March 31, 2015



Dear St. Katharine of Siena School Families,

        I wish you and your families a holy, prayerful, and joyous Holy Week and Easter.  Families will use this  time well  to retreat from the normal business of busy lives,  and that's a good thing. At the same time, I encourage your families to remember this holy season which is the focal point of our faith. Christ's resurrection triumphs over His suffering and sacrifice for all of us. It's wonderful time to profess our faith, and you can do it in the simplest of ways,  but most of all, by our presence in church during Holy Week. Take time with your families to do so. It's the best way to thank God for His goodness to us. Tomorrow, our Faculty/Staff will be at the Daylesford Abbey for our annual Retreat Day.

      Please keep in your prayers  Jane Hurley who passed away. She is  the grandmother of the McCormick children: Katherine, Nolan , Madison, and Lauren.  As well,  please remember Wade Campbell, the uncle of  Casey Campbell, who passed away.

      I so appreciative of our school community's well wishes for my impending surgery this Monday.  I received so many nice emails it wasn't possible to respond to them all. I am deeply grateful to our families, the faculty/staff, and Msgr. Brouwers for your support.  I expect to be back here running around  and seeing you at morning or dismissal car line in no time ....almost good as new! Thank you everyone.

     Below are some pictures from The Living Stations that our 8th grade performed so well last Friday day and evening. If you missed the performance, I recommend you make every effort to see it next year. I can guarantee you will walk out there moved by emotions. There also pictures from the 5th grade Living Stations,  and 6th grade's  Confirmation.   Have a blessed Easter.


Take care,

Bud
                                                         

Eighth  Grade Living Stations 

   

The Last Supper.

Jesus ( Martin Manion)  meets Mary, his mother on the road to Calvary. 

Veronica show the face of Jesus on the cloth.  

The Agony in the Garden. 

Jesus is nailed to the Cross.

Easter Sunday - The Resurrection. 

Fifth Grade Living Stations 

Hayden Kennedy, as Jesus, carries the cross.

Both Miss DeFino and Mrs Orsatti's 5th grade homeroom classes performed their own version of the Living Stations to the primary grades. 

Confirmation for the 6th Grade 

Hailey Nord with Msgr. Brouwers after being confirmed. 

 Confirmation was held this past Saturday ( at 9:30 and at 1:30) for our 6th grade and our religious education students (PREP) as well.  

March 18, 2015  

Dear St. Katharine of Siena School Families,

                The teachers handed out report cards for the 2nd trimester yesterday.  I hope you have had the chance to see and review your child's with them.  Please sign the envelope and have the envelope only returned to your child's teacher.  The 2nd trimester is sometimes a tough one for students with a "stop and go"  calendar of holidays and some snow days mixed in.  Praise your child 's effort and attitude, encourage them to do their best, and set a goal for a possible area of improvement. 
                This Thursday, we begin the In View testing for grades 3-8 as we get ready to take the Terra Nova Standardized Test every morning next week. The In View Test is like an IQ test - it is a test of cognitive ability that predicts how well a student may do on the TN test that is taken. Next week, we will run a special schedule, test in the morning, and have regular classes afterwards. Academically, there is nothing special you should do to prepare your child for the test - there is no studying the night before. Our teachers have spent some time in the past four weeks reviewing some types of questions that your child can expect to see.
                As a school, we believe that standardized testing has its place in education. We feel we have a good perspective on its value, as it can help us as a school and as individual students to evaluate what we are doing well, and where we may need to grow.  
                I have told students and parents that I am far more concerned with how a student performs in a classroom for three months (a report card) than I am in one week of morning tests.  Every time a student takes a test there  are "X"  factors involved:  John was too tired because didn't sleep the night before. Mary felt sick.  Jimmy was a nervous wreck.  Joanne quite frankly was not interested in taking the test all too seriously.  I have seen students take the test one year and do amazingly well in it, and the following year do very poorly with no rhyme or reason to it . After many years I have come to the conclusion that the only really consistency about students taking this test is their inconsistency.  Parents and students often fret about results, so do teachers and principals. As students get older the results are part of the picture for Honors Math selection and admission to private schools.  The bottom line is we ask them to put forth their best effort.   Overall, our school performs very well in these tests and our scores over the last several years have consistently been among the top scores in the archdiocese.  So as a parent what is your role and how can you help your child?

