Spartan Spotlight – Week Ending September 25, 2026
Dear St. Mary’s Families,
Where did September go? August seemed to last forever, but September was done in a blip. I hope you are all finding your footing. The next few weeks continue to be filled with extra activities and events to bring the St. Mary’s community together. Please pay close attention to the calendar and newsletter to stay up to date on all the happenings.
Learners and Goldfish
As we continue along our Year of Being a Goldfish, we want to draw a correlation between learning and forgetting. During Prayer Square we have been discussing the importance of being curious. Curiosity leads to growth, knowledge and wisdom. Yet we are often hesitant to ask questions. We fear the potential embarrassment of asking a ridiculous question or a question we assume everyone else knows the answer to…
As Ted Lasso said, embarrassment is an “emotion so useless, it should be embarrassed to be itself”. All of us need to leave embarrassment behind, think about the possibilities of the knowledge unleashed when we ask our questions. Be a goldfish – Do your best and forget the rest.
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
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.
Important quick hits:
Hispanic Heritage Fiesta – Friday, September 25th – 2:00 pm – All are welcome
Thank you to the parents and the PTO for providing the staff lunch last Thursday. The staff and I were incredibly grateful for the thoughtfulness.
This is St. Mary’s Self-Study year for our 2027-28 Accreditation visit – Be on the lookout for a parent survey in support of the Accreditation visit in October
Boise Favorite – Private School – October 5th- St. Mary’s has been nominated again as Boise’s Favorite Private School – The annual voting begins October 5th. We would love to win for the THREE-PEAT
Flu shots – October 6 – 7:30 -9:00 am – Please complete the consent form and insurance information
The sponsorship of the students is off to a great start. Our students have already raised over $5,000, that is 25% of our goal. Great work!
The Spartan Run helps cover the costs of many of our class field trips and activities during the year. Your support is greatly appreciated. Use the link above to find a student to sponsor. We would love for every student to have some sponsorship.
If you are interested, there are still a number of volunteer opportunities to help with the Spartan Run. It is a great time and a wonderful way to end the quarter. If you have the time, we would love to see you on the afternoon of October 16th.
MAP Testing
We completed our Fall 2026 MAP testing this week. Thank you to all the students and staff for doing an exceptional job conducting and completing the assessments. The Fall results will provide us with valuable insight into where each student is individually and where the class may be collectively.
We will share your student’s results with you next week. I would encourage you to read through the information. It is easy to get fixated on the achievement results. While it is nice to know, our focus, as it is each year, is on the students’ growth. We utilize the reports from this Fall along with the results from the Spring to understand the student’s progression.
If you have any questions about MAP, please feel free to utilize the extensive resources in the MAP Family Toolkit
School Mass Weekly Stewardship Focus
Students at St. Mary’s Catholic School are called to be stewards. We have recently streamlined our stewardship focus to alternate between the St. Mary’s Food Bank and Corpus Commons. This will always occur on the day we award our Christian Leader awards. The following are descriptions of our weekly focus at our school Masses and how your child can participate. Teachers try to remind their students what the focus will be. However, you can find the focus of each week’s Mass through May at the bottom of this sheet
Food Bank – on a Food Bank week, students are invited to bring in an item that will be given to the St. Mary’s Food Bank to help combat food insecurity in Boise. Popular (and needed) items include: peanut butter, canned foods, mac and cheese, crackers, dried pasta, pasta sauces, cereal, diapers, toilet paper. These items are brought forward during the offertory.
Corpus Commons – on a Corpus Commons week, students are invited to bring in an item that will be given to Corpus Commons, a local day-shelter that helps the homeless population in Boise. Items that they appreciate: toothbrushes, toothpaste (small sizes) deodorant, foot powder, socks, travel size shampoo and soap, water bottles, cough drops, chapstick, warm gloves. These items are brought forward during the offertory.
(Also listed on the School Google Calendar on the Website)
St. Mary’s Food Bank: Oct 21, Dec 16, Feb 17, Apr 21
St. Mary’s is passionate about service. We are encouraging our students to explore opportunities to serve our families, our school, our parish, and the greater community. We want the learning experience to reflect this commitment.
The linked document explains how our students are being requested to serve based on their grade level. We know this will require some assistance from you at home. Thank you for your support and encouragement. If you have any questions, please talk to the teachers or me.
