Shamrock Pride

State Sen. Dave Hildenbrand recognizes Michigan Catholic schools

2012-01-27T14:41:00.002-05:00

LANSING— State Sen. Dave Hildenbrand, R-Lowell, honored Catholic schools across Michigan on Thursday by offering Senate Resolution 111 in recognition of their tireless effort to educate tomorrow’s leaders. This resolution will make the week of Jan. 29th through Feb. 5th 2012 Catholic Schools Week in Michigan.

Catholic Schools Week in Michigan is a celebration intended to recognize and honor the valuable work and dedication that Catholic schools contribute to the state’s educational system. There are currently 58,782 students attending 236 Catholic elementary, middle and high schools throughout the state of Michigan.

“I am honored to represent numerous Catholic Schools throughout the Grand Rapids area in the Michigan Senate.” Hildenbrand said. “Each and every student that attends a Catholic school is provided with a strong foundation of moral values and academic skills needed to become a responsible citizen of our state and nation.”

A Catholic Perspective on Human Sexuality

2012-01-25T13:18:00.003-05:00

Dear Parent:

We are excited at Saint Patrick Parish to introduce a series of talks designed to support and encourage all members of our Parish Community in your parenting efforts.

On each of these Wednesday nights, similar, but gender-specific talks will be given separately to boys and girls. The talks will begin promptly at 6:30pm and end by 7:45pm. We encourage fathers to attend with their sons and mothers to attend with their daughters. The goal is to support you in your role as educators, give you some resources to discuss some potentially difficult subjects and give you encouragement as your children approach and pass through the adolescent stage.

On February 1^st, our first talk, aimed at kids 12-15, will address some of the challenges of our modern culture. Topics will include appropriate uses of technology as well as ways to live virtuous and chaste lives.

On February 8^th, our second talk will cover puberty, and some of the physical, emotional, and hormonal changes it brings. We will discretely and appropriately discuss gender-specific biology and an overview of human gestation and growth. The talk is geared toward pre-puberty children (9 and up), but we encourage you to bring your older children as well.

On February 15^th, our final talk, geared toward kids who have started the changes of puberty, will cover social development issues such as the challenges of discerning vocations, developing a strong character, and dealing with peer pressure. (10 and up)

The talks are geared to different maturity levels, so you decide what is best for your child. We are very excited about this event and hope this series becomes an annual part of our parish life. We strongly encourage you to attend each of the talks with the children you feel are appropriately mature. We will have hand-out materials to support and promote further discussions back home within your family.

Please RSVP to the school, sps.secretary@gmail.com or call 691-8833, so we can plan space accordingly.

Note: Child care will be provided each night

In Christ,

Fr. Mark Peacock
Diane Hamel
Scott Czarnopys

Hot off the press -

2012-01-20T15:27:00.002-05:00

The Spelling Bee today was won by 6th grader Maggie Camp (1st place) and 8th grader Kristina Samson (runner-up). Both will continue the contest in a Grand Rapids area district tournament in a few weeks.

Special thanks to Pat Firlik (SPS alumni parent and parishioner) for donating his time and talent to be official Pronouncer. Mrs. Vezino organized the bee and Mrs. Kevic and Mrs. Russo were official judges - thank you all.

Congratulations to all the students who competed - it was a great showing of letters and words and a job well done!

Cancellation of School Activities

2012-01-17T12:36:00.000-05:00

For Tuesday 1/17, all after school and evening activities will be cancelled due to weather conditions. Get home safe and have a good evening.

WINNERS!!!

2012-01-16T13:32:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to our 7th/8th Fighting Irish girls for battling Assumption and bringing home some hardware for the school. The girls continue their competitive and aggressive play and have been rewarded with multiple victories this year.

Great job to Coach Val Stoffer and our student athletes for representing our school so well. We wish you all continued success!

