In This Issue

STMS Honoree Awards Annual 5k Signups Community Interest in

STMS Alumna Giving Back Spring Fest Information Athletic Recap Capital Campaign Update Distinguished Graduate

Award Alumni Night Open House Recap Upcoming Events

St. Thomas More School

More Good News Alumni, Parents & Friends Newsletter March 2017

This Lenten Season

We find ourselves in the Liturgical season of Lent. It is a time for us to reflect on the

great love God has for us; sending His only Son to save us and preparing for the

Easter celebration of the risen Christ. It is a time where we

can strengthen our relationship with God through prayer,

sacrifice and giving. During Lent, we should set aside

time for prayer which incorporates reflection, evaluation

and repentance. We must spend quiet time with God to

reflect and think about the times we have failed and the

times we have pleased Him. At this time, we should reflect on our relationship with

God, and ask Him what He would like us to do.

Being still is not an easy task these days with our cell phones and busy schedules.

During the school day, our students spend time in prayer in their classrooms, at Mass

and during the weekly Stations of the Cross. God also calls us to think of others and

to give to others. Giving can be material, financial or it can be a giving of our time and

ourselves more generously with others. The students have received Catholic Relief

Services (CRS) Rice Bowls to be used for donations to help people around the world.

It is also an opportunity for families to reflect on all of the blessings they have, for

instance, running water in their house. The students have also written “bona operas,”

listing practices that they will undertake this Lent. These included what they would do

for others or the sacrifices they would make during the Lenten season. The bona

operas were collected during the Mass on Ash Wednesday.

We pray that your Lenten journey draws you closer to God and that you are fully

prepared to celebrate this Easter season!

Many Blessings,

Noreen Bickel and Jay Harker

School President/School Principal

Open Houses = Success! Our annual Open Houses, held in January and February, were once again huge

successes, with record numbers of prospective parents visiting the St. Thomas More

School campus in anticipation of enrolling their children for the 2017-2018 school

year.

The STMS Weis Center (preschool and pre-k) welcomed many families with young

children at the beginning of their school careers, while staff at the main school

building greeted those with children entering kindergarten through 8th grade. Most of

the families visiting the main campus were seeking the strong academic curriculum,

religious education and family atmosphere for which St. Thomas More School is

widely known.

Over 60 prospective families took advantage of our open houses to meet teachers and

staff and tour our facilities. With this strong interest, we are anticipating solid

enrollment numbers, once again, for the new school year in August!

St. Thomas More School More Good News

School Information System We continue to make progress with implementing the new School Information System.

For the last month, current parents have been re-enrolling their students using the Renweb

portal. Most information has been prepopulated for them so they are only reviewing the

data and adding additional information. Prospective parents are also applying online. All

payments are made and additional forms (baptismal certificates, etc.) are scanned and

uploaded. There is a lap top available in the school office for parents to use, if needed,

and they can also have questions answered by the staff.

Since we rolled out the online admissions and enrollment, we pushed back the website

debut. We anticipate the website to be functional in the next several months. After the

website is up and running, we will be working on our alumni/donor database, which will

help us to improve communications. We’ve been very happy with the progress so far.

Also exciting, the Diocese of Gary has just recommended RenWeb as the School

Information System for all schools! We’ll keep you posted about our progress.

STMS Eagle Dash

On Sunday, May 21st at 1:00 p.m. we will be holding our annual “Eagle Dash” 5K Run

and 1 Mile Fun Walk at Wicker Memorial Park in Highland, IN.

Please come out and join in the fun! A training guide for individuals

who would like to train for the 5K run will be available. First,

second and third place medals will be awarded for each male/female

grade level (K-8th) as well as youth and adult divisions.

Registration information is available by contacting Liz Cipowski at

elizabeth.cipowski@sbcglobal.net. We know this will be a great

day to spend with family, friends and fellow alumni while

encouraging exercise and fitness.

Happy Training! See you in May!

