The Saint Bernadette School
Home of the Bulldogs
CONNECTION
Westlake, Ohio
News, Views and Information for Parents
‘End of the Year’ Issue 2013
"What we are, is God's gift to us. What we
become is our gift to God." ~ Eleanor Powell
Hannah Kowalski
Austin Anderson
Parker Kowalski
Amy Artman
Aidan Krevis
Bridget Bodnar
Michaela Lang
Margaret Bornhorst
Matthew Lipaj
Aedan Bryner
Kathryn Malloy
Brian Cook
Katherine Mangan
Martin Fanta
Masen McManamon
Christopher Fedor
Taylor Pentz
Kara Hamman
Sabrina Saliba
Katherine Higgins
Kala Seeholzer
Charles Hoelscher
Erin Sullivan
Molly Kilroy
Riley Kinzel
Peter Koncelik
CONGRATULATIONS 8TH GRADE STUDENTS
Patrick Walsh
Colleen Wise
WE ARE PROUD OF YOU AND WE WILL MISS YOU!!
MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU ON YOUR
JOURNEY TOWARD THE FUTURE!!
There are too many memo
ries to count at
Saint Bernadette’s School
but the best was
my first day of first grade
because it was
the first time I met everyo
ne. That day was
the start of the family tha
t we have grown
up to be! The St. Bernadette
Parish and
Community made me feel
ver y welcomed.
My favorite memory of Sai
nt Bernadette’s is in
first grade with Mrs. Chinch
ar when we would
have “magic sprinkles” and
everyone would be
convinced that it actually hel
ped us remember
how to pronounce the lett
ers in the alphabet.
Some kids even left the spr
inkles in their
pocket for later.
~Hannah Kowalski
~Brian Cook
CLASS OF 2021
Now friends, as graduation
nears, Let's celebrate without
the tears. It has been a long
hard grind But it's time to
put all that behind.
Let's remember that toil and
strain Are part of education's
pain. We knew that when we
started school But learning
stuff is kinda cool.
We made it through when
times were bad And we owe
it all to mom and dad. Play
happy music and roll the
drum. Look out, first grade,
here we come!
Congratulations to our 8th graders who scored 100% in all twelve categories on the
ACRE Test this past year!! The ACRE Test is an assessment tool to gauge a student’s
knowledge of their Faith. This is the first time this has happened in the history of Saint
Bernadette School and it happened with our Class of 2013!! We are extremely proud of
all of you!! Carry your Faith into your Future!!
June 2013
7-27
20
August 2013
5-20
School Office Open 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (M-Th)
6
Kindergarten Playdate 6:00 pm (Playground)
School Office Open 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (M-Th)
Kindergarten Playdate 6:00 pm (Playground)
17-18 Family Packet Pick-Up/Uniform Resale (PAC)
27-30 Summer Festival (Parish Grounds)
July 2013
21
Kindergarten Orientation 8 am (K Classrooms)
First Day of School 8 am-2:30 pm (1-8)
4
Happy Birthday America!!
21
19
Kindergarten Playdate 10:00 am (Playground)
22-23 Kindergarten (1/2 Day Only-8-11:30 am)
1-31 School Office Closed (Office re-opens Aug. 5)
24
Bulldog Run 8-11am (School/Parish Grounds)
24
Back To School Mass & Picnic 5 pm (Parish Grounds)
26
First Full Day of Kindergarten (8 am-2:30 pm)
ST. BERNADETTE
BOX TOPS
Volunteer
Appreciation
Day
LABELS FOR
EDUCATION
Please continue to clip, clip,
clip your box tops & labels over
the summer months!!! A brand
new collection year will begin in
September. More info. will be in
the August family packets.
Thank you for supporting these
programs!!
SUMMER BINGO
REMINDER!! Please mark your
Summer Assignments on your
calendar and enjoy an evening
away from home!! We have quite
a few families that are not showing
up for their assigned date, which is
not fair to the families who do.
