Dear St. Mary’s Families,
Stewards serve others. They look for opportunities to make their community a better place. They take care of everything as if it is a gift, because it is.
Stewards are the light in the world. As Fr. John reminded us today at Mass, let your light shine.
The ability of the school and families to work cooperatively towards a common goal enhances the student learning academically, spiritually, and socially.
OUR MISSION:
St. Mary’s School is to provide a Catholic environment that instills academic excellence while preparing the whole child for life-long personal and spiritual growth, empowering them to become global citizens.
End of the Year Calendar 
The end of the year is a busy and stressful time for all of us. There are many events and activities as we approach the summer vacation. Please be sure to review the school calendar often to make certain you are not caught off guard.
Calendar of Events
- April 20 – 30 – Spring MAP Testing
- May 2 – First Communion – 2nd grade
- May 3 – Dia de los Ninos – Day of the Children Celebration at St. Mary’s at 2:30
- May 5 – Spring Concert
- May 6 – May Crowning
- May 6 – Bishop Kelly Music Program
- May 12-14 – 8th Grade Retreat
- May 18 – Pre-K Celebration
- May 18 – Kindergarten Graduation
- May 19 – 8th Grade Graduation
- May 20 – Bowling (morning) – Field Day (afternoon)
- May 21 – Last Day of School – Mass and Carnival
MAP Testing
We are finishing our MAP testing this week. We have a few students that need to finish due to a variety of reasons. Once we are complete, we will share your students’ results with you.
These tests provide a couple of valuable points of data. For each student, class, and school, we are given an achievement and growth score. Those scores are compared with the other students taking the assessment across the nation. While achievement is always nice, our primary focus is and will always be on growth.
Growth is not always linear, so the progression may look different for each student. Sometimes they may not show growth in the current testing window. There are a variety of reasons this may happen. They could be struggling with a new concept or idea, they may be having a bad day, or did not feel well. The list could be endless. We do not want to overreact to any one test, but if we see slow or negative growth over time, it would be important to intervene.
For more information, please use the links below.
A Family Guide to MAP Growth – MAP Testing
Building Our Future, Together in Faith
We experienced a very successful Capital Campaign for the school, parish and community. The first renovations are scheduled for this summer. Beginning mid-June, all the windows in the front and back of the school will be replaced. The new windows will provide much better insulation from not only the weather, but also noise. It will be a much needed facelift to the facade of the building.
We will also be enhancing our campus security. The key locks will be replaced with keyless entry and additional cameras are going to be installed in the school and church.
Other projects are being scheduled for the future include electrical upgrade, lighting changes, kitchen renovations, and other enhancements to the basement. All work plans are being scheduled during the summer months to avoid any interruptions to school.
It is going to be a very exciting couple of years at St. Mary’s as we see the results from the community’s generosity.
Dia de los Ninos – Spanish Dancers with Food and Festivities
Everyone is invited to join the St. Mary’s Spanish community on Sunday at 2:30 for an afternoon of food and festivities to celebrate the day of the children, dia de los ninos. There will be a special performance by the St. Mary’s Mexican Dancers.
Financial Aid and Enrollment
If you are in the process or have completed the re-enrollment process and are planning on completing the financial aid form, please do so by May 1. You may apply in the FACTS Family Portal under the Financial tab. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office.
Sons of St. Joseph
The Diocese of Boise and St. Mary’s Catholic Community is initiating a new program to encourage young men to explore vocations.
The Sons of St. Joseph is a brotherhood for men and young men who are open to the priesthood. Two cohorts: Younger Brothers (13-18) and Older Brothers (19+). Applications are being accepted now and it officially begins May 1st, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Based out of Our Lady of the Valley in Caldwell, with options for everyone around the diocese to plug in.
Please use the link above to explore more information.
Children’s Entrepreneur Market
Linked above is a letter from Ms. Jones about the Children’s Entrepreneur Market held in Hyde Park on May 2, 2026. If you are out and about on Saturday, please stop by. There are a number of St. Mary’s students participating.
Technology and Students
Technology and students is an ongoing challenge. How much is too much? We are constantly questioning our use of devices in school to find the right balance. Everything we do at school should be to the benefit of the student. If the tools we use are not providing the expected benefit, we adjust.
As much as setting limits at school is important, it is equally important to have limits at home. St. Mary’s has a current subscription to the Social Institute. The Social Institute provides all types of resources for families including hints about setting and controls on different applications. The access the Social Institute, you can use the school logon to access the Family Toolkit code:3d1bC5B9403C65
Preventing Youth Substance Abuse
Central District Health is hosting a virtual seminar to help parents and guardians prevent youth substance abuse. The seminar includes current trends on cannabis, vaping, and kava. Please use the QR code on the linked flyer to sign in on May 11th.
