Feature Articles

The Cherubim The Newspaper of St. Peter/St. Francis School

Volume 10, Issue 2 Winter 2015-2016

Calendar, Archives Alumni news

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In memoriam Warner Theatre

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Teacher biographies Torrington History, Saint Noel

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Reviews, Super Bowl 5

Principal Appreciation Day Thanksgiving Prayer Service

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Knights of Columbus Christmas Prayer Service

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Spanish, Comic Literary Corner

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Catholic Schools Month Sports, Scrip Recipes

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Kids’ Page 14

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Staff: Hope Bruzzi Nathan Kupcho Ryan Lauer Joseph Matarese Matthew Sefcik Madison Howe Sophia Howe Catherine Propfe Elizabeth Speaker Declan Toland Kirsten Ward Faculty Advisors: Miss Frauenhofer Mrs. Kupcho

b n March 13, 2015, Pope Francis an-nounced the 2016

Jubilee Year. It is the thirtieth Jubilee Year in history. This Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (Latin: Iubilaeum Extraordinar-ium Misericordiae) is a period of prayer which began on De-cember 8, 2015, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It ends on November 20, 2016, on the Feast of Christ the King, with the closing of the Holy Door. Jubilee years normally occur every twenty-five years. They include special celebrations

and pilgrimages; they call for people to convert and to repent; they provide special moments to experience the grace of God. “Extraordinary” holy years oc-cur less frequently. Pope John Paul II called the last extraordi-nary jubilee in 1983, marking 1950 years after the death of Jesus. Pope Francis wishes to reconcile people to God all over the Earth. The tradition of the Jubilee year has its origins in Judaism. The Book of Leviticus (25:8-13) states that it was celebrated every fifty years. At that time, slaves and prisoners were given

their freedom, debts were erased, and the mercy of God was realized. Pope Boniface VII revived the tradition in 1300. Since then, the Catholic Church has had twenty-nine Jubilees. Initially, they were celebrated every one hundred years, then every fifty, and, more recently, every twenty-five, and classified as “ordinary.” If they are held at lesser intervals, they are classi-fied as “extraordinary.” On Sunday, December 13, Archbishop Leonard Blair said Mass before a crowd of hun-dreds of Catholics who filled the Cathedral of St. Joseph in

Hartford. In the sanctuary, there is a des-ignated holy door which serves as a tangible object of God’s Mercy. All over the world, similar doors have been desig-nated, to allow Catholics every-where to fully experience this Holy Year.

Pope Francis’

Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and you have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your face and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being en-slaved by money; the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things; made Peter weep after his betrayal, and assured Para-dise to the repentant thief. Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman: “If you knew the gift of God!” You are the visible face of the invisible Father, of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy: let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified. You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error: let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God. Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim lib-erty to captives and the op-pressed, and restore sight to the blind.

We ask this through the inter-cession of Mary, Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

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2 MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Father /Daughter Dance Saturday, February 6 Ash Wednesday February 10 Presidents’ Day Monday, February 15 Teacher Conference Tuesday, February 16 Pasta Dinner Saturday, February 20 Feast of Chair of St. Peter Monday, February 22 First Reconciliation Saturday, February 27 St. Patrick’s Day Thursday, March 17 St. Joseph’s Day Saturday, March 19 Family Fun Night Sound Tigers Game Saturday, March 19

TÄâÅÇ| axãá Kayla Lukes, St. Francis of As-sisi School, Class of 2003, is pursuing a master’s degree in psychology at the University of St. Joseph , West Hartford, CT. Ella Frauenhofer, St. Peter/St. Francis School, Class of 2012, has been named valedictorian of the Class of 2016 at Torrington High School. Ella has been accepted to Tufts University, Medford, MA. Samuel Mazzarelli, St. Peter/St. Francis School, Class of 2015, made Honors with Distinction for the first marking period at St. Paul Catholic High School, Bristol, CT.

