Celebrating our past and planning for our future
|
|
St. Christopher Alumni Association
Celebrating our past and planning for our future |
|
|
          |
St. Christopher School News
St. Christopher School helps feed the needy Recognizing that the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry was dangerously low, our Student Council organized a food drive. The food drive featured a contest to see which classroom could collect the largest number of food items. Congratulations to our 8th graders, who brought in 236 food items. The entire school collected 1,220 food items. Thanks to all who demonstrated the Gospel values of feeding the poor and taking care of the needy.
St. Christopher School launches new school web site We are proud to announce that our school has a new, completely redesigned web site, located at www.stchrisschool.org. The new site is packed with current school news and information to help our current school families and prospective families learn about our school and keep in touch with what is happening at the school. School homework assignments and grades are available online for our school families. All school memos and parent correspondence and newsletters are available online. The site also features pictures from various school events This is a great way for alumni to keep in touch with our school. So check out the site and check out all of the great things that are happening at St. Christopher School!
School initiates new positive discipline program With the start of the new school year, St. Christopher School has initiated implementation of the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) Program. PBIS is a school-wide plan designed to address the behavioral and discipline systems needed for successful learning and social development of all students. This program provides rewards for student who model proper bahavior, both individually and as a class. All students are encouraged to display Christian behavior by respecting themselves, their fellow students, and their school. We are excited about this program and the positive impact it will have on our educational staff and stuents.
Preschool Graduation Preschool graduation for our 4-year-old preschoolers was held on Wednesday, April 20th, at 12:30 pm in the church. The preschoolers began the ceremony with the prayer and the greeting song with which they begin each school day. Each preschooler approached the microphone and told the audience what was his or her favorite preschool memory, as well as what he or she would like to be when they grow up. After another song, the big moment arrived when Principal Johnson awarded a diploma to each graduate. After the big event, a reception was held in the Franciscan Room, courtesy of Mother's Club. 
We would like to thank Principal Johnson, Mrs. Strelczyk, and Mrs. Murphy for all of their hard work and efforts with the preschoolers in provided such a solid foundation to the elementary school education.
First Holy Communion Our second grade students made their First Holy Communion on Sunday, April 26. They had a beautiful and warm day to celebrate this important sacrament. The ceremony featured student readers and was a wonderful testement to the abilities and talents of our young students. Congratulations to all!
May Crowning May Crowning was held at on Sunday, May 3, after the 9:30 am Mass. Jennifer from the eighth grade graduation class had the honor of crowning Our Blessed Mother. The remainder of the eighth grade class and the second grade class served as Mary's court. The Mass was also a school family Mass, and we thank all of the school families who came out for the occasion.
Februrary School News The school's mentoring program is in full swing. Our 8th grade mentors are doing a great job with their pals in primary and have been reinforcing math skills with them and bringing them to Mass each week. This program helps install responsibility and Christian values in our older students, while helping our primary student learn new skills. Our school's new reading series has also helped us to accommodate all of our students' needs and to assess their progress weekly. Each week a student is given a test which allows the teacher automatic results, those results allow the teacher to determine whether they should either challenge the student more or reassess their instruction to students to help the students better understand the material. Our mathematics curriculum has greatly benefited from the guidance of Dr. Jay Cuneen, who as been assisting our teachers during the second semester to help us further improve our students' math skills and test scores.
Catholic Schools Week 2009 An exciting week of activities is planned for this year's Catholic Schools Week. The week kicks of on Saturday, January 24, with a special 5:30 liturgy celebrated by Bishop Gustavo. On Monday, January 26th (9:30-11am and 1:00-2:00pm) and Tuesday, January 27th (9-10:30am and 12:30-2:00pm) there will be Open Houses in the school. Wednesday, January 28th, bring Grandparents' Day. Thursday, January 29th, is Teacher Appreciation Day, where the students show their appreciation for all of the hard work and dedication of the St. Chris faculty. Finally, Friday, January 30th is Student Apprecation Day, where the school shows their appreciation to our school children in the best possible way, by giving them the day off of school!
Fall Festival The First Annual St. Chris Fall Festival was held on Saturday, November 1, 2008, from 5 - 11 pm. The Festival features a huge range of activities for the entire family. The children enjoyed an ourdoor treasure hunt and a scarecrow-making contest. Unit D was transformed into a frightening haunted house, complete with witches, scary music, smoke, and more. The adults relaxed in the gym and cafeteria, watching the hotly-contested chili-making contest and enjoying food, music and dancing. A big thanks goes out to all who worked so hard to making this event possible, and we are looking forward to it again next year!