Alumni Birthdays February

Donald Takacs ('57)

David Glowacki ('57)

Linda Grothouse Kinzer ('63)

Veronica Mihalo Levine ('63)

Robert Garzinski ('64)

Shelley Smith Baumgartner ('66)

Marian Meisterling Schilling ('68)

John Crist ('68)

Sarah Dahlkamp Duffala ('70)

Thomas Fetzko ('70)

Janice Mazur Moser ('71)

Virgil Slivka ('73)

John Klyczek ('74)

Leann Lasky Maggart ('75)

John Rudakas ('75)

Sally Matz Bartz ('72)

Jeffrey Lasky ('76)

Kevin Kurz ('81)

Carol Beckman Stuber ('81)

Paul Czapkowicz ('85)

Michael Morgan ('93)

Ben Michalak ('95)

Heather Krucek ('96)

Liz Wheeler ('96)

Heriberto Flores ('06)

March

Joan Lewis Fitt ('53)

Joan Bridgman Keilman ('54)

Thomas Shatuck ('56)

Phyllis Bryzgalski Mietus ('58)

Susan Dahlkamp Boudi ('60)

Phillip Meves ('62)

Thomas Rucinski ('63)

Patrick Tilka ('63)

Daniel Pelc ('64)

Robert Mund ('69)

Mary Jane Beckman Quinn ('73)

Thomas Crepeau ('74)

Daniel Buksa ('81)

Tina Schmidt-McNulty ('86)

Helen Chronowski ('87)

Paul Jones ('88)

Jennifer Langer Britt ('89)

Maureen Malungcot ('96)

Phillip Santner ('96)

Angela Keslin ('96)

Aimee Jadernak ('96)

Page 2

Talented Alumna For the past 24 years, St. Thomas More School alumna,

Linda Tybik (STMS Class of 1979) has been blazing the

trail for youth and educational theater in the Chicagoland

area with her theater company, American Eagle

Productions. Performing for over 300 schools and groups

each year, her sole goal is bringing literature, history,

Biblical stories and geography to life through live

musical and theatrical productions.

It is always a special treat when Linda and her theater

company perform for St. Thomas More School students,

which she has done many times in the past 12 years

during Student Appreciation Day of Catholic Schools

Week. We are blessed with so many talented and

accomplished alumni, and we are thankful that Linda,

with her many musical talents, continues to share her

gifts with our current students.

Have a recent change in contact information? Please don’t forget to add us to your list of places to update!

Contact Amanda Herbst with any updates, questions or class reunion interests:

aherbst@stm-school.com or (219) 836-9151, ext. 342

Making A Difference: Capital Campaign Project

We are very excited to announce that we have received enough Campaign pledge

payments to be able to start the construction project this spring/summer. The bid

documents were finalized and were sent out in early March. We expect to have bids

back, a general contractor selected and approval from the Bishop and consultors by the

end of April! The project includes new electrical service to the building and electrical

distribution within the building, new boilers for both the church and school, new air

conditioning in the church and for the first time, air conditioning in the school building,

restroom upgrades and technology upgrades such as making the buildings wireless.

There is still work to be done in obtaining additional pledges and payments. We have

$5,958,000 pledged towards an anticipated project cost of $6,300,000. Currently,

$3,590,000 has been paid to date. Thank you to everyone that has pledged, made

payments, paid off their pledges early, increased their pledges and prayed for the

success of the Campaign and project.

Please continue to do what you can to make our building renovation dream come true!

St. Thomas More School More Good News

Spring Fest 2017: Back and Bigger Than Ever!

Over the past several months, a group of St. Thomas More parents have been

imagining, reimagining and planning Spring Fest 2017 - a night that the entire St.

Thomas More community can enjoy a bit of the best parts of

“Spring Fests” of the past and get excited about a few new

twists! In addition to mainstays like Pick-a-Prize, sand art

and tie-dye shirts, the night will also include an inflatable

obstacle course and towering double slide, meal options from

Meatheads and new games!

