Catholic Social Responsibility – Installment #4 – Final Installment in the Series

The Catholic Social Responsibility Guidebook is designed to provide educators in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee with clear guiding principles for integrating Catholic social responsibility into school culture, and provides theological resources that correspond to four contemporary challenges, and alignment of Catholic Social Teachings to current Archdiocesan curriculum, policies, and accreditation standards. CatholicSocialResponsibilityGuidebookforCatholicSchoolsFinal9.22.21.pdf

All SMSA parents and guardians are invited to become familiar with this document.  The previous installments provide excerpted overviews of the challenges associated with: 1) ‘Culture’; 2) ‘Racism’; 3) ’Civic Participation for the Common Good.’  The fourth area of challenge and  overview is “Economics:”

“The dignity of the human person, realized in community with others, is the criterion against which all aspects of economic life is measured. The Church teaches that we all are responsible to one another, to our families, and to society at large and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. If all persons are to be recognized as members of the human community, then the community has an obligation to help fulfill those basic needs. As we are meant to love God with our whole being, which overflows into love of neighbor, Catholic schools should be accessible to students of all backgrounds, abilities, and academic goals. Catholic education shall reflect the Church’s preferential engagement with Christ, found always dwelling with society’s poor and underserved.” [Guidebook p. 14]

I urge parents and guardians to take a closer look at the Church’s theological response to the challenges associated with “Economics,” provided in the Guidebook. 

Click here for a link to additional resource information on Catholic Social Responsibility released by the Archdiocese:  

Our Lady of the Ledge, pray for us. 

Eamonn O’Keeffe 

Principal, High School

Wednesday, November 17th – NHS sponsored Blood Drive on Campus

Friday, November 19th – Sunday, November 21st – SMSA Fall Play: “Every Babysitter’s Nightmare” at Horace Mann Auditorium (North Fondy). Here is the link to tickets: www.hometowntickets.com/smsa

Monday, November 22nd – Senior Retreat Day

Tuesday, November 23rd – Final Day of classes before Thanksgiving Holiday Break

The deadline to order a 2022 yearbook will be December 1, 2021. Prices will be $50 before the deadline and $65 for any payments after December 1 until April 15th, then they will end. To order, visit SMSA’s website homepage, scroll down to the bottom where you will see a “yearbook” banner. From there, the banner will redirect you to Walsworth where you can order a yearbook, and for senior parents, order a personal ad.

This year we will be using “yearbook snap,” an app that allows students and parents to submit photos from the year. After downloading the app from Google play or the App Store, select St. Mary’s Springs Academy as your school and use this access code-SMSA2022. You will then be ready to submit photos from your camera roll!

Hockey Spirit Wear

For a limited time, you can order Ledger Hockey Spirit Wear using an on-line link to Hopper’s. Please place your order by midnight Tuesday, November 16th so items can be ready for Christmas.  

Click here to order today!

Big Money Raffle (BMR) Tickets – Blue And White!

As a reminder, please only sell and/or purchase the BLUE and WHITE BMR tickets for the Friday, January 14, 2022 drawing. Please throw away any pink tickets that you may still have.

We appreciate your support in selling and/or purchasing the new blue and white tickets and returning them to school on or before Friday, January 14, 2022. Your participation is vital to the success of this fundraiser and reaching our goal of raising $100,000 for our school. We cannot wait to pull the $20,000 winning ticket on Friday, January 14, 2022 at noon.

Please contact Kristin Zitlow at kzitlow@smsacademy.org or 920-322-8006 with any questions.

High School Placement Test

The High School Placement Test is scheduled to take place at SMSA on Saturday, December 4 from 9 am – 12 Noon.  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. 

Senior Retreat

On Monday, November 22nd, SMSA seniors will be spending the day on retreat together at the Green Lake Conference Center. Senior  Retreat is designed especially to enable our Ledgers to grow closer with one another and in their relationship with God. This opportunity helps SMSA live its mission and emphasize the special gifts God gives to us in His presence through our faith, our families and other important relationships. The retreat promises to be a positive, faith-filled, and fun-filled experience for all those involved and truly embodies the spirit of our Ledger Way. Senior students deserve this time together and will benefit as a class building memories during this special opportunity.  We ask that our Springs community hold our senior class in prayer in a special way on November 22nd. 

