St. Matthew Elementary
Jaguar Journal

News for 2019-2020
We just wanted to give you an update on our staffing plan for the 2019-2020 school year as it exists today. Should you have any recommendations and/or individuals you think would be a great fit for St. Matthew, please have them reach out to me at aconlon@stmatthewcr.org or apply on TeachIowa; all positions have been posted there.

• JK - open position
• K - Amy Kane and Katie Driscoll
• 1 - Kate Van Berkum
• 2 - Terri Ohde and open position
• 3 - Shelly Adams
• 4 - Trudy Smith
• 5 - Elizabeth Wareham
• Music/Band - open position
• PE/Tech - Brianna Carney
• Art - Jessie Miller-Smith

We wish Hannah Chute and Amy Williams the best of luck in their future endeavors. Ms. Chute will be joining her fiance (soon-to-be husband) in Alabama as he has accepted a job with NASA. Mrs. Williams will be going back to her roots as a middle school band director.

First Communion Tomorrow!
Please keep our 2nd grade students in your prayers as they celebrate their First Communion tomorrow at the 4 p.m. Mass here at St. Matthew. All are welcome to join in the celebration. Please pray for: Brooklyn Braid, Mason Fisher, Samuel Gilliland, Gage Haase, Lucas Harken, Addison Marraback, Zachary Meyer, Garrison Miller, Sara Oehler, Neveah Pewee, Sawyer Pompei, Norah Richmond, Luke Riesenberg, Lennox Shovein, Keagan Stastny, Evan Thuente, Kamryn Waddell, and Kaylee Wood.

Rainbow Day is coming up...

Before we know it Rainbow Day will be here. We are very excited for this fun-filled day. Mark your calendar for Friday, May 17th. You are welcome to join us for any of the activities that day. You will hear more about Rainbow Day and a sign up to join us for lunch will be shared soon. Here is the tentative agenda for the day...
10:45 a.m.--Assembly in the gym
11:15 a.m. to noon--Lunch is served
12 p.m.--Prayer Service
12:30 to 2:30--Rainbow Day Activity Rotations

Harken Family
As many of you know, Jim Harken has been fighting the good fight against cancer. He was recently told he needs to have another surgery as the first surgery and round of chemotherapy didn’t remove all the cancer cells. This will be happening in the coming weeks.
        As a supportive St. Matthew community, we would like to help the Harken family during this time of need. Mary has said they will have family in town helping to prepare meals and help with the kids so we would like to shower them with gift cards. We will be collecting gift cards for things such as groceries, restaurants and gas and any other cards you would like to include. Please drop them by the main office and make sure your envelope is clearly marked.
        Jim is the father of Lucas in 2nd grade, Michael in 1st grade and Dominick in Kindergarten. His wife Mary is the Director of Development at Xavier High School. Jim and Mary have touched many of our lives and the lives of our children. We wish Jim a speedy recovery.

First Day School Supplies
Make your back to school prep that much easier this fall by placing and order for your school supplies now. First Day School Supplies is on online school supply company that has put together custom supply boxes for St. Matthew School students. You can find out more and Order Here!
(Orders must be placed by June 30th. Make sure when they ask for the zip code you are putting the school zip code: 52402)

Spring Concert - Mark Your Calendar
With the warmer weather finally upon us we are getting ready for the 4th and 5th Grade Spring Music Concert. The concert will be on Tuesday, May 14 at 7:00 PM here in the St. Matthew Gym. Students will be expected to arrive at 6:45. Students should plan on wearing dress code or better, remembering that we will be dancing, playing buckets, as well as singing. The 5th grade band will also be performing that evening. The concert should be done by 8:00. We cannot wait to show you what we have been working on this semester in music class. Many of the students have also spent some extra time working on additional music skills for small groups. Being part of a performance is one of the National Standards that we are blessed to be able to support here at St. Matthew.

Xavier Senior Walk
The 2019 graduating class from Xavier High School will take one last trip down memory lane at St. Matthew Elementary on Wednesday, May 1st around 12:45/1:00 PM.  All are welcome to attend!  Just a note that our 5th grade students will participate in this walk at Regis Middle School as they will be there for their 5th grade retreat.  Dress code for the day will be:

• Dress Code Bottoms
• Xavier or St. Matthew Top

2019-20 Family Formation Registration is now OPEN!
Families are encouraged to sign up for next year's Family Formation offered through St. Matthew Parish. This is for families with students in kindergarten through 5th grade. Sessions will begin in September. Visit http://www.stmatthewcr.org/parish/2019/04/01/grades-1-5-faith-formation/  to learn more and sign up.

Message from the Library
The last week to check out books from the library will be the week of May 6-10th.  Beginning the week of May 13-17th we will be sending home slips with the books that are still checked out. Please help us get the library ready for our next school year.  
~Mrs. Bates and Mrs. Williams

St. Matthew Day at the Kernels
Please join us for St. Matthew Day at the Cedar Rapids Kernels! This fun and exciting event will take place on Sunday, May 5th at 2:05 PM. Gates open at 1:00 PM, and the Kernels will take on the Dayton Dragons. It’s IPTV Daniel Tiger Day—the first 1,000 kids at the game get a free IPTV Kids Clubhouse Adventures baseball cap and can meet Daniel Tiger! Kids 12 and under eat free at the game (they will receive a coupon when they enter the main gates), and kids can play catch in the outfield and get autographs from the players after the game. Tickets are just $10.00, a savings of $2.00 off the regular box office price, AND $2.00 of each ticket goes back to support St. Matt’s. Tickets can now be purchased using the special URL below: (This special link will be active until Saturday, May 4th at Midnight.) If you do not want to buy your tickets online, you may also purchase them by calling the Kernels ticket office at (319) 896-7560. Please select the special ST. MATTHEW area in section 117 when ordering online and over the phone.)
https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/Buy.asp?EventID=276674&promocode=stmatt

Transportation Reimbursement Reminders
Second semester non-public transportation reimbursement forms for the area school districts are due by Wednesday next week. Click the district in which you live to find the form you need to submit. Remember Cedar Rapids school district forms need to be turned in to the St. Matthew office. Contact Ann Waltermyer at awaltermyer@stmatthewcr.org if you have any questions.

Own a Piece of Regis History!
With the upcoming replacement of the historic wooden bleachers in the Regis Middle School gymnasium, and in an effort to preserve a part of that history, Regis has enlisted the help of Kory Helgens of Spring Run Designs in Marion, to create some beautiful memorabilia pieces from the wood.  He has crafted a cross, spoon, cheese board and canoe paddle.  If you attended the Royal T Night fundraiser, you got a sneak preview of them; if not, they are available in the Regis Main Office if you’d like to see them.  We are taking pre-orders through May 3rd for anyone interested.  You may access the Google Form found HERE to see pictures, get pricing information and let us know what you'd like to purchase.  Please contact Dianne at dclarke@regisroyals.org or 363-1968 if you have questions.  Thank you!