Basketball Updates for Last Week

2012-01-10T10:39:00.002-05:00

The 5/6th grade girls had another low scoring game, but they came up with a win! The score at half-time was only 2 to 4. Maura and Annie made the points for the game. Five out of the six healthy players all had at least two rebounds a piece! It was a very exciting game. The final score was 10 to 6.
The 5th/6th grade boys played a close one against Holy Trinity coming up just short 25-24. Jon Luc scored 12 points and Zack led in rebounds. Our fans traveled well and were great and very supportive. This was by the far their best game of the year.

The 7th/8th grade girls are involved in a tournament at St. Thomas. They lost their first game against SJV by a very close 26-23 score. They came back strong with a dominating defense and went 5 for 5 from the line against Holy Spirit/Sacred Heart for a 31-16 win. They are now 2-2 on the year.

Scott Spanbauer

Vocations Week

2012-01-10T07:33:00.002-05:00

Today, Fr. Ron Hutchinson will speak to groups of students about vocations. He will talk about his calling and also have Q & A with the children about priesthood and other vocations.

Fr. Ron kicks off vocation week this year and another highlight of the week will be a student visit to the Franciscan Life Process Center on Friday.

Thank you to Ms. Schoenborn and members of her committee for planning these meaningful events for another year.

Be an Artist with Mrs. Haugen Over Christmas Break!

2011-12-20T12:38:00.000-05:00

Make it, Take it, Give it

Family Craft Nights @the Kroc!

Monday, Dec. 19 - Friday, Dec.23

6:45 PM -7:45 PM

Members-$1 per child Non-Members=$2 per child

All ages welcome-families encouraged to participate together

Monday, December 19

*Wrapping Paper*

Tuesday, December 20

*Christmas cards*

Wednesday, December 21

*ornament*

Thursday, December 22

*Photo Frame*

Friday, December 23

*2012 calendar*

Our Student Athletes

2011-12-15T10:48:00.002-05:00

St. Patrick Athletics- Basketball

Basketball season is officially underway! All three of out teams opened up their respective season's last Saturday with a win and a couple of losses.

The 7th/8th Grade Girls team won a nail biter against SJV winning by two points. Val Stoffer, head coach, thought the girls played with energy, passion and discipline. She was very proud of the effort and looks forward to improving each week.

The 5th/6th Grade Girls lost a close one to Grand Rapids Christian 19-14. Jill Blattner, head coach, mentioned the girls played outstanding. They were taking good shots, hustling for rebounds and most importantly having fun! Maura Fitzpatrick and Bethany Blattner led the way with 6 points and 4 points respectively. Bethany and Annie Brooks led the team in rebounding.

The 5th/6th Grade Boys played with energy and enthusiasm but an older more experienced GRC team, comprised of mostly 6th graders, were just a bit too much. Marty Lang, head coach, was very proud of the boys. They played well, hustled and kept their focus. He looks forward to seeing the kids improve each week!

A big congratulations to all our student-athletes for representing St. Patrick's! Good luck to all next week.

Breakfast with Saint Nick

2011-12-07T13:43:00.001-05:00

Breakfast with St. Nick was a hit again this year. Our 8th grade students served the breakfast and worked hard together for the duration of the event. In return for their service, our Knights of Columbus made a generous donation to their trip. Thank you to the Knights, the 8th grade servers and Saint Patrick PTO for leading the events to make St. Nick's day a success.

A special thanks to Andrea Gasper from our PTO committee for committing her time and talents for our children.

2011-12-06T17:12:00.001-05:00

Students in Mrs. Leckenby's first and second grade classroom use their new interactive whiteboard to enhance their learning on a daily basis. Mrs. Leckenby uses the board everyday to supplement a variety of lessons that she delivers to her students. Above are pictures of her students using the board to solve mathematical equations and to identify services that people provide in the community.

Saint Pat's is fortunate to have an additional three interactive whiteboards donated. We are working on getting these gifts installed and running for the new year!

Ongoing Service for the Community

2011-12-05T16:00:00.001-05:00

Brendan Lally and his fellow students took part in collecting yarn for the Santa Claus Girls to knit hats, mittens and scarves for needy children. Brendan is one of many proud and dedicated students to participate in various service projects for our surrounding community.