              Here's how you can assist your child:


1.  Encourage and support a PMA (positive mental attitude).  Their attitude towards the test is important. An "I think I can " attitude is far better than any negative self talk . You may get from them "I hate these tests" or "I'm terrible at this, I never do well " or  "I can't take these tests."    Repeat: Encourage and support a PMA.  Reassure them that they only need to put forth their best effort. This is a good chance to see what you know.

2. Get a good night's sleep!  Eat a healthy breakfast! We don't allow our students to bring candy to school for this test. They can bring a water bottle and a healthy snack if they wish. Cancel any appointments this week so they have a regular routine and you do not have to pull them out of school.

3. Explain to them (as I do)  that there are things they will know on the test. However, they will encounter questions that they will  not know the answer to and that is okay. Review important test taking tip #1: Use the process of elimination and when if you get stuck, take the best educated  guess you can, and do not leave a blank.

4. Remember to move at a good pace without rushing. Do not spend a large chunk of time on one problem - move on from it, as there are 10 more questions you will know.

5. Grades 5 to 8 will be allowed to use calculators in one part of the math TN test for next week.  However it must be a calculator and NOT a calculator on a mobile device. Any mobile device during the test is not permitted. I explained this to the students already.  

6. . A prayer to the Holy Spirit or their favorite saint is always a great idea. I was a poor test taker so I always prayed to St. Jude - not kidding!



We had some  exciting and engaging activities going on last week and this week  in and out of school. I love the things we do here at SKS.  I am proud of our students and our teachers.  Here are some pictures of our school in action from last week and this week:

The 6th Grade in Mrs. Grimley's class  demonstrated the laws of friction to the 1st grade in some creative ways.

In  Ms. DeFino's ELA for vocabulary, the 6th grade created their own puppet shows using all twenty new vocabulary words from their lesson in the right context.

In 7th grade, the students in religion class created and acted out  puppet shows on iPads  teaching the 3rd grade a lesson on "miracles." 

The 8th grade sent Mr. Heacock off on paternity leave for the next few weeks with a baby shower. We are awaiting some happy news soon!

  

Kevin Gavin, brother of Mike Gavin, played his Irish tunes at recess on his accordion on St. 

Paddy's Day for the younger grades.  

OMG, otherwise known as Oliver Michael Gavin, made an appearance on St. Paddy's Day with his mom, Vicky, Uncle Kevin , his Dad , Mike (of course), and grand mom, Judy Gavin. 

                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                       

The 1st grade made Leprechaun Traps  to catch those little guys. There was some masterful engineering work done here by students with likely help from Mom and Dad - good collaboration!  Emory Delss and Meritt Wiley are waiting to catch one!

    

Our Irish Dancers performed on this past Sunday at the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown. On Tuesday, the KG dancers , along with our four boy Irish dancers,  entertained our Senior Citizens at their monthly luncheon. 

The Respect Life Club  is always busy doing something good - this week's  bake sale was for Mother's Home in Upper Darby, a place  that support young mothers and their babies. 

March 5, 2015


Dear St. Katharine of Siena Families,
   


                                                               March Blizzard

                 I am done shoveling....for now anyway, so nothing better to do then blog away. Well, I guess the meteorologists got this one right?    Snow in March ..ugh ...enough already. We are getting blasted!  Your guess is as good as mine for tomorrow, depending on the clean up , buses, and freezing up!  What can I say - shades of last year.  Ladies, please mark down Wednesday, March 25th as the SKS Fashion Show rescheduled date.  Tonight would have been a real adventure.


