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Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope you had the most amazing Christmas holidays with family and friends. Welcome back and Happy New Year. Lots of fun ahead I promise you :)
As we make our way into January, believe it or not, we begin to look towards next year's enrollment. Because we want to ensure all siblings have a seat next year, Ms. Giannotti has created a pre-enrollment form. If you would like your child to be included please fill out the form included with this link. Of course siblings have first dibs but we also need a count for availability to our new families.
We will also begin rolling over our current students into next year's class lists. If you are going to make changes to your plans for your child’s education, please let us know. Otherwise you will automatically be enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year. Fees will remain the same but we do anticipate an increase in tuition to cover the cost of salaries and school maintenance. This information should be ready by the end of the month.
In case you have not seen our newest addition to the hallway outside the front office, please take a look at our beautiful timeline. This pictorial panorama is a synchronological map of history, graphically depicting the history of mankind from 4004 BC, the biblical beginning of man, to modern times, and beautifully supports our Classical Education plan.
The project of creating the frame for the timeline has been a challenge, due to its great size and snags with my measuring skills, or lack thereof :( A huge thanks to Mr. McKracken, father of Cody and Jim Oakes, Grandfather of Gracie and Gabe, for their carpenter skills and patience with the challenges this project held. We are very grateful.
I was blessed with many gifts from my students and families this year but found that some gifts placed on my desk or handed to me in the excitement of the last week did not have written who the gift was from. When writing my thank you notes I will have missed a few. I am very sorry. Please accept my heartfelt thanks.
God Bless,
Mrs. Wyles
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 YEAR OF FAITH VIRTUES
Our virtue for the month of December was Generosity: Giving without counting the cost. Each class worked on various activities dealing with the virtue of Generosity. At the end of December, teachers selected a student, or students, who best exemplified this virtue. Please see our Virtue Tree as it continues to blossom with pictures and leaves recognizing those students.
You can get a jump on January Virtue with the Virtues - Parent Guide.
Pre-K: Amelia Arenas, Claire Philips, Quinnley Hamil, Christopher Wu
K: Jameson Wood
Grade 1: Dominic Formica
Grade 2: Anabella Sanders and Joey Schutz
Grade 3: Camila Vazquez-Maillard and Colin Hawkins
Grade 4: Thomas Smith
Grade 5: Alexis Sandoval
Grade 6: Anuki Pelawatta and Harleigh Rischer
Grade 7: Jayla Cooper
Grade 8: David Whorton
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 Save these Dates and Help us Spread the Good News at all Masses
We know that word of mouth is the best advertiser there is. So as we begin 2022, we will be spreading the good news of St. Mary’s to families who are seeking quality Catholic Education in the Classical Tradition. We ask for your help.
Father Kurtis will be sharing the good news of St. Mary’s to the parishioners of our neighboring parishes. He is asking, as are we, for help from our parents, faculty and staff, grandparents and students to help him share this good news.
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January 22nd and 23rd at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Salado
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February 5th and 6th at Christ the King Church in Belton
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February 12th and 13th at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Temple
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February 26th and 27th at St. Luke Church in Temple
Please let Ms. Giannotti know where/when you can help (mgiannotti@stmarys-temple.org). It is very important that we share with others the opportunity to join our family.
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Celebrating Catholic Schools Dinner Honorees 
Preparations are underway for the 2022 Celebrating Catholic Schools Awards Dinner, taking place on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Town Lake, 208 Barton Springs Rd., Austin, 78704. This annual semi-formal dinner honors the “unsung” heroes at each of our 21 Catholic schools and raises much needed funds for Catholic school families who would otherwise be unable to afford a Catholic education for their child. Over $1.4 million has been returned to schools to increase accessibility to Catholic education for so many families. We are extremely appreciative of the generosity and look forward to this year's celebration.
This year I am proud to share with you that we are recognizing Knights of Columbus 3444. The Knights of Columbus is one of the oldest Catholic Fraternal organizations founded in the United States. The Knights' motto is “In Service to One, In Service to All.” with charity as their first principle and the basis for all they do as brother Knights.
