St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School

On Thursday, June 1, our youngest students celebrated their progression to the next grade level with a prayerful program in keeping with our We Are the Work of God's Hands school theme for this year. The children have learned that we become the work of God's hands with prayer, sharing, spreading peace and understanding, and with our loving acts of kindness. Under the direction of Mrs. Jenkins and Mrs. Horn, the children presented prayers and songs. The Kindergarten students read an adapted parable of the loaves and the fishes, and the PreSchool students handled the petitions during the ceremony. Each child walked across the stage to receive their diploma and to be welcomed by their next year’s teacher. At the reception that followed the ceremony, the children were happy to share their joy with loving family members.

Congratulations to our youngest students on all of their fine accomplishments and growth this year!

A highlight of the year for the eighth-grade class is the trip to Loyola University's Retreat and Ecology Campus in Woodstock, Illinois, to participate in the Challenge Course Program.

The challenge course at the Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus provides an ideal setting for challenge, reflection, and learning. The programs are focused on building communication, goal-setting, problem-solving, and leadership skills that can be applied to everyday life.

The class had a wonderful time of recreation and prayer to close their time as friends before graduation.

The Kindergarten students were so excited to welcome their moms for a special Mother’s Day Tea on Friday, May 12.  Not only did they serve them some delicious treats, they also served up treasured memories as they performed for their moms. They surely evoked a tear or two as they sang and signed for their moms a song that they had prepared called Wonderful World.  The students were happy to gift their moms with many handmade treasures that were in keeping with our school theme this year, We Are the Work of God’s Hands. They made a bouquet of lilies created with their hand cutouts and a lovely necklace for their moms made also from their hand print and then shrunken to a size that would make a good pendant. The students also created a special card for their mom in computer class! Take a look at some of the smiling faces that radiate the unique love between mother and child. We have a special kindergarten class taught lovingly by their teacher, Mrs. Jenkins!

The month of May calls for special dedication to Mary, the mother of Jesus and inspiration to us all for her willingness to say Yes to God’s plan for her. As part of the celebration of Mary, St. Alphonsus / St. Patrick   students crowned Mary during Mass on Friday, May 12.  Eighth grader Gabriela S., had the honor of crowning Mary. She was supported and assisted by other 8^th grade classmates as well as the second grade students who recently celebrated their First Holy Communion. The May Crowning Mass on May 12 marked the first time that the second graders had the privilege of receiving Holy Communion with their school community! To honor the occasion and Mary, they dressed in their First Communion finery and honored Mary with flowers. This beautiful ceremony helps to keep the faithfulness of Mary alive in our minds and hearts so that we might draw upon her strength and bring it to life for each other.

On Friday, May 12, the fifth grade students gathered with their teacher, Mr. Joel Munyon, and their D.A.R.E. officer from the Lemont Police Department and his commanding officer, to graduate from the D.A.R.E.(Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education) program.  Their commitment to resist alcohol and drug abuse was witnessed by their family and friends.  As one of the culminating activities of the program, the students each composed an essay about how they intend to stay away from dangerous substances and follow a healthy lifestyle. Although the officers said that they had a very hard time selecting winners among all of the well composed essays, they did choose two to be read at the ceremony. Lia A. and Lucien Z. read their commitment statements to the audience.  Both the officers from the Lemont Police Department and Mr. Munyon spoke enthusiastically about how seriously this class of fifth grade students participated in the lessons and discussions throughout the program. St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School is very proud of these fine students and the leadership qualities they already show.

Each year, the eighth grade class relives the Passion of Christ for the school community by presenting a special reenactment of the Stations of the Cross.  Directed by their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Eileen Bruno, and using a scrim, shadow, song and script, the eighth graders present a moving rendition of the Stations of the Cross. This year, the meditations on the scriptural Stations of the Cross were based upon those celebrated by Saint Pope John Paul II on Good Friday in 1991.  The meditations gave the audience so much to think about and reflect upon, and the pictures painted with shadows give life to this story that is so central to our faith.  Relive the performance as you view the videos and pictures. 

Lessons about treating others with kindness and care are infused throughout the curriculum at St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School. Teachers also take time to give students information about how to handle people who may not treat them kindly. After learning about ways to "Stand Up For Yourself," students in grades six, seven, and eighth created helpful brochures for their younger schoolmates in grades two, three, and four that included steps for standing up to bullies and believing in oneself. Eighth graders even reenacted a song they learned about "Standing Up for God" that connected to the theme. 