Our Bingo program makes it
possible to keep our tuition rates
down!! A big THANK YOU to
all of our hard working Saint
Bernadette parent volunteers for
supporting our Bingo Program.
MARKET DAY
Look for info. in the August ‘Parent
Packets.’ Thank you to all our
families who ordered this past
school year!! Also, thank you to
Anne Rufener and Terry
Schoenberger who headed up our
committee!! Last Pick-up in
Dempsey on Thursday, June 13.
THANKS for your support!!
“Volunteer Appreciation Day: was celebrated
on Friday, May 17! The many volunteers of
our school were appreciated for their care
and help in countless ways. The day began
with the celebration of Mass that was
planned by our fourth graders. Following
Mass, a social and breakfast were enjoyed
in Dempsey Hall. To add to the festivities,
our school choir sang some beautiful songs
under the direction of Mrs. Penny Sent.
Father Racco enjoyed the breakfast, too.
Saint Bernadette is truly blessed by special
people.
Just a few of our wonderful
parents: Sue Fegen,
Caroline Malloy,
Amy Koncelik, and
Kim Fedor enjoy breakfast
and some good conversation
at the annual ‘Volunteer
Appreciation Day’.
~Mrs. Kathleen Lang,
“Volunteer Appreciation Day” coordinator
Congratulations!!
8th grader Kala Seeholzer earned a superior
rating at Walsh Jesuit High School Science Day
for her project entitled “The Effects of pH on
Algae Growth. In addition Kala received the
Governor’s Thomas Edison Award for
Excellence in Environmental Sciences
Research. She also participated in the
Northeastern Ohio Science and Engineering
Fair at John Carroll where Kala was awarded a
silver medal and $25.00 She competed in the
65th Annual Western Reserve District 5 Science
Day at the University of Akron where she
received an excellent rating and medal. Kala
was honored to represent Saint Bernadette
School and we are all very proud of all she has
accomplished!! Good luck in the future Kala!!
I
ATHLETIC NEWS!
CONFIRMATION
It was an amazing year for the Saint Bernadette Athletic Program this
past year!! A huge THANK YOU goes out to President Tim Coyne
and Secretary Mo Loesch for all the sweat they have poured out into
our Athletic Program and to the parents and students here at Saint
Bernadette!! We are proud to announce our newly elected President...
Tom Boker and Chris Moran as Secretary. Brian Clancy will remain as
vice-president, along with Phil Sampognaro as Treasurer. Al Vasek
will continue as Pastoral Designee. We look forward to the new school
year and we know that it will be an fantastic one for coaches, players
and parents!! GO BULLDOGS!!
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO SIGN-UP FOR FALL SPORTS!!
Congratulation to our eighth grade students who were sealed
with the Holy Spirit on April 7th. We thank Bishop Lennon,
Fr. Racco, Fr. Seebauer, Mr. Stipek, and Mrs. Noga and all of
the 8th grade parents and sponsors for your assistance and
guidance in making this Sacramental experience one our
young men and women will never forget!! We are very
blessed by the excellent Catholic Education our students here
at Saint Bernadette receive. Our hope is that these young
people will take the light of Christ into the world and into the
lives of everyone they meet!! May God continue to bless you
and your family and may the Holy Spirit live within you as you
prepare for your future!!
Fall Sports: online registration now open by visiting:
http://www.stbernadetteparish.com/Home/athletics
MAY CROWNING
. On Friday, May 10th, the St. Bernadette School
Community honored Mary, our mother, by crowning her
in a special ceremony. The second graders in their First
Communion clothes, joined the Eighth graders in a
procession. The second graders also performed a special
song-poem to Mary called Mary's Story which reflected
on the highlights of Mary's life. All classes were able to
join in the special songs and prayers devoted to Our
Blessed Mother. The honor of crowning Mary went to
Katie Malloy this year. The other 8th grade girls formed
an honor court around the statue of Mary as many
flowers and prayers were offered to the Blessed Mother.
Colleen Wise, Peter Koncelik, Katie Mangan,
Teddy Koncelik and Erin Sullivan
are having a sunny spirit-filled day.
