As you consider your dinner options for tomorrow night, please remember that – Monday, August 5th is St. Mary's Night at Don and Millie's at 2208 Pratt Avenue in Bellevue (by Menards on Cornhusker). St. Mary's receives a portion of your receipt IF you put the receipt into their fishbowl. Come on out, see some friends before school starts, help the school, and make Mom happy all at the same time (no cooking)!!!!
Liz Connealy will be leading Bible studies and a mentorship program for young women at Wayne State College this year. She, along with 4 others, is working with FOCUS, the Fellowship Of Catholic University Students, to help others find Christ. Liz went to a non-FOCUS college and wasn't very involved with her faith but a FOCUS national conference changed her life forever. As an adult she made Christ an intimate part of her life and wants to share her testimony with others. Liz, a 2005 St. Mary's graduate, and 2013 graduate of Northwest Missouri State, needs your support in her mission.
If you would like to make a donation click here.
Or call Liz at 402-658-4943.
Notes for Preschool Parents
Preschool students may wear regular play clothes or school uniforms for school.
If children choose to wear play clothes, the clothing should be comfortable for classroom and outdoor activities. We highly recommend that all children wear athletic shoes/tennis shoes as they will have PE and be outside for recess most days.
Preschool students may choose to wear school uniforms if they want. If children choose to wear the school uniform, they will follow the guidelines for the kindergarten uniform which consists of navy or white polo top and navy shorts or pants for girls and boys. Girls may also wear navy skorts or jumpers. Uniform pieces may be purchased at local stores such as Kohl's, Penney's and Shopko.
We have some used uniforms available through the Uniform Assistance Program. Children may take items that fit without any charge.
Please feel free to call Mrs. Castle at 402-291-1694 if you would like further information.
Get ready for school before the school year starts. Take a look at the Technology Resources website Mrs. Sweeting our Technology Coordinator has created for both students and parents. This website is a type of one-stop browsing for safe sites and activities for school and for fun. It has educational sites each teacher has recommended as well as required sites for homework. Don't worry about forgetting the URL click here to go to the site or you can find it on the school website under Academics-Classroom Homepage for Techology.
Clip
ping "Box Tops for Education" labels brought in more than $3,000 to St. Mary's School this past school year. Once you start looking, you'll see little pink coupons everywhere. When you do, clip them out and bring them to church or school. At church there's a box next to the elevator for you to put them in. Each coupon is worth 10 cents. You can find Box Tops on hundreds of items like Wheaties, Gold Medal flour and Ziploc baggies. Box Tops has also teamed up with many retailers online like Lands End and Walmart so you can support St. Mary's School when you shop on their websites. You can make a difference every time you shop. Thanks for all you've done, St. Mary's School is looking forward to another great year because of your help.
Keeping our kids safe! If you are new to the school or parish and would like to volunteer with our youth then you mus
t be Safe Environment trained. St. Mary's parish has an initial Safe Environment training class scheduled August 15th from 7:30-9:30PM in the Dominican Center. Seating is limited to 25, so call early to 402-291-7222 to RSVP and reserve your seat. If you cannot attend this session the Archdiocese has other sessions available. Click here to find other opportunities for Safe Environment training. If you are unsure about your Safe Environment Certification, contact the Religious Ed office at 402-291-7222.
IPEVO Wishpool grants Linda Sweeting her technology wish. Mrs. Sweeting wanted an IPEVO Typi Folio Case + Wireless Keyboard for an iPad for her classroom. Wishpool said her story touched every Wishpool Member and so she was selected to receive this month's gift. IPEVO has a different product for educators to apply for every month. If the product fits the teacher's classroom they can "make a wish." IPEVO hopes to help create a technology rich environment for students and empower teachers with their newest and best classroom tools.
Sean Cork, St. Mary's alumni 2006', spent his summer working as a military survival instructor at the Air Force Academy teaching land survival as well as POW training that included resistance, escape and evasion. 
Sean is a senior and will be graduating next spring as a second Lieutenant. He is a varsity boxer and coaches boxing during the school year. The photo is of him boxing an Army boxer from West Point, the Army's military academy. This year, he was named to the Athletic Director's list for his outstanding physical test scores, his boxing and his grades in physical education. He is also majoring in Chemistry and was really challenged last year by his two semesters of physical chemistry. Even with the challenges of a very tough major, he is on the Dean's list for being in the top 1/3 of his class academically. Sean wants to fly after he graduates and is considering his opportunities as graduation approaches.
