3/17/24
Dear School Families,
In this week’s second reading (Rom 8:8-11) we read, “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.” When I reflected on this reading I thought about happiness. In our daily lives, it is hard to not equate happiness with things. We are bombarded with messages (videos, billboards, ads, etc.) of the next thing that will make us happy. We seldom take the time to really think about whether having a certain type of water bottle will bring us true joy. I would argue that happiness brought on by trends is fleeting at best. I can barely recall the items that I had to have when I was a kid to be happy (although the game Perfection! when I was about 8 years old comes to mind). But I do remember the times someone made me feel particularly loved through a complement or some other act of kindness and those times when someone thanked me for showing them some kindness. As we draw closer to Holy Week, may we be filled with the Spirit and live as we are called to live by being kind to one another.
This past Tuesday we were treated to a phenomenal presentation of Godspell by our 6th grade students. A special thank you to Mrs. Barricella, Mrs. Molloy, and Mrs. Bogart for helping our students to shine!
This week we look forward to reconciliation for students in grades 3 - 8 on Monday, Tuesday’s St. Patrick’s Day play presented by our first graders, (the whole school may join in the celebration by dressing in green on Tuesday), the 7th and 8th grade trip to see ‘Cabrini’ and the 1st grade trip to see The Cat in the Hat on Wednesday. The week will end with the PreK Easter Hat Parade on Friday and Stations of the Cross for students in grades 1 - 8 on Friday afternoon.
Some reminders of upcoming deadlines: Pretzel orders are due on March 18th, Father/Son reservations are due March 28th, Radio Bingo reservations are due on April 12th.
Students in grades 3 - 8 have been busy preparing for the upcoming state exams. Students in grades 3, 4, 5, and 8 will participate in computer based testing (CBT) this year. Grades 6 and 7 will be taking the exam on paper. The schedule is as follows. Please contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions.
ELA
Grade 3---April 11 & 12 (CBT)
Grade 4--April 9 & 10 (CBT)
Grade 5--April 11 & 12 (CBT)
Grade 6--April 10 & 11 (Paper)
Grade 7--April 10 & 11 (Paper)
Grade 8--April 9 & 10 (CBT)
Math
Grade 3--May 7 & 8 (CBT)
Grade 4--May 1 & 2 (CBT)
Grade 5--May 7 & 8 (CBT)
Grade 6--May 7 & 8 (Paper)
Grade 7--May 7 & 8 (Paper)
Grade 8--May 1 & 2 (CBT)
Thank you to all who have contributed to our Bread of Life food drive benefiting Staten Island charitable organizations.. The drive will end on Thursday, March 21st. The class with the most donations will receive a dress down day. Thank you to Mrs. Kneeshaw and the members of our National Junior Honor Society for spearheading the collection.
We also appreciate the many Easter items that have been donated for the Junior Giving Circle’s Easter Basket campaign. These items are sure to make Easter a more joyful celebration for several families in need. Please continue to send in your donations.
Congratulations to all of our cheerleaders on their energetic performance at their competition this weekend. The girls did a great job with our Debs finishing in 2nd place and our Varsity placing 3rd! Your dedication and hard work is inspiring!
Wishing everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s Day and a blessed week!
Mrs. Olsen