March 2016 SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

Notre Dame High School

Athletic Director Matt Pobieglo and Meagan Eiselstein '17 participated in the Chattanooga Half Marathon.

Notre Dame students held a clothing donation drive for Ladies of Charity.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

The OLPH 8th grade class, once again, did a beautiful job of presenting the Living Stations of the Cross for parents and fellow students and again for the larger OLPH Church community. The script was written by the students and the music, costumes and lighting combined for a very moving production.

The Pre-K class got a bit of a jump on Easter before leaving for Spring break.

Our students and staff collected nearly $1500 toward their goal during the Lenten Rice Bowl Collection for Catholic Relief Services this year.

OLPH Sugar and Spice hosted over 30 families for this year's Family Honor "Real Love, Real Life" program. OLPH 8th grade students and their families as well as visitors from the Chattanooga area and beyond for this full-day of spiritually-based chastity education program based on St. Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body.

St. Jude School

In a rare occurrence, St. Jude School closed due to illness for three days (March 8, 9 and 11) as a result of very high absences among both the faculty and student population. Another Chattanooga independent school closed for the same reason that week. St. Jude School Home and School Association celebrated the arts at the annual Fine Arts Festival on March 16. Featured were singers, band, dancers and multiple visual arts presentations. Art teacher, Mrs. Nancy Cecil, coordinated unique class art projects that were auctioned off to the parents during the event.

Preschool classes held a Trike a Thon on March 16. Students brought their favorite wheels to school and had a great time circling the track!

Easter preparations included a presentation of the Living Stations by the 8th grade and a Gratefulness Prayer Service Led by the 6th grade. All Lenten events tied into the school theme, "Open the Eyes of my Heart to Gratefulness.

Knoxville Catholic High School

KCHS will be offering a Dual Enrollment (DE) course on our campus beginning first semester of the 2016-2017 school year. Students can earn 3 hours of college credit taking the Pellissippi State INFS 1010 Computer Applications class; this course is a direct transfer to the UT College of Business and other schools. Students will learn beginning-to-advanced functions of Office365 programs including Word, Excel, and Access. The class will be taught by Mary Ann Merrell, KCHS faculty member and PSTCC adjunct professor. Congratulations to the members of the KCHS Band and their instructor, Mr. Jay Romines, on their performances at the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association competition held on March 10 at Farragut High School. The group received their fifth consecutive Superior Rating and another invitation to the State Concert Band Festival. The Incoming Freshman Academic Advisors Meeting was held on March 29 for prospective parents and their students. We had great attendance for this important and informative meeting held for the Class of 2020. Congratulations to Andrew Maze for winning the 2016 National Spanish Exam Travel Award to Spain. Andrew is one of 24 student winners from across the United States who will spend 10 days in Spain for free in July. His score on the National Spanish Exam last year qualified him to apply for this award.

Over spring break, Jake Poczobut and Johnathan Chavez competed at the indoor track National Championships in New York. Jake finished 9th in the emerging elite high jump. Johnathan finished 10th in the championship 2 mile, breaking his own school record by 10 seconds. Congratulations to Johnathan and Jake. Save the date for the KCHS 30th Annual Shamrock Open Golf Tournament, which will be held on Friday, June 3 at Avalon Golf & Country Club. We will offer two flights: 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., so get your team together today. For sponsorship opportunities or other questions, please email Megan Erpenbach at merpenbach@knoxvillecatholic.com.

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

SHCS Spelling Bee Champ

4th Grader Sophia Comerford, the SHCS Spelling Bee winner, participated in the 2016 Southern

Appalachia Regional Spelling Bee on March 12th. She was among 188 students from 25

counties in the Region (30,000 students participated in school bee's around the region prior to

the winners coming together). They started with a written test with the top 50 advancing to the

live bee after lunch. Sophia made the top 50 and participated in 4 rounds before being

eliminated. There were about 25 students remaining at the time of her elimination. The

experience was a joyful and memorable one for her and for her proud parents. Congratulations,

Sophia!

Optimist Speech Contest

Jack Newman, Tony Spezia, Maggie Padgett and Ellie Spence competed in the regional

competition of the Optimist's Speech Contest. This year's theme was "How My Best Brings Out

the Best in Others." Jack Newman came in first place and will compete with other Optimist Club

Chapter winners at the Zone Level competition later this spring. Maggie Padgett came in

second for the girls. Way to go!

Author Visit Mike Lowery, a children's book illustrator, visited our school to talk to students about the creative process on Wed. March 9. You may recognize some of his work: Gingerbread Man Loose in the School and the Ken Jennings Junior Genius Guide series. Mr. Lowery also spent time with students who are studying cartooning with Mrs. Marcheggiani in the 6th Grade Art Elective.

