Saint Patrick and Our Lady of Consolation Schools Unite

Saint Patrick and Our Lady of Consolation Schools Unite
Students, teachers and parents from Our Lady of Consolation School gathered with us for worship and to participate in service projects together. Students from both schools participitated in our Mass and together wrote letters to seminarians, decorated cards for shut-ins and sent decorated bags to the childrens food basket. It was a wonderful day for both schools and we thank all of our teachers for making this day a success. We look forward to doing this more in the future.


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Alumni News: Courtney Schmidt

Courtney Schmidt (St. Patrick’s Class of 2007) was named Defensive Player of the Week, by the MIAA Women’s Soccer organization.  “Hope sweeper, Courtney Schmidt , a freshman from Lowell HS, anchored the Hope defense …Schmidt is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time in her career.”     See http://www.miaa.org/wso for details.  Congratulations Courtney and thanks Schmidt family for letting us know! 

If you have Alumni News, please send it to us.

Looks like the weather held off enough for our youngsters to enjoy the Klackle Orchard. I hope everyone found a way to stay warm and were able to enjoy the trip. I can't wait for that nice big apple that one of our parents picked up for me!

Thank you everyone for volunteering and helping out today. I wish I could have been there!

Testing

Our NWEA MAPS testing is underway for our 2nd-8th graders. Our 5th graders have just finished their reading test and it has went very smooth thus far.

These tests are designed to be very challenging. The more questions that are answered correctly, the more challenging the questions get for each student. We are looking forward to getting an accurate measure of where our students are academically.

Please make sure that your children get a good night sleep and a full breakfast. Testing will continue through Thursday. Please remember that we are limiting distractions and traffic through the building as much as possible.

Eagle Scout Projects

This is a photo of our middle school students gathered at our new outdoor classroom that was created this school year. This was an Eagle Scout project that supports our desire to enhance environmental learning for our students. Different classrooms have used this area as a place for meditation and worship. Our middle school students continue their phenology work on a weekly basis and use this classroom to rest and record their observations.  We
encourage all of our parents to come and take a closer look!

Eagle Scout, Bill Polias, built this shed to help store all of the sleds, balls and other items used by our students at recess. The shed has given us the ability to move items outside of the school hallway to create more room.

Alan Lally built picnic tables and safety gates for our recess area. We are now able to put up our gates to ensure the safety of our students from any vehicles that may have entered the lot during recess time. Great work Alan!

Aquinas College Event

Mission Rosary

This past Friday, our students prayed the Mission Rosary together. Before the Rosary, Sister Jo Marie spoke to the kids on the importance of service and fulfilling our mission as Catholics.

Part of our mission has been to participate in the P.A.I.L project. We are still collecting goods until this Thursday to send to the country of Haiti to help those still affected by the earthquake.

The Mission Rosary  and the P.A.I.L project are simple ways for us to get involved in service and to live out our virtue of FAITH that we are recognizing this month in our school. Thank you to everyone for participating.

October 13, 2011

Dear Saint Patrick School Families,

            At our all school Mass, Father Mark spoke in his homily about his focus on recognizing daily blessings that he receives from God.  We all receive daily blessings but sometimes many of us are so busy in our lives that the idea of reflection seems impossible. His homily has inspired me to continue to identify the positives from every day and share them with the people around me.

            This year we have welcomed many new families to our school community. Saint Mary’s Parish in Lowell has become a partner in supporting our ministry of Catholic Education. Father Ed is now the pastor at St. Mary’s and has already visited and talked about his support for St. Pat’s. We have a wonderful new pre-school teacher who has strong roots in the Lowell community and at our parish. The GOOD at St. Pat’s continues and it is all because of the strong family atmosphere that all of you bring to our community.

Our school is a family and it’s a true blessing to say that I am part of it. This family has made an enormous difference in my life, I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by such good people that support what we do.  I am also fortunate enough to share that Arley and I will soon be adding another member to the Saint Patrick family. We are expecting our first child this spring and have been eager to share the news.  I am very proud that I will have the opportunity to embark on the most important job I’ll ever have, being a father. 

We will continue to push our school to serve the needs of all of our children. Thank you all for investing in Catholic education here at Saint Patrick School.

In Christ,

Scott Czarnopys

Principal

October 13, 2011

Dear Parent:

During the week of October 17, your child will take tests called Measures of Academic Progress™ (MAP). We give students MAP tests to determine your child’s instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year in the areas of reading, language arts and math. Your child will take the tests on a computer.

MAP tests are unique in that they adapt as appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing.  And with MAP tests, we can administer shorter tests and use less class time while still receiving detailed, accurate information about your child’s growth. Over the next few days, your child will spend a total of about three hours completing these tests.

Each school year, students in grades 2-8 take the tests in October, January and again in April. Following each testing period, you will receive a report showing your child’s growth.

We are truly excited to begin a new era that focuses on every child’s individual growth and achievement. Partnering to help all kids learn, parents and teachers can have a profound positive effect on the lives of our children.

For more information on resources for parents, download the Parent Toolkit at www.nwea.org >> Partner Support.