• October 11 &12: Parent/teacher/student conferences

• October 13 &14: No School (Teacher in-service)

• May 26, 2023: Kindergarten – Eighth Grade Mass & 8th grade graduation at Holy Family at 9:00am

Parents of Performing Arts meeting Dates for the 2022-2023 school year are:

• October 18 (note the revised date)

• November 16

• December 21

• January 18

• February 15

• March 22

• April 19

• May 16 (note the revised date)

All meetings will be held at 6 pm in the Lauby Lounge (first floor teacher lounge).

Contact Maggie Rose with any questions about PPA!

A day of fun family activities and exciting guest appearances are on the horizon, as the EAA Aviation Museum’s annual Space Day returns to Oshkosh on Saturday, October 8, with a theme of sustainability in space.

Space Day marks EAA’s participation in World Space Week, with activities from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. all included with regular museum admission that day.

Eileen Collins, the first female space shuttle pilot and commander, will be the featured speaker. Collins was selected as an astronaut in 1990 and made history in February 1995 as the first woman pilot of a U.S. space shuttle while serving on the Discovery. In July 1999, Collins took the shuttle Columbia into orbit as the first woman to command a space shuttle mission. Before becoming an astronaut, Collins served in the Air Force where was the first female flight instructor. Collins will be presenting at 4 p.m. in the museum.

Additional Space Day activities include:

• Mercury and Gemini Capsule Replicas: Climb inside a full-scale replica of the Mercury space capsule, which was the first U.S. spacecraft, and the Gemini space capsule, which helped NASA get ready for the Apollo moon landings.

• Moon Game: Work as a team to solve a series of challenges founded in science about living and doing research on the moon.

• Compressed Air Rockets: Learn what makes a rocket fly high by building an air-compressed rocket out of basic household materials.

• Re-Entry Capsule Design: Ever wonder how astronauts return to Earth after a mission from space? Design a re-entry capsule that can survive a wind tunnel.

In addition, youths 18 and under can submit entries in the Space Day Habitat Creation contest. Participants can choose from two types of habitats, land-based or orbital, and must be constructed at home or off-site with recyclable material.

More details are available at the EAA Aviation Museum website.

Mark your calendars for October 10-12, 2022 to stock up on the latest reads!

Stay tuned for more information and volunteering opportunities!

A long-standing tradition at SMSA continues again this year with the Christmas Card Fundraiser! Students in Grades 4 through 8 will be creating and selling handmade Christmas Cards. These cards will be sold for $2.00 each by the St. Mary’s Springs families after all the masses at Holy Family Parish sites on Saturday, December 3rd and Sunday, December 4th.

We will also be having a movie and popcorn afternoon, the day before Christmas Break, where students can bring in a donation to watch the movie of their choice and enjoy popcorn. Everyone will be able to participate, whether they bring in a donation or not.

All proceeds from the card sale and movie/popcorn will go to benefit a local child (Fond du Lac County) and his/her family, who is currently or has had medical concerns/conditions. Last year our Christmas Card Sale raised $4,200 for 9-year-old Mason Abraham and his family!

If you know of a child and their family that you feel is deserving of a nomination, please fill out the form using the link provided below. All nominations will be reviewed and a recipient will be chosen by random draw.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfS6j6UyxWNzwxvpgoYbhX2SsGcijQpwtKm8GWmLAbAELmQjg/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

This is a reminder that students who took the time to log and submit their minutes for our Junior Ledger Summer Reading Challenge will receive:

• 1 Coupon for a Free Root Beer Float

• A Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate good to be used only at the Fall Book Fair worth at least $5 (more if you were a top reader in your grade!)

• and a Ledger Summer Reading CLUB Sticker only if the student logged over 300 minutes

Congrats to our top school reader (drum roll please!) Camryn K (Fourth Grade) who read 6,386 minutes!!! She will receive a $25 Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate to be used at the Fall Book Fair.

