Dear Parents and Friends,

It's finally here - Thanksgiving! I am sure, like me, you are preparing for a big Thanksgiving celebration complete with family and friends. As always, we take this time to thank the Lord for our many blessings.  Gratitude is a tricky kind of word. Putting it into action is even trickier.  Sure, it is easy to count our blessings once a year, to take a minute and look into the eyes of the people we love and say, "Thank you, Lord, for giving me Aunt Bessie and Uncle Chester," but what about all of the other days of our lives? Where do we put our trust - our gratitude - our importance?

We don't always think of Thanksgiving as a time to demonstrate trust in our Lord for our future, but rather as a time to show gratitude for our many blessings of the past.  Yet Thanksgiving is twofold - giving thanks for the blessings of the past year and expecting goodness in the coming year. That, my friends, is the essence of faith - the trust that the blessings will continue into the future.  

Do you remember this passage?  

"When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood." (Luke 21:1-4)

Besides our Lord giving us a lesson in generosity, the poor widow's gesture is a significant lesson in two-dimensional trust. The first is a very basic trust. She believes that she can live her day without those two coins - her whole livelihood. This is contrary to the way we think today. Our sources of security often are found in such things as bank accounts, insurance, social connections or jobs. But this poor widow blindly trusts that all will be well throughout that very day. Even more importantly, she trusts that her contribution is significant - that it will be life changing to others. Her investment is in her future with God. Granted, it is peanuts when folded into the temple's budget.  But the amount isn't important. Her trust in God for the future is so important; and for that trust, the Lord praises her. She believes that her donation will be not only accepted by God, but also that in it she will help Him build the Kingdom of God - her future.

The scene is so like the story that Mother Teresa told:

I was once walking down the street and a beggar came to me and said, "Mother Teresa, everybody's giving to you. Today, for the whole day, I got only twenty-nine paise and I want to give it to you." I thought for a moment: if I take it, he will have nothing to eat tonight; and if I don't take it, it will hurt him. So I put out my hand and took the money. I have never seen such a joy on anybody's face as I saw on his -that a beggar, too, could give to Mother Teresa. It was a big sacrifice for that poor man who'd been sitting in the sun all day and had only received twenty-nine paise. It was beautiful: twenty-nine paise is such a small amount and I can get nothing with it, but as he gave it up and I took it, it became like thousands because it was given with so much love. [Mother Teresa. A Simple Path, Ballasting books, New York 1995, pp. 99-100]

Our own contributions and prayers of gratitude would hardly make a dent in God's kingdom's budget; but giving what we have -and more importantly giving of ourselves- is the message for all of our todays and our future days.  This Thanksgiving, when we are together with our families and friends thanking God for our many blessings, let's remember to thank Him for helping us to understand that all we are and all we have come from our Father. We are to give and to share with His people. We, as the widow who had so little, will trust that our contribution - our love, our respect and possessions - whatever it may be, will be life changing to us and to others. It is a blessing for today and a gift for all of our futures.

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for all of you - all of the fantastic people who work each day at Padua  and, most of all, our beautiful Padua Ladies!

God bless,

Mrs. Mann

Dear Lord,

Padua Partners with Wharton School to Offer Teen Advantage Program

Grab hold of this opportunity for your teen. The Teen Advanage program, designed and led by Wharton Professor Keith Weigelt, is a week-long program that applies interactive games, exercises and simulations to help teens develop business, financial literacy, critical thinking and communication skills! The program will be held at Padua Academy  

June 22-26, 2015. Click here for more information. 

Class Ring Adjustments Scheduled

Jostens will be at Padua on Tuesday, Dec. 2, to make ring adjustments for the Juniors and to collect Graduation Announcement orders for the Seniors.

Cap and Gowns for Seniors

Oak Hall will be at Padua on Tuesday, Dec. 2, to measure all Seniors for their graduation caps and gowns.

Father Daughter Dinner Dance

The Father Daughter Dinner Dance will be held on Friday, Dec. 12, at 7:00 p.m.at Padua Academy. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 for the two of you. Additional tickets are available for $25 each. Tickets will be sold on a first come-first served basis. Please submit the completed form along with a check for the appropriate amount no later than Friday, Dec. 5. Click here to download the registration form.

Ethics Bowl Team Advances to Semifinals in Competition at Villanova University!
Is it acceptable for victims of bullying to respond with violence? Should the CIA use humanitarian efforts as cover for spying? At the 3rd annual Delaware Valley Regional High School Ethics Bowl this past Saturday at Villanova University, students from local high schools discussed these and other ethical issues.