U|Üà{á Lisa M. Canfield Kelsey, St. Francis of Assisi School, Class of 1974, and her husband Rich-ard were blessed with their first grandchild on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2015. Jo-seph Matthew Costa was born to their daughter and son-in-law, Heather L. and Robert D. Costa. Joseph is the first great-grandchild of Alice Friday Can-field, St. Francis of Assisi School, Class of 1949. Joey has already brought great joy and love to his entire family.

~~~~~~ Avery Star Santoro was born on December 4, 2015, to Nicole Shrager Santoro, St. Francis of Assisi School, Class of 1997, and her husband Ryan Santoro. They are residing in Torrington.

VÉÇzÜtàâÄtà|ÉÇá Congratulations to Kirsten Ward, grade 5, on her entry in the annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest. Kirsten was one of two local winners. Her poster has been entered in the county-wide contest. Kirsten has been invited to attend a Torrington Board of Safety meeting in March for an award presenta-tion.

Photo by: Miss Frauenhofer

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cÉÄtÜ XåÑÜxáá On Monday, December 21, Billy Ward, St. Peter/St. Francis School, Class of 2009, returned to his alma mater to give a spe-cial reading of The Polar Ex-press to the student body. Billy is a junior at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA, where he is studying film.

Hidden pictures! Find 20 more

Pictures of Honest Abe in this

Edition!

3 \Ç `xÅÉÜ|tÅ Michael Joseph Bakunis, St. Francis of Assisi School, Class of 1956, October 9, 1942—January 6, 2016. Thomas Francis Fulop, Sr., St. Francis of Assisi School, Class of 1947, Ocober 24, 1933—January 12, 2016. August T. Nicholas, January 20, 1921—January 15, 2016. Mr. Nicholas was the father of St. Francis of Assisi School alumni Genevieve Thomson, Charlene Woltman, Donna Blandford, August Nicholas,II, and Barbara Salvatore. Joseph Petricone, Sr., St. Fran-cis of Assisi School, Class of 1957, December 23, 1943—December 1, 2015. Mr. Petri-cone was the owner/operator of Petricone’s Pharmacy, which his father had brought to Torrington from Waterbury at the advice of Monsignor William Botticelli. He served on the St. Peter School Board and was the father of St. Peter School alumni Jo-seph Petricone, Jr., and John Petricone. Lawrence Soliani, April 5, 1939—December 19, 2015. Mr. Soliani was the father of St. Francis of Assisi School alumni, the late Christine Chamberlain and Larry Soliani.

Sister Irene Danaher, R.S.M., (Sister Mary Arthur), November 26, 1914—December 1, 2015. A native of Waterbury, Sister was born November 26, 1914. Sister Irene entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1934 and professed her vows in 1937. She earned a Bachelor's degree from St. Jo-seph College, now University of St. Joseph, in West Hartford, and studied art at Columbia Uni-versity. For 45 years Sister taught primary grades in Catho-lic schools including St. Joseph, Meriden; St. Joseph Cathedral, Hartford; St. Patrick, Thomp-sonville; and St. Francis of As-sisi, Torrington. In 1970 Sister began teaching in the School for Young Children, a training school for St. Joseph College student teachers. She later served as principal and Assistant Director at the school and then became Coordinator of Child Care until her "retirement" in 1991. Sister continued minister-ing at USJ as Coordinator of Campus Beautification. A per-ennial garden was planted on the campus in her honor. A Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, De-cember 9, 2015 at St. Mary Home Chapel, West Hartford CT. Burial will take place in St. Mary Cemetery. To share a memory with the family please visit www.dillonbaxter.com

3 Photo by: Miss Frauenhofer

And the winners are. . . Mrs. Gauger and student council members Ainsley Toland, Luke Reising, Jaidyn Michalec, and Mallory Sefcik drew the winning tick-ets for the Christmas raffle the day before Christmas break.

Catholic Schools Month Schedule

Jan. 11 “Get Up and Move Day” Led by Miss Laigle Jan.15 Just Dance Jan 19 K-Rob BMX “Be a Buddy, Not a Bully” Jan. 20 Schmitty the Weather Dog with author Elly McGuire and Meteorologist Ron Trotta Jan. 21 Talk on Vocations With Fr. John Jan. 22 Knowledge Bowl Jan 24 Catholic School Mass at St. Peter Church and open house Jan. 26 Drive-in movie and beach dress-down Jan. 28 Open house

Home of the Faithful