Vote daily through September 30th and help St. Mary's School win 5 Tablets and a $500 gift card for apps. Eight schools will win the Labels for Education sweepstakes valued at $3,750. We currently have 332 points and need 50,000 by September 30th. Any U.S. citizen age 13 and up can register. Click here to go to the Labels for Education website or go to their facebook page and enter daily. Thanks for helping out in this quick and easy way. Don't forget to tell all your friends and family and ask them to vote daily.
A very successful year! Thank you to everyone for your continued support of the Adopt A Student Program (AAS) to help students in need get a Catholic education. Donations have increased each of the past four years since the programs inception. This year 19 donors gave $10,194. Every donation, no matter how small, counted. We also had our first Adopt A Student Endowment donation, which totaled more than $23,000. Starting next April the AAS Program will begin receiving annual disbursements of approximately $700 to start from the endowment.
Christina Sullivan will be going to Bellevue East. She has prepared well, having been on the honor roll the last two years and making straight A's in 8th grade. She is a member of the Junior National Honor Society. Christina has been involved in volleyball, basketball and swimming. During school she also volunteered with Circle of Friends helping other kids with physical or emotional difficulties once a week. This summer she is volunteering at Camp Munroe to work with children who have developmental disabilities and will also help out at the Transplant Reunion at UNMC in July.
Registration day had children laughing and playing in the St. Mary's School gym while parents got down to business registering their children for school this fall. July 15th was a busy registration day with ninety families participating in the registration process. Parents completed paperwork and finalized tuition agreements. They also met with representatives from Home and School, School Development, the Alumni group, M.O.M.S, Girl and Boy Scouts, Chess Club, Girls Religious Awards, Religious Education, and Project Hope to learn more about how each organization works with the school. Families were also able to take part in the Uniform Assistance Program and select school clothing for their children. We want to thank all of the school organizations and staff members who participated in making registration a success.
We would like to thank all of the families who attended registration. Families who were not able to attend registration may call the school office and Mrs. Castle or Mrs. Maiefski will be happy to schedule a time to meet for registration. Families who would like to check out the uniform assistance program are also encouraged to call the school office and schedule a time to visit uniform assistance. Items from uniform assistance are "pay forward" items and are free to all St. Mary's School families. The uniform items are carefully cleaned and inspected before being offered. The only request is that in the future, you "pay forward" by donating your gently used items back into the program.
We look forward to the start of a new school year and welcoming you all back and meeting the many new students and families to our school community. For more photos click here.
Joe Sullivan, will be a Junior at Bellevue East this fall. As a Sophomore, Joe was on the Honor Roll and lettered in football. He also participated in power-lifting, swimming and track. He has participated in the Youth Learning Academy at UNMC for 4 years and is applying to be on the Advisory Council. This summer he is working at Camp Munroe to work with children who have developmental disabilities and will volunteer at the Transplant Reunion at UNMC in July.
Free summer 2013 volleyball clinics open to all St. Mary's parish girls from 3rd to the 8th grade start July 23rd. Everyone is invited, whether you've played in years past or just want to see what our volleyball program is like here at St. Mary's. Tuesday, Thursday clinics start July 23rd-Aug 8th. Saturday clinics start July 27-Aug 10th. Doug Feagan St. Mary's Volleyball Coordinator, a former college coach with over 27 years experience will conduct the clinics with other St. Mary's coaches. For details on the clinics that include skills, drills, games and FUN click here! To register, email Coach Feagan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tommy Walther is ranked in the top 1% of his class out of 364 students at Bellevue East with a 3.83 GPA on a 4.0 scale. In August he starts his senior year. Tommy has lettered in swimming, football, baseball and academics. Tommy also power lifts. He has already earned college credit in world history, Psychology, and English at Bellevue East. This year he was inducted into the National Honor Society.
