Welcome to the XXX Olympiad!

Hi Everyone!  I hope that the summer had been good to you so far ... this summer we have a little added excitement to the usual pool, beach, baseball game, circuit:  THE SUMMER OLYMPICS!
I know the 5th and 6th graders have been hard at work learning about the Ancient Olympics, the Modern Olympics and what they have in common, but I thought it might be fun for the rest of our school friends if I shared a game with all of you:  OPENING CEREMONY BINGO*!  Click below to download and play tomorrow night during the ceremony.

http://content.tinyme.com.au/tinyme_au_games_printables_preview.php?designcode=TGB00-01

In 1996 I went to the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.  It was great to meet tourists and fans from all over the world!  I like to watch the Olympics and I always get more into the story behind the athlete than who actually won the gold ... as with most things in life, the journey is usually far more important and worthwhile than the destination.  I hope you have a chance to enjoy a bit of the Summer Olympics this year ... maybe some of you will be inspired to create your own games in your backyard with your siblings and neighbors! 

See you back at school next month where we will continue to "Go for the Gold" together!

*Opening Ceremony BINGO was designed by tinyme.com

Hello Saint Mary School!

This is Miss Melville--- Mrs. Raftery asked me to share with you the experiences the eighth graders had on Friday morning in religion class!

The eighth grade religion curriculum focuses on the history of the Catholic Church, and we are currently in the middle of a unit on the Protestant Reformation.  The Church was in need of reform in the 1500s, and Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk at the time, was the most prominent voice who called for reform. 

I asked one of my best friends, Mr. Kyle Severson, to come into our class as a guest speaker to help the students better understand Martin Luther and his ideas.  Mr. Severson and I were music education majors together at Augustana College, and since graduation, Mr. Severson taught grades 4-12 music in central Illinois.  This past fall, Mr. Severson began his studies as a first year seminarian at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.  He’s looking forward to becoming a pastor for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in the spring of 2015.

Throughout his presentation, the students heard a biography on Martin Luther, learned that John Huss was actually the first person who called for reform one hundred years before Luther, watched a really neat video called the “Luther Rap,” and then split into groups to do a scripture search on Romans 3:23-28, Ephesians 2:8-9, and James 2:14-18, 24.  In their scripture search, students learned that Luther based his central ideas on the Romans and Ephesians text, while the Catholic Church countered Luther with the James text.  Students then made crosses which stated Luther’s central teachings.

The eighth graders learned the Luther called for reform in the mass.  A few changes he wanted included having the mass said in the language of the people, encouraging lay participation through music, and receiving the Eucharist on a more frequent basis. The students were particularly surprised to hear about Luther’s ideas for change because the Church has since incorporated all of these changes into the present-day mass!

Mr. Severson ended his presentation by sharing that it wasn’t until 1999 that Lutherans and Catholics publically took steps towards unity through a document called the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.  Regardless of our differences, we are all Christians who have a love for the Trinity, a love for one another, and a hope for salvation through Jesus Christ.

Thanks again for stopping by Saint Mary School, Mr. Severson!!

-Miss Melville 

Bunny Day!

Last week, on the heels of the visit from the Easter Bunny, the first graders each brought a bunny in to school. They were already excited about the notion of being allowed to bring a special stuffed animal to school for the day, when their teachers let the cat (bunny!) out of the bag about the days activities! They shared stories about the Easter Bunny and other famous bunnies like Peter Rabbit and learned about real rabbits and hares. They then worked with a partner to create a Venn Diagram listing the similarities and differences between their bunnies. They also wrote a paragraph about what they learned about rabbits and created a sketch of bunnies - then added other signs of spring such as eggs, bugs, and flowers! Thanks to the first grade teachers for sharing these fabulous pictures with us!

Annie, Jr.

WOW! There are almost no words to describe the debut of our school musical, Annie Jr. (but seeing as this IS a blog ... I am forced to actually choose words!)

BRILLIANT: The entire cast, from leading roles - to supporting roles - to orphans - to chorus, are completely brilliant.

AMAZING: The teachers who spent hours, days, months, of their own time to put on this show are beyond amazing.

CREATIVE: The costumes and sets, thanks to dozens of parents, students and teachers are beautiful ... and SO creative. I LOVE the swatch of SMS plaid on every orphan's dress!

DEDICATED: The student tech crew is dedicated and seamless in their execution of this production. Lights! Camera! Action!

SUPPORTIVE: Let's be honest, when 65 of your 5-8 graders are in a school production it can disrupt the teaching day for other classes. Our SMS faculty not only supported the musical, but embraced the journey and celebrated the talents and gifts of our cast and crew. There is not a better school faculty ANYWHERE!

I hope everyone will come out tomorrow night (Thursday, March 22nd at 7:00 PM) and see Annie, Jr. This is a beautifully done production ... hard to believe it is put on by 10-14 year olds!

Oh, two more words: BRAVO, EVERYONE!!

5th Grade Trip to Camp Edwards

This is a guest blog made by Mr. Smith

Hello,

Looking back on yesterday's trip I can say it beat my expectations, and from the smiles and the good things I was hearing I think that it also beat the expectations of all the 5th grade students as well! Many of them told me how excited they were to go back in 6th grade.

We arrived at Camp Edwards and were welcomed with a delicious breakfast already prepared for us. The students were given the low-down on how meals and clean-up worked. Walking around the room in counter-clockwise direction was difficult for most to remember! After breakfast we were given a brief explanation about how the Maple trees are able to produce the sap needed to make the syrup. They split the students into three groups and then each group was guided around the camp and shown the process behind making Maple syrup. It was interesting for all of us to hear about how long it took and how much sap was needed to produce the syrup.

Before lunch there was time set aside to go down the tube slides, play a game of Gaga dodge ball, and visit the camp store. Camp Edwards then fed us a delicious lunch and allowed everyone to taste test of syrup made on site and artificial syrup. The groups' consensus was that the real stuff was best!

After lunch the Camp Edwards staff led the students around the camp and provided us with a living history about the different groups that inhabited and settled the land. We learned about how the Native Americans first settled the area and were the first to discover how to turn sap into syrup. Next, we learned about the French Voyageurs who came to look for furs to trade back in Europe. Last, we were able to see how lumberjacks used different tools to harvest and transport trees.

Overall it was a great experience and the students really had a great time!

Guest blogger signing out!

Mr. Smith

Principal Byrd

Hi everyone this is Principal Byrd! Today has been such a great day for me to experience the life of an important school leader or role model in one day. My favorite part so far was going to all the the different classrooms and seeing what all the kids do, from a teacher's perspective. Next up I have lunch with my friends! For lunch I had Jimmy John's and cookies - it was all good until they forgot one sandwich and of course it was mine! Other than that it was a great lunch. After that I taught my first class to the kindergarteners and it was a blast, we had so much fun making Valentines day cards.

Principal Byrd

Conversaciones Españolas

Last week I was happy to observe the 7th grade Clase de Espanol while they were performing the Spanish conversations that they have been working on. This year our students have been working very hard in Spanish class, as they have both a new teacher and a new series to become accustomed to. If their conversations are any indication, their hard work has certainly paid off! In addition to vocabulary and verb conjugations, Senora Mangialardi is teaching her students dialect, inferences and cultural awareness. Our students are working hard and getting a very comprehensive exposure to the Spanish language. Attached are pictures and two video samples of the convos that our 7th graders have been working on ... disfrute de!