State of the School meeting lays out expectations for coming school year

While the new year has just begun, schools across the diocese, including St. Thomas More School are already looking to the next academic year. Father Mike along with school leaders, parents and parishioners, gathered in the church to review the progress the school has made this year while looking to what the 2022-2023 school year will bring.

As noted in previous website articles, close to $500,000 was invested for repairs and improvements in the school including a new roof, waterproofing and new hallway flooring and lighting. Looking to future improvements, a few benefactors have stepped forward with an interest in refurbishing the school’s science lab. In addition, Father Mike expressed a desire to create a plan to refresh each classroom with paint, flooring, lighting and air-conditioning with a goal to address 1-2 rooms each year.

The school looks to continue to focus its priorities on three pillars: faith, service and academics. Students attend weekly all-school Masses, hold prayer services along with their normal religion classes while learning the basic prayers of their faith.

This year, the school's focus on service was evident during the Thanksgiving food drive. During Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 30 - Feb. 4), the school will hold a Coin Challege by having a friendly contest to see who can collect the most pennies and dollars with their prayer pal partners. The proceeds from the coin challenge will be spent to provide lunch to the emergency medical staff at a local hospital.

The academic pillar focuses on improvement in the benchmark testing tools, homework and other subject areas. One example given at the meeting was the considerable progress made by the 8th grade language standarized tests scores.

The meeting also included a presentation and discussion on school funding and tuition. Through the generosity of some parishioners, St. Thomas More is looking to provide more assistance to school families through two new scholarship opportunities. The Parish Life Scholarship and Building Our Future Scholarship look to bridge the gaps between the cost of educating a student, the cost of tuition and the amount that families can afford.

Parents must apply for other funding opportunities through the diocese and educational vouchers first, before relying on parish funds for assistance. The goal is to keep tuition affordable for a wide variety of families who send and want to send their family to St. Thomas More School.

Parents with questions or concerns about the process of applying for assistance should contact the school office. The deadline for some of the external assistance funds is fast approaching.

Parishioners who are interested in offering financial support for parish scholarships are encouraged to contact the rectory.

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