Opening prayer from Mrs. Kelley

Mrs. Kelley:
- The Terra Nova scores have come in and are being reviewed. Once the review is complete, a report will be issued regarding the results – possibly in January.

- The SMA Book Fair is ongoing this week.

- The Parent/ Teacher conferences were held on Monday. Parents and teachers expressed that they were pleased with the conference day.

- Several SMA teachers attended a 4 week session on Smart Board technology. The school will continue to learn more about the use of these boards before any Smart Boards are purchased. This learning process will include “field trips” by the teachers to other schools that currently use this technology.

- The 7^th and 8^th grade classes will be going on a field trip to the Chamber Theater on Friday.

- The one-half tuition raffle will take place at the school Christmas Pageant on Tuesday, December 18^th. Daily calendar raffle prizes will begin to be awarded in January. Get those raffle tickets in to the school!

- Requests for Annual Fund participation were discussed. Many grants that the school can receive are based on PARTICIPATION rates on the Annual Fund. Goal is to achieve 100% participation: NO amount is too small to donate. This is also a year end tax deduction to consider!

- Upcoming events in January: Play Tryouts on January 8^th and Catholic Schools Week from January 27^th through February 2^nd (includes Pancake Breakfast, new family recruiting and Parent Guild Candy Bar Bingo).

 Joyce Buccheri:
 - SMA Christmas Movie Night was a big success! Thanks to all who helped. It was wonderful for the Parent Guild to have so much help! This year’s combination of pizza/movies worked well. Parents and children alike loved the evening. We had approximately 240 people in attendance. There was Mr. and Mrs. Claus, letters to Santa and activities for the children prior to the movie. A big Thank You to Tina Montanari for providing the “pasta guessing game” jars and prizes. The Guild was also able to donate many toys to the Danvers Food Pantry as a result of the generosity of those attending.

- The annual SMA Christmas Pageant will be on Tuesday, December 18^th - 9:00 am for the school community and 7:00 pm for all others. The Pageant will include a performance by the upper band members, the Suzuki violin students, The Concert Choir and will end with the Christmas Tableau as presented each year by the Junior High.

 - The SMA Night of Shopping was a huge success. The mall was not too crowded and all who attended said it was a great night!

 - The school is in possession of a large number of “gently used” uniforms, especially those that would fit the smaller sizes of those in Kindergarten and First Grade. Anyone who would like to have these uniforms is welcome. We will be setting up a special morning for parents to be able to come in and get them.

 - Sales of SMA cards are going great! Lots have been sold for the Christmas Holiday. This is a great fund raiser for the school as well as a convenience for parents.

 - Please note that after 3:30, no one will be allowed back in the school. This is for security reasons. In addition, the Dance Program and the Enrichment Clubs can not be continuously interrupted to open the doors.

 - The Quiz Bowl is coming up on Saturday, January 26^th at Malden Catholic High School. The SMA team will be competing from 8:00am to 12:00pm.

 - The 50^th Anniversary of St Mary’s School is next year. Volunteer meetings have already begun. This will be a year long celebration. Events will include an Anniversary Mass in September, an Open House at SMA, a Spring Gala, and the annual Fall Auction with a “50^th theme” (there will be a change in location since the Allenhurst will be closing). Several other ideas that were tentatively discussed were a walkathon, events for the children of SMA involving the number “50”, a “Design-a-Tile” Commemorative Wall, as well as the sale of a “Cat’s Meow” style of wooden keepsake. There will be a questionnaire on the school’s Web Site in the near future that will attempt to gather parent feedback on a number of these ideas.

- Questions regarding the parking lot and drop off/pick up were discussed. It is a tougher situation now with the snow. SMA does not own the lot – the Town of Danvers owns it. We have to rely on them for plowing. The lot is “graded” two times per year.

- The next Parent Guild meeting will be January 9^th.