Spring Music Program
- When: Tuesday, May 5th at 6:00pm. Students should arrive between 5:40 and 5:45 and go to their classrooms (Bands and Choir should meet in the church). THE SCHOOL/CHURCH WILL NOT BE OPEN UNTIL 5:40, so please plan accordingly. The program is expected to last about one hour.
- Where: St. Mary’s Church (Free!)
- Who: The program will feature students in 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade, as well as our Bands, Choir, and Mexican Dance group.
- What (to wear): Students should wear nice clothes – think “going to church with Grandma on Easter.” Please help students not to wear anything that might become a distraction to others or prove challenging for them to move around in. When in doubt, they are more than welcome to wear their Mass Dress uniform. Some of the 6th graders will have specific outfits to wear, I will update you on that soon.
- Why: We do this each year to show off the hard work of our students in the performing arts, gather as a community, and celebrate that Music is a valued and integral part of their education.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mr. Peters, and he will try to get back to you quickly – mpeters@bk.org.
BK Music Dept. End-of-Year Concert – Wednesday, May 6 @ 7:00pm (REG Gymnasium)
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for HS students, $2 for younger students and senior citizens, and kids age 5 or younger are free. The award-winning BK ensembles will be performing a wide variety of music, along with many students from our TVCS partner schools. Doors will open to the public at 6:30pm. The REG is the old gym located in the main building, just past the fountain through the front entrance.
BK Mountain Biking Club – Open to Middle Schoolers
The Bishop Kelly Mountain Biking Club has a middle school division for interested students in 6th through 8th grade. The kickoff meeting information is below. It is a terrific program with quality moderators. If you have any interest, please try to attend or contact the moderators (Coaches)
Kick off Meeting –
- Wednesday, May 6th 5:30-8 pm. Bishop Kelly – Info for new riders and parents, Ridgeline Bike & Ski on hand for bike checks, turn a few laps on the BK Short Track!
- Wednesday, May 20th, 6-8 pm. Eagle Bike Park – Info for new riders and parents and we’ll do a mellow ride at EBP
Calendar of Events
- April 20 – 30 – Spring MAP Testing
- May 2 – First Communion – 2nd grade
- May 5 – Spring Concert
- May 6 – May Crowning
- May 6 – Bishop Kelly Music Program
- May 12-14 – 8th Grade Retreat
- May 18 – Pre-K Celebration
- May 18 – Kindergarten Graduation
- May 19 – 8th Grade Graduation
- May 20 – Bowling (morning) – Field Day (afternoon)
- May 21 – Last Day of School – Mass and Carnival
God Bless and Take Care
Kevan Grant
St. Mary’s Catholic School – Principal
Go Spartans!
Other Things
- State of the School 2026 – An email was sent last week with the State of the School Address. This year I opted to do something different. Instead of a written report or slide show, I asked Krista Holdridge, PTO President, to interview me about the current and future state of St. Mary’s. If I drone on for too long, please feel free to speed up the play back to 1.5 or 2.0. My feelings will not be hurt.
- Bishop Kelly – Summer Sports Camps – Bishop Kelly sports programs offer a number of camps throughout June and July. The ages and grades vary based on the sport. Camps range from football to basketball, to lacrosse and much, much more. Please use the link above to investigate and register.
- Uniform Provider Change (Kind of) – Educational Outfitters has merged with Skobel’s School Uniforms. This is exciting for St. Mary’s. Skobel’s has some great benefits to our families including: increased inventory, guarantee on-time delivery and much more. Please see the linked letter for more information. Skobel’s – On-Line Uniform Store: St. Mary’s
- 2026-27 Re-enrollment and Enrollment – Some of our classes are filling up. Please be sure to complete your re-enrollment to secure your spot for the 2026-27 school year. We are providing tours, shadow days, and fielding inquiries daily. Thank you for supporting St. Mary’s and sharing your experience with others.
- Partnership Page – St. Mary’s supports the businesses that support us. The school has a webpage dedicated to our business partnerships. If you are looking for something, I encourage you to check out the directory. If you are interested in listing your business, please contact Mandy at the front office. We would love to continue to grow our partnerships and encourage support for our St. Mary’s businesses.
- Recycled Textiles – St. Mary’s is going to be collecting used clothing, purses, bedding, towels, hats, bags and other used garments for recycling. We are entering into a partnership with Just Porch It to collect and recycle textiles. We will have a bag in the cafeteria beginning in January if you have any items to discard.
- Dress Code – As the weather becomes colder and the first semester comes to an end, it is important we reiterate our dress code expectations with you and the students. Please find the specifics in the link above. Please take a few minutes to review the dress code with your students. We would appreciate your support with:
- St. Mary’s Sweatshirts are the only sweatshirts permitted. All other sweatshirts are to stay at home.
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- Hair must be trimmed neatly and not fall into the students eyes.
- Return to School Policy – Each year the nurses evaluate and provide a return to school policy to keep us as healthy as possible during the school year. Please be sure to review the linked letter.
- 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.
