Inspiring Minds, Building Character and Living Faith


Dear St. Margaret Mary School Families,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wishing all SMMS school families a wonderful 2018 year!!

Thank you again to everyone for attending this year’s Christmas Music Program. The children performed wonderfully! Their Christmas spirit demonstrated by song anddance put smiles on everyone’s faces. Job well done to my faculty and staff who planned and prepared the festive event. A special thank you to:

  • Tim Desmond for working with all our teachers in providing stage and sound.
  • The men of Holy Name Society for ‘ushering’ the event.
  • Beto Fernandez and the Moms of the Moms Club for pre-event ‘churros and hot chocolate!’

December proved to be an incredibly busy month,

  1. Congratulations to our student athletes who were honored at our Fall Sports Banquet. A special thank you goes outto Mrs. Traversa and the awesome crew of Moms Club members for planningand preparing a delicious dinner for theevent. Itwas an evening enjoyed by all.
  2. Thank you, Mrs. Priscilla Marquez, Mrs. Annette Padilla,Mrs. Donna Reyes and the crew of MOMS for all their efforts in producing another fun and profitable ‘SANTA’S SECRET SHOP.’ It’s incredibly fun to watch our students shop at our very own Christmas store.
  3. Thank you to Mrs. Katie Lopez and Mrs. Laura Hammerle-Carver for their work in planning, preparing and teaching NUTRITION to all our students. Looking forward to phase two and three!
  4. Thank you, Mrs. Tami Garcia and her crew of fabulous MOMS for planning the second annual SMMS Christmas Boutique!! Lots of crazy fun shopping was done as church goers shopped at the boutique for Christmas presents!
  5. Thank you, students, for your devotion and reverent behavior in the church during three significant December Masses; ‘Immaculate Conception,’ Las Posadas and ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe.’
  6. Thank you, Mrs. Vicelja and your wonderful kindergarteners for leading the entire school through Las Posadas. Your little ones did a great job in reminding all of us about the true meaning of Christmas.
  7. Thank you, school MOMS who participated in the Mom’s Club Ornament party!
  8. Thank you Ms. Adajar for partnering with our students in 3rd, 6th and 7th grades in presenting‘Simbang Gabi- a FILIPINO Christmas.’ Under your direction and guidance, wonderful dances such as the Tinikling (Bamboo Dance), Pandanggo sa Ilaw (Candle Dance) and the Bulaklakan (Flower Dance) were performed beautifully by our students!
  9. A huge thank you to our awesome 6th grade parents for providing a delicious lunch to our faculty!

Aswe move forward,I am honored to continue servingyouas your child’s principal for the second half of the school year. I am fully aware ofthe financial sacrifices you make in choosing a Catholic education for your child. As a proud educator and mother, myself, I know the importance of a quality education and value my role in ensuring that your child’slearningexperience at SMMS is not onlyfilled withacademicrigor but enjoyment as well.

Looking ahead…

One of the toughest challenges students facein schools is bullying. At our school, bullying of any kind, by any person, is unacceptable. All students should be free from worries about being bullied. Students who bully others must be taught other, appropriate ways of interacting with peers. At SMMS, the faculty and staff continue to take a proactive approach to stop any form of bullying completely in our school. If we don’t teach students how to interact and get along with one another, then change rarely takes place. While it’s true that some parents view bullying as an unavoidable right-of-passage through childhood, this view is not allowed to exist at our school! It may be that bullies will always be around. However, as educator and principal, I am aware of the negative effects of bullying and find it intolerable!!! My faculty and staff will keep making every effort to try to find more (pro)active approaches to eliminate its presence in our school, sparing many the long-lasting hurt, or for bullies, an errant life. At our January 15th faculty meeting, the subject of ‘bullying’ is on the top of my agenda. As a group, we will be exploring new school-based bullying intervention programs. Beginning in January, you and your child will see the implementation of new and improved anti-bullying programs. Some programs will be informative; educating our children to not only be aware of acts of bullying but to also call attention to it(such as telling a teacher or parent). While some of our other programs will call for stronger and immediate disciplinary consequences. On February 1st, your children will experience ‘The Power of One.’ The Power of One is a series of skits presented by actors who use boxes, colors, and masks to vividly portray what bullying is, what can be done about it, and how every child has the power of one, the power to report and deal with bullying when they see it. The Power of One:

  • Explains the roles in bullying: Bully, Target, Bystander, and Upstander
  • Shows vivid examples of different types of bullying: Physical, Verbal, Exclusion, and Cyber bullying
  • Alerts children that Targets need help and shows them how to be Upstanders rather than Bystanders
  • Provides solutions to bullying including reporting, intervening, and assisting the Target
  • Emphasizes the need for individuals to take action to make their community a safer, better place
  • Refers children to parents, adults, and teachers for further assistance and instruction.

All parents are welcome to this presentation on February 1st. Please call the office for more details.

Calendar news…

  • Just a reminder, school begins Monday January 8th at 7:45 a.m.
  • Family Night at PANERA on Wednesday January 17th . Please support our school by visiting.
  • RE-REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL AID FOR 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR

Re-registrationandApplication for Financial Assistanceare just on the horizon. These two important and separate processes will be presented to you nextmonth. To complete there-Registrationprocess, you will receive a booklet filled with pertinent information and forms. Secondly, the only way to receivefinancial aidat SMMS is to qualify for financial aid through the Los AngelesArchdiocese Catholic Education Foundation.Paying foraCatholic educationmust be thefirst and foremost responsibility ofthefamily. While it is my job to keep the school fiscally sound, I certainlyunderstand and appreciate thefinancial commitment and sacrifice families undertake in deciding to send their children to aCatholic school. This commitment is the hallmark of our faith and service in regard to theeducational mission of the Church.That’s why I am requiring that all school families, whowould like financial aid,tofirst qualify through The Los Angeles Archdiocese CatholicEducation Fund. As an effort to beagood steward of the resources entrusted tomycare,andtoprevent inequitable distribution,I will utilizethe Archdiocese of Los AngelesCatholicEducation Fundapplication process for determining financial need in allocating tuitionassistance. With the grace of God and the assistance of wonderful benefactors, we will continue to offer students the lasting gift of a Catholiceducationwho otherwise would not be able toafford such anopportunity.

More informationand formsto come in February!

JANUARY

January – Basketball season is here!!!!!

January 8th – School resumes

January 12th – All School Mass – Mass of Unity and Justice. Mass attire mandatory.

January 15th – Martin Luther King Holiday – No School. Daycare available.

January 16th – Mother’s Club Meeting 7:00 p.m

January 24th – Spring Fundraiser begins!!

January 26 – Faculty Meeting – Half Day – Daycare available. No tutoring

January 28th Book Fair!!!

January 28th – OPEN HOUSE!! School Book Fair Opens Today!

Looking forward to a great 2018!

Mrs. Zimmerman

Principal

It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.”
–Mother Teresa