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Creativity - "I doodle which becomes a sketch which,if I like it, becomes my art."
I was in Chicago this summer visiting a long time friend and Godfather to my son. I stayed in downtown Chicago at a hotel where there was a conference for International Baccalaureate Schools. The morning I arrived was the last day of the conference ending with a keynote speaker before lunch. The lobby was busy with attendees checking out and I happened to ask one man what the keynote topic was going to be? He said, "Creativity, but I can't go, I have to catch my flight. You want my ticket?" I was a little late getting to the Cubs game with Joe but I did get to listen to Sir Ken Robinson! Sir Ken Robinson has one of the most visited TED talks in the history of video conferences. His work has generated considerable interest on the power of wonder, inquiry, and creativity in schools. His humor and wit make for an engaging story but his vision for education, especially reclaiming curiosity as a fundamental pathway to learning, is capturing teachers' hearts. He underlines three guiding principles for teaching for passion: human beings are naturally different and deserve to be treated so; curiosity drives much of our learning; and our human life is inherently creative. Ken Robinson is a challenging thinker. While I sat there listening and scribbling notes on a napkin, I was thinking how often do I encourage teachers in being creative when asking to see their class outline and objectives? Would I be comfortable observing teachers who think "wonder" is a fundamental goal of a lesson plan? I asked myself do I dissuade teachers from treating children as diverse learners in my desire to make sure that everyone is on the "same page" or asking that we use common if not identical assessments? What brought this all back to me last week was when I was speaking to our 8th graders which I do one-on-one. A student expressed her academic strengths were across subjects but her passions were primarily artistic. She said, "I doodle and scribble a lot which adults think is not paying attention. It really is the way I begin to make connections, my ideas come from my doodling." I believe Sir Ken Robinson would love to see her art just as much as I loved to listen to how she shared what was in her heart. Creativity is a gift and one that I hope we find more ways to nurture in our students and foster in our teaching. We will be a more alive school because of it. I was reminded of Albert Einstein's quote: Creativity is intelligence having fun. The Cubs lost! peace, Chris
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Congratulations to Mrs. Heinz
Congratulations to Mrs. Heinz on the birth of her son!
Hudson Kelly Heinz was born at 4:38 pm on 9/14/15, 7.3 lbs and 19 in. in length.
What a blessing!
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Upcoming Events
September 24: Primary Mass, 8:45 AM October 1: All School Mass, 8:45 AM October 2: No School, Teacher Excellence Day October 6: Individual Photos |
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Annual Fund 16
We kicked-off Annual Fund 16 at Back to School Night. If you weren't able to make it, click here for the video and click here to learn more about Annual Fund on our website. Don't forget to pledge or donate by October 31! Thank you!
Click Here To Make A Donation
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Spirit Wear
Fall Spirit Wear order forms were delivered to the classrooms on Friday. Show your school spirit and wear a St. Pat's sweatshirt proudly!
Proceeds from Spirit Wear help fund many of the fun activities sponsored by the Saint Patrick Parent's Association (Harvest Festival, St. Nicholas Festival, Catholic Schools Week and many others). Per the school handbook, St. Pat's hooded sweatshirts are now allowed to be worn as part of the school uniform. Please return orders forms by Friday, September 25th to your child's classroom or to the front office. Thanks for supporting SPPA!
Link to Spirit Wear Order Form
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Community Ministry
We encourage parents to join us for Mass and Rosary this school year. Click here for the schedule. Become a subscriber on YouTube where past homilies are available on demand. Links to the homilies can also be accessed through the Parish website or myParish app for mobile devices.
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CYO
Welcome back to another year of CYO athletics. CYO stands for Catholic Youth Organization. It created an athletic division years ago. It is different than other athletic leagues. The main differences are that we celebrate through prayer and acknowledgment of competition and our opponents. The volunteer coaches strive to introduce children to each game and help them become better athletes, but they strive to always focus on sportsmanship, fairness and becoming better people through the competition and stress that sports create. Our school's athletic director is Matt Smith and if you have any questions, please contact him at cyoathletics@saintpats.org.
Our Cross Country team has their first CYO meet at Bellarmine High School on Sunday September 27th. All runners must have their consent and emergency forms turned in to compete in the meet. The meet starts at 2:00 pm and you will find a schedule of races below. Thank you to all the volunteers. Your efforts make this sport work and help model for our kids many qualities we want them to learn. Congratulations to all of our runners! Keep working hard! If you have any questions please contact the head coach Megan Miller or the Athletic Director, Matt Smith. The Athletic Director can be reached at cyoathletics@saintpats.org.
