Tiger Talk! February 3, 2017

Tiger Talk!

February 3, 2017

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This week has been a very exciting week for our school and Catholic schools across the country as we celebrate Catholic Schools Week.  The theme for Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.”  These 3 words are important to every Catholic school and here at St. Anthony’s we try (and succeed) to live up to them.  When a new family comes to tour the school or a new student starts, a consistent comment made is the sense of belonging and family they feel here.  The teachers and staff work hard to make sure all students are learning and succeeding at their level in the classroom.  Service is something we are working on here whether it is activities like drawing pictures and cards for people in nursing homes, or having dress down days to benefit the Childhood Missions.  We will continue to strive to be a Community of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.

Part of the fun for the students comes from the different events and activities that happened this week.

  • Sunday was the beginning of Catholic Schools Week. We began the week with Father Nick celebrating our Catholic Schools Week Mass. After Mass, some families remained and prayed the Rosary together for Father’s healing. For those of you unaware of Father Nick’s recent diagnosis, his letter to the parish is attached. We continue to pray daily as a school family for his healing. It was a blessing to have him open Catholic Schools Week for us.
  • Monday was Teacher Appreciation Day and silly sock/crazy hat day.  Our generous Home and School Board provided a delicious lunch for our faculty and staff on this day while Student Council provided breakfast. Many of our students and staff participated in the theme of the day by wearing their silly socks and crazy hats. Below are pictures of Max DiOssi and Donovan Sarver presenting “Washington leads a New Nation” in Social Studies while wearing their hats.

  • Tuesday was Twin Day and Knowledge Bowl.  Not only did we have twins, we also had triplets and quadruplets.  It was amazing to see the lengths our students went to so they could match with their “twin.” Our students did a great job participating in the Knowledge Bowl. I heard rumors that many of our parents were impressed with the information the students had mastered at such young ages.

  • Wednesday was Spirit Day and it was a huge success thanks to Mrs. Orenski. She set up many entertaining games throughout the gym and our 8th  Grade class did a fabulous job helping to organize the groups of younger students coming in to participate. One student commented, “I don’t know how those teachers do it all day. It was tough being responsible for 45 minutes.”

 

  • Thursday was Student Appreciation Day.  Thank you to our Home and School Board for also generously funding our newest idea of a school-wide movie day. The students (all 233) were angels on this trip. They sat with their church buddies in the theatre, had a great time, and really enjoyed watching “Sing” and eating snacks as a school. The response we had from the students was very positive.  We received every permission slip back for that field trip. Let’s see if we can have the same response to our 2017-2018 re-registration forms! Hint! Hint!

  • Friday, we celebrated Mass as a school community. At Mass, we celebrated the Feast of St. Blaise. Father Nick blessed the throats of over 300 people. He blessed our staff, students, parents and visitors at our 8:00 A.M. Mass. Father Nick told us the meaning of this was for the Lord to bless them and protect them from serious illnesses, particularly of the throat, nose, and ears.   He reminded them of the lesson that the blessing may not prevent colds or flu, but if they do get sick, it is a reminder that God will be with them and protect them. He told the old story of the little boy who was choking after swallowing a fish bone. The fish bone came free when St. Blaise prayed over the boy’s throat. Red ribbons around the candles are a symbol of the blood shed by St. Blaise for Jesus and his beliefs. To explain why we use candles, he said there is a legend about St. Blaise, sitting in jail (for his religious beliefs) and while in jail, he was in complete darkness until a friend brought candles to light his way.  The candles are a symbol of her charitable deed.
    • This afternoon, the Class of 2017 competes against their parents in the annual 8th Grade versus Staff/Parents volleyball game. We will let you know how that turns out in our next communication. I am told that several parents are attending. However, our 8th grade is very confident.

School News

Congratulations to the following students for winning the Knights of Columbus Vocation Essay contest! The winners are in 5th Grade – Arianna Marchione, 6th Grade – Amanda DeFrehn, 7th Grade – Hannah Fagioli, and 8th Grade – Connor Dagge.

Congratulations to the winners of the Patriots Pen essay contest!  First place went to Hannah Fagioli, second place to Amari Mathis, and third to Madison Rieger.