Library News
Remember to read this summer.
Reading adds so much fun to our
days. Let your imagination grow Read and Enjoy!
~Mrs. Kathleen Lang
DONUTS WITH DAD
It was so wonderful to see all of our dads in April at our annual event!! Your children were so happy to share breakfast with you!! Many memories were made that you can look back on one day!! Thank you to all our DADS and to PTU Hospitality for making this a great way to spend a morning!!
MUFFINS WITH MOM
Thank you to all of our moms and students for a marvelous morning in May!! A good time was had by all!! Thank you also to our PTU Hospitality for sponsoring this annual event!! Our Saint Bernadette MOMS are amazing!!
"The Eucharist is the supreme proof
of the love of Jesus. After this, there
is nothing more but Heaven itself."
~St. Peter Julian Eymard
Left...Anna Erdos works on
Communion Banner at ‘Jesus Day’ on
April 19th.
Right...Mr. Stipek and Fr. Joe are very
proud of 2nd grader Evan Rufener as
he celebrated his First Holy
Communion this year.
Bottom...Fr. Joe guides
Hugh Sullivan as the
entire second grade of
both the day school
and PSR practice for
their First Holy
Communion at the
annual ‘Jesus Day’.
The second grade celebrated First Communion with
the parish community the weekend of April 27-28.
The students looked very pretty and handsome in
their communion finery. They have been very eager to
make their First Communion and prepared with a
Eucharistic retreat, Jesus Day on April 19th. All
activities that day focused on preparing to receive
Jesus and to live the message of Eucharist in their
lives by making sandwiches for a hunger center,
watching the "Grandma's Bread" video, preparing
their banner for First Communion Day, as well as
having a little fun playing Eucharistic Bingo. They
have said the best part of all the preparation is when
they finally receive Jesus in the Eucharist at Mass.
They are also happy they get to share in the sacrament
each Friday with the school community as they are full
participants in the Mass now.
TALENT SHOW
BULLDOG NEWS
Wow!! What an amazing bunch of
talented students we have here at
Saint Bernadette!! Thank you to
SHAMROCKS
FOR MDA
everyone who participated and
performed their hearts out for our
annual event!!! Thank you also to
Miss Anders and Mrs. Chinchar for
all their hard work and dedication
year after year!!!
On April 26th the Council members, under the direc7on of Miss Shaniuk and Miss Hogan, held the Saint Bernade@e Shamrock Olympics in the PAC. Top sellers in each classroom from the MDA Shamrocks to Fight Muscular Dystrophy Campaign spent the aGernoon having a pizza party provided by MDA. Then, Team Shamrock challenged Team Leprechaun to games created by Student Council like Shamrock Shoot-­‐out and Race over the Rainbow. Thank you Student Council for all your 7me and effort puOng together a wonderful aGernoon of fun for the students!! The MDA of Northern Ohio would like to extend a big thank you to the Saint Bernade@e School Community for their con7nued support of R.J. Sullivan and of the Shamrock Challenge during the month of March. SAINT BERNADETTE SCIENTISTS
Tons and tons of learning and fun all rolled into one...that’s what you call the SCIENCE CLUB!! A big THANK YOU to Mrs. Bodnar, Mr. Altman, and Mr. Stuber for all your hard work this year!! We can’t wait to Lind out what exciting experiments and projects we will take on in the the fall!!
Tenth Annual
SAINT BERNADETTE
SUMMER FESTIVAL
SEE YOU THERE!!!
THURSDAY, JUNE 27th
FRIDAY, JUNE 28th
SATURDAY, JUNE 29th
SUNDAY, JUNE 30th
MRS. KOBA - GRADE 3, ROOM 3
Mrs. Koba’s third grade has had a busy end-of-the-year! We have learned division with
remainders and metric units in Math, as well as written Haikus for Mary in Religion...the
ITBS/CAT were challenging and made us think, think, think! Science and Social Studies
took us to the rain forest, and solar system, and even learned about ecosystems and so
much more...Syllabication in Phonics was our end to learning Phonics, to better prepare for
Reading in the 4th Grade. Getting reading for 4th Grade can be daunting, but fun a the
same time. We have worked hard and look forward to a relaxing Summer and heading to a
new school year!