On Saturday, March 11, our eighth grade students received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Andrew Wypych at both St. Alphonsus Church and at St. Patrick Church. His instruction to the young men and women was that they ought to live a life of love….the kind of sacrificial love of Jesus….and in so doing, they will change the world.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit filled our eighth grade leaders as they participated in this rite of initiation. It is our prayer as a community that the Holy Spirit will forever guide these young people.

On Friday, February 24, our eighth grade students received their class ribbons during a special Mass and ceremony that was a celebration of friendship, accomplishment, and call to further service. Witnessed by the entire school community as well as their families and friends, the members of the class of 2017 proudly accepted the green and white class ribbons from the faculty members that have been their Confirmation mentors this year. They accepted the ribbons as a symbol of honor, fellowship and leadership.  To paraphrase Mrs. Bruno, their homeroom teacher,

" …we give each member of the Class of 2017 a special ribbon to …to adorn them, to signify their giftedness, to tie them to memories of loved ones that have helped them reach this point in their lives, to symbolize their courage as disciples of Christ, to show their solidarity with our school, and to honor them for their academic victories….."

 Keenly aware of the example that they provide to our younger students, the eighth graders will wear the ribbons with pride as they continue to demonstrate the character, kindness and courage that distinguish our St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School graduates.  

Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. McGuire and Mr. and Mrs. Bruno and their many helpers, we held our first annual Alumni Mass on February 18.  The Mass was meaningful and the entire event was a successful gathering of so many of our past students. Alumni from the classes of 1942, 1944, 1980, 2008, 2016 plus many other classes attended. All enjoyed Faith and Fellowship at Mass and the dinner that followed. The plan is to make this an annual celebration of our fine alumni on the weekend before the school Gala. Please enjoy some photos from this event.

As part of their Social Studies curriculum with Mr. Lundberg, the fourth grade students have been learning about the regions of the United States. During their study of the states, each student created a “float” representing one state. The floats were filled with symbolism and facts. Their fellow students lined the hallways as the fourth graders and their  “Parade of States” made its way through the school as patriotic music played in the background. Everyone appreciated the hard work and creativity of the fourth grade students.  

During the week of January 29 through February 3, we took the time to highlight some of the wonderful features of Catholic Schools in general and to celebrate the extraordinary qualities of St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School specifically.  The theme of Catholic Schools Week again expressed the mantra that Catholic Schools are communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service. It is always our goal here at St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School to hold our students and teachers to the highest standards of academic excellence.  While academics are the key essential, we also find ways to practice our Faith and to be of service every day.  Added into that mix are ways to make learning fun. 

The week’s festivities began with Open House on Sunday. Our classrooms and all of our extracurricular activities and athletic teams were on display along with a Book Fair, a spectacular Art Fair and an amazing array of Science investigations by our 7^th and 8^th Grade students.  There were cake walks just for fun and the Toasty Cheese Truck provided great snacks for visitors.

Our commitment to service was clearly evident as we watched our National Junior Honor Society members sponsor the Souper Bowl of Caring. Guided by the NJHS moderators, Mrs. Lerch and Mr. Munyon, the students collected an amazing amount of food and cash donations for two local food pantries. Students also created Spiritual Bouquets for nursing home residents to brighten their days and to let them know that we keep them in our prayers.

Many other fun activities during the week including a special student breakfast, a Bible-opoly competition, a faculty appreciation luncheon, and Friday Bingo made the week a true celebration of our Catholic community of Faith, Knowledge and Service.

One of the most charming and helpful programs at St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School involves our older students helping out our youngest students in many ways. Our eighth graders are paired with Kindergarten students, our seventh graders work with first graders, and our sixth grade students team up with our little preschool kids.  The Buddies often work on cooperative projects together such as when the eighth graders help their little buddies plant flower bulbs at the front of our school. Everyone anxiously awaits the springtime floral explosion!  Also pictured here are the seventh grade students helping their first grade buddies accomplish digital research and notetaking for their penguin project. The first graders were so grateful for the kind assistance from their buddies! Sixth grade students get together with their preschool buddies every chance they get. They are looking forward to doing a Valentine’s Day project with them soon. The guidance provided by our oldest students to our youngest students makes life better for both groups. The older kids learn valuable leadership and service skills while the youngest students get extra personalized help and attention. It is definitely a win-win program!