Michaela Sullivan graduated as Salutatorian (in a three way tie for first) from Bellevue East in 2013 and will be going to the University of Nebraska Lincoln with 20 college credits in hand. She will be starting out as a Sophomore to pursue Speech Pathology with a minor in Spanish. Michaela received a full ride through her Regents Scholarship, Buffet Scholarship and $4,000 Scholarship from the Department of Education, which will pay for all of her books, tuition and room and board. Michaela lettered in track, cross-country and swimming. She was one of eight 12- sport athletes to graduate in her 385 person class. That means she participated in 3 sports each of her 4 years in high school. She also, took 1st place in the state of Nebraska her Junior year in powerlifting in her weight class, as a Senior she took 2nd. Michaela was inducted into the National Honor Society her Sophomore year and remained there for 3 years. For community work, Michaela took part and was on the Advisory Board of the Youth Learning Academy at UNMC for four years. That's where students are exposed to many fields in medicine and they volunteer to help others.
Put on your red, white and blue and help make everyone's 4th of July the best ever. You heard the call for help and signed up for the days leading up to the 4th but the biggest day of all still has some openings. This is shaping up to be our best year ever at the Fireworks Stand! Thanks to everyone who is making a difference! Please call Jennifer Kreps at 402-293-0544 or Beth Swank at 605-261-7870 and get your best time reserved.
July 4th
2 people- 5-7 PM
1 person- 6-8 PM
2 people- 8-10 PM
1 person- 9-11PM
2 people- 10PM to Midnight
Get your volunteer hours in early for the 2013-2014 school year and have fun doing it. Lots of volunteers have already signed up to work at the Fireworks Stand this year. There is still some availability. Here is a list of times still available. Call Beth Swank at 605-261-7870 to get your preferred slot or slots
.
Friday, June 28th
2 people from 5pm-7pm
2 people from 9pm-11pm
Saturday, June 29th
2 people from 3pm-5pm
1 person 5pm-7pm
1 person 9pm-11pm
Monday, July 1st
1 person 1pm-3pm
Wednesday, July 3rd
1 person 3pm-5pm
1 person 5pm-7pm
Thursday, July 4th
1 person 1pm-3pm
2 people from 3pm-5pm
2 people from 5pm-7pm
2 people from 9pm-11pm
1 person from 6pm-8pm
1 person from 8pm-10pm
1 person from 10pm-12am
What a great turnout for Catholic Night at Werner Park! St. Mary's Home and School Association and other Catholic groups celebrated their faith and a love of baseball at Catholic Night with the Stormchasers. Seven families from St. Mary's and three teachers, with their families joined Father Mark on the 3rd base line for a night of fun and community. One of the local Knights of Columbus groups, in full regalia, presented the Stars and Stripes in an impressive display. The Stormchasers took on the Albuquerque Isotopes and valiantly fought to come back from an Isotope lead, tying it up in the 7th inning at 4. Despite the roaring support of the crowd, they were defeated 7-4. It was a great night, despite the score. Everyone who went to the game was treated to a coupon for a free Blimpie's sub and a hair cut coupon from Cost Cutters! Home and School enjoys these events and hopes to host more family-friendly events. Keep your eyes open for event notices and updates on Facebook! For more photos click here.
St. Mary's School Fireworks stand opened at 9AM and will be open every day through July 4th on the corner of 28th and Capehart Road. This is your chance to beat the rush, buy early and buy often. Get all your family's fireworks here and ask your friends to do the same. Mention you're a St. Mary's family and you'll receive a 10% discount.
St. Mary's School Fireworks Stand - Hours of Operation
Tues June 25th: 9am-9pm
Wed June 26th: 9am-9pm
Thurs June 27th: 9am-9pm
Fri June 28th: 9am-11pm
Sat June 29th: 9am-11pm
Sun June 30th: 9am-11pm
Mon July 1st: 9am-9pm
Tues July 2nd: 9am-11pm
Wed July 3rd: 9am-midnight
Thurs July 4th: 9am-midnight - HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
Thanks to everyone who has signed up to volunteer at the fireworks stand. There is still availability. Contact Beth Swank (volunteer coordinator) to sign up and volunteer. This is a great way to get your volunteer hours in.
Missy Walther finished her freshman year ranked in the top 1% of her class of 398 students at Bellevue East with a 4.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale all the while playing on the JV softball team, freshmen Basketball team, power-lifting club, and Varsity Soccer team. She was awarded the "3 Sport Athlete Award" her freshmen year and also lettered in soccer. In her spare time Missy also volunteered at Mable Rose Retirement Community with former St. Mary's classmates.
