Irish Pride Editor: Mr. John Wikoff, Development Director 309.444.4345 X398 wikoffj@stpatswashington.com November 8, 2013 All Saints Day at St. Patrick All Saints Day at St. Patrick School is highlighted by the 1 st grade class dressing up as their favorite saint. But it is more than simply dressing up in costume. Each of the children learned some important things about their saint to present to the entire congregation at the mass on this feast day. It is a wonderful way to begin the month of November! After mass, there were pictures and a reception in the Social Room with the saints and their parents. In the afternoon, the students dressed up again and visited a retirement home to share with the residents their saintly lives. When finished, they headed to Dairy Queen for some heavenly ice cream to reward them for their efforts. A Science Project Worth Eating Mrs. Kapraun, our Junior High Science teacher, has a unique way for her students to learn about plant and animal cells. Their task after studying the cells was to create a three-dimensional project representing what they had learned. There were a variety of projects. The most interesting ones were those that could be eaten after the final meeting with Mrs. Kapraun. Nicole Mickels project looked like a decorated cookie cake. Tate Stone had a similar project only his looked more like a small round cake. Mrs. Kapruan met with the students and quizzed them on what they had learned about the plant and animal cells. Her final two questions were: Did you have fun doing this project? What was your favorite part? Once that was done, it was time to cut the cookie or cake and share the projects with their classmates. (photo supplied by Kara Kamienski) I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E 2 Meet our Song Leader at School Masses 3 Adopted Seminarian Delighted with Special Delivery 4 Scholastic Book Fair Coming this Weekend Nicole Mickels cuts her science project for classmates IRISH PRIDE 1
Guitarist, Violinist and Song Leader Imagine volunteering to play guitar at daily mass and not have the guitar or even know how to play it! That demonstrates the courage of our guitarist for our school masses each Friday. Her name is Clare Tschirn and she has volunteered to play the guitar and lead each of the classes in singing for the school masses. Mrs. Tschirn began playing guitar at the daily mass at the Newman Center when she was a sophomore at the University of Missouri. Since her debut as a guitarist and song leader, she has played at various parishes, at Children s masses and in Adult Choir groups, including St. Thomas Parish most recently. Her connection to St. Pat s began when she started playing violin at funeral masses. The Tschirn family moved to Washington in 2011. In August, 2013 she joined the Adult Choir and plays violin at the Sunday morning masses. She and her husband, Charlie, have two children at Peoria Notre Dame High School. Her son, Michael is the kicker for the Peoria Notre Dame football team. GO IRISH! Mrs. Kathryn Ehrsam, the Irish Lady, reads to 4 th graders as a Grandparent Reading Buddy Grandparent Reading Buddies A Huge Success The Grandparents Reading Buddies program is in its third year and Mrs. Kathryn Ehrsam has been a reader every year. This session Mrs. Ehrsam was reading to both 4 th grade classes and she picked out a book that was popular with the kids and had a good theme for this time of year. The book title was Witches Don t Do Back Flips from the series, The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones. Mrs. Clare Tschirn leads the 5 th graders in song at a School Mass in October Those who sing pray twice! St. Augustine Mrs. Ehrsam is known as the Irish Lady. That affectionate title comes from the students who named her for her ability to read with a variety of different accents, including an Irish accent. As soon as the students saw her, they were excited and some exclaimed: It s the Irish Lady. At their request, Mrs. Ehrsam agreed to read the chapter book in an Irish accent. Amazingly, she kept the accent throughout the story. It was a delightful story with some memorable characters that held the children s interest. She read through five chapters, right up to a cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 5. Now the students who want to know the rest of the story will vie with one another to check it out the next time they are in the library. IRISH PRIDE 2