Race Times
PreK/K boys (1/4 mile): 2:00
PreK/K girls (1/4 mile): 2:05
1st grade boys (1/2 mile): 2:10
1st grade girls (1/2 mile): 2:15
2nd grade boys (1/2 mile): 2:25
2nd grade girls (1/2 mile): 2:30
3rd grade boys (1/2 mile): 2:40
3rd grade girls (1/2 mile): 2:45
4th and 5th grade boys (1 mile): 2:55
4th and 5th grade girls (1 mile): 3:05
6th-8th grade boys (1-� mile): 3:15
6th-8th grade girls (1-� mile): 3:30
CYO basketball will start forming teams for 4th-8th grades at the end of September. Practice will start in October. Season play will begin in late November/early December. The season runs through the end of January.
CYO volleyball starts forming teams for 5th-8th grades in February. Practice will start in February. Games start in March. The season runs through April. We will have a coaches' meeting to discuss the upcoming season on Tuesday September 22nd at 7:00 pm in the St. Pats' gym.
There are several other athletics that are offered through the Sno-King CYO program. Saint Pats has not had its own team in these sports, yet! These sports are soccer, baseball, softball and track.
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SPPA Volunteer Sign-Up
Saint Patrick Parent Association needs you!
If you completed your interest form at Back to School Night, thank you!
If not, please take a moment to visit the following link and indicate your interest in events planned for this school year.
Click Here To Sign-Up |
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Lost and Found
Lost and found will be cleared on Monday, September 28. Please remember to mark you child's belongings with their name, and check the lost and found if you find you are missing anything. The lost and found is located in the hallway outside the gym on the lower level. |
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Extended Care
Congratulations to our Extended Care Program Director, Miss Cindy for earning a Non-Expiring License from the Department of Early Learning! She has worked very hard to provide a quality program while following detailed state requirements and maintaining an extensive level of training and required paperwork. We are proud of our Extended Care program!
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Photo Request
School parent, Mindi Marsh has generously volunteered to create our yearbook this year. If you have any unique and wonderful pictures of students, teachers, administration, classroom events, fields trips, CYO sports, etc., please email them to Mindi Marsh at swampclan@hotmail.com. If you have questions, she can be contacted either through email or call 253.232.9152. Thank you!
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Health Screening
Health screening for vision and hearing will be held on October 9 for grades K, 1, 2, 3, and 7. The 5th grade, make-ups and re-screenings will be held on October 30.
Please send your child/ren with appropriate eye wear and/or hearing aids.
If you are looking for a good way to obtain commitment hours, please don't hesitate to volunteer. No medical experience is needed, but Safe Environment is required. There is a class for Safe Environment at St. Pats in the library Sept 23rd. Interested? Questions? Please email Shannon Zawilski at redheadrn@comcast.net. Thank you!
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From the Parish
Sacramental Prep
Congratulations to our children who have begun their preparation for the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. This year we have 50 children preparing. Along with their families, these children signed the Covenant of Faith on Sunday, Sept. 20th. This Covenant, signed by the children, their families, and the catechists, states that they are ready to spend this year in study and prayer as they prepare to receive Reconciliation beginning in October and First Holy Communion in the spring. You will notice some of our children wearing wooden crosses this year indicating that these individuals are on a special journey of faith. Please keep these special ones and their families in prayer this year.
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Gavin
Audrey
Henry
Marissa
Audrey
Maggie
Dominic
Marisa
Seth
Madaria
Brayden
Ryan
Tenzing
Kerani
Hunter
Bryce
Lucy
Linnea
Jaela
Charles
Edward
Maggie
Liam
Jake
Nicolas
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Lucia
Elijah
Jordan
Ben
Elijah
Grant
Adeline
Andy
Alex
Jeremy
Mason
Dave
Ruby
Annali
Luke
Lachlan
Josie
Sarah
Jared
Rainey
Ramse
Triton
Ellie
Katherine
Aiden
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Youth Group Saint Patrick Youth group meets every other Sunday from 4-5:30 PM in the Parish Center. We have fun, great fellowship, games, food, and grow in our faith. Come every time we meet or whenever you can make it. Bring a friend and join us.Visit Our Website
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