St. Mary's School is accepting new students. Come and take a look at what St. Mary's has to offer. If you drive to Old Town Bellevue you can't miss the sign inviting you to enroll now. Call for information at 402-291-1694 and schedule a tour.
St. Mary's alumni and students from our parish achieved 4th quarter high school academic honors: at Roncalli, Rachel Norris made the Honor Roll; at Duchesne, Kathryn Zieno received Highest Honors; at Mercy, Allayna Bash, Marlene Djidjoho, Julia Leister, Laura Sjostedt, Jill Sobczyk, and Veronica Traggiai received First Honors, and Hannah Kimsey received Second Honors; at Gross, Danielle Cork, Sarah Janda, Patrick Mruz, and Chelsea Schmitz earned a 3.25 GPA or greater, and at Creighton Prep, Matthew Cervantes, Riley Hanson, Jonathan Henderson, and Benjamin Reckmeyer received First Honors, and Hayden Hanson & Michael Martin received Second Honors. Congratulations!
Celebrate our nation's independence and support St. Mary's School at the same time. For all your 4th of July needs come to the Home and School Fireworks Stand on the corner of 28th and Capehart Road. Same location. The stand opens June 25th. The hours of operation are June 25th-27th 9am-9pm, June 28th-30th 9am-11pm, July 1st 9am-9pm, July 2nd 9am-11pm, and July 3rd-4th 9am-midnight! Mention you are a St. Mary's family and receive a 10% discount! Good excuse to buy even more!
Come and celebrate your faith and fellowship while enjoying America's favorite past time. For the second time in four years the Omaha Storm Chasers will host Catholic Night at Werner Park. St. Mary's Home and School Association has 50 tickets to the game June 20th at 7:05 P.M. Tickets are $10 each. Contact Sam Kimsey at skimsey1(at)gmail.com or 402-216-3597 to buy them, or you can purchase them after all masses this weekend. Make your checks out to "Home and School Association." See you at the ball game.
St. Mary's and St. Matthews 4th graders took a historic walking tour. During their 3-4 mile walk they saw many of Bellevue's historic landmarks. 4th graders do this each year to learn more about the history in their own back yard. And Bellevue has quite a history. This year's walk was extra special for the St. Mary's students who met the parents of their Korean student, JuWeon Kim, just prior to her departure. JuWeon's parents arrived a few days earlier, eager to see their daughter who had been in America since last August.
Everyone visited the old brick bank building off of East Mission Street, the old log cabin whose last resident was Mrs. Mountain, the Old Presbyterian Church (where they learned that the NETV movie of Standing Bear was filmed inside) and Bellevue's Cemetery where they prayed over the grave of what is believed to be a pioneer child.
The highlight of the annual walk is lunch and recess in Washington Park after the long trek! This year's lunch was a BBQ provided by the generosity of both Baker's Supermarket and parents. A big thank you to St. Matthews' School parents, who grilled for us all, set up the food and put it all away.
This year, however, lunch wasn't the highlight. St. Mary's students had made special gifts for JuWeon and her parents. Each student drew a Nebraska themed quilt square and wrote a farewell message on the back squares. Thanks to the skill and generosity of Mrs. Kimsey, the quilt was completed and presented to JuWeon's parents as a reminder of not only her time with the 4th grade class but a reminder of some important aspects of Nebraska's history. Though communication was difficult, the love and hard work put into the quilt's making was understood. Everyone had a great time, especially when Mr. and Mrs. Kim joined the students on the teeter-totter!
Their journey continued with a walk to the Columban Fathers. Fr. Charles O'Rourke spoke not only to the students but since he spent 40 years in Korea, he was able to speak to Mr. Mrs. Kim in their native tongue. Father also showed the students their chapel and Mrs. Frans Lang surprised everyone with freshly made popcorn and cookies.
Revitalized by the snacks, everyone continued on down the street to school where St. Matthew's students departed and St. Mary's students gathered with grades 5-7 for a small farewell assembly for all of St. Mary's Korean students. As part of their citizenship class, the 5th graders sang the national anthem and presented St. Mary's Christmas ornaments and hand made patriotic fleece blankets to JiWoo, JB and JuWeon.