Arts Education St. Peter/St. Francis School has partnered with the Warner Thea-tre Center for Arts Education to bring high-caliber performing arts enrichment courses to the school. The program will edu-cate the students on various artis-tic disciplines, while providing a positive, fun and exciting outlet for creativity and imagination. Over the course of five weeks, with two one-hour classes per week, the students will engage in dramatic play as a means of learning how to resolve conflicts, build confidence, problem-solve, and develop an understanding of the fundamentals of acting. The program curriculum is specific to each age grouping and centers around the Daytime Performance title or Young Actors Series title recommended for that age group. The titles are as follows: Dis-ney’s Jungle Book Kids (Pre-K and Kindergarten), Alexander, Who’s Not Not Not Not Not Not Going Move (Lower Primary),

Amber Brown is Not a Crayon (Upper Primary), and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Upper Grades). The program will also include admission for each student to attend the Warner Daytime Per-formance that corresponds to his/her unit of study through the program, at no cost to the stu-dent or the school. For the Up-per Grades, admission to a dress rehearsal for the Warner Young Actors Series production of Dis-ney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr. will provide the culmination of their unit. The schedule is as follows: Pre-K, Kindergarten , and Lower Primary: February 17, 18, 24, 25, March 2, 3, 9, 10, 17, 23; Upper Primary: March 30, 31, April 6, 7, 20, 21, 27, 28, May 4, 5; Upper Grades: April 6, 7, 20 21, 27, 28, May 4, 5 11, 12. The Warner Theatre Center for Arts Education strives to pro-vide high quality arts education to students of all socio-economic backgrounds at no cost to the students.

Teacher Biographies

Name: Jennifer Nypert Birthday: August 29 Hometown: Bristol Family: Husband- Chris, Son- Anthony Education: University of St. Joseph PA, M.A. Favorite Book: It by Steven King Favorite Movie: The Goonies Favorite Color: Orange Favorite Animal: Bird Favorite Vacation: Disney World Favorite Hobby: Surfing the net Favorite Food: Anything Ital-ian Most Admired Person: Mother Teresa Best Advice: “The expert in anything was once a beginner!”

Name: Valerie Vitalo Birthday: February 3 Hometown: Torrington Family: My friends, my dog Sofi Education: St. Joseph College, B.A. ;Central Connecticut State University, M.A., 6th Year Cer-tificate, Reading and Elemen-tary Ed. Favorite Book: In the Mean-time Favorite Movie: Love Actually Favorite Color: Purple Favorite Animal: My dog Sofi Favorite Vacation: Ogunquit, ME Favorite Hobby: Theater Favorite Food: Pizza Most Admired Person(s): My parents Best Advice: “Be kind, be hon-est, and always choose love.”

Photos by: Miss Frauenhofer

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St. Noel Chabanel

By: Elizabeth Speaker Noel Chabanel was

born in Saugues, France on Feb-ruary 2, 1613, the youngest of four children. He entered the Society of Jesus at 17. Noel became a professor in Toulouse, France. He was professor from 1632-1639. Noel became a priest at the age of 28, and a missionary on August 15, 1643. He also taught at many Jesuit colleges. There is a school in Canada named after him, St. Noel Chabanel School. He is in a book called North America Martyrs.

Noel Chabanel served as a Jesuit missionary in Que-bec, Canada. He was later killed by the very Indians whom he was trying to help. Jesuits were missionaries who were trying to bring the Catholic Faith to the New World in the 1600s.

St. Noel was never happy with the living condi-tions. He did not enjoy the camping lifestyle. He disliked the food, the smoke, and travel-ling on foot in the woods. He never bothered to learn the Indi-ans’ language, so it was hard for him to communicate with them. The Indians did not like him because he never learned their customs.

Chabanel was mur-dered by a man by the name of Louis Honarreennha, on Decem-ber 8, 1649. Mr. Honarreennha did not like Catholics. When Noel was killed, his body was thrown into the Nottawasaga River in Canada and was never recovered. This made St. Noel a martyr, someone who is killed because of his faith.

He was canonized June 29, 1930, by Pope Plus XI. His Feast day is celebrated on De-cember 26.

