Dear Parents and Guardians,

Advent is upon us as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.  Advent is broken into four areas of growth, one per week of Advent.  We are called to focus on peace, love, joy and hope during the four weeks of the Advent season.  Each one of these virtues brings us not only closer to preparing our hearts for Christmas, but for eternal life with our Savior in Heaven.  The ultimate gift Heaven is given to us from our most generous Father in Heaven.  Let’s strive for a little taste of Heaven here on Earth and get our hearts ready for this Christmas season.  

Dress Code

Our dress code will return back to our normal dress code depicted in the handbook after Thanksgiving.  From our understanding, many uniforms have been delivered to homes. Thank you for understanding and supporting the decision on uniforms as we continue through this current school year.  https://www.smsacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DRESS-CODE-P3-12.docx-1.pdf

Elves R Us

Brought to us yearly by the eighth grader students, teachers and volunteers, is the SMSA Elves R Us program.  Please click on the following link to learn more about Elves R Us and how SMSA families can encounter this wonderful opportunity.  Elves R Us

High School Placement Test

The High School Placement Test is scheduled to take place at SMSA on Saturday, December 4 from 9 am – 1pm.  All students (including current SMSA 8th graders) applying for admission to our SMSA high school program are required to take this test.  The HSPT is one of the most widely used high school placement tests nationally among Catholic high schools. The test, along with other key middle school student records help the high school staff make academic placement recommendations for incoming freshmen. 

Thank you for your continued partnership with SMSA .  Together we create a path for tomorrow’s children to achieve amazing dreams. 

God Bless,

Steven Kelnhofer

skelnhofer@smsacademy.org

Elementary Principal, SMSA

Standards Based Grading

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.

Please select the following six links to see the box set of SBG at SMSA.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC85kS-z_Mk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tecnwN4dXLU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ejwOMhkAg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7jww2J7RJs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQO1AVjoMJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1jIyS7wso0

Sunday, December 5th – Ledger Express at SMSA

Tuesday, December 14th – K-4 Christmas Program

Wednesday, December 15th – Grades 5-8 Christmas Concert

The High School Placement Test for 8th grade students will be held on Saturday, December 4th, from 8:30 am to 12:00 PM. The test will be administered at SMSA. If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Mueller at kmueller@smsacademy.org. We look forward to seeing the Class of 2026! Thank you!

The students in grades 4th-8th grade at St. Mary’s Springs Academy have created unique and original Christmas cards. These cards will be for sale during the Elementary Christmas Concert December 14th and after all Masses at Holy Family Parish sites the weekend of December 4th and 5th. All proceeds will benefit Mason Abraham.

We are in need of one family per Mass to help sell the cards. Please sign up for Christmas Card Sale Volunteers-2021!

Here’s how it works in 3 easy steps:

1. Click here to go to our invitation page.
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots – SignUp will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!

Note: SignUp does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact Jill Staerzl at jstaerzl@smsacademy.org and I can sign you up manually.

Mason, who is currently 9 years old, has a brain tumor. He began having headaches and vision issues in 2018, and after tests and an MRI, they found a mass near his pituitary gland. After attempting surgery to remove it, they found it was too risky as it was wrapped around nerves and blood vessels. They have been trying to shrink the tumor using chemo. Mason has lost almost all eyesight in his right eye, and now he is losing vision in his left eye. The tumor is also pressing on his pituitary gland, which is causing it not to work properly.

Mark your calendar for LedgerExpress on Sunday, December 5th from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.! Kick off the holiday season with a fun family afternoon filled with creating a holiday craft, enjoying a holiday snack and hot coco, playing some holiday games and much more. 

This event will take place in the SMSA Commons Area & Baker Gym. Registration forms were sent home this week. All registration forms and payments are due by Tuesday, November 23rd. Please make checks payable to SMSA. If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Nuss, alnuss@charter.net.

Click here for the reservation form!

The Middle School Musical this year will be Willy Wonka Jr! 

Mrs. Packer and Mrs. O’Brien will be directing the musical this year. We will be having rehearsal auditions on Monday, December 6th, Thursday, December 9th, Monday, December 13th, Thursday, December 16th, and Monday, December 20th from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. 

Parts will be announced on Monday, December 20th! These auditions will be taking place in Mrs. O’Brien’s Music Room. We hope to see you there!

Come and enjoy an evening of holiday selections at the High School Music Department’s Christmas Concert. This concert will take place on: Monday, December 13th at 7:00 p.m. at Holy Family Church. It will feature the: Vocal Jazz ensembles, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Concert Choirs, and Modern Band ensemble. All are welcome to attend in person or view the livestream from the Holy Family Facebook page.