Then it was time for a final farewell as JuWeon and JB were leaving for a tour of New York City. Hugs, a few tears and well wishes ended the last full day of school. It had indeed been a long and memorable day. We pray that JuWeon remembers all of us as we won't forget our Korean classmate! For more photos from the walking tour click here.
Rain may stop us but not 100 degree heat! That was the thought of the 4th and 5th graders when they set out on the hottest day in May to the Platte River State Park and a grand adventure! 
The original date was scheduled back in April when the skies opened up and wouldn't close. Even the annual state park Outdoor Program had to close for a time. St. Mary's School 4th and 5th graders were invited back to enjoy some of the original activities, namely shotgun and archery. The students did great at target practice! After a grand cookout of hot dogs, s'mores and dutch oven peach cobbler thanks to our outdoor chef/parent, Mr. Van Huffel everyone hiked to the nearest lookout tower and the trail below. It was indeed God's playground that was discovered for the first time by many students who never get out to see the wonders of our state parks. Heat and water were both plentiful as were the tired smiles on the faces of students who were so grateful that they live with today's conveniences and not the hardships of the early settlers who once walked the Nebraska trails. Special thanks to Mrs. Kellie Kouba who wrote a Target grant for this adventure of a lifetime! Click here to go to the photo gallery for many more photos.
The following students celebrated graduation from St. Mary's School at Mass on May 19th; Alfred Balanay, Juan Chavez, Jr., Shayanne Cornett, Jean-Marie Djidjoho, Marcel Dugas, James Goetz, Michael James, Joseph Keenan, Nowa Keita, Sara Kepford, Maya Lewis, Danny McMaster, Mikayla Sage, Nick Schnitzer, Lauren Traggiai, and Cole Wellman. Also, congratulations to James Goetz, Jean-Marie Djidjoho, Maya Lewis, Shayanne Cornett and Lauren Traggiai, recipients of the Dr. Charles and Amy Longo Scholarship. James and Maya will attend Daniel J. Gross High School, Jean-Marie will attend Mt. Michael High School, and Lauren will attend Mercy High School. Shayanne will attend Mercy or Daniel J. Gross High School. Maya and Lauren also received $300 scholarships from the St. Mary's - Bellevue Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court#2036. Congratulations to all the scholarship winners!
St. Mary's Spirit Night at Chick-fil-A in Bellevue was successful in several ways. It brought St. Mary's families together and it raised money for the school. It was also a chance to promote St. Mary's. There were posters and flyers strategically placed by the registers and some students were sporting St. Mary's t-shirts. Chick-fil-A has already sent the school a check for almost $215, 10 % of their proceeds from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Thanks to everyone who came out to support St. Mary's School and many thanks to Chick-fil-A for their generosity and community minded efforts. Hope to see you at our next Spirit Night at Chick-fil-A in September. For more photos click here.
Turning back the hands of time. Fourth graders researched the life of an early Nebraskan and portrayed that person during "Pioneer Day". Each "pioneer" introduced themselves to the class; "proved up" their homestead; washed their hands with goat milk soap and prepared and ate a pioneer style lunch. One of the highlights of the day was to play some pioneer relay races where they had to gather real eggs, churn butter, cut sod, plow and plant seeds and wash clothes on a wash board before turning forward the hands of time and becoming 4th graders with a deeper understanding of the hardships of pioneers and a stronger appreciation of the conveniences of today's world in which they live. For more pioneer photos click here.
The 4th graders walked to The Chapel of the Holy Innocence and brought along their rosaries. They were able to spend time with Jesus and as a class said the rosary for all Life. The prolife chapel sits across the street from the abortion clinic. It is located on the southwest corner of Mission and Galvin Rd. Liz Miller, who helped found the chapel joined the class and told them how the chapel came to be, all starting with an idea from Father Weslin. Masses are said the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month at 8:15 AM. All are welcome!
St. Mary's Catholic School is a Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth Grade School of the Archdiocese of Omaha. Our mission is to provide a Catholic education that nurtures students' hearts and minds to become servant leaders in an ever-changing world.
Our philosophy of education is to offer a five-day program to assist families in teaching those truths, skills, and ideals, which are necessary for Christian living. We believe that education must develop the faculties and abilities of the whole child: spiritually, intellectually, physically, and emotionally. To help achieve this, our faculty and staff are an integral part of the formation of Christian community and dedicate themselves to the task of developing Christian citizens.
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