MRS. KNOX & MISS KNOLL - GRADE 4, ROOM 16 & 18
STATE PROJECTS
MATH FAIR
4th grade students were very proud of their State
Floats and couldn’t wait for the school to see them.
In order for the younger grades to enjoy,Taylor
Shively, Evelyn Lipscomb, Meg Daugherty and
Brenna Drabik put in quite a few hours
creating and developing their math fair project.
Joey Clancy,Vince DiNunzio, and
Ian Shemo worked very hard and are
very excited to be involved in the Math Fair.
7th Grade News
Our 7th graders were treated to a very,
special visit from Michael's Dad, Mike
McCaffrey. Mike came in to thank the
class for the blanket they made him, share
some information about leukemia, and the
treatments he has gone through and will
be going through on his path to recovery.
We have to say, it was a very touching visit
and Mike had a nice, friendly talk with our
7th graders. The visit ended with an ice
cream treat that Mike brought in for
everyone. Unfortunately, Ann Dreher
(Julia's Mom), who organized the making
of the blanket, was not able to be there
today and was missed. Mike let all the
kids know how special the blanket is to
him and that he will be using it when he
goes through his bone marrow transplant.
You are our hero Mr. McCaffrey!! Thank
you for your visit!!
LENTEN RETREAT
SUNSHINE GIRLS
Left to right...Colleen Wise, and Lauren Lenhard Bury/Unbury the ‘Alleluia’. Austin Anderson and Kate
Malloy have their feet washed by Mr. Sferra during the Holy Thursday Service. The cross of Jesus
creatively designed by the entire school community.
Below grade six with special guest musician Sam Brenner“Rock the Change” for Easter Seals.
Emily Grose and Clare Loesch have a super fun time at St. Christopher in May.
*“ROCK THE CHANGE” & CAMP CHRIS*
The 4th Grade Sunshine Girls raised
$345 for Locks of Love at our
Headband Sale! Thank you to all the
students and staff who purchased a
headband and helped us help kids with
permanent hair loss! Our contribution
will help provide a custom-designed
hair-pice and give a kid a smile!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Below...Our 8th grade students carry the ‘Walk-a-Thon’
Banner as they proudly march around the Saint Bernadette
neighborhood.
Mr. Stipek poses with our students who raised the most
donations for this year’s ‘Walk’ ...David Boepple,
Katelyn Devereaux, Damon Ulle, and Janisse Cruz.
1st Annual
“Walk-a-Thon”
May 8, 2013
Planting the
Seeds of Love
ENRICHMENT
---Holy Keychainz, Inc.
The success of our company, Holy Keychainz, Inc. was
incredible!! Thank you so much to all our customers-students, teachers, staff and parents! Our second
Declan Mangan, Charles Koncelik and Ian Shemo show off their excellent
customer service skills during the Enrichment Program’s keychain sale.
8th Gr. Spirit Day
production run far exceeded our first run-so much more
that we had to order many more supplies! Our students
are learning that even though our production costs have
gone up, our sales and profits will increase, too. Our
students were even able to to enjoy their employee
compensation package during class - ice cream treats!
How Sweet It Is!
Students in grades 6/7/8 are discovering the sweet life that is - the sugar content of some of their favorite foods.
We also performed experiments to test not only the sugar,
Top...Kala Seeholzer, Kathy Higgins
and Molly Kilroy enjoy “Spirit Day”
together.
Right...Fr. Phil gives some special
spiritual pointers to Matt Lipaj,
Peter Koncelik, Charlie Hoelscher
and Aiden Krevis.
but also the fat content of foods as well. Our discussion
focused on making healthy food choices by substituting
high fat/high sugar foods in their diets with foods lower in
these ingredients. Hopefully this inspired our budding
nutritionists to take a second look at nutrition labels
before digging in!
