ST. MARY CATHOLIC SCHOOL! ROCKET REVIEW / DECEMBER 18, 2013 / VOLUME 1, NO.

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Parents, Sta! and Students of St. Mary Rockwood, I cannot believe the Christmas holiday is upon us. It has been 4 very short months since we began this 2013-2014 school year, and we have had so many new and exciting things happen in that time. We launched the SchoolReach program, welcomed MANY new families and volunteers to the school, had a wonderfully-attended fundraiser at Bu!alo Wild Wings, released an iPhone/Android app for communication, had a newspaper article published for our AMAZING Thanksgiving luncheon, began o!ering hot lunch for preschool students, introduced online scheduling, a number to text to pick up your children from latchkey, a successful Auction, Santa Shop, many PTO activities, implementation of our Pre-K to 8th grade 1:1 iPad program, and as always, our students continue to be positive, Christ-centered role models for all of us. Not to mention the fact that we welcomed 4 new teachers, shared the Administrative Assistant position between Mrs. Biundo and Mrs. Heggie, added Mr. Tim Alexander as our Head of Maintenance, and many new families to our already amazing school. Words cannot describe how welcome you have made myself and all of us this year. We have undergone a lot of change in the past year, but it has only made our St. Mary Rockwood family stronger. I am so proud to be the Principal of this school. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for all of us. Gods Blessings to you and your family, and a very Merry Christmas to all, Mrs. Stager

! Religious Ed: There will be no class on December 24 for Christmas Break

There will not be latchkey on Friday, December 20 after school. Merry Christmas!

IMPORTANT DATES

Dont forget!!!

we will resume on January 7, at 6pm. May you have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year from St. Mary, Our Lady of the Annunciation Catechist. January 12- Confirmation Session 9:30am-11:30am

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Christmas Music Program Thursday, December 19th at 6:00PM in Church

A great tip from Mrs. Furtah!

I wanted to let you know about a great website that compiles lists of free and reduced price apps for kids. !You can even subscribe, and they'll send you the lists for free/reduced price apps daily. !I've been stocking up my iTunes account with such apps for the iPad roll out. !However, I can't "give" or "share" the apps that I've downloaded. !If you want to start preparing, sign your child up for a free iTunes account now. You can also use a family account if youd like, but remember Apple doesnt allow more than 10 devices TOTAL to be connected to it, so you may want to create one for just the students. !You can start downloading these great educational and fun apps now too, while they're free. !Go to!http:// smartappsforkids.com to sign up or take a look.

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For instructions on how to create an iTunes account without a credit card (HIGHLY suggested), please see the Tech page of the St. Mary website, or visit this address: http://is.gd/3Zs990 You can also point your QR reader to this code for instant access:

The iPads are coming to your classroom in mid-January! Be prepared by reviewing the iPad Acceptable Use policy. We have it on our tech page (link is above). You will only need to return the signature page. After the iPads arrive you will need to return the signature page, the insurance and show your teacher that an acceptable case has been acquired, and your student will be allowed to take the iPad home.

Frequently Asked iPad Questions:

Q: "What kind of a case is best for my child?"
A: It doesn't matter which case you choose, as long as it is a protective case which covers all sides and back.

Q: "If I don't have a case, will my child still use an iPad?"

A: The short answer is yes. We want all students to be able to utilize the iPads. They will be able to use them in class, but not take them home until the insurance deposit is paid and the case is in the classroom.

Q: "How much is insurance?"

A: Under advisement from Apple, we have decided to take a "self-insured" approach. Each student will be asked to pay $20 per year toward insurance. This will cover repairs and breakage should it occur. Whatever is not used from insurance will be placed in a fund to replace the iPads when the life cycle of the current devices is over.

Q: "Can my child put games on their iPad?"

A: Yes, they can. They can customize it to their liking, but it must be school-age appropriate. If there is a question on what can be put on the iPad, please email Mrs. Stager at tstager@catholicweb.com..