Seniors Chloe Mortenson and Kathleen Scopis; juniors Taylor Shelman and Erin Schuessler, and sophomore Maya Shenoy represented Padua at the event. Fourteen local teams, including Archmere, Wilmington Friends, and Camden Catholic presented differing perspectives on and solutions to ethical dilemmas. Going an unprecedented 3 and 0 in the opening rounds, Padua made it through the quarter-final round before being defeated by Cherry Hill East in the semi-finals. Padua's team placed in the top 4 for the event, the farthest Padua has ever gone. The team is extremely proud of their effort. Thank you to all the participants in Padua's Ethics Bowl debates here at school. We are looking forward to next year!

Cyber Security Team Results To Date

Results are in for the qualification rounds of the Air Force Association's CyberPatriot VII competition. Mr. Stinchcomb's team made it into the Platinum Challenge as the top 30% in the nation. The slate is wiped clean, and they begin again with a chance of the national finals! This is the furthest the team has ever gone in the Cyber Security Challenge. Ms. Schneider's team made it into the Gold Challenge, and they will compete for state honors at that level in the next round.

Padua's Medical Shadowing Program and Healthcare Club

Started in 2013 by Samantha D'Amico '14, Padua's Medical Shadowing  Program interested Anatomy and AP Biology students opportunities to shadow a medical professional for a day. On Nov. 21, Padua parent Dr. Carey Nathan hosted two Padua students for their surgical shadowing visit. Taylor Shelman '16 and Meghan Hanson '16 spent a day in the operating room and doing rounds with Dr. Nathan at Christiana Hospital.

Padua held its first meeting of the new Healthcare Club, started and organized by Julia Classen '16, on Nov. 17. The goal of this club is to invite medical professionals of various specialties to speak with students who are interested in a healthcare career. The inaugural speaker was Padua alumna and current parent Luana Pierantozzi Liberatore '80, a neonatal intensive care unit nurse at A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children. Twenty-two students attended this presentation. Mrs. Liberatore brought posters, reading materials, NICU supplies and infant models to give students a hands-on sense of the patients she works with.  Mrs. Liberatore is pictured with Julia Classen '16, Katherine Filliben '17, and Brooklynn Stoupa '17.  Future meetings will be scheduled approximately once per quarter.  Any questions can be directed to Dr. Amy Wise, [email protected].

Cyber Days are Snow Days

Padua was featured in the News Journal last week for our plan to turn snow days into cyber days this year. Click here to read more.  

SIA Attends Leadership Conference at UD

Nineteen members of Padua's Students in Action team attended the Jefferson Leadership Conference at University of Delaware on Nov. 22. Students heard from guest speakers involved in efforts directed towards ending hunger, water scarcity, and human trafficking. They also participated in leadership building activities with students from across the state.  

Partnership for Literacy

Padua's November book drive collected over 1,100 books for the Tiny Steps program at St. Francis Hospital. Not only do our donations continue to support the efforts to increase literacy and reading at home for youths, but the adult level books we collected also will allow the program to expand into books for parents. Thank you so much to all who donated.  A special thanks to the junior class officers pictured here: Francesca Marinaro, Marykate Higley and Judith Lynch (and, not pictured, Perry Martin).  Padua alumna and St. Francis Hospital employee, Ebony Brown '95, presented the students with a certificate of appreciation when they dropped the books off on Friday.

Spanish Class "Travels" to Colombia for Conversation with Native Speaker

On Nov. 20, students in Mrs. Kiefer's Honors Spanish 3 class had the opportunity to Skype with Oliverio Garcia, a member of junior Marguerite Beane's extended family from Bogot�, Colombia. The students had prepared questions en espa�ol to ask Mr. Garc�a about daily life in Colombia, ranging from traditions and celebrations, to pastimes and typical foods. The students were encouraged by how easily they could follow the conversation; junior Erin Schuessler said, "I understood so much of what he was saying even though the topic wasn't one that I necessarily knew much about!" Of the opportunity to Skype with a native speaker abroad, junior Kelsey Wallace wrote, "This really reinforces my goal of wanting to major in Spanish in college and become fluent enough to speak Spanish professionally."

Tea Party Fundraiser a Success!

Padua's Musical Theater Program held a fundraiser on Sunday for the February production of "Beauty and the Beast."  Belle's Royal Tea Party included karaoke, face painting, nail painting and yummy refreshments.  All of the "princesses" came in costume and were enchanted by our "Belle." The most requested song was, of course, "Let It Go!" Other cast members attended in costume as well and provided great photo ops! Thanks to everyone who helped to make this a huge success! Mark your calendars for the Spaghetti dinner on Friday, Jan. 23, and the performance of "Beauty and the Beast" on Feb. 13, 14, and 15.

