Weekly Newsletter – Week Ending May 16, 2025
Dear Parents,
I apologize for the length of this newsletter. Since the end of next week is the beginning of summer break, this may be the last newsletter you read…. Please give me grace for its length and the extensive information. 🥺
Please join us on Thursday, May 22nd for our end of the year celebration. You are welcome to join us for Mass at 8:30. We will be recognizing Christian Leaders, Honor Roll and other special achievements. While school will end at noon, the PTO is sponsoring a party from 10:00-2:00 including food and activities. We are looking forward to seeing everyone there as we say our summer good-byes.
As we come to the end of the year, I find it important to reflect on what we have done well and where we have the opportunity to improve. Our focus on continuous improvement is similar to what we ask of our students in school and with MAP tests…. GROW 
As the teachers and I work with each other, our families, and the parish to identify changes and improvement, we should celebrate our success.
Some of our accomplishments this year include:
Catholic Identity –
- Grow in our faith –
- More regular servers at each Mass on the weekends
- Families and students joined the church
- Utilized prayer square to highlight school wide learning expectations
- Uses tangible examples to visualize what it means to be a learner, friend, steward and disciple
- Strengthen our relationship with the parish
- Fr. John is visible in the classrooms
- Fr. John implementing a parish-wide newsletter with input from the school and foodbank
- Deacons are visiting classrooms and sharing knowledge, experiences, and perspective
- Developed a St. Mary’s 2030 Strategic Plan in coordination with the parish
- Students participated in Washing of the Feet on Holy Thursday Mass
- Student led Mass to kick -off Catholic Schools Week
- Continued traditions – Shrove Tuesday, Dia de la Muertos, Living Stations of the Cross, Crowning of Mary
Academic Excellence –
- Improve academic performance
- Outpaced National Catholic Average in growth and/or performance in almost every grade level with respect to Spring 2025 MAP testing in Reading, Language Usage, and Mathematics
- 7th and 8th graders are using IDLA for Spanish I curriculum and instruction
- Utilizing IDLA Launchpad as tool to increase reading fluency with elementary students
- Math intervention continues with supplementing Math instruction for elementary students
- Invest in student, staff and curriculum development
- 95% classroom teacher retention for the upcoming 2025-26 school year
- Training – Math Literacy Night, Studio 3:16, Social Institute
- StrengthFinders – Teacher Inservice
- Implemented school emotional support dog- We love Cedar
Family Engagement –
- Increase the opportunities to be engaged
- Name Boise’s Favorite Private School for 2024
- 94.8% Student retention for the 2025-26 school
- Hispanic Heritage Fair – Highlighting cultural activities from Spanish speaking countries everywhere
- Greater attendance at Prayer Square, School Mass, School events
- New volunteer system
- PTO hosting “Taco Tuesday” to increase meeting attendance
- More frequent communication from PTO
- Fundraising and Fun-Raising
- 75th Anniversary Kick off – Mass and breakfast
- Diamonds and Denim Gala – record setting year
- Record fundraising in Spartan Run, Peach Sales and Book Fair
- PTO held other events – POJOs family night, father-daughter dance, mother-son bowling
Growth and Expansion –
- Tell the story to grow the school
- Added 23 students at the beginning of the year
- Added 12 additional students during the the 2024-25 school year
- Additional marketing – Airport, Idaho Press, Niche, Boisemom.com, billboards, Boise with Kids
- Early Education Discovery Fair participant through Boise with Kids
- Mexican Dancers at JUMP, Festival of Trees, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dia de los niños
Expand course offering or enhance current courses
- New Spelling program implemented elementary school wide
- Utilizing IDLA to supplement instruction
- Studio 3:16
- Social Institute
- After school Art Club
- After school STEM program
- After school Mexican Dance group
This is only a small sample of all the wonderful and positive things happening every day at St. Mary’s. We are a dynamic and active community that works cooperatively to enhance the lives of our children, their families and each other.
Thank you for being part of St. Mary’s. I am excited to see what more we are able to accomplish in the coming years.
