June 1, 2015

Dear St Katharine of Siena Families,
                Happy Spring with some hot,  summer- like weather,  and I am not complaining after the winter we had!
                While it's a good feeling to know that we have the summer ahead of us, we still have important jobs to do as classes wind down. We must prepare to finish up with our best efforts.  We can all see the finish line about now, and the goal is to be sprinting through that line.
                 Please check with your teacher's by grade so you are aware of the EXAM SCHEDULES for each grade this week.. The teacher's should have them posted on their pages. Grade 8 starts exams tomorrow, Tuesday to  Thursday. Grades 1 -7  have exams this Wednesday to Friday. Are you aware that that last FULL DAY of classes is TOMORROW, Tuesday, June 2. After that we are noon dismissals through the end of school.  Your best guide is to print out a June calendar from the website and post it on your refrigerator or your child's forehead. That can be your compass till June 12th! After that you are on your own till September.
                  The school calendar for next year has been posted for those who need to plan ahead and also on the website are a number of camp/activities our teachers have over the summer. I hope to see a bunch of kids at my two weeks of basketball camp.
                   I want to recognize the efforts of  Cindy McKernan and our  Home & School Board who helped make this a record year for fundraising. An incredible total of over $163,000 was raised by the efforts of our board and our families. I thank each of you because so many of you have volunteered in so many ways to help us reach and go beyond our financial goals.  Thanks to a caring pastor, Msgr Brouwers, who values our school, and recognizes we can never stand still to compete against area schools.  We will use funds to make school improvements over the summer .  This information about improvements was sent  to you in an H&S email about two weeks ago - if you missed it, we can resend a copy of the pie chart and our wish list.
                   Two weeks ago we had the annual  8th Grade Parents Dinner. This is one of the nicest traditions we have, as we thank our parents who have made a commitment to this school.  In a bittersweet presentation, we honored 19 school families whose last or only child will graduate from St. Katharine of Siena. In some cases, this relationship with our school spanned close to 20 years! The 7th grade parents headed up by Christine Martin, Beth Stone, Aimee Lynn Curry and Kristin O'Brien did a wonderful job transforming the Parish Center.
                   The month of May had our school as busy as ever: May Procession, Mother's Day Luncheon,  Field Trips all over the map, Student Council Elections,  Father/Daughter Sweetheart Dance, The SK5K Race,  Youth Service Activities coordinated by Steph Twohig ,  A "Shower" for the groom to be , Bill DiClemente,  and a beautiful monthly School Mass among other events all took place. Events like these make us who we are as a community, and we are a blessed community.
                  Our enrollment for next year looks strong as we continue to get calls from families who want to be a part of our school . We have many re-locations from out of state, and next year we will have a record number of students (24) coming in new to us from grades 1 -8.  We will need to make sure we take care of these families as they come to us.    I believe a lot of the calls we get for prospective families is because our families are our best (and cheapest ) advertisement . We are all ambassadors for St Katharine of Siena. Thank you for promoting our school so well.
                  Today and Tuesday (6/1 and 6/2)  is  BYOL: as in BRING YOUR OWN LUNCH. The cafeteria is closing down shop and no food will be served.
                   If you have any unpaid bills due to school tuition, registration, or cafeteria,  it has been our school policy not to distribute final report  cards grades to any student/family until those bills have been paid. If you have a problem in that regard I would ask that you call Angela Kusterback in the  rectory (610-688-4584) or me at school. Things of this nature are always handled in confidence.
                   The Summer edition of The Spirit  Newsletter is just about complete. My thanks to Jake Kelly for his efforts this year in taking this on. We will send the final edition to you before school is out.
                    We congratulate  our Kintergarten class on their graduation as they head over to 1st grade next year.  As we bid farewell to the eighth grade graduating Class of 2015, we are proud of the legacy your class has left upon St. Katharine of Siena School. We wish you success as you journey to high school. You leave here prepared - well rounded and well grounded to face the challenges of a bright tomorrow. God bless you and your families.
                     This week and next will fly by and bring us to summer.  Three teachers will sadly be leaving us this year:Rosemary Gregitis, Allyson Henkel and Adria Crowley. All three have made significant contributions to our school community and they have been wonderful team players and valued colleagues for our school.  We wish them joy and peace.
                      I want to recognize the efforts of our faculty and staff.  The teaching profession is not a job; it is a vocation, especially here at our school. Their caring, dedication, and professionalism each day creates the positive  daily climate for this school. On most days, 432 students walk through these doors and leave these doors with a smile. It is the combined efforts of your efforts at home and the efforts of our teachers /staff that make this a wonderful school.  
                     Summer vacation is only two weeks away. To our students: be smart , be safe, and behave - make good choices especially when with friends.  Stay close to God, get to mass, pray - you and others need your prayers.  Read , read, read - you know it's the fastest way to get smarter! Do your summer reading and brush up on your math facts. Keep taking steps forward academically. Remember to help out at home and on vacation -be a team player for your family!  Be a peacemaker;  not peacebreaker!  Get some time to relax and be with your family. Summer provides that extra time for special family memories.  
                     My next blog will be from the beach...... with my toes in the water, a cooler with treats, and a good book to read. Thank you everyone for a great school year.  May God bless our St. Katharine of Siena School Community.


Take care,


Bud
                                                                            

           

Do you agree that this should be on the refrigerator of every SKS house for the next three months?

                 Some of our students helped prepare food bags for the Ronald McDonald's house.                        The funds to purchase the goods came from a School Dress Down Day! 
                 
                                                                               

                 The 8th Grade project this year was on Outer Space. They transformed the gym into the Milky Way  and our solar system. The rest of the school was able to 'space travel"  to the gym and hear excellent presentations from the 8th grade experts on a range of space topics. 


                                   
The 7th Grade had a beautiful day on their field trip visiting Ellis Island. The visit tied in nicely to the their ELA curriculum and books they read.

                                                                            
The 3rd grade dressed as immigrants passing through the  Ellis Island Immigration offices (in the cafeteria run by the 8th grade).  These castoffs pictured above either did not pass  the medical  or intelligence  tests.  Thus they were sent to the Wailing Room and had to return to their mother country.  The group includes a gentleman aspiring  to be a school principal.  He too  was sent away wailing with the others.

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The 4th grade visited the Colonial Plantation last Friday. There were no microwaves back in those days. 

Third grade teacher, Bill Di Clemente with  his fiancee , Mary , in his classroom at the  surprise shower thrown by the entire 3rd grade class. "Mr. D"  gets married on June 20th!

Congratulations to both Mary and him, and their families.   

Some members of the Class of 2011 returned back to SKS for a get together by their alma mater.  Alumni parents came too and they watched their 8th grade  graduation video  and told funny stories of their remembrances here. Where did those four  years go? Thy are all off to their colleges in the fall. We wish them success. 

  About a dozen SKS Alumni came back to school last week to host  SKS High School Forum for our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.  SKS Alumni  from different high schools and ranging from freshman to senior year came back to speak and answer question about what to expect when students leave SKS for high school. They talked on a variety of subjects such as academics, study habits, advocating for oneself,  time management,and peer pressure.

Molly O Sullivan and Nora Elliot are modeling good reading habits for this summer 

PUAGB &R   -  Pick Up A Good Book and Read this summer !! 

The Student Council Elections were held two weeks ago. A record number of students ran for office.  So many good students to choose from made it very difficult. Pictured above are next years officers. From left to right: Keenan O'Connor - Vice President, 

Catherine Haley - President, Morgan O'Brien - Secretary, Brigid Lowry and Erin Sweeney - Public Relations , and Bo Brady - Treasurer.