In October 2015, Torrington, CT, celebrated its 275th anniver-sary as a town. It has a very rich history. It is interesting to look back at some of the people, places, and events that have brought it into the 21st century. Torrington is part of the original 13 colonies. It was classified into the New England Colonies. It was founded by Thomas Hooker, a prominent Puritan minister. He brought with him governor John Haynes, who was from the Massachusetts Bay colony, and 100 people to pre-sent day Hartford in 1636. Torrington is the largest city in Litchfield County. It is also the middle city of the largest mi-cropolitan area in the U.S. Tor-rington's first name was Mast Swamp; this is because the pines that grew here were used to make ships’ masts. Its second name was Wolcottville, after Oliver Wolcott. It was first set-tled in 1735 by Ebenezer Lyman, Jr. It became incorpo-rated as a town in October 1740. In 1834, Israel Coe and Erastus Hodges began the construction of the two brass mills on the Naugatuck River. In 1849, the Naugatuck Valley railroad was completed ,connecting Torring-ton with other population cen-t e r s . Soon, Torrington was producing a variety of metal products, in-cluding needles, brass, ice skates, hardware, bicycles, and t a c k s . Torrington is home to several state parks, including the very popular Burr Pond State Park. In 1851, Milo Burr placed a dam

used to be a woolen mill, and during the 1960s, the mill made the uniforms for St. Francis of Assisi School. The woolen mill stopped making the uniforms at the end of the 1960s. It is now a condominium complex. In 1955, a massive flood destroyed much of the downtown area including other property in the region. Hurricane Connie and Hurricane Diane caused local rivers to overflow. They were able to restore most of the area f r o m t h e d e s t r u c t i o n . In recent years, Torrington has become a center for the arts, home of the world-renowned Nutmeg Conservatory, the art deco Warner Theatre, and many museums and art galleries. It is also home to a branch of the University of Connecticut.

across several mountain streams impounding water for power. During 1949, Burr Pond was designated as a state park. The pond has a lot of different fish species including largemouth bass, chain pickerel, black crap-pie, yellow perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and brown bull-head. Gail Borden was the one who discovered of the process of milk preservation by evapora-tion and condensation. He built the world’s first condensed milk factory here, in 1857. The new milk product proved to be of great value, particularly to the Union Army during the Civil War. A fire destroyed the fac-tory in 1877. A bronze tablet marks the site under the falls. In 1908, Frederick Wolcott built the Warrenton Woolen Mill. It

Torrington History By: Catherine Propfe and Madison Howe

Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreci-ate it, pictur-esquely so they will remember it and, above all, ac-curately so they will be guided by its light. —Joseph Pulitzer 1847-1911

Super Bowl 50 By: Declan Toland

Super Bowl 50 means fifty years of football glory. One team from the NFC and one from the AFC fight it out in a neutral stadium. Whoever wins the game owns the “Vince Lombardi Trophy” and must fight their hardest to defend the trophy. To get to the Super Bowl a tam must win its conference’s championship game. This year the Super Bowl will be held in Levi’s Stadium of the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco, California. This stadium is one of the most new-est stadiums in their conference. Jim Nantz, one of the announc-ers of Super 50, is also an American football regular sea-son announcer. He is also a Di-vision I Basketball and a PGA sportscaster. His announcing career started in 2012. His first game was the Colts against the Texans. He got picked to be an announcer by covering a large range of sports. He did not just do the NFL. He did the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Final Four in 2015. He was a two-sport ath-lete, and he played golf and bas-ketball. Phil Simms was a quarterback for the New York Giants and wore number eleven. His career was fourteen years long. He was born on November 3, 1954. He went to the university of Moor-head State. In 1979, Simms was drafted, and he won Super Bowl 21against the Broncos 30-29. He was named MVP. Af-ter his retirement, he wanted to be a broadcaster for the NFL. He is still announcing today. In 1960, the first Super Bowl was played. It was the AFL versus the NFL, the Packers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35–10. The MVP was Bart Starr, who won two Super Bowls in a row! The team standings are listed .

AFC AFC East New England Patriots 12-4 New York Jets 10-6 Buffalo Bills 8-8 Miami Dolphins 6-10 AFC North Cincinnati Bengal 12-4 Pittsburgh Steelers 10-6 Baltimore Ravens 5-11 Cleveland Browns 3-13 AFC South Houston Texans 9-7 Indianapolis 8-8 Jacksonville Jaguars 5-11 Tennessee Titans 3-11 AFC West Denver Broncos 12-4 Kansas City Chiefs 11-5 Oakland Raiders 9-7 San Diego Chargers 4-12 NFC NFC East Washington Redskins 9-7 New York Giants 7-9 Philadelphia Eagles 6-10 Dallas Cowboys 4-11 AFC North Minnesota Vikings 11-5 Green Bay Packers 10-6 Detroit Lions 7-9 Chicago Bears 6-10 AFC South Carolina Panthers 15-1 Atlanta Falcons 8-8 New Orleans Saints 7-9 Tampa Buccaneers 6-10 NFC West Arizona Cardinals 13-3 Seattle Seahawks 10-6 St. Louis Rams 7-9 San Francisco 49ers 5-11