Hispanic Heritage Fiesta – Friday, September 25 at 2:00 pm
Mrs. Huerta and Mrs. Penalva have been working with their classes to bring attention and awareness to Hispanic heritage. Everyone is welcome to enjoy the music, food, games, and fun. It is a fiesta like no other!
Ven a disfrutar de la celebración
Parish News
St. Mary’s Parish – Weekend Masses
Saturday, 5:00pm – English
7:00pm – Spanish
Sunday- 8:30am & 10:45am- English
12:45pm – Spanish
Weekday Masses
Tues. – Fri., 8:30am
Altar Server Training – Thank you
Thank you to everyone who attended the Altar Server training last week. It was our largest class to date with about 16 students volunteering their time and skills to become an altar server. The school, church, parish and community appreciate their willingness to serve the families willingness to support them.
Wildflowers and Wagon Wheels Gala
The St. Mary’s Annual Gala will be Saturday February 6, 2027 at the Riverside Hotel. Please be sure to save the date and prepare yourself for the social event of the year. This not only is our largest fundraiser for St. Mary’s School, it is an incredible opportunity to celebrate our community, our school, and all the people committed to our mission.
A little on the theme: wildflowers do not come up in neat rows. They bloom in every shape and color, they are hardy, and they thrive through whatever the season brings. That is our students: different personalities, different talents, different paths, all growing strong roots. The wagon wheel is the community side. Every spoke, parents, teachers, parish, volunteers, connects to the same hub of faith, family, and education, and a wheel is built to keep moving forward. It is also a nod to how long this school community has been showing up for its students.
It is very encouraging to see so many of you offer help in the classroom, with field trips, and at events. There are still possibilities to help with the upcoming Spartan Run.
Please check the opportunities with our annual Gala if you are able to help out. The success of the event requires all hands on deck. Please check Track it Forward to find the best option that meets your personality.
If you are struggling to find the time to volunteer, you are welcome to buy out some or all of your time. The volunteer opportunity packet explains a donation of $25 is the equivalent of one hour of volunteering. If you are interested, you can donate to the PTO in lieu of the hours requested.
Bishop Kelly High School is hosting a workshop on the current drug culture, trends and identifiers. Everyone is welcome to participate. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
Last year, St. Mary’s students were able to take advantage of the services of Mathnasium after school. They are back to make an on-site offer again this year. They will be here on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30. Registered students can also make use of Mathnasium sites across the Treasure Valley. Please see the linked flyer for more information.
God Bless and Take Care
Kevan Grant
St. Mary’s Catholic School – Principal
Go Spartans!
Calendar
September 25 – Hispanic Heritage Celebration (2:00 pm at School)
September 25 – 7th and 8th Grade Dance at St. Mary’s
October 2 – Teacher Inservice – No School
October 5-9 – MOSS Camp for 5th and 6th Graders
October 6 – Flu Shots
October 16 – Spartan Run
October 20 – Picture Retakes
October 22-23 – Parent Teacher Conferences – No School
Bishop Kelly – Events and Athletics – Whether you are a soccer fan or football enthusiast, there is almost always something happening at Bishop Kelly. The link above is to their team pages – Check out their calendar for upcoming events.
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.
Hallow – Last year, St. Mary’s purchased a school wide subscription to Hallow at the beginning of Lent. Hallow is a religious application with celebrity endorsements from the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Christopher Pratt, and others (who doesn’t want to pray the rosary with Markie Mark!). There are segments with prayer, music, meditation, sleep aids, and much more. As part of the subscription, each student has their own student sign on. They can sign up on as many as 6 devices. This means if you are interested in using it yourself or would like to listen to it in the car with your family, listen to it after dinner or before bed, you can access the application.
Recycled Textiles – St. Mary’s is collecting used clothing, purses, bedding, towels, hats, bags and other used garments for recycling. We have entered into a partnership with Just Porch It to collect and recycle textiles. There is a laundry bag in the basement if you would like to drop off anything.
St. Mary’s Mexican Dance Group
When: EveryWednesday- only on days when kids have full day of school
Start: we start Wed. Sept. 2nd
Time: 3:15 pm to 4:30 pm
Where: School Gym
Details: —Every St. Mary’s School student is welcomed. —Class is free/no fees.
Required: 1) dancing shoes. 2) each child needs his/her parent or legal guardian to be present before, during, and after each class.
