January 19, 2016

        

        Dear St. Katharine of Siena School Families,

        Many veteran families have heard me preach about the "4 C's"  for education that students need to be successful today : Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration and Creativity. These "4 C's" are essential skills for student success in the classroom and beyond.   Twenty-five years ago,  if you were good at memorizing facts of rote material you could succeed in school and beyond.  In today's world you still need rote facts (time tables, spelling words, etc). However, the world has changed and more skills are  needed by students to ensure their success. All educators  need to make these "4 C's"  a part of their teaching process. 

       Last week, grades 6 through 8 attended a technology demonstration by the Uncommon Individual Foundation arranged by Christina Elisio, our technology teacher, and our  6th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers. They were introduced to a 3-D printer and the presentation was very good, showing the students why and how a 3-D printer is being used to benefit many industries, including the medical field. Did you know when the first 3-D printer was invented ? Can you believe 1986? 

       Over the next few weeks the students will be working in teams (think 4 C's here) designing a 3-D  religious cross. The winning design team in each of six homerooms will be chosen and those crosses will be manufactured by.... you guessed it,  3-D printers.  I am excited about the possibilities of using this 3-D printer  as a STEM tool. The 4 C's of Critical Thinking, Communication , Collaboration and Creativity were being used by students in the parish center as the groups started to discuss what they would design.
       The UIF is a unique group of people. Think of them as a group of veteran mentors working with younger, inventive, protege types trying to create new ideas, businesses, and  products.  We are hoping in the future to have some students join an after school club that will involve working with the UIF, quite possibly at their "Think Tank"  offices about 10 minutes down the road in Devon. The Uncommon Individual Foundation was created by SKS parishioner Dr. Richard Caruso,  whose goal in creating the foundation was to provide mentoring to young adults who are interested in invention and entrepreneurship. As it states on their website homepage: "The Uncommon Individual Foundation seeks to unlock the potential of every individual through the applied art, science and power of mentoring." I am excited about a possible partnership with UIF to provide a learning forum for our students. If you want to know more about UIF go to www.uif.org. The video on the website explains their mission more clearly.
        Yesterday, we had over a hundred students from kindergarten to seniors in high school at school for SKS's  Martin Luther King Day of Service. I was touched to see many former alumni come back to their roots and work with our younger students. They were joined by parents and teachers who all helped to perform corporal works of mercy.  Sandwiches  and "Care"  bags were made for those who need help. Our leaders, Steph Twohig and Jackie Sevag, (aided by sons Andrew and Nicholas) did a great job of organizing the morning.  We are grateful to all who brought items in. There is no greater lesson we can teach our youth today than our call to to help those in need.  



Take care and stay warm,

Bud

                                 Uncommon Individual Foundation with 6th, 7th and 8th Grade 

                                                                              3-D Printers 

                                     

                                       

Joe Narke, a 22 yr old entrepreneur from UIF,  explains the inner workings of the 3-D printer to our 6th grade.  

In the foreground,  business owner   Mr John Springrose, a former parishioner whose children attended SKS, explains how a 3-D printer is used in his furniture business to make prototypes , thus saving his company huge expense costs.   

Teddy Wolfington  as fellow students  look in amazement, tests out the small chair prototype that was made by a 3-D printer. 

Dimitri from UIF shows our 7th grade  how the 3-D works to transform an electronic file into an actual  3-D object.                                                            

This is the size of the 3-D printer model that UIF brought to school for us to see in action. 

                                   SKS's  Martin Luther King Day of Service 

January 7, 2016


Dear St. Katharine of Siena School Families,

          Welcome to the first blog of the New Year. Joy, health, and peace to you and your families. I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your generosity and goodness to the faculty/staff and me over the holidays. Not every school is as fortunate as ours to have such caring families .
          We are back into a routine. It's tough coming back from Christmas break, but the kids are smiling and happy to see everyone, including their teachers and even their principal!
          Wednesday morning we had an in-service for teachers as a teacher/coach from the DCIU
(Delaware County Intermediate Unit) worked with our teachers in improving their technology skills with Google Apps for Education.  So what did Mr. T. do with 452 students while the teachers were in the media center?  Thanks to some courageous moms and dads who helped me, we had an  SSR (silent sustained reading) time with the students. Each student in each grade is paired with their older "Buddies" ( KG-6 , 1-8, 2-4, 3-7) and 5th grade has me as their one and only "Buddy."  So throughout the entire school  for a 90 minute block of time students were either reading quietly on their own,  the older Buddy was reading aloud to the younger Buddy, or had the younger one read aloud to them. They read quietly for enjoyment and the older students took great care of the younger ones.  I am exceptionally proud of how our students carried themselves during this entire time.  It made me proud to be their principal.  Pictured below are a few of our students with their Buddies. 
            Finally, one of the keys to being successful as a student is to have a neat, legible, and organized  homework pad. There is a direct correlation  to students who succeed and those who have an organized way of knowing what they have to do.  It's an example of working smarter as well as harder.  To that end , one of Mr. T's New Year's resolutions is to drive that point home. I have communicated to students this week that I would be checking homework copybooks at random. I started it today and checked about a dozen or so, and it raised more than a few eyebrows in the process.  Whatever it takes to get them  moving forward, right? I 'll be back at it tomorrow and the days to come.   

          Thank you for entrusting us with your children each day. We are blessed.


           Take care,


            Bud

                              Pictures from Yesterday's Buddies Reading