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Descendants By: Hope Bruzzi and Sophia

Howe The movie Descendants is about four children of Disney fairy tale villains. The villains are Jafar, Cruella De Vil, The Evil Queen, and Maleficent. The children’s names are Jay, Car-los, Evie, and Mal. The heroes are Beast, Belle, Snow White, The Fairy Godmother, and Queen Leah. Their children are Ben, Jane, Audrey, Chad, Doug, and Lonnie. The movie takes place at the Isle of the Lost, which is where Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos live, and in the United States of Auradon, which is ruled by Belle and the Beast. Their son Ben, soon to be crowned prince, invites the villain children to go to school in Auradon. Before they go, Maleficent gives them the task of stealing the Fairy God-mother’s wand. Mal and Evie both get going away presents. Mal gets a spell book. Evie gets a magic mirror. In Auradon, the story takes some twists and turns. The movie ends with the coronation of the new prince. The viewer will have to find out what happened in between the invitation and the ceremony. Some of the Descendants songs are: “Did I Mention,” “If Only,” “Set It Off,” “Rotten To The Core,”“Evil Like Me,” “Rotten To The Core” ( Evie Style), “Be Our Guest,” and “Believe.” All of these songs are on the sound-track. The movie Descendants is nar-rated by Disney star Dove Cam-eron, who plays Mal. Disney star Cameron Boyce plays Car-los. The director of Descen-dants is Kenneth John Ortega. It is produced by Tracey Jeffery. It is written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott. The running time is 112 minutes.

SHARKS Contributed by: Luke Reising

and John Di Costanzo Did you know that sharks are fish? Sharks really interest peo-ple. There are hundreds of dif-ferent species of sharks.Sharks sometimes people eat sharks, and sometimes sharks eat peo-ple. Shark attacks are very rare. More people die every year from bee stings than they do from shark attacks. Sometimes people cut off a shark’s fins, and they make shark fin soup and throw the meat away. That sounds very bad. Some sharks are very powerful. Some sharks are very small and fast. Sharks come in all shape, colors, and sizes. Have you ever see the movie Jaws? In the movie, a shark eats people. So, they try to catch the shark. “Jaws” is one of the most popu-lar horror movies of all time. Dun, dun, dun! Did you know that the deadliest shark is the bull shark? The weirdest shark is the goblin shark. The hammerhead shark has a head in the shape of a hammer. The fastest shark is the mako shark. There is an extinct shark, the megladon, it grew to be as big as 60 feet long, and had teeth the size of your hand! That is also the size of the smallest shark, the dwarf shark.

WJMJ Visit On Tuesday, January 5, student Lydia Bird, mom Melissa Bird, with Judy Blades, grandmother of Dylan Langlois, visited the Office of Radio and Television/WJMJ Radio Station in Pros-pect, CT. They were inter-viewed about St. Peter/St. Fran-cis School. Their stories were aired on WJMJ Radiio, 88..9 FM, 2-3 times per hour through-out the month of January.

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Photos by: Miss Frauenhofer

Principal Appreciation On Thursday, November 19, the members of the student body gathered in the auditorium to thank Mrs. Gauger for all of her hard work and caring with cards and gifts. May God bless her!

Photos by: Miss Frauenhofer

Thanksgiving Prayer Service

Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus Mu-seum in New Haven, CT, held its annual Christmas Tree Deco-rating Contest. Under the direc-tion of art teacher Mrs. Donna Leach, the fifth grade students created beautiful ornaments which they used to decorate a tree at the museum. They were awarded a certificate for the Best Hand Painted Glass Orna-ments.

7 Photos by: Mrs. Leach

Christmas Prayer Service

8 La Ropa The students in the Intermediate and Junior High grades created paper dolls with several changes of clothes to reinforce their knowledge of Spanish clothing vocabulary. They then gave oral presentations in front of the class.

Did you study for the test? Nope.

Are you worried? Nope.

