Dear St. Mary’s Families,
Please keep our 5th and 6th graders and their families in your prayers as they enjoy the brisk temperatures and outdoor activities at the McCall Outdoor Science School in McCall.
The next few weeks in October will be busy. We have:
- Spartan Run – October 17 – Everyone is welcome
- Parent/Teacher Conferences – October 24 (No School for Students)
- Regional Catholic Educators Conference – October 30 and 31st (No School for Students)
Thank you for all your trust, support, and partnership. We are all committed to fulfilling the mission of St. Mary’s:
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.
Boise’s Favorite – October 6 (Noon) through October 24th
PLEASE VOTE!! – Daily!!
St. Mary’s has been nominated as Boise’s Favorite Private School and Boise’s Favorite Preschool. We are defending the title we earned last year. Voting began October 6th and runs through October 24th. Use the link above to vote once per day (per device/per browser). Please prepare your devices and write out a schedule to be sure to vote every day during the voting window. GO SPARTANS!
In addition to voting for St. Mary’s as your Favorite Private School and Favorite PreSchool – You can search around for other St. Mary’s partners who are nominated as well.. Such as:
- Carpet Detectives – Home and Garden – Carpet Cleaners
- Auto Ranch Group – Auto Dealers New and Preowned
- Boise At Its Best Flowers – Services – Florist
- Soft Landing – East and Drink – Deserts
- North End Dental – Health and Beauty – Dentistry
If I missed anybody, I apologize. We are happy to promote and support all of our business partners.
Spartan Run – October 17, 2025 – 1:00-3:00 pm – Parents are Welcome to Cheer or Volunteer
Spartan Run is next Friday, October 17 – It is a fun and exciting day and a great way to celebrate the end of the first quarter. Please share your student’s link with friends, family, and others that may be willing to sponsor them or donate to the school.
Each student has a personal site to share with family and friends. The main page for the school is here. Please share the link with your friends and family in town and out that may want to support St. Mary’s. Even Cedar has a page to raise funds. 🐶
Thank you to Jackie Schubert for her leadership and coordination of this event.
The Spartan Run is an important fundraiser for St. Mary’s. The proceeds help us to fund all types of experiences for our students including field trips, students’ experiences and even Hallissey uniforms. So far, we are close to 52% of our way to reaching our goal. All your support is appreciated.
Building of Future: Together in Faith – Capital Campaign
St. Mary’s Catholic Community is preparing for a capital campaign that will strengthen our parish for generations to come. A key focus will be renovating and improving our school and religious education building – spaces where our children learn, our ministries meet, and our community gathers. More details will be shared soon, but for now, we invite you to keep this effort in your prayers as we work together in faith to build our future.
Security at School
Thank you for your support and cooperation in changing our morning procedures. We appreciate all of your efforts to use the front door of the school for Before-Care and Prayer Square. So far, it seems to be working well.
We will continuously evaluate the safety and access of the school and the campus. We appreciate knowing we have your support if we decide to make other changes in the future.
Imagine If – St. Mary’s Gala – January 31, 2026
Our annual St. Mary’s Gala is scheduled for January 31, 2026 at the Riverside Hotel. It is the social event of the year. We would love to see everyone there.
If you are able to help, volunteer opportunities are available through the Parent Quick Links and Track it Forward – Contact Kristen Colter
Tuition Raffle – Only 250 tickets will be sold at a chance to win $5000! – Winnings can be used for tuition at any qualifying school including Bishop Kelly or colleges and universities. Click here for more details and a chance to enter
Imagine If Gala Tuition Raffle
Parent/Teacher Conferences – October 23 and 24 – Please be on the lookout for information concerning Parent/Teacher Conferences. Your child’s teacher will be sending out information in the near future. Conferences will be scheduled after school on October 23rd and during the day (No School for Students) on October 24th.
In order to make the most of our time together, please take a few moments to prepare. This article can help you do so:
Parent-Teacher Conferences: Guide for Parents
School Counselor Information – St. Mary’s is very blessed to have Mrs. Brooke Maritt join us this year. Mrs. Maritt is actively getting to know the students, teachers, and school. Below is information about what Mrs. Maritt will be doing during September.