Thank you Mrs. Galang!!
PHYSICAL EDUCATION NEWS
It has been a great year in Physical Education! We participated in many activities
which were fun and contributed to our personal fitness. During P.E., students
participated in Jump Rope for Heart (Kindergarten - Grade 4) and Hoops for Heart
(Grades 5 - 8). Participants collected $4,544.34 for the American Heart Association.
Our school’s generous donation will impact the fight against heart disease and stroke.
Recent Kindergarten - Grade 3 activities have included “corn hole”, “foxtail softees”,
and Home Run Derby. Grades 4 - 8 have participated in class games of whiffle ball and
kick ball. Perfect Uniform certificates will be awarded to qualifying students during the
final week of P.E.
SUMMER VACATION IS FINALLY HERE!!!
No school.Sleepovers.Tanning.Beaches.Baseball.Water Fights.Tank Tops.
Flip Flops. Kick-Ball Games.Lemonade.Watermelon.Sunglasses.
Taking Pictures. Late Nights.Swim Suits.Ice-cream.Walking to Church.
Family Fun.Memories.Sprinklers.Warm Air. Drive-Ins.Camps.Cool Breezes.
Shorts and Sandals.Air Conditioning.Tents and Sleeping Bags.Traveling.
Sleeping In.Sand Castles. Jumping in Puddles.Thunder Storms.Bonfires.
Slushies. Pool Parties. Sun Kissed Hair. Palm Trees.Oceans.Lakes.Barbeques
Blue Skies.Concerts.Hiking---MAKE IT COUNT!!!
Every summer has a story. ♥ See you in August!!!
ALUMNI NEWS
The Conor J. Murphy ’98 Bell Ringer Award
The Conor J. Murphy ’98 Bell Ringer Award
member of our Men’s Chorus, a four year
“voice” and face of SIHS over the past four
was established by the Colgate-Palmolive
member of Student Senate, and a cantor and
years. His work as a member of the Saint
Corporation and the Jerry Murphy and William
lector at his local parish. He writes for the
Ignatius Broadcasting Network and Student
Litlzler Families, and is sponsored by the
school newspaper, is heavily involved in our
Information Department has been a labor of
Carfagna Family Foundation. It is presented to
school service program, and regularly reads the
love, I am sure. He broadcasts football, soccer,
one or more seniors who have demonstrated a
morning announcements to the entire school
basketball, hockey, wrestling, baseball,
love for SIHS and have been instrumental in
community.
lacrosse—I’m sure I’m missing something
leadership and school spirit.
Recently I was privileged to make a Kairos
else! His Twitter feed is ridiculous—if I want
This year’s winner possesses an amazing work
retreat with this young man earlier this year, a
to know something about sports—Ignatius or
ethic and an ability to multitask like no other.
retreat where he served as a leader. His faith
not—I look for his tweets.
An accomplished student who challenges
witness was quite moving, and it was evident
This young man’s contributions to our school
himself in the classroom, he has managed to
that he had the attention, trust, and respect of
and the community at large will be
improve his academic record in each semester,
his fellow retreatants.
remembered long after he graduates, and I am
all the while increasing the difficulty of the
On the personal side, this young man is mature
sure that we will be hearing about him for
courses he takes. Articulate and poised, he is
far beyond his age. He is a loving son and
years to come!
very engaged with the goings on in the
brother, and a wonderful role model to his three
Please join me congratulating the 2013 Conor
classroom, and his mind is always working to
younger siblings.
J Murphy ’98 Bellringer Award Winner,
absorb new material. He has earned first or
This young man has also spent countless hours
JOHN FANTA!
second honors in each of his semesters here at
dedicated to promoting SIHS and our athletic
SIHS.
teams. There could not be a better ambassador
Beyond the classroom, there is no question that
for the school than this young man. The
this young man’s greatest contributions to his
Advancement and Communications offices
school and the community come from his
have featured him in several promotional
extracurricular involvement. He is a four year
pieces; one could say that he has become a true
Congratulations to
all of our students
whose ar twor k
was displayed at th
e “Bridging Across
Generations”
Youth Ar t Show at
Rae-Ann in April.
