Principal’s Desk News & Information Upcoming Dates High School Counseling

At SMSA, high school co-curricular eligibility for participation in athletics, theatre, clubs and organizations, field trips and school travel is linked directly to academic performance. There are 9 eligibility review periods in each school year: 4 mid-quarter progress reports; J-Term; Quarter 1 & 3 report cards; Semester 1 & 2 report cards.

To be fully eligible to participate in SMSA athletics or co-curricular activities, Ledgers must pass all of their courses at each grading period. Students with one or more failing grades (F) at the grading period are determined to be temporarily ineligible for participation in SMSA athletics or co-curricular activities.

Students may regain eligibility by improving their failing grade to a passing grade within the designated period of time. Complete criteria can be found in the High School Curriculum Guide and/or Student Parent Handbook found under resources on the Website.

From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “The Church does not and will not engage in partisan politics. We strongly urge all Catholics to register, to become informed on key issues, and to vote. The Church does not support or oppose any candidate, but seeks to focus attention on the moral and human dimensions of issues. We do not authorize the distribution of partisan political materials on parish or school property.”

The Catholic Social Responsibility Guidebook is designed to provide educators in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee with clear guiding principles for integrating Catholic social responsibility into school culture, and provides theological resources that correspond to four contemporary challenges, and alignment of Catholic Social Teachings to current Archdiocesan curriculum, policies, and accreditation standards. CatholicSocialResponsibilityGuidebookforCatholicSchoolsFinal9.22.21.pdf

An overview of the topic “Civic Participation for the Common Good” is found here:

“Contemporary political dialogue has become more contentious and polarized. This divisive approach to political discourse has influenced all aspects of society, including Catholic Schools. The Catholic Church’s role in guiding its faithful into active political life is to instruct and illuminate the consciences of the faithful, so that their actions may promote the
dignity of all human persons and enhance the common good. Catholic schools are called to equip our students with the knowledge, understanding, and skills to interpret and respond to contemporary social circumstances in light of the Gospel and the truth of our Catholic Church
and Tradition. Catholic schools, while respecting the human dignity of every person, realize that not all points of view are equally valid, and therefore place a high value on the development of conscience, positive communication skills, reflection, negotiation and problem solving in the context of a Catholic faith. Catholic schools form faithful citizens who
act with courage to build common ground and make peace even in deeply fractured communities.” [Guidebook p. 12]

I urge parents and guardians to take a closer look at the Church’s theological response to the challenges associated with “Civic Participation for the Common Good,” provided in the Guidebook.

Click here for further resource information on Catholic Social Responsibility released by the Archdiocese.

Our Lady of the Ledge, pray for us.

Eamonn O’Keeffe
Principal, High School

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The HS Vocal Jazz & HS Jazz Band parents are invited to an informational meeting about our upcoming trip to Italy on: Wed, Sept 11th. The meeting will take place at 6:30pm in the cafeteria. For more information email: apannier@smsacademy.org.

Announcing auditions for the HS fall play “All’s Fair” by Pat Cook

When: Monday September 16th and Wednesday, September 18th
Sign up with a partner in the office and pick a scene to rehearse. No memorization needed.

Make sure to pick up an audition form and fill it out to bring to your audition time. Auditions will be held in the MS choir room, 2077
Tech Crew will pick up a form in the office and fill it out. You will then turn it into the office. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE!

Purchase your St. Mary’s Springs Academy’s Football team spirit wear by clicking here! This team store will close on September 9, 2024. Please allow 3 weeks turnaround time once an order is placed or the store has closed. Thank you!

Click Here to Purchase

Welcome to the new school year! SMSA Food Service is part of the National School Lunch Program and we strive to present tasty and nutritious meals for our students every day. There are a few reminders for the upcoming year. Online under Parents & Family resources you will all menus, necessary forms, and information for food service. The Food Service payment policy has instructions on food service payment and instruction for setting daily limits using the skyward family access on purchases for your students in the middle school and high school who have a la carte choices.

If you have limits on your children’s purchases from last year, these have carried over, but you should review your limits annually as prices have changed on our offerings. Current prices are online under the resources.

Our lunch accounts are family based so all children draw off the same funds. When applying funds online through eFunds, it is sufficient to put funds on one account, not each student.

Parents are always welcome to come and share a meal with their children. We hope to see you visiting our cafeteria soon.

