posted Jun 14, 2013, 7:03 AM by Cara Koen
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updated Jun 14, 2013, 7:47 AM
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On Sunday, June 2nd families from the Federation of Catholic Schools member parishes and schools gathered together for an afternoon of fun at the Knights of Columbus #2951 grounds in Florissant. Deacon Bill Johnson of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Parish led a Family Prayer Service to begin the afternoon. Children enjoyed bouncing in the "moon bouncer," face painting, balloon animals and lots of other fun activities, including a Photo Booth by Pam's Photography. Christ Light of the Nations school band, led by Mr. Randy Budd, shared their musical talent with an impressive performance. BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs were provided for lunch, along with a delicious "potluck" buffet.
The Federation's Commission on Marketing and Advancement planned the picnic event to celebrate Catholic education in the North County community and to help bring families from all the Catholic schools together. The Commission is coordinated by Cara Koen, Director of Advancement for the Federation of Catholic Schools. Members of the Commission are:- Maureen Farr
- Rob Grumich
- Pam Huff
- Roger Miller
- Toylonda Paulette
- Diane Ressel
- Jane Rothkopf
- Thom Unnerstall
- Cheryl Walsh
See the photo albums below for a glimpse of the afternoon's festivities:
Federation Family Picnic at Knights of Columbus Council #2951 - Sunday, June 2, 2013
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posted May 22, 2013, 11:22 AM by Cara Koen
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updated May 23, 2013, 12:28 PM
]
Students from
the eight Catholic elementary schools in the Northeast Deanery of the Archdiocese
of St. Louis, partnered with Vitendo4Africa and collected nearly 600 pairs of
shoes this month. The shoes will be delivered to children in Kenya during a
medical mission trip planned by Vitendo4Africa this summer.
St. Norbert
fourth grade student Dennis Muigai visited Kenya last summer on a Mission trip
where he had the opportunity to meet some new friends at a school and
orphanage. Many of these children had no
shoes to wear. Through the Federation of
Catholic Schools, Muigai asked his fellow Catholic school students in North St.
Louis County to join him on this service project by collecting shoes, which he
plans to deliver to Kenya when he visits again during a Medical Mission planned
for this summer. When he returns home he will share pictures and videos of the
children receiving these gifts.
Collection boxes
were placed at each of the eight Federation elementary schools, which include
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Christ Light of the Nations, Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Sacred Heart, St. Angela Merici, St. Ferdinand, St. Norbert and St. Rose Philippine
Duchesne. Geoffrey Soyiantet, founder of the Vitendo4Africa Foundation
(www.Vitendo4Africa.org), along with his team, picked up the donations from
each school and packaged 598 pairs of shoes in boxes for shipping to
Kenya. Since the shipment will take two
months to arrive in Africa, the mission team will also carry some of the shoes
with them as they travel to deliver as soon as they arrive in Kenya.
“Service to
others is central to our mission of Catholic education, so we are grateful for
this opportunity to partner with Vitendo4Africa and help them in this small way
on their Medical Mission as they serve the children and families of Kenya,”
said Cara Koen, Director of Advancement for the Federation of Catholic
Schools. “Our prayers are with them for safe
travels and success of their important work.”
The Federation
of Catholic Schools is a formal agreement between the pastors of the eleven
parishes in the Northeast Deanery of the Archdiocese of St. Louis to work
together in support of the mission of Catholic education in the North County
community. To learn more about the
programs and goals of the Federation, please visit www.FederationofCatholicSchools.org. |
posted May 13, 2013, 11:42 AM by Cara Koen
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updated May 13, 2013, 12:13 PM
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Students in our Catholic Schools have many opportunities to learn more about themselves, excel in their studies, and be followers of Jesus Christ, spreading His Gospel message. A few recent examples include: Our Lady of Guadalupe students have been learning about women of the church this school year, thanks to a Sister Mary Ann Governal/Ellen Ryan Memorial Development Grant from the archdiocesan Catholic Education Center. OLG students visited the Old St. Ferdinand Shrine in April, and their "Women of the Church" school year theme was recently featured in an article in the St. Louis Review.