YScreen Program

Dear Freshmen Parents,

This year we are able to participate in the YScreen Program again! It will be for our freshmen this year. YScreen offers emotional health screening for youth designed to identify risk factors associated with depression, anxiety, alcohol and substance abuse and suicide. It is completely confidential and parent permission is needed.

About 1 in 5 (20%) adolescents have a mental health concern; however, over 50% of these adolescents end up struggling in silence while their concern goes unidentified. This fact alone shows how important and beneficial this screening is for our students. November 19th and 22nd students will learn more about YScreen during Theology and will bring a form home for families to fill out.

Here are links if you’re interested in learning more:

https://www.csifdl.org/priorities/mental-health/yscreen/

https://www.csifdl.org/priorities/mental-health/yscreen/screening-sites/st-marys-springs-academy/

Thank you!

Introducing SCOIR!

Dear Freshmen, Sophomore, and Junior Parents:

The counseling team is pleased to announce that we are introducing a new system called SCOIR (pronounced “Score”) to help you and your student navigate the college selection and application process.

Mr. Stamatakos and Mrs. McCarthy will visit English classes next week to help our freshmen, sophomores, and juniors gain access to SCOIR. Shortly afterward, Mr. Stamatakos will send you an email invitation so that you can link to their account.

As a parent or guardian, you will be able to view their profiles, see their college list, conduct your own college searches, and suggest colleges for your student to consider. SCOIR also provides parents with financial tools so that you can get a better sense of the cost of attendance at various colleges during the selection process.

We are excited to be able to provide SCOIR to our students and families, and we feel confident that you will find it helpful and easy to use. Before you get started, please take a few moments to watch this brief video below to help you become familiar with how to use SCOIR:

https://vimeo.com/475995423

Please contact Mr. Stamatakos with any questions you have about this new program!

None at this time.

None at this time.

The Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac

The Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac is now hiring Museum Associates, to work 3-15 hours per week. Ideal candidates are creative and enjoy working with children and adults, in addition to being helpful, friendly and proactive. Click here to apply, fill out a short application.

Join The Pizza Ranch Team

If you, or a friend, are interested in applying for a position at Pizza Ranch Fond du Lac, please go to www.pizzaranch.com/careers to apply.  Our management team will contact you for an interview.

Pizza Ranch Fond du Lac is offering:

• Competitive Pay
• Great Team
• Scholarship Opportunities
• Fun Work Environment
• Flexible Schedule 
• Free Food!!

Pizza Ranch Fond du Lac:  920-929-8800

Lands’ End School Starboard Scholarship

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/

Michael J. Wolfe Scholarship Essay Contest

Attention All Teens! Would you like the opportunity to win some cash? The FDL Chapter of WRTL is sponsoring the Michael J. Wolfe Essay Contest. Write an essay expressing your pro life views and you could win $100, $200, or $300. Please see attached correspondence for details.

Please click here to view the flyer.

UW Oshkosh CAPP Scholarship

Scholarship information from UW Oshkosh:

Giving back to kids and schools is one of the hallmarks of the CAPP mission. We do this in a variety of ways through all our courses, but directly through scholarships for students that have had at least one UW Oshkosh CAPP class, who want to pursue their post-secondary degrees at UW Oshkosh.

The Business CAPP Awards, click here for info, are meant for those students coming to a UW Oshkosh campus, pursuing a business degree. These are $500 awards (15 of them).

The Titan Thunder CAPP Scholarship is open as of TODAY, for students interested in being in our new marching band….TITAN THUNDER. These are $500 awards as well (15 of them). It can be found at https://uwosh.academicworks.com/opportunities/8612

Remember, a student is eligible for all CAPP funded scholarships by having taken at least ONE UW Oshkosh CAPP course over their HS career. Remind those students who had one of our classes as a freshman or a sophomore that they too are in the mix! Additionally, some of our awards can be stacked together (Honors College and Titan Thunder, for example).

All UW Oshkosh scholarships can be found by searching from the Academic Works homepage: https://uwosh.academicworks.com/

These visits will be taking place during lunch (1:00 to 1:45 p.m.) the next few weeks:

11/9: Carroll University

11/9: Iowa State University

11/9: National Guard

11/10: Marian University

11/11: Marines

None at this time.