Top Readers Per Grade Level:

Kindergarten:

• • 1st: Caylee L ***

  • 2nd: Catherine S**

  • 3rd: Michael S*

First Grade:

• • 1st: Samantha B***

  • 2nd: Janie B**

  • 3rd: Kensington L*

Second Grade:

• • 1st: Emillie W***

  • 2nd: Lucy M**

  • 3rd: Daphne H*

Third Grade:

• • 1st: Aiden M***

  • 2nd: George B**

  • 3rd Lucas F*

Fourth Grade:

• • 1st: Camryn K****

  • 2nd: Austin V**

  • 3rd: Braden L*

Fifth Grade:

• • 1st: Andrew H***

  • 2nd: Vincent B**

  • 3rd: Annaliese N*

*** will receive a $20 Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate

** will receive a $15 Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate

• will receive a $10 Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate

Are you the parent of a SMSA Middle School or High School athlete? If so, please consider signing up below to help out ABC (Athletic Booster Club) by volunteering your time and talent to work in concessions or admissions at an upcoming sport event.

Booster Club is encouraging ALL parents of ALL athletes to embrace teamwork and help out at an event that fits for your schedule. For those that have already signed up and volunteered, ABC sincerely appreciates your help!

Use the links below to sign up through SignupGenius:

• Varsity Football

• Varsity & JV Volleyball

• JV Football

Winter sports will be added at a future date with a follow up email

To parents and students currently in 3rd-7th grade:

Do you like Legos, robotics, lots of research about new ideas, inventing things, improving your community, and working as a team? Keep reading!

WHAT IS FIRST? FIRST is an international organization that stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology”. It introduces STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) to students through fun, exciting, hands-on, real-world learning.

LEGO TEAM AT SCHOOL: SMSA started a Lego League team last year, named Bot Busters. We are starting our second season. Each team can have a maximum of 10 students from 4th to 8th grade. Schools can have more than one team. Each team needs two dedicated coaches. This season, our team is full, but we would love to expand and grow next year!

THE SEASON: Each season has two components:

1) Robot design, coding, and robot games to complete missions.

2) Researching a solution to a challenge (presented by FIRST each year), and designing an invention to help solve the problem. Researching the challenge, problems, and solutions requires field trips, interviews with field experts and stakeholders, internet searches, and the building of prototypes.

2022 FIRST CHALLENGE: This season’s challenge is how to make energy more affordable, sustainable, or reliable, by looking at where energy comes from, and how it is stored, distributed, and used. This challenge aligns with the United Nations sustainable development goal #7.

The solution to the challenge should have the ability to positively impact the local community, so students are encouraged to think locally about how to solve the challenge. This focus allows students to get to know local businesses and people when doing research.

At this time, we are researching biofuels…so if anyone with knowledge of this would like to offer an interview or help, please let us know!

THE FUTURE: We would love to see Lego League grow next year so we can accommodate more students. But we can’t do it without help. We need parents to consider coaching and volunteering. The time commitment is significant, but the rewards are great.

If this opportunity sounds interesting to you and your student, please consider asking us questions, dropping by our meetings (after school Tuesdays and Fridays), volunteering some small amount of time this year (not required), or maybe even coming to our competition or scrimmage.

In all, this organization and team provides a very unique opportunity. The time it takes for parent volunteers and the students is significant, but the rewards are many. The life skills students learn, the intensity of the games, the independence they show, and the curiosity fostered is something which will be remembered long after school is completed.

So please, contact us to learn more.

Sandy Schwoerer: sandyschwoerer@gmail.com

Mary Jo Rammer: mhalbmaier@hotmail.com

Lauren Bellmore: laurenbellmore@gmail.com

The Fond du Lac School District Recreation Department is running a co-ed volleyball league for 4th and 5th graders! Check out more information about the program, how to sign up a student, and how to help out as a coach!

As always, if you or your child become aware of a potentially dangerous situation that may threaten campus safety, we urge you to contact the Fond du Lac Police Department.

To report life threatening urgent matters, please dial 9-1-1. To report concerns that may not be urgent, please call 920-322-3700. You may also call the high school main office at 920-322-8062.

Created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety (OSS), the Speak Up, Speak Out Resource Center (SUSO) is a comprehensive, one-stop place to turn with important concerns currently offering: threat assessment consultation, critical incident response, and general school safety guidance.

Visit the SUSO website for additional information on these three services as well as resources on school safety best practices.