Spring Fest is slated for Friday, April 21, 2017 from 5:00-

9:00 p.m. in the Eagle's Nest (STM Gym) and will be open

to the public, so family and friends are welcome! For the

youngest of children, a separate classroom will be set up for

preschool games, while K-8 students will have activities set

up throughout the gym and several classrooms. Students

will have the opportunity to visit the Hair Salon, get

temporary tattoos, play games that are brand new to Spring

Fest and go home with great prizes!

Tickets will be pre-sold at a discount, but will be available at

the door for both games and food, and wristbands will be

available for the inflatables. Watch the St. Thomas More Facebook page and parish

bulletin for more specific information about ticket and meal options, Spring Fest t-shirt

orders and pricing. If you have questions about Spring Fest (or would like to help with

one of the Spring Fest subcommittees), please email Susie Kinsella at

kinsella@justice.com. Can’t wait to see you all there!!

Page 3

Registrations are now being accepted for Fall 2017. If you know a student who wants to be challenged and receive

more than just the ABC’s in an education, then refer them to

St. Thomas More School and let their road to success begin now!

Contact Pam Pasyk for any questions regarding our school and the registration process:

ppasyk@stm-school.com or 219-836-9151 ext. 309

Making a Difference Today and in the Future

Capital Campaign

STM Church & School

Alumni Birthdays (cont’d)

March

Phillip Sajn ('98)

Jessica Hilbrich ('08)

Nicole Montella ('06)

Erin Lusk ('09)

Melissa Hajduch ('08)

Serena Huss ('11)

Richard Caraher ('14)

April

James Siegel ('58)

Thomas Collison ('58)

Judith Grothouse Hamer ('60)

Janice Siegel Forbes ('65)

Thomas Dahlkamp ('67)

Susan Resler Livarchik ('69)

Charles Hopp ('69)

Karen Zygmunt '75

Thomas Bosch ('75)

Diane Barker Glowacki ('76)

Terri Janostak Adams ('79)

Anita Sidor Hemingway ('81)

Ron Marlowe ('84)

Michelle Wojcik Thornburg ('87)

Katherine Anderson Pfeil ('88)

Jeffrey Shimko ('94)

Ryan Bulan ('96)

Katie Camalick ('96)

John Hanrahan ('96)

St. Thomas More School More Good News

STMS Athletic Update

Basketball (Boys)

5th Grade Team 1 (Coach Joel Cipowski): 3rd

Place regular season (6-3)

5th Grade Team 2 (Coach Goldman): 4-6 regular

season, 2nd Place-St. Michael’s Holiday

Tournament

6th Grade (Coach Jeff Cipowski): Winning

Season (5-4-1)

Basketball (Girls)

6th Grade (Coaches Burzynski/Gonzalez ):

Conference Champions (10-0), 2nd Place-St. John the Evangelist Tournament, 2nd Place-St.

Stan's Presidents Weekend Tournament, tied for 1st Place-CYO Tournament

7th Grade Team 1 (Coaches Brown/De La Cruz): Team played well; learned patience,

leadership and cohesiveness

7th Grade Team 2 (Coach Kleszynski): Tied for 1st place regular season (9-1), 2nd Place-St.

John the Evangelist Holiday Tournament, 2nd place-CYO Tournament

8th Grade Team 1 (Coach Kaim): 7-3 regular season, 2nd Place-St. John the Evangelist

Holiday Tournament, 1st Place

-St. Stan’s Presidents

Weekend Tournament

(combined w/ Team 2), tied

for 1st Place-CYO Tournament

8th Grade Team 2 (Coach

Mrvan): 1st Place regular

season (10-0), 1st Place-St.

Stan’s Presidents Weekend

Tournament (combined w/

Team 1), tied for 1st Place-

CYO Tournament

Are you, your children or family members

graduates of STMS?

Please do not assume our

alumni department has your

current contact information.

If you have not personally

spoken to Amanda Herbst or

filled out an alumni

information form, please

contact STMS right away!

Contact: aherbst@stm-school.com

219.836.9151, ext. 342 Page 4

St. Thomas More School Cash Raffle Thank you to everyone who participated and/or volunteered in this year’s cash raffle

and helped make it such a success! We were able to raise over $25,000 for St.