9 _|àxÜtÜç VÉÜÇxÜ Lower Primary used a 3-2-1 graphic organizer to organize their thoughts before writing about their holiday break. They had to think about 3 things they did, their 2 favor-ite presents and 1 person they enjoyed spending time with. My holiday break was awe-some! I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a special person. I played in the snow. I played Battleship with my dad. I played Headbanz with my dad. I go Battleship from my dad. I got Headbanz from my dad. I spent time with my parents. It was an epic break. Anthony Sepelak My holiday break was awesome. I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a spe-cial person. I went to NYC and watched Star Wars and I played in the snow. My two favorite gifts were an IPod and a foot-ball. The person I enjoyed spending time with was my mom. We watched a movie and it was an epic break. Conal Toland

My holiday break was amazing! I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a spe-cial person. I played with Gabe in the snow. We played on our trampoline. We made a fort and played in it. I had friends over for New Year’s Eve. We had fun! I gave my dad a fryer and he used it for many things. I went to my Grandma’s for Christmas. My cousin Chelsea had me for Secret Santa and I had her. I got an American Girl doll from Santa. I love playing with it. Her name is Julie. I got a hair dryer from my dad. It is from Justice and it is pink. I enjoyed spending time with my dad because he liked the present I gave him and I liked the pre-sents he gave me and because I love him. My break was great! Ariana Duncan

My holiday break was awesome. I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a spe-cial person. I saw Star Wars and family came over. I played with Eric. I got several gifts. They were an American Girl doll and a bow and arrow. I enjoyed spending time with my aunt and I played with my cous-ins. I loved it! I loved my holi-d a y ! Kaitlyn Sovia My holiday break was awesome. I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a spe-cial person. I played in the snow with my brother. I had friends over at my home. I saw Star Wars with my mom and dad. I got a T-Rex and Ironman. I liked spending time with my mom and dad on my holiday break. Thomas DiCostanzo My holiday break was good. I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a spe-cial person. I went to my cousin’s and played. I went to Boston. I found Shopkins at Target. One of my favorite gifts is my Head Band Maker. I en-joyed spending time with Tasha. We opened gifts together. My holiday break was good. Caitlyn Harmon My holiday break was awe-some! I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a special person. I went snow-boarding and skiing and went to my grandparents. I got several gifts. My favorite was my Transformer and my Power Ranger. I really loved spending time with my Grandma. We had buns with frosting on the top. My holiday was fantastic! Connor Bienkowski My holiday break was great. I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a spe-cial person. I went sledding in my backyard. I got snow in my glove. I drank hot cocoa. My

two favorite gifts were Fashion Plates and a bead kit. I enjoyed spending time with my Nana. Nana and I baked cupcakes and watched TV. My holiday break was great because I spent time with my family. Rhianna Chapman My holiday break was the best. I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a spe-cial person. I got to hold my baby cousin Colin. I also had Christmas dinner and sang car-ols at Church. Two of my fa-vorite gifts were a keyboard and fake sticky nails. The person I enjoyed spending time with was my Auntie Kelly. Auntie Kelly and I took care of my baby cousin Colin. My holiday break was just like I wanted. Cali Purcaro My holiday break was awe-some! I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a special person. I went to my grandma’s house and had a blast. At grandma’s house I helped dad with dinner. At my house I played in my room. On Christmas Day I played in my room with my Barbie pop-up camper and downstairs I played with my Spirograph Kit. I had a blast! I cuddled with my cousin Courtney. My holiday break w a s f a n t a s t i c ! Simone Miller My holiday break was awe-some! I did many things, got several gifts and spent time with a special person. I fun sledding in my backyard. I loved seeing ugly sweaters. I loved watching Star Wars. I really liked my RC Tank. I also liked my RC Spi-der. I loved spending time with Uncle Kevin. My Uncle Kevin and I played with my new toys and new camera. It was an epic break! Liam Hayes