Students Run Special Olympics Motor Skills Training

Twenty-six Padua students ran a Special Olympics Motor Skills Training program for young athletes at the Hockessin PAL on Nov. 21.  Both Blue Gold and Project Unify members from Padua participated.

Fr. Trainor Scholarship Luncheon

For ten years, the St. Patrick's Day Society has awarded scholarships in honor of the late Father Jim Trainor, long-time pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Wilmington. The scholarships are presented to graduating 8th graders of city parochial schools to help fund their continued education at local Catholic high schools. This past Friday, Nov. 21, honored students and guests including Bishop Francis Malooly and U.S. Congressman John Carney enjoyed a celebratory luncheon at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. Congratulations to Padua's scholarship recipients, Trichelle Gatlin '16 (St. Peter's Cathedral) Eliza Hyde '18 (St. Ann's).

Stay Healthy, Stay Fit

Running is a great way to stay fit and there are ample opportunities within our area to participate in 5K's, 10K's, and Half/Full marathons. Congratulations are in order for several Padua faculty members and students. Math teacher Kate Hoppenjans, along with her daughter, completed the Girls on the Run 5K. English teacher, Alisa Anderson, participated in Philadelphia's 1st Annual Rocky Balboa 5K. Graphic Design teacher Chris Wills, Rebecca Bolten '15, and Rachel Bolten '12 completed the Philadelphia Half Marathon. PE/Health teacher Rainbow Shaw-Giaquinto completed the Brooklyn Marathon and a week later finished the Philadelphia Marathon. Her husband, a first time marathoner, also completed the Philadelphia Marathon. Click here to hear about their journey. His inspirational story is proof that anyone with desire, belief, motivation, dedication, commitment, and support can tackle 26.2 miles. If that seems too challenging, check out www.races2run.com to find a local event that is more your speed. Whatever the distance, just get out and do it!! It's never too late to get healthy.

Parents

• College Financial Aid Evening - Monday, Dec. 15 beginning at 6:30pm. Parents of all students are welcome to attend.
• As seniors make requests for their transcripts and 1st quarter grades to be submitted to colleges, please understand that we will submit these materials as quickly as possible. We ask that you give us several days' notice in advance of any deadlines to ensure that we can meet those deadlines.
• Seniors should submit copies of all college acceptance letters and scholarship offers to Mrs. Buchanan in the Guidance office. We will use this information for graduation.
• Many seniors are receiving emails from colleges indicating that the college needs materials from Padua (transcript, letters of recommendation, etc.). If your daughter receives one of those emails, please contact the college first to verify that they do not have her materials. The college emails are computer-generated and aren't necessarily up-to-date.

Seniors

• The next important college application deadlines are Dec. 1 and Dec. 15. Please verify your college application deadlines on each school's website.
• All students who plan on applying to the University of Delaware should do so by Dec. 1at the latest. UD's website lists Jan. 15as their deadline date but if you want to be notified at some point in January, you need to submit your application by Dec. 1.
• Many seniors are receiving emails from colleges indicating that the college needs materials from Padua (transcript, letters of recommendation, etc.). If you receive one of those emails, please contact the college first to verify that they do not have her materials. The college emails are computer-generated and aren't necessarily up-to-date.
• Seniors should begin researching scholarship opportunities. Most colleges list their scholarships on their websites. Popular and reputable scholarship websites include: www.scholarships.com, www.finaid.org, www.fastweb.com, and www.collegeboard.org.

Juniors

• The College 101 program has begun. Meetings times have been posted in homerooms. You are expected to attend each meeting which will be held during Flex in the Guidance conference room on the 2nd floor. The topic of the first meeting: How to research prospective colleges.

All Students

• PSAT results will be available toward the end of December.       Score reports will be returned to the students right before Christmas break.
• Please see your teacher if you are having difficulty in any class.      

Upcoming Standardized Testing Dates

            SAT test: Dec. 6, Jan. 24, Mar. 14, and May 2

            ACT test: Dec. 13, Feb. 7, Apr. 18, and June 13

Padua Crew's Maggie Cunningham Signs with Duquesne University

Congratulations to Maggie Cunningham who signed for Duquesne University last week. She will row as a Duke next Fall. Her career in rowing began at Newport Rowing Club as part of the recreational crew followed by 1 season of novice and 2 full years of varsity. Her talent as a rower was seen very early as she placed 15th in the nation as a sophomore. We are proud of her accomplishment and wish her the best at Duquesne!

Monday, 11/24 (Cycle 5) 

Special Schedule; Noon Dismissal for Students 

Tuesday, 11/25 (Cycle 6) 

Thanksgiving Prayer Service  

Wednesday, 11/26 - Friday, 11/28 

School Closed for Thanksgiving Break