Thomas More School through all of your

efforts and generosity!

Congratulations to all of our winners!

1st Place: Yesenia & David Olivencia

2nd Place: Mar tha Plys

3rd Place: Luis Diaz

Tuition Credit Raffle

(for school family ticket sales):

Katie & William Hargett

St. Thomas More School More Good News

Alumni Birthdays (cont’d)

April

Ricardo Davila ('98)

Elisa Liszewski Pozywio ('00)

Ellen Ratajack ('01)

Nicholas Klawitter ('02)

Anthony Liszewski ('03)

Adam Ebert ('04)

Timothy Klawitter ('05)

Christina Pasyk ('06)

Kellie Nadratowski ('06)

Samantha Salzeider ('07)

Christine Matthews ('08)

Savannah Kinsella ('09)

Alyza Mandujano ('10)

Shawn Haugh ('12)

Daniel Zuccarelli ('13)

Kayla Prowell ('15)

Cora Olsen ('15)

May

Charles Mesterharm ('57)

Jerome Ciesla ('58)

Barbara Sejda ('59)

William Mccullum ('63)

Ellen Crites Voda ('63)

Susan Pihulic Abbott ('63)

Mary Jo Biegel Biscan ('66)

Mark Wein ('68)

Mary Ann O'Donnell Evans ('69)

Roger Clark ('69)

Letha Smith-Walsh ('70)

Adrienne Narvid Bielfeldt ('71)

Lynn Revenew Nitz ('66)

Steven Reiplinger ('75)

James Kwasny ('75)

Janine Slivka ('75)

Mike Wozniak ('76)

Harold Lusk ('78)

Michael Gozdecki ('83)

Todd Kurteff ('83)

Jeffrey Bacino ('83)

Barbara Etter ('86)

Al Zabrecky ('85)

Jennifer Stopper-Voukidis ('92)

Julie Simon Fatemi ('92)

Sean Adley ('96)

David Sajn ('96)

Laura Mogle Dunneback ('99)

Community Events Spark Interest in STMS In our continuing efforts to invite members of the general

community to join in fun family activities, St. Thomas More

School has hosted several events and parties since the

beginning of the year.

“There’s a Lot of Love at STMS”

Valentine’s Day Party welcomed

area families with children aged

two to five to the Weis Center for a

morning of fun, games, snack and

lots of love and “connections.”

While the children played heartily

at the many activity centers,

parents had the opportunity to meet

one another and make some lasting

friendships of their own.

Likewise, the “Lucky to be at St. Thomas More School” St.

Patrick’s Day Party opened our kindergarten rooms for an evening of St. Patty’s Day

activities (and dinner too!) to any student and their parents in our community who will

enter kindergarten in Fall 2017. Another lovely crowd attended and we look forward to

welcoming many of these families

to STMS at the start of the new

school year.

Our thanks, as always, to our staff

members and volunteers for

coordinating these events and to all

who attended!

American Legion Award

St. Thomas More School students participate

annually in the American Legion Flag & Citizenship

Program, involving students in fourth and eighth

grades in grade appropriate activities. Students study

the history of the American flag, take a test and

submit essays accordingly.

This year’s STMS Flag

Education Test Program

resulted in two fourth

grade winners: Jude

Jimenez and Maegan

Mbaoma.

We are thankful to the local American Legion Post 16

for their assistance and guidance in this program and

for their time in speaking with our fourth grade

students. A special thanks to our 3rd/4th grade social

studies teacher, Mr. Randy Wereldsma, for his

coordination of this program that benefits our students! Page 5

St. Thomas More School More Good News

Page 6

Congratulations STMS Honorees 2017 Belief in Catholic Education Award:

Judy Buksa and Family Judy and her husband, Denis, always held a strong belief in the power of a Catholic school

education and felt that the small sacrifice required to send their children to Catholic schools

paid huge dividends as their children, and their devotion to God and family, grew through

the years. In addition to attending St. Thomas More School, their three children Daniel