Five seventh grade students from St. Angela Merici School participated in the St. Louis Science Fair at Queeny Park. Two students received red ribbons and three students earned blue ribbons. One of our students received a special award from the American Chemical Society, the St. Louis Chapter and a special recognition from the Monsanto Corporation. Girl Scouts at St. Rose Philippine Duchesne School sponsored an Anti-Bullying Poster Contest and invited St. Rose Students to submit a poster with an anti-bullying message. Many participated and decorated the school cafeteria with lots of great posters with this important message. Each October the students at Sacred Heart begin the Spiritual Adoption Program sponsored by the parish Pro-Life Committee. This program allows the students and teachers to save the unborn babies and help their mothers make the right choice through intercessory prayer. The students say a brief prayer daily for the rest of the school year to support and strengthen these mothers and their unborn babies. Then in May we have a Birthright Baby shower along with our May Crowning and Living Rosary. Last week during the May Crowning the students brought in numerous bags of baby items enough to fill up a small pick up truck!! All of these items will be taken to Our Lady's Inn to be distributed to the mothers for their babies.
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posted Mar 26, 2013, 7:54 AM by Cara Koen
The Koch
Foundation has awarded a $15,000 grant to the Federation of Catholic Schools in
the Northeast Deanery to fund supplies and materials in support of several
outreach programs. These funds will
assist with the Federation’s ability to spread the message of hope and
acceptance among Northeast Deanery schools and parishes.
The Koch
Foundation grant has a special focus on evangelizing schools, which supports
one of the main areas of responsibility
that the pastors and principals have identified for the Federation of Catholic
Schools: To increase the viability,
affordability, and accessibility of Catholic elementary schools for children of
all faiths in accord with the mission of Catholic schools to evangelize and
also achieve a greater degree of stability and sustainability for Catholic
education in the Northeast Deanery.
Specifically,
the funds will be used for materials needed for Federation programs including
Professional Learning Teams (PLTs), joint marketing efforts surrounding the
Catholic Schools Week open houses, Fine Arts Night, Summer Academy, and bus
transportation for shared field trips.
“We are grateful
to the Koch Foundation for their decision to award this grant in support of our
programs,” said Father Mike Henning, pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish and
pastoral representative for the Federation. “Receiving these funds is not only
a great financial help, but also a strong sign that the collaborative work of
our North County parishes on behalf of Catholic schools is more widely
supported from outside the communities we serve.”
In 1979, the
Koch Foundation was established by Carl and Paula Koch to fund evangelization
activities of the Roman Catholic faith throughout the world. Their mission is
built on the Koch's vision "to strengthen and propagate the Roman Catholic
faith by providing grant support for a wide variety of evangelization
efforts." |
posted Jan 2, 2013, 8:43 AM by Cara Koen
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updated Jan 2, 2013, 8:46 AM
]
The Alive in Christ Scholarship Program for 2013-14 will launch during Catholic Schools Week. This Archdiocesan-wide program offers scholarships of $1,000-$2,000 based on financial need to students entering a Catholic elementary school in the Archdiocese in Kindergarten - 4th grade, as well as to those students currently enrolled in a Catholic school whose families qualify. The scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, with applications being accepted beginning January 28, 2013. Funding for the scholarships is from an assessment paid into the fund by every parish of the Archdiocese. For the current school year, the eight schools in the Northeast Deanery Federation have received a total of nearly $320,000 in scholarship assistance, enabling over 100 new students to enroll at a Catholic school in North County and retaining an additional 90 students who were already enrolled but whose families were experiencing an increased financial need.
Download the PDF flyer posted below for answers to some common questions. Each school can provide additional details for how to apply for the scholarships, and more information is available at www.archstl.org/ttef.
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posted Nov 20, 2012, 11:54 AM by Cara Koen
The 4th and 5th Grade students at Sacred Heart School have completed their Cans for Christ Project. For the past four weeks, the students have been earning food items by doing extra chores around their homes or neighborhoods. Our goal was to send 335 items to TEAM to help feed our hungry brothers and sisters in North County. We happily exceeded our goal! Monsignor Mark Ullrich recently blessed 467 items before they were sent to the food pantry. All of the food needed to be a gift from the students themselves, not from their parents. Raking leaves, cleaning the garage, and extra babysitting became labors of love and care for others, as students were paid with cans of soup or boxes of macaroni. Living the Gospel message to feed the hungry and care for the poor became a reality for these young Christians.
- Mrs. Judy Lance, 5th Grade Teacher, Sacred Heart School
On November 12, we celebrated Veteran's Day with a flag ceremony accompanied with taps and patriotic songs. This day also was a kickoff for our support of the troops by collecting snack items. We will be sending these items to the troops oversees.