School Improvements The St. Christopher Buildings and Maintenance Staff was very busy this summer, making a number of improvements and enhancements to our school and parish buildings and grounds. Most of the classrooms were painted and a number of the rooms were re-carpeted as well. In addition, the gym floor was stripped and re-waxed. A brand-new handicapped washroom was added to the school cafeteria. New stainless steel firedoors were added to the south entrance of the school. In the area next to the main entrance of the school, a beautiful statue of Jesus with children was added and the area landscaped. Finally, the north portion of the parking lot was resurfaced and striped. Thanks to all whose generousity to the school helped us to keep our facilities in good shape.
St. Chris School receives Archdiocesan Grant St. Christopher School recently received an Archdiocese of Chicago Transitional Grant. This grant is renewable for a total of three years, and is designed to help St. Christopher grow the school and its programs and resources. We are very thankful to Fr. Mark, Principal Johnson, and everyone else who helped to insure that our school has a bright and viable future!
St. Chris Vacation Bible School TFrom June 16th to June 20th, St Christopher hosted a Vacation Bible School for children from grades kindergarten through fourth grade. The theme was “Celebrating God’s Creation”. As part of the school, the children set up an exhibit in Unit D that depicted their version of "God's Creation". A big thanks to all who worked so hard to make this wonderful event possible.
End of School Festivities The last day of school is Thursday June 5, 2008. Many exciting activities are planned for the end of school. School Awards will be presented on Thursday, June 5th at 10:50am in the gymnasium. Awards will be given for honor roll as well as perfect attendance. The end-of-year Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 4 at 9am in Church Our students will celebrate the end of the year with a picnic on Thursday, June 5 in the afternoon. There will be food and games. The Mother's Club has planned activities and a special guest for the picnic. Thanks to Mother's Club and the volunteers for their time and energy for providing this experience for our children. Report cards will be distributed at the end of the picnic before dismissal.
Students win VFW Contest Recently the local Veterans of Foriegn War held their annual Americanism Contest. A number of our students participated, and we had three winners! Congratulations to Eric, Sarah and Megan who all took first place in the essay contest for their grade level. Each received a 1st place ribbon and a ten dollar bill for their entries and each was sent on in the contest downstate.
St. Christopher School Band On March 1, 2008, students from the St. Christopher School Band competed in the Annual Archdiocese Solo Band Contest, which was held at Cardinal Joseph Bernardin School in Orland Park. The school band is directed by Mr. Rallis. A number of students from our school received awards for their performances. These awards will be presented to them at the St. Christopher Band Spring Concert, to be held in May. Congratulations to all of our students who did so well in this competition!
Students support our troops The school children are supporting a drive for the troops overseas. During the year, the fourth grade class began writing letters to a unit overseas. One of the students had his "Uncle Donnie" stationed in Afghanistan, and the students corresponded with him and his unit. As a result of this correspondence and in an effort to support our troops, each class was assigned to bring in one or two products specified by troops overseas. These items were boxed and sent overseas. All of these items will hopefully make these troop’s time overseas a little more bearable until they can get back home.
Lent 2008 Operation Rice Bowl As part of their activities for Lent, the entire school is participating in the "Operation Rice Bowl" program, run by Catholic Relief Service. The goal of Operation Rice Bowl is to help fund development projects designed to increase food security in developing nations. Students are donation change throughout the month to help this worthy charity.
Catholic Schools Week Wrap-up It is hard to believe that another Catholic Schools Week has come and gone. This year, as part of Catholic Schools Week, two separate game shows were conducted for the school children. Students could participate in either "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?" or "Deal or No Deal!" The 5th graders overcame all challengers in the "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?" contest. Students won some prizes in "Deal or No Deal", but no one could win the top "Million Dollar" prize. A fifth grade boy and a seventh grade girls were selected as "Principal for a Day" participants, based on insightful essays that they wrote. Both of them spent a day with Mr. Johnson and learns what a principal's day really consists of. The cultural fair entitled "A Passport to Culture" was held on Thursday of Catholic Schools Week. The fair featured such exhibits as an Italian Puppet Show by the 1st grade, a historical play on the invasion of Ethiopia by Italy by the 5th grade, and various food stations featuring the cusine of a number of countries. The 5th grade class spent the evening educating visitors about the malaria epidemic in Africa and collected donations for the "Nothing but Net" malaria abatement program. So far the 5th grade has raise over $700 to assist in this worthy venture. Finally, Tuesday was "Pajamas Day" at the school. All students were allowed to wear their pajamas to school for that day. A big thanks to all who helped make Catholic Schools Week such a memorable time!