Our St. Mary’s Catholic School community has experienced/witnessed this charity first hand. We are blessed to have a wonderful relationship with Knights of Columbus #3444. These amazing men are always there to lend a helping hand to our school community.
Whether it is building a privacy fence around our backyard, bringing in gravel for the playground, building a gaga pit for our students, or donating monies earned at the yearly Fish Fry, nothing is beyond their vision. Whatever we have asked, the answer has always been yes.
We are very grateful for the caring community we have found in the Knights of Columbus and look forward to years of friendship. God bless you gentlemen.
Please visit https://csdatx.org/2022ccs to find out more about this wonderful event and to purchase tickets.
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Wo rld's Finest Chocolate Fundraiser - starting January 4th
St. Mary’s Catholic School is selling the World’s Finest Chocolate Variety Pack beginning January 4th. Our packs include the following: Milk Chocolate with Almonds Bars, W.F. Crisp® Bars, Caramel Bars, Milk Chocolate Bars, Dark Chocolate Bars and Wafer Bars. Each variety pack contains 30 bars. Each bar sells for $2.00.
IT’S EASY TO DO!
Sign out your 2 boxes from the office
Collect $2.00 for each bar you sell
Place the money in the money collection envelope found in each box.
When you have sold all 30 bars, return the money to the school office.
If someone would like to support us, but not a big chocolate fan - no worries! Their $2 donation will help give a little joy to our first responders. We will take them chocolate on your behalf!
This fundraiser is not mandatory but a great way to help support the school. All proceeds from the sale go to our general operating fund. This is also one of two major fundraisers to help those who received tuition assistance fulfill their obligation of helping refill that fund.
Please click HERE to reserve your boxes
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PSIA News
We are so excited to host this year’s District 6A Meet at St. Mary’s. The meet will be on our campus on Saturday, March 26th. Because we are the host school, there will be much preparation above and beyond the coaching aspects. I will be asking for parent volunteers and hope that you will help us create a successful event. Coaches will be asked to submit final names at the end of January. Please ensure your student is attending practices and completing assigned work.
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 KOC Free Throw Contest
Our Knights of Columbus will be hosting a free throw contest on Friday, January 21st at 1:30pm. More information will be coming soon!
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C lassroom Spotlight: This week is STEM!
Baking Soda Rockets
Students explored the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar by mixing the 2 ingredients in film canisters and observing the height/time to launch their rockets in the air. They discovered that when less vinegar was added there was more space for the chemical reaction to “bubble up”, causing the pressure inside the canister to build longer until it “popped” and sent the rockets in the air-some almost as high as the top of our school building!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb8uBImrbmc
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 Yearbook Sale and AD information
SMCS Yearbooks are on sale. Please click the link to purchase your yearbook. Yearbook ADs are on sale until January 31st. All ordering information, AD information and cost of yearbooks.
https://forms.gle/yAYywaaiZaQyEazF8
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EIM Information
All parents and guardians who want to volunteer at St. Mary's Catholic School must be EIM compliant. All information regarding EIM can be found on our website ( https://stmarys-temple.org/ethics-and-integrity-ministry-eim ). If you have a specific question about EIM or your your EIM status please contact Mrs. Cayce at dcayce@stmarys-temple.org
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Important Dates to Remember
Tues. Jan. 4th
School reopens and 3rd Quarter Begins
Worlds' Finest Chocolate Sale begins - Information in newsletter
Fri. Jan 7th
Report cards open
Thurs. Jan 13th
Second quarter Awards 2:00 p.m. in the church
Mon. Jan. 17th
MLK Day: No School
Wed. Jan. 19th
School Board Meeting 7:15 a.m.
Fri. Jan 21st
KOC Free Throw Contest - more details to come
Sat. Jan. 22nd
First Penance 10:00 a.m.
Celebrating Catholic Schools Dinner
Sun. Jan. 30th
Catholic Schools Week begins
Mon. Jan 31st
Yearbook AD Sale Ends
Looking Ahead
February 1st-4th - Catholics Schools Week
February 9th (Wednesday) - Spring Conferences - No School
February 11th (Friday) - Leadership Mass
February 14th (Monday) Inclement Weather Day - No School
February 27th (Sunday) Annual SMCS Open House
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