Last evening, I had an opportunity to connect with two Ledgers accompanied by their father, as they made their way to the Code of Conduct meeting.  I asked the boys if they were getting excited for school to begin, and upon seeing their smiles turn to frowns, I was quickly reminded that, “we have the entire month of August left!” With that in mind, please consider this a mid-summer update and enjoy the remaining days of summer. 

We are hard at work here at SMSA, busily preparing for a faith-filled, joyful and academically enriching school year. Here are just a few highlights on campus.

1. There are 107 schools in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.  SMSA is the only school to experience a nearly 5% growth in enrollment last Fall.  This Fall, we anticipate welcoming approximately 890 students to campus.
2. 2nd floor renovations and the build out of two new classrooms are nearing completion and will provide increased space.
3. In addition to hiring Eamonn O’Keeffe as Principal, we are very close to hiring a high school guidance counselor, as we solidify our faculty and staff.
4. We are anxiously awaiting the Open House/School Supply Drop-Off on Thursday, August 29, 2019 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

I am so appreciative to join and be a part of the SMSA legacy.   I am looking forward to a safe and happy school year!

In your service,

Stacey Akey, President

Dear Parents,

I am overflowing with excitement about the opportunities for your children and our school community as the 2019-2020 school year approaches.  With planning nearly complete, I would like to provide you a summary of the elementary level, and what you can plan to see in the upcoming school year.  I look forward to seeing all of you on the evening of Thursday, August 29 for Open House.  

Curriculum & Instruction:

We have worked hard to update our elementary curriculum over the past 6 years.  We currently use Math Expressions for our math curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop for English Language Arts, Project Lead The Way (PLTW) in science, Weekly Gospels in religion and TCI for social studies.  

1. Math Expressions is about looking beyond numbers to understand how and why they work and using thoughtful strategies and approach to solving problems.
2. Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop helps teachers address each child’s individual learning needs, while teaching strategies students will learn to use outside the workshop.  This workshop also supports small-group work by learning as a community to bring all students together.
3. PLTW program empowers students to adopt a design-thinking mindset through compelling activities, projects and problems that build upon each other and relate to the world around them. As students engage in hands-on activities in computer science, engineering and biomedical science, they become creative and collaborative problem solvers ready to take on any challenge.  
4. Gospel Weeklies are a great way to understand the readings before or after Mass for the week.  Along with getting to learn about Bible stories, this resource provides current stories for compare and contrast learning.  Gospel Weeklies studies saints, prayer life, and tradition within the Church. They have great online resources for families and school.  
5. TCI programs bring learning alive and achieve consistent and positive classroom results.  TCI’s curriculum has been specially curated to meet standards, create engagements in lessons and help students better understand the content through hands-on and experiential exercises. 

Assessments:

The elementary level uses the state’s Forward exam for all students in grades 3 – 5.  We’ll be using MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing for all students in grades 2 – 8.  These two assessments will provide teachers with data necessary to evaluate student progress and adjust instruction to meet the individual needs of the student (in real time) and for administrators to gauge necessary curricular adjustments to ensure students are achieving at a high level.  This data is important to evaluate all students who need added support, are at grade level or those ready for advanced curriculum.

Cohesion of Faculty/Staff:

Over the course of the last three years, I’ve been blessed to lead and work alongside the very best community of teachers.  Each of them is special to SMSA and bring their talent, faith, knowledge, positive energy and love to school. Our focus has been on consistency at each grade level including learning strategies, grading and planning.

A personal “shout out” to my fabulous teaching team, “Keep up your outstanding work and positive energy as we continue our growth mindset for everyone in the building!”

Student Services Department:

The Student Services department has been evolving in great ways.  This four person elementary team (Mrs. Zangl, Mrs. Driedric, Mrs. Sawicki and Mrs. Saunders) are focused on intervention and enrichment strategies for students, both in and out of the classroom. As a team, we continue to research and implement ways to reach every student at SMSA.  

Ms. Anderson and Ms. Fictum are our school counselors.  They do an incredible job reaching our students, offering them growth and development opportunities as a whole as well as individualized sessions as needed.  They will be helping us move towards a positive behavior intervention system this 2019-2020 school year.

Culture & Community:

The teachers and I are working together to continue to use the language of Love and Logic while incorporating our Core Values, “The Ledger Way” with students both in and out of the classroom.  You will detect a Love and Logic poster along with a Core Value poster hanging on the wall inside each classroom.  Our Core Values are Faith, Learning, Respect, Leadership, Community and Responsibility.  I can’t wait to see these actions by all who enter the building!

Love and Logic posters state the following messages:

1. I will treat you with respect, so you will know how to treat me.
2. Feel free to do anything that doesn’t cause a problem for anyone else in the room.  
3. If you cause a problem, I’ll ask you to solve it.
4. If you can’t solve the problem, or choose not to, I will do something.
5. What I do, will depend on the special person, and the special situation.
6. If you feel something is unfair, whisper to me “I’m not sure that’s fair, “ and we will talk.

Feel free to hang these sentences in your home somewhere and help your child/children know the language they will be hearing.  As I share with my faculty and staff, “Practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent.”

We are excited about the direction of SMSA and our partnership.  Together, we can support our school mission to further benefit children in their educational journey.

God Bless,

Steven Kelnhofer

P3 – Grade 5 SMSA Principal

Stay tuned for a message from our  Middle/High School Principal, Eamonn O’Keeffe in our next summer edition.