Tuesday, December 14th at 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm in Hutter Gym

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Middle School Music Department is getting ready for our first concert of the season! Christmas is not too far away, so we wanted to reach out with some important information for the upcoming performances.

During the school day:

• All students will wear their school uniforms
• 1:00 p.m. performance in Hutter Gym, parents and families invited
• Evening concert
• Students that are in band will report to the band room at 5:40pm
• Students who are only in choir will report to Hutter Gym at 5:40pm
• Please be prompt and allow travel time so students are at their appointed places on time

Concert 

• 5th & 6th Grade Band and Choir students-wear your “Sunday Best” or fancy Christmas attire (no jeans)
• 7th & 8th Grade Band students – Concert black (boys: black long sleeve button-up, black pants, black shoes. girls: black dress of appropriate length and coverage, or black shirt and pants, or black shirt and skirt of appropriate length. Please, no heels due to having maneuver risers, flats only
• 7th & 8th Grade Choir students–wear your “Sunday Best” or fancy Christmas attire (no jeans)

For a $3.00 donation the students in P3-8th grade will get to watch a movie, enjoy a bag of popcorn, and wear pjs (P3-5th) or sweats (6th-8th). They may bring in their own 20 ounce or less drink from home. All the proceeds from the movie and popcorn afternoon will go to help Mason and his family. All money needs to be turned in by Friday, December 17th. If a family is unable to contribute at this time, the student/s will still be able to participate. Please read below to learn more about Mason.

Mason, who is currently 9 years old, has a brain tumor. He began having headaches and vision issues in 2018, and after tests and an MRI, they found a mass near his pituitary gland. After attempting surgery to remove it, they found it was too risky as it was wrapped around nerves and blood vessels. They have been trying to shrink the tumor using chemo. Mason has lost almost all eyesight in his right eye, and now he is losing vision in his left eye. The tumor is also pressing on his pituitary gland, which is causing it not to work properly.

Have you turned in your BMR tickets yet? The BMR drawing is Friday, January 14, 2022!

Holiday get-togethers are the perfect time to sell your tickets. Take them to Christmas gatherings, or purchase one or more for that hard to shop for person on your Christmas list.

Tickets may be returned to school any time before the drawing at noon on Friday, January 14, 2022. Additional tickets are available at the North, South and Scrip offices or email kzitlow@smsacademy.org.

I want to reach out to our SMSA parents/guardians with an important change to the current tardy policy. Due to the highway 23 expansion project and the traffic backup that has resulted, we will no longer be recording tardies for the 1st hour.

With that said, I do expect students to arrive at a reasonable time and not take advantage of the change in policy. This change will become effective immediately and remain in place through completion date for the highway 23 project.

If your child currently has a tardy recorded for first hour and you would like their attendance record updated, please contact the South Office (Summer Anderson, Kelcy Steffes) and they would be glad to assist you!

God’s Blessings,

Ken Fisher, SMSA PreK-8 Assistant Principal

Click here to read the December updates.

Planning has begun for Ledgerfest – Luck of the Ledger – Saturday, March 19, 2022! The elementary Ledgerfest parent committee is excited to be collecting funds to put together themed class auction packages again this year to be used on our silent auction. The class auction packages are fast becoming our highest bid on items!

New this year, we are making it easier than ever for you to donate towards your child’s class auction package. Click here to make a donation online. Once you enter a donation amount and click next, please fill in your child’s name and grade level (if you are donating for more than one child, please list each name and grade level along with the amount for each child).

If you prefer, you may send cash or check (payable to Andrea Nuss) in an envelope marked: ES Ledgerfest/Kristin Zitlow. Please also indicate your child’s grade level on the envelope.

Any questions? Contact Kristin ~ kzitlow@smsacademy.org ~ 920-322-8006

This is a simple way to make your impact at SMSA!

WIN A $5,000 LANDS’ END SCHOOL STARBOARD SCHOLARSHIP

The Lands’ End School Starboard Scholarship acknowledges and rewards students who display exceptional leadership skills. Up to five scholarships will be awarded to eligible Preferred School students in grades 8‑12. Please see full eligibility guidelines. The Lands’ End School Starboard Scholarship Program was established to assist middle and high school students, currently in grades 8-12, who are enrolled at a Lands’ End Preferred School in the U.S. (SMSA Preferred School Number: 900157314)

2021-2022 Application now available. Applications will be accepted now through December 15, 2021 or until 1,000 applications have been received.

https://www.landsend.com/starboard-scholarship/

No news at this time.

If you are interested in helping with our Parent Connectors Group, please contact Andrea Nuss, alnuss@charter.net.  We appreciate the support of our SMSA Families!