Great job student
s
and a big THANK
YOU to Miss Fox!!
READING IS
A TREAT
2nd Graders enjoy the annual Porter Library
Summer Reading Program visit in May.
AROUND CAMPUS
FROM OUR PTU PR
ES
IDENT...
Dear Faculty, Parents and
S
tudents,
Congratulations to second grader
Allison Boker who won the City of
Thank you for a wonderfu
l 2 years as your PTU pres
ident and board! It has been a privilege and hon
or to represent our scho
ol!
We are truly blessed to have such caring facu
lty, staff and parent volu
nteers who have helped
make our school so specia
l! The amazing cooperaE
on
b
y o
ur s
taff
and parents was incredible! A BIG thank you to Mr. S
&p
ek
, M
rs.
M
oll
y Petrus, Mrs. Sharen Spurrier, M
rs. Ka&e Boker, Mrs. How
ell
a
nd
Mrs. Joecken without you all it could not have been done! G
oo
d l
uck
t
o our new PTU and enjoy your summer vacaEon!!!
Westlake “Home and Garden Show”
Rosanna Georges Coloring Contest!! A banner was hung
in front of our school on Clague Road
for all to see!! Way to go little
Miss Artist!!
GROCERIES =
GREAT THINGS FOR ST. B
Thank you to all of our families who
shopped at Heinen’s and Giant Eagle
this year for their familie’s food. We
were able to purchase many items for
the office with our GE points and
Heinen’s sent us a check for $664.00,
which will help in other areas of the
WELCOME
TO OUR NEWEST PTU BOARD
President - Mrs. An
ne Rufener
Vice President - Mr
. Steven Steele
Secretary - Lora He
bda
Treasurer - Sharen
Spurrier
Congratulations
and good luck!!
We
wish you all the be
st in the 2013-201
4
school year!!
PTU is open to ever
y parent!! Please
join
us at our upcomin
g meetings beginn
ing
in the fall!!
school!!
A BI G BU LLDOG W ELCO
ME
TO ALL OF OU R
NEW FA M ILI ES
STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS
Announcing our newly elected officers
for the 2013-2014 school year...
Isabella Pagano and Rachel Hetman --- CoChairs
Albert Vasek, Joey O'Donnell --- 8th Gr. Board Members
WE LCOM E TO OU R SA
INT
BE RNAD ET TE COM MU
NIT Y!! WE
AR E HA PPY AND HONO
RED TO
HAVE YOU HE RE!! IT IS
GOING TO
BE A GR EAT YEAR !! SE
E YOU ALL
IN TH E FA LL!!
Mia Saurette and Jack Loesch --- Secretaries
Coletta Fanta, Kevin Cook ---- 7th Gr. Board Members
Tony Georges, Sarah Scarpetti, and Savannah Kowalski --- 6th Gr. Board Members
A SAINT BERNADETTE TRADITION
Our Saint Bernadette FIELD DAY was a HUGE success!! What a memorable ending to or 2012-2013 school year!! Our
theme was Summer Fun and that is exactly what we had all day. Favorite games included “Digging for Clams”, “Hanging
Out those Wet Beach Towels”, and “There’s a Hole in the bucket” water game. Also at the top of the list was “Bech Ball
Volleyball”. We had pretzels for snack and a pizza lunch. Grade 8 and the teachers competed in water balloon toss games. We
continued our school tradition of signing t-shirts of teammates and friends. Thank you to our amazing parents (headed up by
Mrs. Sharen Spurrier), students, teachers, staff, and especially to Mrs. Dindia who made this year’s Field Day festivities extrafun!!
THE BIG
BIRTHDAY
BASH FOR
BIG MIKE
MAY 28, 2013
NEGU
WE LOVE YOU
MICHAEL!!!!