
Special thank you to the Ripley Women's Club for donating $200 to the school to help with supplies needed for the school year! What great community partners!

Kona Ice on a hot Friday!







Thanks to Sgt Johnson and the Brown County Sheriff's Department, who will be providing security at SMS this year.


Kona Ice will be here next Friday, August 23. To avoid confusion, we just kept it a one size option. Please send $4 in next week. The first SMS folder of the year will be coming home early next week, I recommend you send it back in the folder.


Huge thank you to Tony and Michael Jennings for donating our new sign in front of the school!


Special thanks to Dennis Jennings, Daniel Broadwell, and David Frebis, for doing the behind the scenes work to get the school up and running for our students! It's not easy keeping a hundred year old building clean, on the cutting edge of technology, and in great shape, but they make it happen!

We hope everyone has a great first day! Thank you, former SMS student Courtney Plymesser Hamilton, for letting us use the "First Day of School" sign for first day photo ops!
Be sure to check out Courtney's work at "A Little Particular Events".


Good morning! This evening is our annual Open House to kick off the 2024-25 school year. To limit traffic (both in the parking lot, and in the school) we have asked for families whose last name begins with A-H to come between 4 and 5:30 and for those whose names begin with I-Z to come between 5:30 and 7:00. Of course, if you have any major conflicts, feel free to come at either time. The purpose of the Open House is the following:
-To drop off school supplies to your child's school supplies
-Parents and Students to meet their Teacher
-Families to explore the school
-Families to turn in state scholarship award letters
-To turn in sign ups, sponsorships, and prizes for the golf outing
-To pick up yearbooks, or purchase any remaining yearbooks
-To ask teachers and staff any questions they might have about the upcoming school year
-SMS Bus and sign up information
This message is being posted on our private FB page, emailed, texted and sent on the SMS app. If you are not receiving messages in any of these places, and would like for your information to be added, please send me this info to andy.arn@stmichaelripley.com

SMS has been fortunate to have Mrs. Sandra Keller volunteering, and helping an many different ways over the years including teaching! One tradition that she started that continues, is the presentation of rosaries to the graduating class. This past Friday Mrs. Keller met with our 8th graders and gave each of them a rosary that she made with her own hands. Last year Mrs. Keller won the Outstanding Contributor Award for her many years of service to SMS. We are blessed that she continues her amazing life of service. On behalf of the students and staff at SMS, Thank you Sandi!


Totus Tuus is back!


Special thanks to our friends at John Wood Insurance for picking up the pizza tab for our students today! Nobody will be charged for lunch. Thanks JWI!

SMS is Hiring!


On Monday our 3rd through 8th grades explored Eagle Creek, looking for different forms of life, and learning how to determine the health of an ecosystem. All of the students searched, found, and classified things like waterpennies, helgrammites, may flies, crawdads, and snakes among other wildlife. The older grades examined water samples, and determined that the water quality was "good".
We are fortunate to have places like this in our own community. Mr. Felice did a fantastic job teaching our students about the things they were finding and the importance of protecting our environment.
Thanks to Sherman Collins and Mrs. Ashton for assisting Mr. Felice, thanks to the Ripley Life Squad for staying on-site with us all day to ensure safety. Thanks also to our former science teacher Melody Dragoo for starting this tradition years ago. It is a day our students always look forward to, and we love having this opportunity to practice real science in our own community!


Community partnerships are incredibly important! We are excited to announce that the Ripley Life Squad will be on site to add another layer of safety at our Eagle Creek Science Lab and Field Day! Thank you Ripley Life Squad!

Congratulations to SMS Alum Emerson Day ('16). Emerson is a distinguished graduated of The University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Business. While at Alabama he majored in Management with a concentration in Health Care Analytics. In this field analysts use their knowledge of mathematics and statistics, as well as computer programming, to warehouse and mine data. Using visualization tools such as Tableau, complex datasets from multiple sources are transformed into meaningful insights about patient care, forecast future needs, and help improve patient outcomes. Emerson plans to work in the healthcare industry and endeavors to one day become a hospital CEO.


All are welcome!


5th-8th Grade Violin Families:
Congratulations on a wonderful performance! Your students sounded amazing! I sent violins home with students. Please remind them to bring those in this week!
Thanks so much!
Mr. Pedigo

Doesn't get much better than sitting in the shade, enjoying an ice cream sundae on a sunny day!
Today the 4th grade received their reward for winning the non-perishable food drive earlier in the year. A good time was had by all, complete with a lively, retrospective discussion about the books they have read as a class this year in Language Arts class.



Congratulations to all of our students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday, April 28!


SMS Spring Concert!