Are you a fan of Ledger Athletics? SMSA Adult Sports Passes are now available for purchase. The SMSA Sports pass covers admission for any HOME Ledger sporting event where an entry fee is charged. (Excluding WIAA playoff games) Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Hockey and Soccer are examples of the sports that would be included in the pass. The SMSA Sports pass is $50.00. The passes will be available for purchase on oreintation day in the North & South Hall Offices as well as the Scrip Suite. Cash or checks made payable to SMSA will be accepted. If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Mueller at kmueller@smsacademy.org. Thank you for supporting Ledger Athletics!

CMFDL is always interested in hearing from students who would like to volunteer at the museum. The week of Sept. 3-10 we have availability for many volunteers during our Maintenance & More shutdown week. Juniors and Seniors if you have late start or early release, there is availability during those hours, or after school there is availability! Great way to full-fill the J-Term Requirement!

Please call 920-929-0707, email info@cmfdl.org or complete our volunteer google form at cmfdl.org under Support/Volunteers.

Welcome Back! We hope you had a wonderful summer! Are you wanting to get more involved in our Parent Connectors Group? If so, look for the Parent Connectors volunteer form in your packet you will be receiving at the supply drop off day (3K-5th Grade). If your youngest child is in 6th grade or above, you won’t be receiving a form to fill out but can email Andrea Nuss, alnuss@charter.net, to share that you are interested in being a part of our group. Every year a new email group gets created so please submit your form even if you have done so in the past years. Also, only one form per family is needed to be filled out. Throughout the year, our group has various school family events as well shows our amazing SMSA Staff how appreciative we are for them. By being a part of our group, you will receive emails that shares ways you can help with these events through volunteering and donating. Our group wouldn’t be a successful without all of the wonderful people involved in it. Thank you so much! If you have any questions, please email Andrea Nuss, alnuss@charter.net.

Did you know? You can Refer-A-Family and receive tuition credit!

Click Here to Learn More!

If your high school or middle school child participates in band, chorus, theater, or jazz vocals/band, you are invited to join the PPA and support arts programming at SMSA. Meetings are held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 6 pm in the Lauby Lounge (first floor teacher lounge). Join us for our fall kick off meeting on Wednesday, September 18, 2024.

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October 3 & 4, 2024 – No School – Teacher In-service

October 30, 2024 – High School Parent/Teacher Conferences

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Welcome to the 2024-2025 academic year at St. Mary’s Springs Academy! Please allow us to take this opportunity to re-introduce and to our new families, introduce ourselves to you as your school counselors. We are looking forward to working with your students this year.

The mission of the SMSA School Counseling Program is to enhance ALL student achievement. School Counselors help ALL students become responsible, self-motivated citizens who are prepared for the challenges of a rapidly-changing society. SMSA’s School Counseling Program is delivered in a systematic manner to ALL students using the National American School Counseling Association standards and practices.
Throughout the high school experience school counselors will be meeting with your students to plan their academic program, also known as ACP “Academic and Career Plan”. This plan includes course selection, the development of post-graduation goals, and career exploration. We organize and plan activities and events throughout the year that give students the opportunity to experience the world of work. Important information will be shared via email and the E-Ledger. We are also available through email and by phone.

Mary Cauley,  Taylor McCarthy
mcauley@smsacademy.org, tmccarthy@smsacademy.org
920.322.8070,  920.322-8031

Families can now log in to Skyward Family Access to view a list of your student’s Direct Admit Wisconsin offers. Look for the “Portfolio” tab on the left side menu to view the letter from Direct Admit.

For more information or to get help with next steps, visit the https://uwhelp.wisconsin.edu/ to access Live Chat, email the UW HELP Team at uwhelp@wisconsin.edu, or give them a call at 800-442-6459. The UW HELP Team will also be hosting webinars to help students understand and complete the Direct Admit Form and complete the Direct Admit Form and Universities of Wisconsin Online Application.

You can also reach out to individual UW universities to connect with them for information, schedule a visit, learn about academic programs, and more.

As always please don’t hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Cauley or Mrs. McCarthy if you have any questions!

Please refer to the information provided at the link below, for local and state scholarships that SMSA seniors can apply for. This list is always subject to change and may not be all-inclusive.

Local scholarship opportunities (Fond du Lac area) are listed first, followed by opportunities for residents of the state of Wisconsin.

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