Buksa (STMS '80), Kathryn Buksa Braun (STMS '82) and Susan Buksa Anglin (STMS '85)

also are graduates of Bishop Noll Institute and have each followed in their parent's footsteps

by choosing Catholic education for their children, as well. To date, there have been nine

grandchildren who have attended St. Thomas More School (5 graduates who continued on at

Bishop Noll and 4 grandchildren still at STMS) and another 5 grandchildren who reside in

Fort Wayne, IN attending St. Joseph Catholic grade school or Bishop Luers Catholic High

School. What a wonderful tradition of faith and love Judy and Denis have set for their

family and we thank them for their dedication to Catholic schooling and in particular, St.

Thomas More School.

2017 Teacher of the Year: Mrs. Toni Jedrzejczak Toni Jedrzejczak, affectionately called "Mrs. J." by her students, has been a vital part of the

St. Thomas More School teaching staff for the past nine years and enthusiastically brings her

love of mathematics to her 135 5th and 6th grade students every day. A career filled with

teaching in Catholic schools, primarily in Illinois, led Toni to jump at the chance to join the

STMS staff when there was an opening nine years ago. Since then, she has enjoyed sharing

her Catholic faith, expertise, knowledge and love of math with the students of St. Thomas

More School. Married to husband, Zig, for 32 happy years, they raised two STMS alumni,

daughter Jayme and son Casey. Toni has always felt that St. Thomas More School was the

very best school in the area and prides herself in helping our school reach and maintain its

four star status. When she is not educating the youth of St. Tom's, Toni enjoys gardening,

scrapbooking, swimming, reading, puzzles and traveling. We are blessed to call Mrs. J our

2017 Teacher of the Year and appreciate all that she brings to our students and staff! We

love you, Mrs. J! Congratulations!

2017 Above & Beyond Award: Laura Powell If you have a child at St. Thomas More School, or are an STM parishioner, there's a very good

chance that you've come across this year's Above & Beyond Award winner, the cheerfully

energetic Mrs. Laura Powell. Laura, mother to three lovely daughters (Claire-STMS '16, Emma-

8th grade, Alicia-6th grade), jumped right in when the Powell family started at STMS several

years ago. From volunteering at school dances and the book fair to our biggest fundraisers

like Casino Night and Burgers and Brews, you can find Laura at just about any event

lending a helping hand. She has also taken on more involved roles coordinating the school

musical, Science Olympiad and the Festival Alumni Booth. In addition, Laura has served as

a room parent, the Parent to Parent Open House Coordinator and is a member of the

Development/Marketing Committee for the school. Quite honestly, there are very few things

that happen around St. Thomas More School that Laura has not had some hand in, whether

big or small. The school is not the only arena where Laura volunteers; she and her husband,

Steve, are parishioners of St. Thomas More and Laura shares her beautiful voice and love of

music with our parish, as well. Serving as a back-up youth chorale director, Laura also

cantors and participated in the parish musical production "Children of Eden." She has

blessed us with her many talents both "out in front" and helping wherever necessary behind

the scenes and it is for these reasons, and a million others, we are happy to announce Laura

Powell as this year's Above & Beyond recipient. She truly embodies everything about this award

and we feel incredibly blessed to have her as part of our school and parish family. Our deepest

thanks to Laura for all that she does and to her family for sharing her with us!

St. Thomas More School More Good News

Page 7

Alumni by the Decade: 2017 Distinguished Graduate of the Year

We have the privilege this edition to not only present to you are alumnus of the decade,

but one who also earned the noble award of Distinguished Graduate of the Year for St.

Thomas More School. Class of 1984 graduate Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Nowak has

been a member of the United States Army since he

enlisted in 1988. He has risen through the ranks from

infantryman to his current rank, serving in three

overseas deployments (Operation Desert Storm &

Shield, Operation Desert Thunder and Operation

Iraqi Freedom) before being stationed "back home" in

the Midwest. Greg credits his parents, Ann &

Robert, for his strong faith commitment, as they sent

all five of their sons through St. Thomas More

School. He feels the constant influences of his strong

Catholic upbringing daily, whether in battle or in his

daily life. Greg

is the father of

two children,

Joseph (STMS

'15) and Claire,

who will

graduate from St.