High school parents/guardians,

Please watch your mailbox the week of August 12th for a packet on the Chromebook 1:1 program.  This packet will include information about the program as well as a Responsibility Contract that will need to be signed by both the parent/guardian and the child/ren.  This contract must be handed in to your child/ren’s homeroom teacher in order to receive their Chromebook.

If you have any questions, please click here to email Ryan Miller.

Help us worship the Lord as an altar server, reader, music minister, and more! Sign up HERE for High School Liturgical Ministry roles for next year.

We live in a broken world, and each of us deals with different daily struggles. Where is God in the midst of it all?

Click here to see what Fr. Mike Schmitz has to say in this short video from Ascension Presents.

Process: cards are due back no later than Thursday, August 29, 2019.  They can be returned to the Scrip Office anytime during Scrip business hours, or brought to orientation on August 29th.  Need more cards!? Additional sweepstakes cards are available at the Scrip Office during Scrip business hours.

Prizes: will be awarded to the top student sellers and the class that sells the most cards will be awarded a special class trip or the option to keep that money toward their class fund.

Proceeds: supports the Athletic Booster Club (who purchases uniforms, athletic equipment, sponsors athletic buses for tournaments, etc), Parents of Performing Arts (who purchase equipment for our performing arts programs, support performances, etc), and also the Annual Fund (which bridges the gap between tuition and the operational costs of the school).  

Purpose: SMSA must raise roughly $3 million each year. By having our students involved in fundraising, they too, are learning about the importance and impact of their efforts on the school.

The volunteers of the parent-run Athletic Booster Club (ABC) and Parents for the Performing Arts (PPA) invite you to help support student athletic and performing arts activities as part of their joint appeal. These annual donations are essential for our pre-K through 12 students to help offset the expenses that are required to provide these opportunities. Your generosity provides support to both groups with this single direct donation appeal.

Watch your mail for more information, or click here to download the form.

Thank you, in advance, for your support!

Watch your mailbox for the August Family packet.  This packet includes information on parking/busing, physician forms, emergency contact information, etc.  Please note, some of the included forms need to be turned in before school starts at our Open Campus event on Thursday, August 29th.

All K – 12 students who live within the Fond du Lac city limits are eligible to be transported to SMSA from a common point (South Street Parking lot) for pickup and drop-off. The South Street parking lot is located at the parking lot on the north side of Fruth Field off of South Street. This bus is titled “South Street Shuttle” bus.  Parents must stay with their child/ren until loading begins.

All families intending to use the South Street Shuttle bus must register the student riders. There is no cost to the family but student information must be provided on the sign-up sheet. Johnson Bus must have this information so that they are able to contact you in the event of any type of delay or emergency.

To sign up, please click here.

Please visit the links below for your child(s) grade level.

P3 & K4 click here

K-2nd grade click here

3rd-5th grade click here

6th-8th grade click here

High School click here

The Fond du Lac School District, along with Johnson Bus Company, is excited to introduce and implement My Stop. My Stop is a GPS tracking app available for students that are eligible for busing and who ride the bus through the Johnson Bus Company.  My Stop can be downloaded to your iPhone or android device.

The My Stop app displays the school bus’ location on a map, as well as the estimated time of arrival to a specific student’s bus stop.  The location of the bus is automatically updated every few seconds.

Please click here to view a power point presentation to view how to download this app to your device.

For more information on this app, please click here.

A HUGE thank you to all of our volunteers, participants and everyone who took part in this fun summer event.  You all make such a difference for our school and Catholic community.

The Uniform Exchange will be held Thursday, August 8, 2019 from 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. at SMSA in the cafeteria. Please note that we have moved the event from Holy Family Parish Hall. Contact Janet Coon at jcoon5024@charter.net or 920-979-5024 or Mickey Halverson by clicking here or 920-933-2054 with any questions.

You are invited to an 8:00 a.m. Mass Tuesday, August 20, 2019 with our new Chaplain, Fr. John LoCoco as we celebrate the anniversary of the dedication of our beautiful chapel. All are welcome!

Vocal Jazz and Jazz Band Auditions are open to students in grades 9-12.  Please click here for more information on dates and times and click here for more information on audition times and sheet music.  Please click here to sign up for auditions times.

Hope to see you there!

All families/students should plan to attend our Open Campus event on Thursday, August 29, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.  Drop off your school supplies, meet your teachers, set up lunch accounts and turn in required forms. This event is a great way to ensure the first day of school runs smoothly.

What is SCRIP?

SCRIP is gift card fundraising.  When you join the St. Mary’s Springs Academy SCRIP program, you’ll be purchasing gift cards and gift certificates that are used just like cash.  You can use SCRIP to purchase everyday expenses like groceries, gas, clothing and other essentials. With every purchase, you earn tuition credit and revenue for SMSA.  A portion of the rebates you earn go into your SCRIP account and are used to offset your tuition costs at SMSA or any tuition-based school.  The remaining rebates are used to offset the operating costs of the System, thus SCRIP is a major fundraiser for SMSA.

Please contact Chris Gilles at cgilles@smsacademy.com with any questions regarding Scrip!

Scrip summer hours until September 3, 2019:
Monday & Wednesday: 8 am – noon
Tuesday & Thursday: noon – 4 pm
Friday: Closed