SMA Newsletter • January 18, 2024

Mission Statement St. Martin of Tours Academy fosters confidence, curiosity, and independence through a climate of cooperation and trust by preserving dignity throughout the learning process, accentuating all children’s God-given gifts in a Catholic environment.

Dear SMA Community, The excitement of Catholic Schools week is building! CSW is an annual tradition Catholic schools have been celebrating across the United States since 1974. The week kicks off with a Sunday Mass (1/28 @ 9 am) where students attend in uniform, mingle over bake sale treats afterwards, then trickle down to the academy and preschool to show off their great work during Open House (1/28 @ 10-12 am). I encourage you to invite family and friends to visit our SMA community. Tours begin at 10 am and a Prospective Parent Meeting begins at 11 am. Our faculty will be available to answer questions too. Catholic Schools Week is always full of fun activities. We have so much to be proud of! Parents have the unique opportunity on Friday, 2/2 to teach a specific skill or talk about their trade/life skills in the classroom. Sign up HERE if you would like to participate. Your feedback is always welcome and encouraged. Prior to coming to SMA, a plan was in place to utilize SchoolSpeak as our student information system (SIS). After giving SchoolSpeak a solid try, it is clear we need to move in a different direction. Information I have gained through speaking with principals and families within the Diocese has led us to transition to FACTS SIS. We currently utilize FACTS for tuition and fees processing. This year, re-registration and enrollment will occur through FACTS. So far the feedback has been fantastic. On that note, please respond to the brief survey regarding re-registration intent (plus hot lunch and minimum days). We are planning now for the 2024-25 school year and can be more effective when combining family intent to return with our incoming applications. Thank you for your referrals! We've noticed an increase in word-of-mouth referrals this year. (When referred families complete their first trimester at SMA, the referring family receives free registration as our "thank you".) Blessings, Jennifer Miller, Principal

CELEBRATING CATHOLIC SCHOOLS January 28 - February 2

Sunday, 1/28 - Celebrate Parish • 9 am school sponsored Mass with an Open House at 10 am. Enjoy a bake sale after morning Masses. Please wear Mass uniform. Monday 1/29 Celebrate Community • 8 am assembly honoring first responders, military, community leaders. We are inviting parents and community members to be recognized. Tuesday 1/30 Celebrate Students • Jeans for Jesus $1 and class color shirts. • Big Friends/Little Friends read together. • Talent Show 1-2:30 pm (parish hall) Wednesday 1/31 Celebrating Nation • Cultural Heritage Day - students may wear clothing representative of their family's national heritage and share bite-sized food samples representing their family's heritage. Thursday, 2/1 Celebrate Vocations • Enjoy time with Aux. Bishop Pham in the parish hall from 10-11 am (grs.3-8 & all parents welcome). • 11:05-11:45 am- Lunch with a Loved One on the lawn (bring a blanket or chair) Friday 2/2 Celebrate Faculty, Staff, Volunteers • Silly socks day! • Family Valentine's Dance 6-8 pm in the Parish Hall. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE $35/FAMILY. Volunteer Sign Up Genius for dance • Sign up to go to their child's classroom to teach a specific skill or talk about their trade/life skills. Volunteers sign up HERE

RE-REGISTRATION 2024-2025 February 19 - 29th

Click on the picture or HERE to complete the Intent to Return form.

Re-registration will open February 19th and will occur through FACTS. Tuition assistance is now open and closes on March 31st. Registration fees are discounted $100 if registering during the re-registration window. Fees will be charged via FACTS. Registration fees: Registration is discounted ($300 total per child) through 2/29 Families registering after the re-registration window will pay $400 through 3/1 and $450 after 3/1.

FACTS GRANT AND AID Families are encouraged to apply for tuition assistance if family income is not sufficient to meet the total cost of a St. Martin of Tours Academy education. FACTS conducts a fair and confidential financial need assessments for families. There is a $35 processing fee. Applications are processed according to need from January 5, 2024 through March 31, 2024. Click HERE to learn and apply for aid.

FEBRUARY LUNCH MENU Lunch Menu for February will be going home today in the parent envelope. Due date is Wed. 1/26 (firm). Please be sure the parent envelope is returned to the classroom or office tomorrow and no later than Monday 1/22.

Winter Sports Highlights - Go Spartans!

SMA Spartans won all the games last Saturday! Thank you to James Elsten, yearbook photographer, for Varsity BB Pictures.

Order Spirit Wear HERE!

USD BASKETBALL GAME

CLICK HERE FOR TICKET ORDERS

USD is hosting a Catholic Schools day on February 17th for both their women's and men's basketball games. It's a great opportunity to support USD basketball and watch some college hoops.

A Garden Grant Thank you from The Village Garden Club of La Jolla! SMA received a garden grant of $300 from The Village Garden Club of La Jolla this week. The money will be used for tools, mulch and seeds.

Thank you to David Blas, Victoria Perez, Marci and Tony Nyberg who have been working in the garden. The Nyberg family also picked up milkweed seeds that were donated to SMA from the Earth Discovery Institute.

Special thanks to the following families who have provided the required 30 volunteer hours to our SMA community:

Astley/Rowe Awwad Bartel Burgess Cabison Castillo Chavez, M Crockett Driscoll

Eisenman Elsten Gadler Gonzalez/Hunt Kehoe Kingston Kovar Notchta O'Brien/S & J

Pontes Scheie Shafer Stockfleth Triggs Wheatley Wischmeyer

Keep up with parish activities, programs and Mass schedules. Read the weekly bulletin HERE.

St. Martin of Tours Academy stmartinacademy.org

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