Way to go Brendan!

Grand Rapids Press Article

2011-11-29T10:20:00.001-05:00

Mrs. Vezino and her students will be featured on the front page of the Grand Rapids Press. Students have been collecting yarn to supply warm clothing items to those in need.

The press has interviewed Mrs. Vezino and will be out in the afternoon today to take a picture to include in the article.

Great job students for participating in this charitable act!

Free Throw Championship

2011-11-29T10:12:00.001-05:00

The Knights of Columbus are hosting their annual K of C Basketball Free Throw Championship in St. Patrick's Gym in the Parish Center.

All boys and girls ages 9 to 14 are invited to participate on Sunday January 15th, at 1pm. Lunch will be served at noon with sign up at 12:30pm.

Come early and bring the family!

Contact person: Todd Gross 691-8163

Million Word Readers!

2011-11-23T11:02:00.001-05:00

As a component of the Accelerated Reader Program at St. Patrick School in Parnell, the number of words read is monitored, and students who have read 1 million words are placed on the ‘Hall of Fame’. Last year it was 4^th quarter before we had qualifying students, but already this year we have three Super-readers! Elizabeth Pniewski, Michael Trupke, and Bridget Lally all qualified within the first quarter! We’re looking forward to, what will prove to be, record breaking totals for the year.

Deb Russo

Saint Patrick School’s Media Specialist

November Update

2011-11-15T14:19:00.001-05:00

Dear Parents,

Saint Patrick School is already a few months into the school year and we have parent-teacher conferences fast approaching next week. Conferences provide a formal opportunity for dialogue between parents and teachers on the progress of each child. This is an excellent opportunity for all parents to ask questions and address any concerns they may have. Feedback helps our school improve and we encourage all parents to voice any suggestions on how we can better serve the needs of our students and their families. If you are unable to make the available conference dates/times, please schedule another meeting time with the homeroom teacher(s).

All School Mass

With Father Mark away on his trip to the Holy Land, Monsignor Ed from St. Mary’s Parish in Lowell will lead us in worship this Thursday at 9a.m. Monsignor Ed is a strong supporter of Catholic Education and we feel blessed that he is so willing to serve our children when called upon.

NWEA Testing

The first round of our new NWEA testing is complete for our test takers in grades second through eighth. Members from our school staff, as well as partner schools throughout the Grand Rapids Diocese, are confident that this new form of testing will enable us to better meet the educational needs of each individual student. Saint Patrick’s school improvement team continues to meet regularly to analyze the testing results so that we can use the data to drive individual instruction in the classroom. Parent-teacher conferences will provide the opportunity for our teachers to review your child’s scores with you. This is a learning process for students, parents and teachers. We are committed to learning and implementing new instructional strategies that will enable all of our students to maximize their learning potential.

Saint Patrick School Board of Directors

The School Board of Directors, previously known as the Education Commission, continue to take on additional responsibilities as the Grand Rapids Diocese implements new governance models for our schools and parishes. We have added two new members, Terry Cliff and Linne Bunn, and hope to add more as we work together to improve all aspects of our school. If you are interested in getting involved with any of our boards ongoing projects, or have any questions or concerns, please contact the group at st-patrick-school-board@googlegroups.com or simply approach me at any time.

In Christ,

Scott Czarnopys

Principal

Football team tackles cancer by going pink

2011-11-02T15:37:00.004-04:00

For one night, a Michigan high school football team becomes decked out in pink uniforms that feature cancer victims names on them to raise money for the disease.

NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/45133132#45133132

Saint Patrick and Our Lady of Consolation Schools Unite

2011-10-28T12:39:00.001-04:00

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

2011-10-20T08:29:00.003-04:00

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.

2011-10-19T11:46:00.000-04:00

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

2011-10-18T10:05:00.001-04:00

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

2011-10-17T14:09:00.004-04:00

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

2011-10-17T10:28:00.000-04:00

Mission Rosary

2011-10-17T09:05:00.001-04:00

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.

2011-10-13T14:54:00.005-04:00

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