                                                                          Lent

                 How's Lent going for you? Giving up chocolate or something else good you like?   Getting to mass possibly during the week?  Trying to exercise some more patience with the kids?  Finding  time to pray a little more?  All good ideas I think. Lent is a personal commitment to be a better person for yourself and for others. Self sacrifice, doing for others especially those less fortunate,  and furthering your relationship with God can only be good things for us.  The idea  of sacrifice is to bring us closer to God.  It's as simple as watching less television or computer time, which affords us  more time for prayer. That's how it works.  We find more time to be with God, and by doing so we also model the example for our children. If you need a copy of The Little Black Book  for Lent  I have a few extra here at school. The daily meditations  are "spot on" most days and can really help us reflect on this time of year, as we move closer to Easter.  Lent is about creating a change in ourselves, a change of heart in something we are doing or not doing, or perhaps improving a relationship with God or with someone with whom we need to forgive or be forgiven.

                                                 SKS  Guys  Night Out.....SKS Girls Night Out

              I saw a lot of SKS Dads who were happy to get out last Thursday at Casey's in Berwyn for the GNO (Guys Night Out).  Over sixty guys made it that evening and I was thrilled to see some SKS Alumni Dads whose kids had graduated.  Special thanks to Steve Graham, (grandfather of Charlotte and Graham Roe). Steve is the owner of Casey's and was very generous in helping us. Also thanks to the ladies: Rebecca Roe, Renee de Gennaro, Eileen Bookbinder, Crissy Pyfer ,and Darcy Wieser,who organized the event and had to put up with those guys for a night!  This Thursday it's the ladies turn at the SKS Fashion Show at Overbrook.                                    

                                                   End of 2nd Trimester and Standarized Testing 

              The end of the 2nd trimester is this Friday, March 6th . Your child will receive his/her report card on March 17th or 18th.  The teachers need time to get grades together and I like to review every child's report card. We have started spending some time prepping the students for the upcoming Terra Nova Tests. The In View Test is Thursday morning, March 19th.  The actual Terra Nova Test will be given throughout the week of March 23rd in the morning.  Perhaps you have seen some of those commercials on television about the parents from New Jersey venting about the state standardized test?  I think we as as school have a good perspective on standardized testing. We do not teach to the test and are not pressured by demands of school boards or even angry parents (nor yet anyway)! We do recognize that the standardized testing is one piece of a child's academic profile and can be used to help a child and a school  recognize strengths and areas of growth.

   Art Goes to School

              Last week,  our Art Classes were visited by outside lecturers such as artist Maureen Haley (Matt Haley 's Mom) and photographer/artist Helena Quigley ( mother of alums Shannon and Alexandra). Students were exposed to a wide variety of  art and different mediums to gain an appreciation of the importance of art in our lives.  

                                                                         Winter Sports 

             Congratulations to all our winter sports teams  and coaches this season.  I am grateful for the efforts of the volunteer coaches and the work of Paul Evans and Mike McCormick this past winter. It's not an easy job coordinating so many teams. Congratulations to our 7th and 8th Grade Boys team and their coaches for their amazingly successful season. The team played really well, but lost last Saturday to eventual champion , St. Ignatius, in a close, hard fought game. The support from our students and families at the game was awesome.   As a coach for many years, I truly believe there are lessons learned on the court and playing fields that sometimes are not able to be taught in a classroom.  Sports and activities are a huge part of our education of the "whole child." The programs offered outside of school are an important part of our school community and helps give each child a way to find their niche.

Mrs. Sonier, a guest lecturer from Art Goes to School, teaches our students about "realism." 

The Boys Varsity Basketball team reached the Final Four! 

A great crowd showed up for Guys Night Out last Thursday at Casey's in Berwyn.

Third graders, Kate Sharkey and Maeve Seeger, were two of the students honored as peacemakers for the 2nd trimester  at the monthly school  mass on Tuesday.  A good number of parents showed up at the Parent Coffee after mass. 

  Take care,

  Bud