Catholic Schools Week Catholic Schools Week will be held the week of January 27, 2008. A variety of activities are scheduled to help our school and parish community celebrate the gift of Catholic education. The "Principal for a Day" contest will be held on Wednesday, January 30th. A cultural fair will be held on January 31st. This fair will focus on various cultures from around the world. Teacher Appreciation Day will be on Thursday, January 31. In conjunction with Catholic School Week, several School Open Houses will be held. If you haven't seen the school in a while and are in the area, why don't you stop on by? The Open Houses will be held on Sunday, January 27th from 10am - 12pm, on Monday, January 28th, from 9:30am - 11am and from 1pm - 2pm, and on Tuesday, January 29 from 9am - 10:30am and from 12:30pm - 2pm (Preschool only).
Eighth Grade Confirmation On Sunday, January 13th, the 8th-graders celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation at 1:00 pm in the church. Most Reverend Bishop John Manz was the celebrant. Thanks to all who helped make the day such a memorable occasion.
New School Newspaper The St. Christopher School newspaper is ready for release. A contest was held to name the paper and the winning entry was "The Tattle Tale". The paper will include school news, sports news and entertainment information, as well as a raffle in each issue.
School Track-a-Thon We had a beautiful day for the Track-A-Thon this year. The opening ceremonies began with a prayer from Fr. Mike. The whole school then made the first lap together lead by the banner contest winners. Everyone had a great day.
Preschool hits record enrollment! The St. Christopher Preschool Program broke all records this year with an all-time high in its enrollment. Currently about 30 students are enrolled in the program. As a result of this increase in enrollment, the preschool program now offers both a morning and an afternoon session for both three and four year olds. Additionally, a second certified teacher, Ms. Dain, now assists Mrs. McShea in running the program.
School Back in Session The 2007-2008 school year is underway! School began on August 22, with a half-day of school for grades K - 8. The students enjoyed the many new improvements and enhancements made to our school facilities during the summer. The school hot-lunch program began its second year of operation the following day, on August 23. School Open House for all school parents/guardians and students was held on Thursday, August 30. The Open House began with a prayer service in the Church, conducted by Fr. Mike, and followed with an open house in the school. The first All-School Mass was held on Wednesday, September 5, at the 9:00 am Mass. All-School Masses are held every Wednesday during the school year.
School Improvements done in the Summer A number of improvements are being done to the school and parish facilities this summer. First, much work has been done to improve the parish grounds and landscaping. All the trees have been pruned. The section between Unit A and D at the school has been transformed into two wonderful new outdoor spaces. The first is "St. Joseph's Prayer Garden" which is a beautiful, quiet area for prayer and meditation. Additionally, a "Learning Garden" has been put into this area and this will be incorporated into our school curriculum. A great deal of improvements have been made to our school buildings. Work has been done in the upstairs school boys and girls bathrooms. New sinks and flooring have been installed, along with new drinking fountains in the hall. Unit D has had outdoor painting completed. As part of ongoing maintenance, three classrooms have received new carpeting. Work is currently in progress to re-surface the parking lot and upgrade the gym kitchen. Within the next year we are planning to redo the gym bathrooms. Finally, two outside fire doors on the school (Doors 202 and 205) have been replaced. If you ever are in the area, please stop by and visit our school to see the new improvements! 8th Grade News This past month has been a very busy and momentous one for our graduating 8th grade students. The 8th Grade Ribbon Ceremony was held on Friday, May 4, at 1:15pm in the Church. Following the Ceremony, a reception was held in the cafeteria. The 8th grade Dinner Dance was held at Raday Lodge on Wednesday, May 16, from 5-9pm. All of the students had a great time dancing and socializing. On Wednesday, May 30th, the 8th graders celebrated Mass at 9:05am in the Church, followed by the 8th grade Award Ceremony, where students were acknowledged for academic and other achievements. After the Award Ceremony, the students enjoyed a breakfast together in the school cafeteria. Finally, 8th grade graduation was held on Friday, June 1. We wish them the best of luck in the future and are proud to welcome the newest members of the St. Chris Alumni Association! School Events
