The session will take place in the MPR from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

To sign up for this Safe Environment Session, please follow these instructions for Completing the Initial Safe Environment Certification.

Instructions for Completing Initial Safe Environment Certification

Enjoy CMFDL’s annual Play BIG Touch a Truck event on September 27th in conjunction with Nickelodeon’s World Wide Day of Play. Kids will experience “BIG FUN”, including a bounce house, face painting, zamboni, fire truck, police car, well driller, free giveaways, raffle prizes and more! 9am to 12 pm CMFDL parking lot. And joining the fun, Wonder Cafe with coffee delights and Cowlicks Ice Cream treats!

Did you know? You can Refer-A-Family and receive tuition credit!

Click Here to Learn More!

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September 22-26, 2025 – Homecoming Week!

September 22-25 – Homecoming Penny War

September 26, 2025 – Homecoming Game @ Fruth Field

September 30, 2025 – Parent Teacher Conferences

October 1, 2025 – Parent Teacher Conferences

October 2-3, 2025 – No School – Faculty In-service

October 27, 2025 – No School – Faculty In-service

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Registration is open for Extended Care 2025-2026 academic year. A friendly reminder when registering for Extended Care there is a $100.00 non-refundable registration fee.

In order for your child/children to have a saved spot in extended care this fee will need to be paid at the time of registration. Checks can be made payable to SMSA (Extended Care) to the south office. Reminder, spots fill up quickly.

Please email extendedcare@smsacademy.org if you have any questions.

Thank you

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