Opening prayer from Mrs. Kelley

Mrs. Kelley:
- The 7^th grade went on field trips to both Salem and Danvers. The 8^th grade went on field trips to Lowell and Newport, Rhode Island. These trips tie in to the Social Studies curriculum currently being taught and were enjoyed by the children.

- The 3^rd graders were very pleased with the dictionaries that they received from the Danvers Rotary.

- There were approximately 90 people representing SMA at the Hospice Walk at St. John’s Prep. Thank you for supporting this great cause!

- Many parents attended the “Parenting” meeting at Danversport Yacht Club. Speaker John Findlater was very informative and entertaining. Students enjoyed the “No Uniform Today” passes given for parent participation.

- Terra Nova Testing is complete. Testing went well and results will be discussed at a later date when available.

- New Beginnings Counseling Services, Debra Gansenberg and Robyn Silverman, have begun working with SMA teachers and children. Please feel free to consult with them if you or your child would like to speak with them. They are there to help! They will be conducting “bullying” workshops for the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade beginning November 8^th. There is a meeting on the evening of November 14^th in the school library at 7:00 pm for parents of the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders.

- The decision has been made that the profits from the sales of the SMA cards will go towards the purchase of electronic “Smartboards” for the school classrooms. SMA teachers are beginning to take classes in the use of these Smartboards.

- The Band Program is going well with the new band instructor Paul Effman. There are almost 60 children involved in the program.

- The Junior High Haunted House and Halloween dance went well.

- The Student Council is currently running a food drive for donations to the Danvers Food Pantry. Each grade has been given a specific food item to bring in.

- The Auction on November 2^nd was a big success! Thank you for all of the hard work done by all of the Auction volunteers, in particular Cyndi DelGreco, auction chairperson. This event is a great source of income for the school. There was a feedback discussion regarding specifics of the auction night. Topics such as the choice of parent auctioneers versus a professional auctioneer, as well as food stations versus a sit down buffet dinner were discussed. A questionnaire will be sent out to help with planning of next year’s auction.

- Picture retake day is Tuesday, November 13^th.

- Wednesday, November 14^th is an early dismissal day at 12:30.

- Junior High conferences are coming up on Monday and Tuesday, November 19^th and 20^th.

- The day before Thanksgiving, November 21^st, has an early dismissal at 11:30. There will be no busses available that day.

 Joyce Buccheri:
 - SMA “Shopping Night at the North Shore Mall” is coming up on Sunday, November 18^th. A ticket is required for admission. The cost of the ticket is $10; $7 of which comes back to SMA. This is a community building event. There will be entertainment, discounts, promotions in stores, etc, at the mall. We will sell tickets in advance. Buy those SMA cards for that night to help the school in two ways!

- The December Parent Guild event is the SMA Movie Night: Friday, December 7th. This is for all grades Pre-K through 8. There will be a small fee for pizza and soda ($3-$4) and admission to the movie will be a donation to “Toys for Tots”. Mr. and Mrs. Santa will be there to see your child and accept their letters to the North Pole! Popcorn and water will be sold at the movie. There was much discussion regarding which movie to show to include all ages at St. Mary’s. The Parent Guild is in need of volunteers to help run this event!

- The school will begin drawing winners from the SMA calendar sales on January 1^st. Parents need to turn in the calendar stubs to be entered in the January through June raffles. The school website will be updated with winners as the raffle progresses. Drawing for the one-half tuition raffle (each child is already entered once in the raffle) will be done at the Christmas Pageant on December 18^th.

- The next Parent Guild meeting will be December 12^th.

SMA Cards:
- Don’t forget to buy gift cards through SMA; additional forms available on website.