St. John Neumann School

SJNCS Band Superior Rating! - On March 9, 2016 our SJNCS concert band earned a Superior rating at the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association (ETSBOA) Middle Area Concert Festival. This is the highest rating and honor a band can receive at this festival. They will now travel to participate in the Tennessee Music Education Association (TMEA) state band festival in Clarksville, TN on April 28-29. Congratulations Mr. Leichman and SJNCS band

members! You may view the entire performance (two songs + warm-up) on our YouTube page at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-RE1WD5xmA

National Geographic Bee State Competitors Announced! - Congratulations to 8th grader, Michael Stapleton, who will be a finalist in the TN State Bee held on April 1. One champion from each state will advance to the national competition held in May. Best of luck, Michael!

NHD Winners - Congratulations to this year's National History Day winners!

Kaylie Pomerantz and Laila Stempkowski were awarded Second Place Junior Group Documentary for their project "Exploration of Tennessee's Journey to Desegregate Schools and Struggles Encountered Along the Way". Additionally, they were given the East Tennessee History Award which included a $500 cash prize for outstanding Junior Division entry on an East Tennessee topic that features quality primary sources. You can view their documentary on our school's YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF69ymyzN1A .

Chase Fuller, Nicklaus Iverson, Nicholas Renfree, Sam Sompayrac, and Max Vanderhoofven were awarded Second Place Junior Website for their project "The French Resistance of World War II". You can view their website at http://81646926.nhd.weebly.com/.

Farragut Town Hall Art Show Recognition - Two students from SJNCS were recognized. Dmitri Kalinin's "Still Life in Pencil" won First Place in the show. Logan Hall's "Self-Portrait in Glue and Chalk" was awarded an Honorable Mention. Congratulations to both of these talented, budding artists!

SJNCS Science Fair Winners - Please join us in congratulating the following 2016 Science Fair winners:

Best of Fair: 1st - Alonso Vela; 2nd - Sarah Schmand; 3rd - Hank Standaert 1St Tier Finishers: Alonso Vela, Sarah Schmand, Hank Standaert, Jodi Spangler 2nd Tier Finishers: Ella Renfree, Meghan vanTol, Madeline Kate Fultz, Isabella Ramos 3rd Tier Finishers: Ella Myers, Raylee McKenzie, Isabella vanTol, Lauren Scanlon Honorable Mention: Megan Hurley, Taylor Sackermann, Emma Acord, Bella Flask

The twelve students in Tiers 1-3 are eligible to move on to the regional competition held at the University of Tennessee. Congratulations to all!

St. Joseph School

SJS Fifth Grader in the News Marinna Andriopolous was featured on WBIR's Live at Five at 4 on Tuesday, March 4th. After being interviewed by Russell Biven and Beth Haynes and surprised on the air by Abby Ham, Marinna shared a heartwarming story about her puppy as part of the network's "Junior Anchor" program. Congratulations to Marinna and her budding journalism career! To watch Marinna's segments, visit: http://www.wbir.com/news/meet-jr-anchor-marinna-andriopolos/63591729

SJS Alumni's Work for Life before the Supreme Court Counselor Will Brewer, graduate of Saint Joseph School, recently contributed to an Amicus Brief in support of the Texas Law requiring abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges. The law has led, thank God, to the closing of many abortion facilities in the state, which is why the law is being argued before the nation's highest court. We salute Mr. Brewer's efforts to use his God-given, parent-nurtured, and SJS-honed talents to build a Culture of Life! To read the brief, visit: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/15-274-bsac-Live-Action.pdf

"You Be the Chemist Challenge” Saint Joseph School's Middle School students participated in The Chemical Education Foundation's "You Be the Chemist Challenge" sponsored by the Dow Chemical Corporation last week. Four students have been selected to compete in the State Challenge on Saturday, April 16th, at the Pellissippi State Community College, Hardin Valley Road campus, based on their

performance in the challenge. The students are: Tim Crowell, Annalise Weedman, Robert Depersio, and Anna Hoang. Congratulations and Good Luck to our 8th Graders! KCHS Latin Program Presentation On Monday, March 7th, SJS Graduate and KCHS Junior Caleb Morgan came to speak to our 8th Graders about Latin language opportunities at Knoxville Catholic High School. Latin - the language of the Ancient Romans, the mother tongue of the Romance Languages and, of course, the language of the Church Universal, is not a dead language as Caleb pointed out, but the backbone of Law, Medicine, Science, and even a large part of the English language. Thank you to Caleb for a great presentation! Sister Jolita Supper & Sing-along! On Saturday, March 12th, friends and family of Saint Joseph School gathered to pay tribute to the memory of Sister Jolita Hughes, RSM, who taught at SJS for years and whose last words to her family were: “Help Saint Joseph School.” Since she went home to heaven, her family has put on the Sister Jolita Supper & Sing-along – an Irish-themed dinner and auction event to benefit needy children at SJS. This year’s event raised about $15,000 for the Sister Jolita Fund – used to help families with tuition, cafeteria, and other school needs.