Technology and Social Media – Last month, I sent the linked letter to our families about some of the struggles we have experienced using technology, social media, or even gaming. As we approach summer, it may be a good idea to review or establish the necessary controls with respect to home technology usage. In addition to the tips provided in the letter, St. Mary’s has invested in the Social Institute to provide meaningful lessons to our students. The website allows for family access to the vast resources of tips, tricks, settings, and other controls to help families keep their children safe.
To sign up for access, you can use the QR code on the document ( The Social Institute – Family Tool Kit ) or you can access the website directly to sign up to access the family resources. Please use the following school code: Code 3d1bC5B9403C65
The site provides families resources to spark engaging conversations as well as application playbooks, which help you understand and set the necessary controls to restrict usage and/or functionality.
Medication Pick up – If you have medication at the school, please plan on picking it on or before May 22nd.
MAP Testing – MAP reports will be coming home this week. I am very proud of our students and teachers. They did an exceptional job this year. While it is easy to focus on the students’ achievement score, our focus is growth. Please keep in mind, growth is not always linear. At times, we take a step back before we take a bigger step forward.
To learn more about MAP and how to read the results, please visit the Family Toolkit through NWEA.
Partnership Page – Earlier this year we added a partnership page to our website. This is a chance for families to become familiar with businesses that are owned and operated by supporters of St. Mary’s. If you are looking for products or services, I would encourage you to check here first. If you are interested in having your business highlighted, please submit your information to Ms. Mandy @ amcampanella@stmarys-boise.org.
St. Mary’s – Building Improvements – A collection of school people and parish representatives have been meeting to discuss future possibilities for the campus and school building. You may have received a mailing recently with information concerning the phases, which included an on-line survey. If you happened to have missed it, please take a few minutes to complete the survey.
We are interested in your ideas and feedback.
State of the School – 2024-25 – Last week I sent a State of the School summary to you. If you did not get a chance to read it, I have linked it above. We have had a good year at St. Mary’s. While we are pleased with our performance, our focus is growth. We want to always be challenging ourselves to be better each day, month and year. We are excited to be on this journey with all of you.
Special Events Calendar – St. Mary’s has many special events during the year. Please see the attached listing of our special events including a description and date. All of these dates and events can be found on the school calendar.
Our first event of next year will be a swimming night on July 17th at the Natatorium – Please mark your calendars and look for more information coming before the big event.
BK Summer Sports Camps – Bishop Kelly High School offers summer camps for a variety of sports and activities including, but not limited to: Volleyball, Basketball (Boys and Girls), Wrestling, Softball, Baseball, Football, and Lego Robotics. Please check the link above to see specific opportunities. Go Knights!
There are so many good things happening at St. Mary’s. If you know of a family looking for an incredible Catholic school community, please encourage them to contact us.
School Choice Frequently Asked Questions – From the Diocese
Please mark your calendars for important dates:
- May 13-15 – 8th Grade Retreat
- May 19 – PreKindergarten and Kindergarten Graduation
- May 20 – 8th Grade Graduation
- May 21 – Bowling and Field Day
- May 22 – Last Day of School – Mass and Celebration – 12:00 release (Celebration goes from 10:00-2:00) Please join us! Everyone is welcome!
Other Important Announcements and Events:
- Boys Summer Camp Information – Find attached information flyer for Camp Montfort Idaho 2025. – Please note the camp will be split into two groups this year. The older boys, ages 15-18 will attend August 3rd – 6th and the younger boys, ages 9-14 will follow August 6th – 9th. – Linked is a video about the program from 2022
- Catholic Jr. High Summer Camp – The Diocese is sponsoring a Jr. High summer camp in Stanley, ID in June. This is a great opportunity for our Jr. High students to grow in the faith and enjoy the great outdoors. Please see the linked flyer for more information.
- Calling all Alumni – We want to keep our alumni invited and informed of all happenings around St. Mary’s. If you are an alumni or know any alumni, please fill out the form – St. Mary’s Alumni Information
God bless.
Kevan Grant
St. Mary’s Catholic School- Principal
Other Items of Interest
- Bishop Kelly Athletics – Bishop Kelly has a plethora of athletics happening throughout the year. The BK website has a link to team pages with game schedules.
- Get your Uniforms and Spirit Wear from Educational Outfitters