 

Congratulations to our January students of the month! January’s Fruit of the Spirit was Kindness. These students exhibit kindness to everyone they meet.  Congratulations to Keegan Baranik (PreK 3), Amelia Bosch (PreK 4), Eryn Banks (K), Gabriella Martinez (1st), Riley Winfield (2nd), Delaney Patterson (3rd), Natalia Alfieri (4th), Eva Pellegrino(5th), Blake Reilly(6th),  Hayden Scully (7th), and Peyton Biscoe(8th). Great job!

 

 

21st Century Classroom Plan-  Although this idea and all planning for it are in the infancy stages, we want to share some exciting news. Our goal is to transform our beautiful library space into a more modern classroom/student work area/media center. The idea for this space was brought to me by Ms. Schiccatano, our Special Education Teacher, and Mrs. Angelo, our school counselor. They have some innovative thoughts for creating a classroom unlike any other traditional classroom in our building. Father Nick liked the idea when I presented it to him, so we will begin to do our research, forge ahead, and plan for this project. More details will follow.

 

Moonshot – Last week, the entire school came together in our matching Moonshot shirts.   We gathered to have a photo taken and will be sending it to former Vice President Joe Biden.  The students did a wonderful job being patient while we arranged the entire school for this photo.  It turned out great!

 

New Baby News – Congratulations to Matthew Spinelli in Preschool! He is now a big brother to a sister, Madeline Magnolia Spinelli!

 

Upcoming School Year – In an effort to help families plan ahead for next year, I will share some Diocesan scheduling information. The plan is for all students in the Diocese to not return to school until after Labor Day. Now, before you all get excited, I have to remind you we have to plan for our festival (which keeps our school running). In order to follow the Diocesan schedule, which is always our goal, we will lose most of Easter break. Remember that our students get out of school a full week before the other Diocesan schools, and we must account for 180 school days. The good news for planning vacations is that you will have a slightly extended 2017 summer and an earlier start to the 2018 summer. Therefore, Easter break will be compromised. We appreciate your understanding. As soon as we have our Diocesan calendar approved by the Diocese in May, we will publish it.

 

Financial Aid for the 2017-2018 School Year – Financial aid packets are now available in the main office. A parent must come into the school office to sign out a packet. Students may not bring them home. All parents applying for financial aid to our school MUST apply to the Diocese first. This is a new policy. Please be aware that without a completed application to the Diocese, a family will not be considered for financial aid through our parish education fund. This is a new policy.  Please contact Mr. Shields or Mrs. Serio with any questions.

*Reminder – Financial aid packets have to be completed and submitted by March 7th.

 

Class News

  • 2nd Grade celebrated the Chinese New Year last week by eating traditional foods, learning Chinese customs, and enjoying the gift of special lucky red envelope (hongbao) containing money.

 

Parish News

February Social – Please join us for the parish socials on Sunday, February 5th, after the 9:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. Masses in the Ballad Room of the Grade School.  Enjoy a variety of great food, including tomato pie and assorted donuts, while catching up with fellow parishioners and friends.

Business Office News

Tuition Payment Dates – Occasionally a family may need to adjust a tuition payment date. This is to inform you that the Business Office will need a minimum of 3 business days’ notice to change that date.  If you should need a date changed please contact Lisa via email at lserio@stanthonynet.org or at 302-421-3707.

Important Dates – Please continue to check our school website (https://sapgs.org

) for upcoming events and information.

  • February 5th – Parish Social after the 9:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. Masses
  • February 6thStudent Council Meeting – PreSchool Room – 3:00 – 3:30 P.M.
  • February 7thMath League at St. Anthony’s – 3:30 – 5:00 P.M.
  • February 8th 1st Grade Field Trip – Cab Calloway – Lion King

         Art Club in Library – 3:00 P.M.

  • February 16th School Spelling Bee – Gym – 1:30 P.M.
  • February 20th  – No School – Presidents’ Day
  • March 1st Ash Wednesday
    • Grotto’s Night –Pennsylvania Avenue– 4:00 – 9:00 P.M.
  • March 3rd – End of Trimester 2
  • March 7th Financial Aid Packets must be completed and submitted by this date

Peace and Blessings,

Mrs. White and Mr. Shields

“Let us encourage the generosity which is typical of the young and help them to work actively in building a better world. Youth do not solely need material things. Above all, they need to have those non-material values which are the spiritual heart of a people … spirituality, generosity, solidarity, perseverance, fraternity, and joy.” ~ Pope Francis

Written by