Dear parents and guardians,                                                       

As I have mentioned in a previous eLedger, St. Mary’s Spring Academy is excited to introduce Standards Based Grading in grades kindergarten through third grade for the 2021-22 school year. Standards Based Grading is a best practice initiative the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is leading all of its schools towards implementing in the coming school year.  

Today is the fourth installment of our six session video series.  Please click here to further unpack standards based grading and reaching all students.  The video unpacks the breakdown of power standards and supporting goal setting for individual students. 

The objective of the video series is to educate parents in short videos to unpack Standard Based Grading.  The series intends to deliver an education and mindshift to understand Standards Based Grading, why Standards Based Grading is best practice and how Standards Based Grading functions with the parent and teacher supporting the student’s journey.  

Thank you for your partnership!

God Bless,

Steven Kelnhofer

skelnhofer@smsacademy.org

Elementary Principal, SMSA

Forward Testing

Grades three through eight are completing Forward testing this week with make up tests next week. Thank you for partnering with us and having your child attend school during Forward testing.   It’s made an enormous impact.

God Bless,

Steve Kelnhofer

SMSA Principal

Skelnhofer@smsacademy.org

920-322-8040

Ledger Learning Guide  

Parents are always encouraged to check the SMSA Ledger Learning Guides Home Page to see weekly learning targets, resources and expectations in every course.  Parental partnership in helping students  stay organized and focused on learning is always appreciated. 

Tomorrow, Friday April 16th, will be a jeans and spirit wear top in recognition and support of the success that our high school girls volleyball team has had this season, as they advanced to the State tournament!  For the first time in SMSA WIAA history!

Please note, no holes or rips in the jeans.  If you choose not to wear a spirit wear top, please come to school in your uniform.

Go Ledgers!  Good luck girls!

The St. Mary’s Springs high school theater department is proud to present “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” LIVE!  Go to, www.hometowntickets.com, to purchase tickets and reserve your seats today! They are set up in groups of three and socially distanced for safety. Masks will be required at all times.

Shows will be Friday, April 16th and Saturday, April 17th at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 18th at 1:00 p.m. at the NFDL Horace Mann Theater. Tickets are $12 with student pricing available.

Can’t make it to the show, but still want to watch?  For a $12 fee, visit, http://venlink.net/login, to watch the Saturday evening show live!

Questions? Contact Mrs. Lewis at clewis@smsacademy.org.

The 2021 Summer School program is offered to any student that lives within the Fond du Lac School District. It is scheduled for June 14th – July 2nd, 2021, with most classes offered 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Please check out the separate brochures for K-5 elementary students and Grades 6-12 secondary students to see what is all offered this summer and specific information. Elementary classes will be held at Pier and Rosenow. Registration deadline is FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021.

Click here for more information.

Thank you to everyone who supported this year’s virtual Ledgerfest event. We hope you all enjoyed the weeklong Ledger Challenges and the announcements of this year’s Benefactor Award winners on Saturday, April 10th, click here to view each of the winners acceptance videos.

We are excited to announce we raised a total of $108,900 for St. Mary’s Springs Academy. This total includes the generous donations that helped us reach our Fund-A-Need goal of $25,000, which will directly support purchasing Big Ideas Math curriculum for 6-8th grade and a new Ledger Mascot! To view the new Ledger Mascot design, click here.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF THE LEDGER CHALLENGE $100 VISA GIFT CARDS:

High Point Earner (19 total) – Kelcy Steffes!

Randomly Drawn Participant – Molly Jaster!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF THE INSTANT BUY “BIG TICKET” ITEMS:

2019 Yamaha Raptor 90 ATV – Christine Zimmerman

Private Dinner Party with Fr. John LoCoco – Courtney Zitlow

NordicTrack Commercial S22i Studio Cycle Bike – Jenny Drake

If you were the lucky winner of one of our amazing auction packages, they can be picked up in the Scrip office during regular Scrip hours, or please contact Kristin Zitlow at kzitlow@smsacademy.org or 920-322-8006 to arrange a pick up date and time. If you purchased Instant Buy items, those will be mailed directly to you.

Your support and generosity never ceases to amaze, thank you Ledger Nation!

BeeDee Scholarship (8th Grade Students) – Deadline Friday April 16th

Please click here for information on the BeeDee Scholarship.

Herb Herro Scholarship – Now Accepting Applications – Due May 3rd

The Herb Herro Scholarship is offered to current 8th grade SMSA students, who intend to continue their SMSA journey in high school.

The scholarship is financial need based, meaning that students/families must demonstrate financial need by way of completing the tuition assistance application.  In addition, students must complete an application/essay and obtain two letters of recommendation..

This award is a four-year commitment, typically anywhere from a 1/4 scholarship to a full-scholarship each year. Recipients are required to maintain a quarterly 3.0 grade point, complete 20 annual hours of community service, and show active participation in their parish to maintain their award from year to year.

A special committee will review the applications, and if selected to move on to the next round, students will be called in for a formal interview with a panel.

Click here to download the Herb Herro Scholarship Application.

Click here to download the Herb Herro Scholarship Recommendation Form.

No news at this time.

If you have any questions, please contact either Andrea Nuss, alnuss@charter.net or Katie Mathos, katiemathos@gmail.com.