Shop with Scrip: Did you know?! With ScripNow there's STILL time to give some highly sought after Scrip Gift Cards to family, friends, co-workers, and teachers as Christmas presents! ScripNow eCards are available within one hour after purchase with a Presto Pay account.! Featured Retailer: Itunes (5% contribution) downloadable music, movies, tv shows and apps. Available in gift cards and ScripNow.! *****Scrip News*****! HOLIDAY SURPRISE!!! December 20th, watch your emails for a holiday special! Must have an online Scrip Account and a Presto Pay Account to take advantage of the special.! KOHL'S $100 ECards now available!!

Increased contributions are now available on the following brands:!AMC Theaters (10%), Athleta (16%), Banana Republic (16%), Bass Pro Shops (12%), Belk (10%), Black Angus (13%), Build A Bear (10%), Coldwater Creek (10%), CVS (8%), Domino's (10%), Gap (16%),Halmark (6%), ITunes (9%), JcPenney (7%), Jiffy Lube (11%), Kmart (6%), Kohl's (5%), Landry's (11%), Lowe's, Old Navy (16%), Outback (10%), Petco (6%), Piperlime (15%), Red Robin (12%), Sears (6%), Smart & Final (5%), Spafinder (14%), Staples (8%), Starbucks (9%), TGI Friday's (11%), Uno Chicao Grill (14%)! COMING SOON!!! Increased Rebates will be available on the following brands beginning December 21st: Albertsons, Cracker Barrel, Home Depot!

SCRIP-A-THON CONTEST LEADERS! (As of 12/11)!

Foster Marcon Albertson Gilliland Pytlak Farago Hawley Beggs Collins Ritchie Tarquinto Baumia Snyder

EVERY child in every family with an online scrip account will earn a free jean day! Children in the top 10 families with the highest rebates will earn a pizza party! The family with highest scrip rebate will earn 100% of those dollars applied towards their tuition! SCRIP-A-THON runs through January 15th! Buy your scrip today!

Dear Parents, ! My name is Katie Herzog. I am a junior at Carlson High School and a St. Mary alumni. I volunteer at the Toledo Zoo and have recently become involved in an organization called TerraCycle that re purposes items that would normally be thrown away. The Toledo ZOOTeen program then receives money for items that are sent in. We put the money toward various conservation projects such as removing invasive species, picking up cigarette butts, and removing waste from some of Toledo's rivers. I would like to get St. Mary School involved in this program as well. I believe it would t very well with St. Mary's "Green School" status. This program has been attempted here in this past so it may be familiar to some people. I hope you will all encourage your children to place the items being collected in a bin that will be in the cafeteria. Feel free to collect these items at home as well. We are collecting chip bags, juice pouches, granola bar wrappers, and Lunchable containers. Items may also be left at the Parish Ofce or on the front porch of the ofce during non business hours; just make sure they don't blow away. With your help, I am sure we can generate a good amount of funds for a very deserving organization.! Thank you for your support. ! Katie Herzog

PTO NEWS

6th ANNUAL PINK OUT BASKETBALL GAME! Saturday, December 21 ~ SMCC Kestrels vs. Monroe High ! SMCC Gym!
JV game is at 5:30pm; varsity game follows JV The theme for this years fundraiser is "Connecting for a Cure." This year, SMCC's National Honor Society and Student Council are partnering with Monroe High's Student Council to plan this event. During the game: T-shirts will be sold for $10. Miracle Minute: Following each quarter, there will be a change collection for exactly 1 minute. Bake Sale: Homemade baked goods will be sold during the event.

Proceeds will be donated to the Mercy Memorial Cancer Connection of Monroe.

To contact either Mrs. Heggie or Mrs. Biundo, please begin using the email address office@stmaryrockwood.com. This will guarantee your email gets to the correct person all of the time. Thank you!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO SAVE YOUR CANS & BOTTLES OVER! THE HOLIDAY, AS THE BOTTLE DRIVE WILL BEGIN AFTER! CHRISTMAS BREAK!!! The totals are in for the Oct-Nov PTO bottle drive and we made over $210.00 for! Pennies for Playground. Therefore, due to a request, the bottle drive will start back up! immediately after Christmas Break. Please save all of your holiday cans & bottles, and! let the PTO take them back for you!! Again, we want to thank everyone who has participated in our bottle drive, especially! the Brinker family as we could not have done this without your endless help. Thank you, Thank you and THANK YOU!!
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