A reminder to fill out the counseling consent form if you have not yet.
Counselor’s Corner – October Edition
Let’s learn to ACT! Mrs. Maritt will be providing the SOS training to grades 6th-8th during the month of October. In order to continue our partnership with parents, Mrs. Maritt would like to offer the option of a parent night to share what the students will be learning. Even though the training is only provided to middle school students, we welcome all parents to attend.
Parish Picnic – Sunday, October 12 – 3:00 -7:00 pm Elm Grove Park
You are invited to join the community at our annual Parish Picnic hosted by the Knights of Columbus. Main dishes and beverages are provided. If your last name begins
- A-M- Bring a Side Dish to share
- N-Z- Bring a Dessert to share
Please see the linked flyer for more details. 
Baptism
A number of our families have been reaching out to inquire about baptism. Please contact the Parish office (208) 344-2597 to discuss this or any other questions about the church and ways to explore your faith.
The Idaho Tax Commission is working to educate the public about House Bill 93, the bill designed to help families with the expense of non-public education. The link above will bring you to a document from the Diocese. You are also encouraged to visit the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit page. It provides information about the bill along with courses to help families understand the finer details.
We have had a great start to the school year. We are working hard to live up to our mission and encourage everyone to be curious. Curiosity leads to all sorts of knowledge and wisdom, not just for students, but teachers, staff and families.
If you know anyone who might be curious about St. Mary’s – Here is a one page summary highlighting some of the great things about St. Mary’s.
Calendar of Events
- October 6-10 – MOSS 5th and 6th Graders
- October 6 – 24 – Voting for Boise Favorites
- October 8 – Picture Retakes
- October 16 – S.O.S Training 6:30 pm – Thank you for your input
- October 17 – Spartan Run
- October 19 – Bishop Kelly Fall Sports Camp – Grades 3rd through 8th
- October 23 & 24 – Parent/Teacher Conferences
- October 26, 2025 – Trunk or Treat
- November 2 – Mexican Dance Group – Dia De Los Muertos at JUMP 3:30
- November 26 – Mexican Dance Group – Festival of Trees at Boise Centre at 10:00 am
- December 12 – Mexican Dance Group – Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Mary’s at 6:00 pm
- January 31, 2026 – St. Mary’s Annual Gala – Please save the date
God Bless and Take Care
Kevan Grant
St. Mary’s Catholic School – Principal
Go Spartans!
Other Things
- Mexican Dance – Wednesdays – Open to All Students – Gloria Munoz at the Parish office graciously donates her time and expertise to our aspiring dancers. The group practices weekly on Wednesdays after school. No experience necessary. The group performs at events at St. Mary’s and throughout the city, including Dia de los Muertos, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Festival of Trees.
- After-School STEM Club – Spartaneers – Tuesdays – Jason Jaszkowiak is giving his time and experience to lead students in an after-school STEM program after school at St. Mary’s. Please refer to the link above for more information.
- Partnership Page – St. Mary’s school initiated a partnership page on our website to share information about businesses that are associated with and support St. Mary’s. 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 local businesses.
- Safe Environment – Virtus – Safe Environment training is required for any volunteer that will be around students in the school. Please be sure to keep current with your safe environment. You are asked to complete an on-line training session to renew using Virtus each year. Background checks are scheduled to be renewed every five years. If you have never been through Safe Environment, you will need to attend the in-person class first.
- To find the list of in-person training, please follow the above link to Virtus, create an account and follow the prompts to the available classes.
- 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.
- St. Mary’s and Niche – Marketing the school is incredibly important. We utilize a number of avenues to let others know about St. Mary’s. One tool we use is Niche. Niche is an on-line school directory. Each month we have people from all over the country and some international families visit our Niche website to discover more about St. Mary’s. If you have a moment and want to share your experience, please complete a review of the school using the link above.
- Technology and Social Media Last year, I sent this linked letter to our families about some of the struggles we have experienced using technology, social media, or even gaming. As we enter into a new school year, it is 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.
- Nationwide and statewide there are a number of programs supporting families and providing best practices to help keep our children safe. One initiative is Wait Until Eighth. Below is information concerning students in Idaho and nationally with respect to smartphone usage.
- 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