S mores Day: A Delightful Learning Experience S mores Day occurred in early October with Mrs. Schlack and her 3rd grade class. Its origin came from a book called: S is for S mores: A Camping Alphabet by Helen Foster James. The day is designed to teach the students about the National Parks and about camping. Many of the students already had camping experience. Mrs. Schlack combined all of the subjects in their learning activities and the students worked together in small groups to complete the tasks. At the end of the day the packet of work went home with the student to show parents what they had done. Of course there was time for s more treats to reward the students for their hard work. Adam Cesarek, our adopted seminarian, was delighted with the handmade cards, prayers, and goodies Fire Prevention Week October 6-12 The Washington Fire Department paid a visit to St. Patrick School on October 7 & 8. They visited the Preschool on Monday, October 7 and the Pre-K Grade 2 on Tuesday. The presentation to the children highlighted the need for smoke alarms in the home and having an evacuation plan for the family in the event of a fire. After the presentation, the children were treated to seeing the Rescue Truck. The firefighters, including Josh Hofer, a 2005 alumnus of St. Patrick School, demonstrated what the Rescue Truck holds ladders, hoses and other rescue equipment. A Special Delivery is Made After 1,750 miles my wife and I returned to Peoria on Tuesday, October 22 a little road weary, but very happy with our road trip to Mount Saint Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It was Family Weekend, October 18-20 at the seminary and we went to the Mount for two reasons. We came to visit my nephew, Blake Brooks, who is in his second year of Pre- Theology, and deliver handmade cards from our students and a Halloween bucket of candy for our St. Pat s seminarian, Adam Ceserak. It was a fantastic weekend with vibrant fall color in the mountains of Maryland and an informative program for the families of the seminarians. We caught up with Adam on Saturday night in the community room at the seminary. Adam is a terrific athlete who plays baseball for the DC Padres, a team in Washington, DC made up of priests and seminarians. That morning, Adam had ridden his bike 30 miles for a charity event with two other seminarians. Adam was very happy to receive the cards and thankful for all the prayers we are offering for him this year. He also spotted the microwave popcorn in a Halloween basket prepared by our own Miss Keck. After our visit, he was headed to his room for some popcorn and possibly a movie to relax after his morning bike ride. IRISH PRIDE 3
Scholastic Book Fair is Coming this Weekend Did you know that reading is the most important skill you can teach a child? It is also the one skill that parents can influence the most. Mrs. Paula Chioni, our Library Coordinator and Book Fair Chairperson, invites you to visit our Scholastic Book Fair this weekend and find books that your child will enjoy reading and improve their reading skills too. The Book Fair will be held in the gym on Thursday, November 7, 1:00 8:00PM, Friday, November 8, 8:00AM 12:00PM, and on Sunday, November 10, 8:00AM 12:30PM. You can also order books online by visiting www.scholastic.com/fair from November 2-13, 2013. All proceeds from the Book Fair benefit our school library. School Band Members Pass Audition Hats off to our Band Director, Mr. William Booher, and band members Katherine Walsh on flute, Megan Foley on saxophone, and Ben Connor on trombone who were chosen to audition at the Illinois Music Educators Association District 4 Music Festival held at Western Illinois University on November 2. All three band members performed in the festival concert before several hundred in the audience after rehearsing all day. Katherine Walsh was the first chair flute player, chosen over 50 other flutists for that coveted spot. Kudos to Lizzie Bergman and John Myers who worked very hard and auditioned, but were not selected this year! Family Night Out at Keps Support our school by enjoying a night out with your family at Keps on Tuesday, November 12. Keps is open 11:00AM 1:00AM and 10% of the entire day s income will come back to St. Patrick PTC. You may dine in or choose carry out. Upcoming Events November 7 11:30AM Dismissal; No Aftercare; Parent-Teacher Conferences, 1:00PM 8:00PM -Scholastic Book Fair in gym, 1:00 8:00PM 8 No School! Parent-Teacher Conferences, 8:00AM 12:00PM -Scholastic Book Fair in gym, 8:00AM 12:00PM -Boys Basketball at St. Mary s Tip-Off Tourney 10 Scholastic Book Fair in gym, 8:00AM 12:30PM 11 PTC meets at 7:00PM in the Upper Room 12 Boys Basketball Home at 5:30PM against St. Joseph Pekin 13 Boys Basketball Home at 5:30PM against Hollis Grade School 14 Girls Basketball Away at 5:00PM at Limestone- Walters -Athletic Committee meets at 6:30PM in the Upper Room 15 All School Mass at 8:15AM -Midterms for Grades 4 8 posted by 4:00PM 18 Boys Basketball Away at 5:00PM against Monroe 19 Girls Basketball Away at 4:30PM against D-50 20 Girls Basketball Away at 4:30PM against Peoria Heights 21 Boys Basketball Away at 6:00PM against WMS 22 All School Mass, 8:15AM -Girls Basketball Home at 4:30PM against Dee Mack 23 7A Regional Tournament begins 25 Boys Basketball Home at 5:30PM against Blessed Sacrament 26 Early Dismissal; 2:00PM; No Aftercare; Thanksgiving vacation begins -Boys Basketball Home at 6:00PM against Central 27-29 No School! Thanksgiving Vacation IRISH PRIDE 4