Our junior high students teamed up during the month of December to create facsimiles of “ugly sweaters” that were intended to highlight talents and features of the wearer.  Each sweater designer also had to create a runway narrative that he or she read as the sweater was modeled by the recipient.  Some of the sixth grade students even teamed up to create “ugly sweaters” for some of their teachers.

In the end, all concluded that the sweaters were not ugly at all but rather beautiful representations of the people they were specially designed for.  Everyone had a great time watching the “fashion show” and many of the very artistic “sweaters” will be treasured for a long time by the receivers. 

Each year, Mrs. Parry guides the eighth grade students on a journey that culminates in a piece of artwork. Like the masterpieces that these student creations emulate, the paintings require several stages and take quite some time to reach their framed display state during Catholic Schools Week. As the students work on the art, they are also journaling in their language arts classes with Mrs. Bruno and applying math skills as they maintain the proportions of their painting on their canvas. Along the way they also employ technology to help with research and to communicate about their overall experience. This amazing learning experience teaches the students about art, about perseverance, about what it really takes to create a masterpiece on canvas that lives on long after the artist, and finally, about themselves and what they are capable of doing. These photos depict some of the early struggles of the student artists as they endeavor to get the colors and proportions just right.

 Another part of the journey involves our young artists visiting The Art Institute of Chicago to see real artistic masterpieces and to learn more about the artistic process.  There are also some photos of this traditional field trip included here.

 The whole school eagerly awaits the finished masterpiece paintings that will be on display at the Art Fair during Catholic Schools Week that begins with our open house on January 29!

On Wednesday, December 14, the children in first grade through the fourth grade and the Liturgical Choir joined to present a Christmas concert for their parents and friends.  Under the direction of Mr. Joe Martorano and accompanied by talented musicians, the students sang a program of Advent and Christmas music designed to highlight the true meaning of the Christmas season, intermixed  with a sprinkling of lighthearted familiar Christmas carols. The lovely melodies and meaningful lyrics helped add meaning to our Advent of waiting for the Christ child. Unique this year was a live streaming of the concert that allowed even far away relatives to enjoy the concert!

Then on December 20, the band members from our school combined with those from St. Germaine and from Ss. Cyril and Methodius to present a wonderful Christmas band concert. The band is directed by Mr. Patrick Mooney.

These concerts showcase the musical talents of our students, and they help to get everyone into the true spirit of Christmas.

During National Computer Science Education Week (December 5-9 this year) all of our students join  millions of others around the world and attempt to learn a bit of computer coding and even some app invention. This has become a nationwide campaign to expose students to this important skill. The exercises the children participate in also fit very well into our STEM initiative (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math). The students listen to short tutorials by famous personalities and expert computer scientists as they attempt to complete the wide array of tutorials available. These short instructional videos are designed to pique interest in computer science and guide the student’s coding experiences.

All of Mrs. Yakes’ students from PreSchool up through the 8th grade are given the opportunity to try computer coding.  Many tried this year’s specially designed tutorial based on the new Disney movie. Moana.  Students used Blockly (a simplified coding language) to create their programs and they were able to reveal the actual coding language that lies beneath the blocks.  Other students experimented with tutorials offered by Tynker and by Code.org. Some even tried their hand at more complex coding and App creation using the MIT App Inventor site. If you would care to check out this year’s possibilities for the Hour of Code, click these links to try your hand:  Hour of Code 2016 and the MIT App Inventor.

 These lessons will be ongoing in the lab so that students can continue their opportunity to experience computer coding and gain some appreciation for what computer scientists do to help make our world a better place. In the words of Bill Gates, every student should learn how to do computer coding because “it teaches you how to think and how to solve problems”, and those are very important skills indeed!

Mrs. Jenkins’ Kindergarten students orchestrated our school Liturgy service for the first time on Friday, November 18.  They sent the tone for the Mass with a beautiful handmade banner proclaiming the need for us to be thankful for our many blessings.  Our youngest students led the readings and prayers with just a bit of support from their eighth grade buddies! The children then worked with the choir to sing and sign and beautiful hymn after Holy Communion. Included during the liturgy was a blessing over the food we collected for the community open pantry during the month of November.