Each month, we will be spending time at Prayer Square focusing on one of the four school-wide learning expectations; Friends, Learners, Disciples, and Stewards. These four attributes help guide our overall expectations for what it means to be part of the St. Mary’s community.
At the end of each month, we select one student from each grade that worked hard to embody the spirit of the attribute we have been focusing on. We recognize them at Mass as Christian Leaders. Our first Mass for Christian Leaders will be September 16, 2026.
For the month of September we are focusing on Friends. We all want to have good friends, but we also have to be good friends. This is not always easy. Friendship requires sacrifice, loyalty, honesty, and trust. In addition, we might not be friends with everyone, but we do have a responsibility to be friendly to everyone. This is particularly challenging for students dealing with the complexities of relationships at school.
Please talk to children about friendship. When our students hear the same message at home they are hearing at school, their learning is that much greater.
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.
No School – September 4 – Teacher Inservice
No School – September 7 – Labor Day
If you are new to the area, I encourage you to check out the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic at Ann Morrison Park – It is amazing to attend in person or spend the morning sipping coffee watching the balloons.
Sacramental Preparation – For All Students (Especially 3rd grade and older)
Last year we had a significant number of students and families ask about baptism. This is an incredible thing. This year we would like to offer these classes at school to prepare for not only baptism, but also first reconciliation and first communion. This will not take the place of the regular preparation for first communion and first reconciliation completed during second grade. But if they are in need of baptism or if you have a student older than 2nd that is interested in baptism, first communion and first reconciliation, please complete the form below:
Technology in the world has become ever present. It has created some wonderful opportunities and has also created some very concerning situations. These are the unintended consequences of quick adoption of new technology in a world where advancements are happening at an incredible speed. It is very difficult, but important, to educate yourself about the danger areas of the use of technology and the damage that can occur with extensive screen time, both for ourselves and our children.
While we plan on doing digital literacy nights at school for our parents later in the year, below is a link to the Social Institute that can provide you with some very good information as well as some discussions you can have at home with your children about technology usage. St. Mary’s has purchased a subscription for the school and for families in an attempt to keep us informed about the usage of technology and how to establish ground rules at home. The Social Institute provides all types of resources for families including hints about setting and controls on different applications.
To access the Social Institute, you can use the school logon to access the Family Toolkit code:3d1bC5B9403C65
Hallow
Last year, St. Mary’s purchased a school wide subscription to Hallow at the beginning of Lent. If you are unfamiliar, Hallow is a religious application that can be used for daily prayer, listening to five minute homilies, learning about the Saints and much more. We are very pleased to share that the application encourages users to listen more and look less, thus consistent with our objective of limiting screen time.
There are programs with 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.
Since Ash Wednesday of 2026, the St. Mary’s community has prayed 1,872 prayers in 27,160 minutes through Hallow.
Attendance
Please bring your students to school and please bring them on time. We like your children. We want to see them everyday at school. Over the past five years, school attendance has become a bigger and bigger problem everywhere. The trend needs to be reversed. It is going to require all of us to promote the importance of attending school everyday. At St. Mary’s we are committed to creating a positive, engaging environment where our students are welcomed and valued.
Equally important to being at school is being at school on time. While it might not seem as though 5, 10, or 30 minutes late is a big deal, it is. It is important to your child and to all children to start the day off right. Very often, the teachers are setting the stage for the entire day or at least the class period. When your student is late, they miss this instruction and they are playing catch-up for the rest of the day.
In addition to the personal impact, it has an impact on the rest of the class. Showing up late interrupts instruction or activities for the others in the room. If you are having trouble getting here on time, please contact the school. We would love to help you formulate a solution.
Cedar Rules
In the 1990s, the Detroit Pistons needed the Jordan Rules to help deal with the greatness of Michael Jordan. Likewise, at St. Mary’s we need the Cedar Rules to deal with the GOAT of emotional support animals.
We are very blessed to have Cedar at St. Mary’s. He can make your sad day a little happier and make your good days even better. He is here for the students, the teachers, and the parents. Cedar is a hard worker and a reliable source of support. As with any privilege, there are rules. Over the past two weeks, I have met with the classes to discuss the rules of engagement. So far, the students have done an excellent job. Below are the Cedar Rules. Your help and support would be greatly appreciated.
Volunteerism
Volunteerism is part of every Catholic school. It is important to work together as we continuously build our community. The primary source of volunteer opportunities is our PTO. The PTO organizes social events, fundraisers, and other activities all throughout the year. They need your help. We do ask each of our families to contribute 20 hours per year to the various events and activities at St. Mary’s. Not only does it provide an opportunity to get to know others and be part of the larger community, the fundraising helps keep our tuition competitive and reasonable. Last year’s fundraising efforts by the PTO equated to approximately $160,000. That is $1000 per student.
Krista Holdridge and the other PTO officers put together a comprehensive list of volunteer opportunities. They include not only activities during the day, but also opportunities to help from the comfort of your home. Please review the linked packet below to find an option that may work best for you.
We have already seen tremendous interest for many of you to volunteer. Over 35 families have already been to Track It Forward to sign up. If you have not yet signed up, please check out the available opportunities. We would be sad 😢if you were unable to sign up for the perfect volunteer opportunity!
Theme – Be a Goldfish
This year, the staff and I will be goldfish – It is the happiest animal on the planet. Why? It has a 10 second memory. You can expect to hear more about our theme as the year progresses. We have taken this idea one step further as we are working at implementing an entire FISH Philosophy – The big ideas include:
Choose your attitude
Be present
Play (have fun)
Make their day
These ideas fit perfectly with our focus on being a friend. We get to choose each day to be a good friend, and be friendly. We can work hard to make other’s day by noticing something they did that was amazing. We can play and have fun and include everyone when possible.
Student Hosted Mass – Back to School Bash – Saturday, September 12 @5:00 pm
This is a community building event intended to bring us all back together in celebration of a new school year. At 5:00 pm, the students will be hosting Mass by greeting, reading, bearing gifts, and altar serving. I will be asking specific students to play a role in the celebration.
Afterwards, the PTO is holding the Back to School Bash social. Time to enjoy a beverage and the company of others in the community. We are looking forward to seeing everyone there.
They are still in need of volunteers for the Bask to School Bash – Please check out Track It Forward.
Window Replacement
The basement is done. All the new windows are mostly installed (a little finish work is still needed). Incredible progress being made. The plan is to move to the first and second floor. The work will continue to happen after school hours. Thank you for the support and enjoy watching the progress!
If you have a student in 3rd grade or high and you are a parishioner of St. Mary’s…. THEY CAN BE AN ALTAR SERVER!!! Deacon Jason Jaszkowiak is offering altar server training on Thursday, September 17th after school in the 6th grade classroom. Please see the flyer above for more information.
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.
Reminders: no shoes-no practice and pack an extra snack.
Gracias!
Future Cheerleaders!
Bishop Kelly Cheer is holding a Mini Knight Cheer Camp – Sept 17 and 18. If your child is interested, please complete the registration form below.
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 4 – Teacher Inservice – No School
September 7 – Labor Day – No School
September 12 – Student-Led Mass 5:00 pm – Followed by – Back to School Bash
September 14 – 25 – MAP Testing 1st through 8th grade
September 17 – Altar Server Training – After 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.
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.
Hallow
Hallow