- Mrs. Mary Ann Kauffman, Principal, St. Angela Merici |
posted Nov 20, 2012, 11:35 AM by Cara Koen
November began with the celebration of All Saints Day, and students throughout the deanery spent time focused on learning more about the lives of the Saints in some creative ways.
Several classes, including the 5th grade students at St. Rose Philippine Duchesne and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, researched and studied about the history of their favorite Saints and then brought them to “life” in a “Saints Wax Museum,” where students dressed as their chosen Saint and shared a little about his/her life and importance to the Church with their classmates and others in attendance.
At St. Angela Merici, students decorated bowling pins as favorite Saints and placed them in the parish for the enjoyment of parishioners and visitors. Below are a few photos of the bowling pin saints: |
posted Oct 22, 2012, 7:23 AM by Cara Koen
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updated Oct 22, 2012, 8:05 AM
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It's no secret that finances can be a challenge for Catholic schools. Even with the generous gift that each parish gives by supporting our schools, there is always a need for more funding. Several of our Federation schools have recently held successful school fundraisers that have the added (or even more important) benefit of bringing the school community together for some FUN!
Some examples of fun and successful fundraising include: - Tapping into the generosity of local restaurants who will often designate a portion of sales on a particular evening to a school. For example, St. Angela Merici School had a great time at McTeacher Night (at McDonalds). According to Mrs. Kaufmann, school principal, this is a great social event of the month. The school raised over $700 at their September McTeacher night. The student love to see the teachers. It is a great place where parents and teachers simply enjoy each other's company.
- Walk-a-Thons are also popular events that engage the students in a fun activity while raising funds for the school. St. Angela Merici held their 7th Annual Walk-a-thon on Saturday, September 29. Many students earned the right to be on the school's Walk-a-thon Hall of Fame by walking 50 or mope laps around the field. St. Rose Philippine Duchesne School held it's 2nd Annual Walk-a-Thon for students during ITBS testing week September 17-21. Students had a chance to get some fresh air and exercise by walking laps on the school field during gym classes and recess periods that week. Together as a school they walked over 1,400 miles and raised $2,500 for the purpose of renovating the restrooms in the school's main lobby.
Many more creative fundraisers are held regularly at each of the eight Federation elementary schools. Look for more examples in future newsletters. |
posted Sep 11, 2012, 8:20 AM by Cara Koen
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updated Sep 11, 2012, 8:24 AM
]
Our Lady of Guadalupe School students are learning about important women in Church history,and specifically the women of our Federation and Deanery. Teachers and students are spending two months learning about each of the women for whom a school in our deanery is named: Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, St. Angela Merici, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, and Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Sister Cathy Doherty and the OLG faculty were inspired by the song "Women of the Church." Sister Cathy applied for and received a grant in memory of Mrs. Ellen Ryan and Sister Mary Ann Governal from the Catholic Education Center. The funds will allow the OLG faculty to purchase resources and take the students on field trips so that they can learn more about these important women and their importance in the church, our country, the St. Louis area, and North County.
The faculty is busy planning writing lessons, art projects, and special activities based on the theme: Women of the Church share the light of Christ. The students will be visited by guests who are associated with each of the women and will plan service projects which will honor the example set by each of these Women of the Church. The students of the federation have been invited to share in this learning and to visit Our Lady of Guadalupe School on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12.
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posted Sep 11, 2012, 8:18 AM by Cara Koen
During
the 2012-2013 school year, St. Norbert Catholic School will be celebrating
their 25th Anniversary as a school in the Archdiocese of St.
Louis. St. Norbert opened its doors in
1988, with students in grades Kindergarten through Third Grade. Each year after, it added a grade and doubled
a grade until, in 1996, it had two of each grade. Six years ago, St. Norbert opened the St.
Norbert Early Childhood Center which is currently located at St. Sabina
Parish. Presently, we have 448 students
in PreK – 8th Grade. Plans
for the celebration are under way and will include current as well as alumni
students, teachers, and parents. St.
Norbert is a school community “committed to encouraging and nurturing each child to reach their full potential by providing knowledge
and skills for a lifetime of learning.
In the Spirit of Jesus and the teaching tradition of the Catholic
Church, the student is challenge to see the good in other, to seek
understanding of our multi-cultural world and to respond to community concerns
with empathy and active compassion”. |
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