September 7, 2022

To our St. Martin of Tours School Families:

Here is a list of some upcoming activities here at school:

Thursday, September 8 – Mass, 8:00am
Sunday, September 11 – Spirit Wear order deadline
Thursday, September 15 – Mass, 8:00am

I hope you all had a great long holiday weekend! Now that September has come, we get to a stretch of full weeks here at school and we are looking forward to all of the wonderful work that we will be doing.

The St. Martin of Tours Spirit Wear ONLINE Shop is OPEN! You have until Sunday, September 11 to order any Spirit Wear items. All orders will come to the school and we will distribute them to you as soon as we get them. Here is the link for the shop: http://stmartin.undergroundsportsshop.com/st_martin/shop/home. Remember that only grades 6, 7, and 8 are permitted to wear the Maroon Polo shirt. Also remember that the Uniform Policy states that hooded sweatshirts cannot be worn during the school day – whether they are Spirit Wear or not. Hooded sweatshirts can be worn to school, at recess, and home from school, but they cannot be worn in the building during the school day.

For our EdChoice families – we have sent home a form for you that will make your life easier! The form allows the school to sign the EdChoice checks for you, but we need your permission to do so. If you don’t want this to happen, then you have to come to the school to sign the check yourself. Please fill out, sign, and return this form to the office as soon as possible.

Basketball signups are now open for boys in grades 3-8! Please go to this link: https://sports.bluesombrero.com/saintmartinathletics and click on “REGISTER” at the top right hand corner of the page.

We seem to be doing well with our AM drop-off and PM pick-up routines – thank you for that! Most students are getting to their classrooms on their own and are doing a great job with it. If you have a child that is still struggling with leaving you, the best thing to do may be to join the drop-off line in the morning (it really doesn’t get too bad) and let them out of the car there. Sometimes walking young ones to the door makes it more difficult for them to say “goodbye” to you. We always have teachers on duty outside and one of us can help with whatever you need.

Thank you for all you do!

Sincerely,

Mr. Jason Fightmaster

Principal St. Martin of Tours School

With Christ at the center of all we say and do, our chosen prayer theme comes from Matthew’s Gospel in which Jesus tenderly reminds us, “Know that I am with you always.”  Together in sharing God’s love and goodness, let us hold on tight to Christ the Teacher, as our anchor this new year!

Read the Mission Statement and the Foundational Statements fo the Home, School and Church Partnership ...

St. Martin of Tours School recently celebrated National Catholic Schools Week (CSW). This special week was established in 1974, to recognize Catholic Education as a great gift to the Church and the nation and to celebrate Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service. Each year, during CSW, we honor one of our alumni. This year, Melissa (Pieper) Arnold was named our 2020 Distinguished Graduate. Missy is the first and only woman to serve as Captain of Cincinnati Fire Department.

She is currently assigned as the Commander of the Training Bureau.  Melissa graduated from SMOT in 1982, and then attended Mother of Mercy High School.  She received her Master of Education at the University of Cincinnati and previously worked as a Registered Dietician.  Melissa is married to Chris Arnold (SMOT Class of 1979) and they have three children.  They are currently members of St. Jude Parish.  Thank you, Melissa, for your service to our community as a firefighter and for paving the way for young women everywhere as an example for all! 

This year, Mary Jo Martin was named our 2018 Distinguished Graduate. Mary Jo has been associated with St. Martin of Tours since an early age. Mary Jo was baptized here at St. Martin and graduated from our grade school in 1957. At the age of 19, Mary Jo began her teaching career here at St. Martin School and continued to do so for the next 40 years becoming one of our most beloved faculty members.

Currently, Mary Jo remains active in our St. Martin community. Every now and then, you can see Mary Jo helping out in our school cafeteria during lunch time. She can be seen doing such envious jobs as crowd control and opening ketchup packets and milk cartons. Mary Jo also works at SMOT Bingo on a regular basis. Mary Jo can be seen selling “instants,” counting money, selling Bingo sheets, or keeping the other volunteers in line. In yet another capacity, Mary Jo considers it a great honor to serve on our St. Martin of Tours Bereavement Committee, helping families who are grieving the loss of a loved one with funeral arrangements during a difficult time. Finally, and not to be forgotten, Mary Jo has helped bring new Catholics into the Church by being an RCIA sponsor on four separate occasions.

As you can see, St. Martin of Tours Parish and School are indebted to Mary Jo Martin for all of the time and effort she has given to our parish community. Thank you, Mary Jo, for your lifetime of dedication to St. Martin of Tours School and Parish! Mary Jo is truly a wonderful example of our Catholic teachings and we are blessed to have her here at St. Martin.

St. Martin School recently celebrated National Catholic Schools Week (CSW). This special week was established in 1974, to recognize Catholic Education as a great gift to the Church and the nation and to celebrate Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service. Each year, during CSW, we honor one of our alumni. This year Mary Jo (Enginger) Hornsby was named our Distinguished Graduate for 2017. 

Mary Jo and her five siblings were all baptized and received their sacraments here at St. Martin of Tours. After graduating from St. Martin School in 1971, Mary Jo went on to Mother of Mercy High School and then Cincinnati State. Mary Jo worked as a Realtor for Coldwell Banker in the early 1990s. Mary Jo and her husband, Mike, have six children, all of whom attended Catholic schools.

Mary Jo and her family started a family foundation to give back to Catholic schools and Right to Life agencies in thanks for the many blessings that God has given them. Mary Jo and Mike started a computer business in 1988, supporting mainframe computers worldwide. So, naturally when Mary Jo saw that her alma mater was needing funds for technology, she immediately stepped forward. Not only did her family foundation donate the monies needed to outfit our school with 30 Mac computers, they also helped with the installation of these new computers! 

Mary Jo and her family are truly a wonderful example of our Catholic teachings. They are a family of faith, sharing not only their generosity, but also their knowledge and service. For these reasons, SMOT School chose to recognize and thank this distinguished graduate and her family.