Thomas More

School this upcoming May. He continues to find

strength in his

Catholic faith and

imparts this into

every aspect of his

life, sharing his faith

and faith lessons with

his children. Greg

remains involved at

St. Thomas More

School as an active

volunteer with

athletics, the fall

musical and the Parent’s Association, while he also is a

member of the STMS Dance Committee and a room

parent coordinator. In addition, he volunteers with the

Parish Picnic and the Parish Festival and participates in

many USO charitable events and veteran support organizations. Thank you, Greg, for

sharing your love of God and living your Catholic faith everyday as you give to your

alma mater, your community and your nation!

Alumni News

We are eagerly looking for anyone interested in becoming a class representative and aiding

in our search to update contact information from classmates.

Please let us know if you are willing to help, or nominate a friend!

To update your information, or that of a friend or relative, or to plan a class reunion or

volunteer as a class rep, contact Amanda Herbst at aherbst@stm-school.com.

Alumni Birthdays (cont’d)

May

Sara Frigo Davis ('99)

Ashley Velchek ('99)

Daniel Callahan ('01)

Philip Baker ('05)

Kimberly Hajduch ('05)

Brian Fultman ('06)

Christina Burzynski ('15)

Alumni Anniversaries February

Susan Beckman ('85) &

James Cannon

Carol Beckman ('81) & Jim Stuber

Mary Beth Collins ('75) &

Glenn Milos

Thomas ('68) & Kim Thomson

Michael ('83) &

Mary Ann Gozdecki

March Thomas ('63) & Janice Rucinski

April Jeffrey ('76) & Carrie Scholl

Tom ('90) & Laura Keslin

Susan Slivka ('77) & William Burke

May Susie Boyle ('90) & Rob Kinsella

Kathryn Buksa ('82) & Mark Braun

Kelly Felton ('87) & Tod Benson

Jennifer Langer ('89) & Jason Britt

Suzanne Lasky ('79) &

Harold Lusk ('78)

Janet Muta ('73) & John Hanrahan

David ('56) & Gretchen Rossin

Robert ('77) & Karen Maddalone

David ('96) & Catherine Sajn

Pam Slivka ('71) & L. Jan Helfen

Shelley Smith ('66) &

Norb Baumgartner

Michelle Wojcik ('87) &

Rob Thornburg

Page 8

St. Thomas More School More Good News

Alumni Night 2017 Our annual Alumni Night will be held on June 23, 2017 during the

St. Thomas More Parish Festival. More details and an invitation will

follow via mail and our Facebook page in the coming months!

Please mark this on your calendar now.

Don’t Miss Out! To be sure you receive the event invitation,

please contact Amanda Herbst to update and verify your contact

information at aherbst@stm-school.com

Upcoming STMS Events All School Mass w/ Bishop Donald Hying — Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at 8:30 a.m.

Spring Fest — Friday, April 21, 2017 from 5:00-9:00 p.m. in the Gym

Eagle Dash 5K Run/Walk — Sunday, May 21, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. in Wicker Park

8th

Grade Baccalaureate Mass/Graduation — Friday, May 26, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.

St. Thomas More Parish Festival — June 21-25, 2017

Alumni Night — June 23, 2017

Burgers and Brews — Saturday, October 7, 2017

Follow all the news

& events at St.

Thomas More

School on

Facebook: St. Thomas More

Catholic Church & School

Did you like

reading this? The next newsletter will be

delivered via email. Please

contact us immediately to

provide your most up to date

contact information!

Contact: Amanda Herbst

(219) 836-9151, ext. 342

aherbst@stm-school.com

St. Thomas More

School 8435 Calumet Avenue

Munster, IN 46321

(219) 836-9151

www.stm-school.com