8th Grade Living Stations On Friday, March 8th, our 8th Grade students led the entire school community in an outdoor living Stations of the Cross. It is a beautiful thing to watch the leaders of our student body reverently lead this devotion for their younger classmates. What a great way to bring our community together in prayer before Spring Break!

4th Grade Stations on Holy Thursday On Holy Thursday, our students gathered together in Family Groups (Groups of 10-15 students from Grades PK-8 with one teacher) to think about the approaching events of Holy Week. Afterwards, students were led in reflection on the Stations of the Cross and their modern application by our 4th Grade class. What a beautiful prelude to the most holy days of the Church year!

St. Mary School – Oak Ridge

Congratulations to our second grade students who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on Saturday, March 5, 2016.

We appreciate all of the efforts of our parent volunteers and community partners who came out for Wellness Day on March 10th. We learned so much about healthy eating, exercise, dental health, injury prevention and so much more!

St. Mary’s Students participated in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Southern Division Honor Choir in Chattanooga March 9-11th.

Marigrace Tidwell (8th grade) was 1 of 8 students in the Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir from the state of TN and THE ONLY singer from East Tennessee. The JHMS Choir was comprised of 140 singers. Marigrace sang under Dr. Judy Bowers, a master teacher who truly understands MS/JH kids! She is Professor of Choral Music Education at Florida State University. Marigrace also had the opportunity to meet the composer David Brunner as he visited their Friday rehearsal. He listened to them perform his piece "Cantate Domino", participated in a question and answer session with the ensemble, and hand signed each singer's "Cantate Domino" octavo!

Anna Kasemir (7th grade) was 1 of 18 in the Treble Honor Choir from TN and 1 of 2 from East TN. The Treble Honor Choir was comprised of 134 singers. Anna Kasemir sang under Tom Shelton, a composer-conductor, and sang a commissioned piece "Alleluia" composed by Mr. Shelton for this ACDA Southern Division Convention and sang its premier performance. Tom Shelton is an Assistant Professor of Sacred Music at Westminster Choir College where he focuses on children's and youth music.

St. Mary’s School community bid farewell to Mrs. Darlene Adams on March 10th following Family Holy Hour and Adoration in the church. Sister Mary Marta, RSM, joined us as we prayed in a special way for our Spanish teacher, Mrs. Adams, who recently moved to Seattle. The students and faculty presented Mrs. Adams with many beautiful cards and a special quilt made from St. Mary’s Fall Festival t-shirts. We will greatly miss Mrs. Adams and pray for her complete healing!

St. Dominic School

READING ACROSS THE WORLD: Yes, we did it. We (mainly our children and their

teachers) were able to read over 8,377 (representing the miles from Kingsport, Tennessee to

Blantyre, Malawi) on Dr. Seuss’s birthday. We’re not sure who in our group will go on to inspire

the world in some form or fashion, but we’re sure Dr. Seuss would be proud of these emerging

life-long learners. They inspire us each day and are becoming even more service-oriented, if that

is possible. When you are part of a community where you are known and you are loved, though,

most anything is possible. The Dr. Seuss saying on the page each person used to log “pages

read” seemed to sum it up:

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

SDCS annual Bring Your Child to the Library Day was held in March. Civil War re-enactors

were on hand to teach the children about camp life, medicines and food during the war. The

children were treated to a Civil War ghost story and craft stations that allowed them to make

canteens and drums.

Our annual Science Fair was a wonderful opportunity for 4th

and 5th

graders to showcase their

creative side. Projects presented covered a wide range of topics including bubble-ology, food

mold, glucose monitoring, surface friction, fungi, smells, and waters needs for plants. We are so

proud of all our students and the effort put forth by each of them. Congratulations to George

Wissert who earned 1st place in Physical Science and Marilee Hull who earned 3

rd place in

Biological Sciences at the regional Science Fair at ETSU.

St. Mary School – Johnson City

Coming Soon!