Dear Parents/Guardians,                                                       

The end of the school year is upon us.  The journey has been filled with twists, turns, challenges and blessings.  These matter, but what matters more is who was with you on the journey that makes it memorable.  Thank you for choosing SMSA and partnering with us this school year.  It truly takes a whole village to raise children to be global leaders of tomorrow rooted in Christ’s teaching. Thank you for being a part of the SMSA Ledger community.  May your summer be filled with safety, joy, hope and love.  Until we meet again, may God bless you.

God Bless,

Steven Kelnhofer

skelnhofer@smsacademy.org

Elementary Principal, SMSA

Report Cards:

Grades P3 – 5 will bring home a hard copy of their report cards and other assessment pieces as well. 

Grades 6 – 8 will have their Skyward electronic report card available for the parents Friday afternoon and bring home the MAPS score sheet on Friday as a hard copy given to them by their teacher.  

Thank you for partnering with us through the school year.  We have an amazing community that strives for excellence as we partner together to create a better tomorrow. 

Transitions for the 2021/2022 school year:

Mrs. Christa Lewis will be moving from K – 3 music teacher and transitioning to become our Grade 4 music teacher and teach grades 5 – 8 choir as well.    

Mrs. Michelle O’Brien will be taking her teaching and musical talents form third grade and transition to teach grades K – 3 music.  

Mrs. Jordana Vazquez will be transitioning from SMSA to a new journey in her life.  

Mrs. Amanda Cords will be transitioning from SMSA to a new path and career opportunity.

Mrs. Nicole Wittkopp will be transitioning from SMSA and relocating to begin another stage of her life. 

Standards Based Grading:

As I have mentioned in previous eLedgers, 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.  

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

God Bless,

Steven Kelnhofer

skelnhofer@smsacademy.org

Elementary Principal, SMSA

Eighth grade graduation will be held on Thursday, May 20, 2021 at Holy Family at 6:00 p.m.  The ceremony and Mass will open to families as the family sees fit for guests.

Elementary and middle school students are required to return their chromebooks (and chargers) at the end of the school year. To assist with the organization of hundreds of machines, the students should leave their chromebooks in their homeroom. Each teacher will receive a checklist of students and the chromebooks they have checked out. After the chromebooks have been returned, Justin Poetzel will move them out of your classroom as early as possible. Here are some guidelines for streamlining this process:

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Justin Poetzel at jpoetzel@smsacademy.org.

Grades P3 – 8 will let out at 11:00 a.m. to relieve traffic patterns.

Did you know that when kids read over the summer, they are more likely to leap ahead when they return to school? This is often referred to as the “summer leap” and we’ve made it a priority at SMSA to try and keep your child’s skills sharp by encouraging them to read all summer long!

Once again SMSA is offering to our students moving into 4k through 5th grades; a Summer Reading Challenge. The minutes can be “Read to Me” or “I Can Read Myself”, including listening to an audio book, reading the sports page, or magazines! The goal is for the students to discover the joy and magic of reading and compete to read the most minutes possible! This year Mr. K has challenged the students to read a combined 150,000 minutes over the summer. If they accomplish this goal, Mr. K has agreed to be sprayed with SILLY STRING!

The fun begins Sunday, May 23rd and ends Saturday, September 4th.  All you need to do is enter your minutes on the Google document for each month. For emails, please use your school email if known or otherwise a parent email (but please use the same email for each month). DO NOT ENTER YOUR MINUTES FOR THE SAME DAY MORE THAN ONCE.

MAY/JUNE Link: https://forms.gle/cTFyiE7mzggG6e4b9 (due Saturday, July 3rd)

JULY Link: https://forms.gle/wnr2JdShTw3BjcQz8 (due AUGUST 3rd)

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER Link: https://forms.gle/UVgRvkUWUX2E8M7P8 (due Tuesday, September 7th)

The links will also be posted monthly on St Mary Springs’ Social Media Pages, where you will also receive an update of the number of minutes read. You should have also received this information via email/paper form from your students current teacher.

If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Lisa at serovy@charter.net.

Happy Reading! Have a Wonderful Summer Full of Fun Reading Adventures!

To celebrate Bob Hyland’s 50th season as head football coach at SMSA, we have decided to merge and rename, for just this year, our annual Swing Fore Springs golf outing, “The Hyland Open”!

Join us on Friday, July 30th for 18 holes of golf at one of two premier Fond du Lac courses! South Hills Golf and Country Club (1175 Fond\ du Lac Ave.) or Whispering Springs Golf Club (380 Whispering Springs Dr.). Then, join us for a social  celebration at, Avenue 795 (f.k.a The KC Hall-795 Fond du Lac Ave.), and enjoy drinks, food and FUNraising in support of SMSA and Coach Bob Hyland!

Register for golf and the social celebration by clicking here.

Sign up to volunteer for the golf outing and/or social celebration by clicking here.

Pre-register for mobile bidding/raffles by clicking here.

For more information please contact Kristin Zitlow at kzitlow@smsacademy.org or 920-322-8006.

Help support SMSA during our Swing Fore Springs golf outing on Friday, July 30, 2021 by volunteering for this fun summer event. Click here to view and sign up for volunteer opportunities today!

St. Mary’s Springs Academy families with children going into second grade in the 2021- 2022 school year can now sign up for Sacramental Preparation classes if they are hoping to receive a Sacrament in the coming year. To register, visit hffdl.org/christian_formation/. For more information, contact Trisha Zimmerman at trishaz@hffdl.org or at the Holy Family Parish Office at (920) 921-0580. 

Please note: First Communion and First Reconciliation take place in second grade. If your child needs to receive any of the Sacraments (including Baptism), but is not in the specified grade levels, please contact Faith Formation by calling (920) 921-0580 or email scarter@hffdl.org.

None at this time.

No news at this time.

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