February 7, 2016
Dear St. Katharine of Siena School Families,
Although I was not able to make the SKS Trivia Night , I heard it was a real hoot and the pictures I have seen back that up. Thank you to Denise Chambers and Cindy Mc Kernan who organized the fun event. Next year we may need the gym to house everyone or the First Union Center.
Last week we celebrated Catholic Schools week. I am grateful to Jackie Sevag and David Heacock and all our teachers/staff , Chris Plasha and Greg Schmidt for the set up help, the Home & School, and our parents for helping us this week. This year was the second on a continuum of a three year theme: Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service. We mixed those three components during the week. On Monday we had continuous service projects going on by all grades. On Tuesday, KG-4 had a their annual Spelling Bee Challenge and new this year for grades 5 to 8 was The Crazy Cranium Challenge where teams of 5th to 8th graders competed in a Knowledge Bowl. The winners did not get a trophy like the Parent Trivia Night but they did receive Championship T -Shirts. We mixed in a lot of fun as well cause we believe that school can be fun ....and this is a fun place to be. The annual student /faculty/staff game this year included some surprise special guests: Several alumni came back to help support a veteran (aging?) faculty team and they were inspired by being led in by the Archbishop Carroll Marching Band. It was like our own Super Bowl.
Last week was a celebration of who we are and what we believe. We believe that Catholic education provides your children with a solid foundation that educates the"whole" child. This starts with a deep abiding faith that promotes values such as respect, compassion, kindness, and mercy. We also value our commitment to a strong academic program. Once again this year, our 8th grade class has distinguished themselves with varied accomplishments with academic scholarships and acceptances to many different high schools. Our SKS Spirit Newsletter due out in March we will publicize our many academic scholarships winners from the Class of 2016. This Thursday, Kayleigh Doyle and Peter Vitanzo will be recognized as contest winners in the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution ) Writing Contest . It marks the 10th straight year we have placed students in this event. We are challenging our students to be the best they can be. It's a credit to our teachers and parents as partners in education that our students achieve to their potential.
Last year. the Office of Catholic Education asked our school to participate in a national test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP is the largest continuing and national representative assessment of what our nation's public and private school students know and can do in various subjects. Last January, the Class of 2015 took part in this assessment where nationally students in 4th and 8th grade were tested in reading and mathematics. In late November, I was mailed the results. First , did you know that private schools (which includes Catholic schools such as us) represent about 23% of schools in the nation (almost 1 in 4)? The results of this test were an endorsement for Catholic education as students in Catholic schools on average had higher scale scores than the students in public schools in mathematics and reading in grade 4 and grade 8. I have a more in depth printout of the actual results in my office and I am happy to show them to you. Also if you wish to know more about this you can visit http://nationsreportcard.gov/ and for more info about private school participation http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/nonpublicschools.aspx.
Families loving in this area have a number of excellent choices to send their child to school. We are one those great choices. It is all about which school reflects your family's educational philosophy and which school is the best fit for your child. Thank you for entrusting your children with us.
Read why many families value their child receiving a Catholic education from the AOP website Go To: http://www.aopcatholicschools.org/stories-from-our-families/
Here is a letter from Archbishop Chaput regarding Catholic Schools Week
Take care,
Bud
This was the last place team : E = MC Hammers at SKS Trivia Night. As you can see finishing last had zero impact on their smiles and self esteem!
The winning team: "That Was My Second Guess" at SKS Trivia must have been really good at their first guesses that night claiming the first place trophy.
Pictures from CSW
Pictures from CSW
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| The 7th Grade worked well helping out CHOP and Mercy Hospice during this past Monday's Service Day. |
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| Compound Word Day in the 2nd grade is an annual tradition . Daylen Flanagan shows off his many compound words with Mrs. De Petris |
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| All grades performed a service activity to benefit those in need. Many grades worked with their "buddies." |
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R.J. Day and his family were laughing all afternoon at the Minute to Win It Games for grades 2 & 3 . We want to wish The Day Family all the best as they prepare
to move to the west coast.
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| Emma Canuso (far right ) was The Tissue Box Champ at the competition . |
fantastic spellers. Third Grader, Michael Bugler was the champ.
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The First Crazy Cranium Challenge filled the gym with the entire 5th to 8th grade.
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| The First Crazy Cranium Challenge had teams of grades 5-8 grade testing everyone on what they knew. |
Crazy Eights Day: Every year our students get more creative! That's a real flower growing out of Angela Salinero's hair.
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| Jim Sharkey and Brian Buckley coached students on healthy living by reaching proper warm up techniques at the health Fair . |
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| Kim Kendall and Mistie Whelan helped students though an entire yoga session. |
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| On Blue and White Spirit Day, some upper grades students are front of the Class of 2016 board which proudly displayed the Family Tree of siblings , many who have graduated from SKS. |
annual basketball game.