The Spring Concert was held on May 24. The audience enjoyed a wonderful evening of entertainment in the school gym. May Crowning was held on Sunday May 13 at the 9:30 mass. Our 2nd graders made their First Communion on Sunday May 6. The school Track-A-Thon was held in April. The theme for this year was, "Walk by Faith and not by Sight". The students all enjoyed the day as they helped to raise money for important school projects. St. Christopher School Movie Night and Pizza Party The St. Christopher School Advisory Board will be sponsoring a Movie Night and pizza party on Saturday, May 12. All parish families are invited to attend the 5:30 pm Mass, and then join us afterwards for a fun-filled family night to watch the award-winning movie "Night at the Museum." Pizza, soda, and pop-corn will be served. Bring a blanket for your kids. Tables and chairs will be provided for the adults. The cost of the evening is $3 per adult and $2 per child. Catholic Schools Week and School Open Houses Catholic Schools Week at St. Christopher School is fast approaching. It begins on Sunday, January 28th, with a special all-school "Pack-the-Church" Celebration at the 9:30 AM Mass. After this Mass, there will be an Open House at the school from 10:00 am - noon, along with a Pancake Breakfast, sponsored by our school advisory board. There will be addition school Open House on Monday, January 29th, from 9:30 am - 11:00 am, and from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Pre-school Open House will be on Tuesday, January 30th, from 12:30 pm until 1:30 pm. All alumni are cordially invited to these Open Houses. If you are in the area, stop by! The school is proud of our alumni and is always happy to see you. Upcoming Events St. Christopher School will again celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Saturday, December 9, at the 5:30 PM Mass. After the Mass, there will be a gathering in the school gym. The gathering in the gym will have food, music, and entertainment. All are invited to honor our Mother on this day and take part of this wonderful celebration. The Christmas Program is just around the corner, and the school is abuzz with excitement. This year, the entire school will be participating in the program on December 14. The performance will begin at 7:00 PM. School participates in the Santa Claus Parade St. Christopher School participated in the annual Santa Claus Parade on December 2, 2006. The parade followed the route from 147th St. to Springfield, and then onto the Village Hall for the lighting of the Christmas tree. All of the students enjoyed expressing their school spirit to the entire community. Contests and Competitions. Mrs. O'Neil's fifth-grade class won the school-wide box-top contest, where every classroom competed to see who could bring in the most box-top labels. All of the fifth-graders are looking forward to an ice cream party that they have earned as their prize. Every room is participating in a pumpkin decorating contest. In this contest, each class selects a historical or literary figure, and decorates a pumpkin in the likeness of this person. The winner will receive a special treat! School begins Rainbow Program. Rainbow Programs started at the school this week, led by caring trained adults. In the Rainbow Program, children that have suffered a significant loss in their lives (either by death, divorce, or other painful family transition) meet in school once a week for 12 weeks with trained couselors. The children benefit from the opportunity to meet and share with other children in the same situation and experience a peer-support group in a safe, Catholic environment. School improvements and renovations. Many improvements and renovations were done in school this past spring and summer. The gym stage was completely renovated, including a new hardwood floor, new electrical equipment and wiring, and new coat of paint. A large Cougar emblem was painted on the center of the gym. A multi-phase multi-phase plan to remodel and update our school library is underway. This summer, the library was painted and re-carpeted. Future plans include new blinds, and additional technology. All main hallways in the school have been painted and new carpeting was installed in the classrooms for grades 6 and 7. A new school year begins. The 2006-2007 school year started at St. Christopher on August 22, 2006 for grades kindergarten through eighth. Preschool started on September 6. A School Open house was held on Aug 31. At 7:00 pm, everyone met in the church for an introductory talk by Mr. Johnson. Following this, everyone went to the school to meet the teachers, see the classrooms, and enjoy refreshments provided by Mother’s club. The first all-school Mass was held on Wednesday, September 6, at the 9:00 Mass. Fr. Mark welcomed the students back and everyone prayed for a successful school year. Good-bye Mrs. Lio, hello Mr. Johnson! After many years of dedicated service to St. Christopher School, our principal, Mrs. Jean Lio, has decided to retire. Mrs. Lio has served our school as a teacher, assistant principal, and, since 2004, as principal. We thank her for all of the good things she has done for the school and wish her many years of happy retirement. She will be missed! Our new school principal is Mr. Michael Johnson. Mr. Johnson has been a teacher and a school administrator for a number of years and is highly qualified to lead our school towards a bright future. Best of all, Mr. Johnson is an alumni of St. Christopher (class of '88)! We are all excited that he has "come home" to St. Christopher and we give him our prayers and best-wishes for his new leadership role. Class of 2006 Graduation was held on Friday June 2nd. We welcome 36 St. Christopher graduates to the Alumni Association. Current Parish and School Staff
Fr. Mark Walter, Pastor |
|