Lower Primary students wrote about their favorite thing to do in the season of winter. In the winter, I like to go sled-ding. Logan Lauer In the winter, I like to build a snowman. Alyce Dias In the winter, I like to play in the snow. I like the snow. I make a snowman. Lincoln Bernardin In the winter, I like to play with my Lego Star Wars – the Force Awakens set. Bennett Zielinski In the winter, I like to throw snowballs with my mom. Aiden Rocha In the winter, I like to build a snowman with my family. Gabriella Hardy In the winter, I like to play with Legos because Legos are cool. I like building with Legos. Landon Birden In the winter, I like to ice skate because it is fun and because I like spending time with my fam-ily. Anthony Bartek In the winter, I like to build a snow fort. I also like to play in the snow. Elexa Holmes

Read The Cherubim on the web:

www.spsfschool.org

Click on the newspaper link.

Catholic Schools

Month By: Nathan Kupcho and Ryan

Lauer C a th o l i c S c h o o l s around the country take part in an annual celebration called National Catholic Schools Month, throughout the month of January. This year’s theme for Catholic Schools Month is “Communities of Faith, Knowl-edge, and Service.” In the mid 1970s, Catholic Schools Month became a national holiday, and, since 2011, Catholic Schools share a week with National School Choice Week. Typical events for Catholic Schools Months in-clude Masses, open houses to increase enrollment, creative dress down days, author meet-and-greets, movies and popcorn, special guests, and book buddies with different grades. During the month of January, schools focus on the importance is of Catholic education for young people. Catholic Schools Month is not just about having fun; it is also about showing children across the world how important Catho-lic education is in their lives. St. Peter/ St. Francis School offers many activities that kids love and will never forget for the rest of their lives. Every student in the school has made a lot of memories in the past years at this annual event.

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Photos by: Mrs. Propfe

Photo by: Elizabeth Speaker

Photos by: Miss Laigle 11

Mystery Photo Send your name with your

guess and where it is to Miss Frauenhofer by

Wednesday, February 17.

Last issue’s winner: Madelynne Leach,

Handle on the bleachers

Crusaders 2015-16 By: Declan Toland

The Crusaders’ basket-ball team is back this year with a young and talented group of boys who are off to a slow start, but are looking forward to an exciting second half of the sea-son. With the strong coaching staff, they hope to pick up their first win in February. The Crusaders were able to make the playoff berth last season. This year’s team had to start over with some rookies. The three new players who are looking to bring the Crusaders back to the playoffs are Eric Sovia number 10, Mat-thew Crowley number 3, and Dylan Langlois number 4.

“We worked really hard to get ready for the season by running,” said third-year veteran Ryan Lauer. “There are other teams that have beaten us right now, but they won’t out-work us.” Joey Matarese, an-other three-year Crusader added, “The coaches have helped us a lot. I just hope we get come back next year and win some games.”

Center Nathan Kupcho agrees that the team is getting better. “We’ve been passing the ball more and have been taking more open shots. I think we’ve come a long way from where we started,” he said.

Finally, the Crusaders have new coaches. Their names are Mr. Timothy Albert, Mr. Steven Duncan, and Mrs. Stephanie Lauer. They not only coached the team, but they do-nated new warm-up shirts and socks for the whole team.

The schedule of games is on the school’s website. There are five games left and fans are encouraged to come and cheer on the team.

Photos by: Mrs. Jennifer Toland

Cheer Squad Back row (l. to r.): Madison Howe, Ava Fancher, Jovanna Lafleur, Ainsley Toland, Hope Bruzzi. Front row (l. to r.): Sophia Howe, Jaidyn Michalec

Photo by: Mrs. Tina Howe

Scrip Just a reminder to keep purchas-ing gift cards through Scrip. T h e S P / S F c o d e i s 11D177CD5276. The cards be-low are usually available at school.

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Recipes

Valentine Pizza (Bread machine needed) Ingredients: 3 c. bread flour 3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese 1 sliced zucchini 1 (¼ oz.) envelope active dry yeast 1¼ c. warm water 2 sliced tomatoes 3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil 3 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary 15 slices vegetarian pepperoni 1 (15 oz.) can pizza sauce Directions: Place the bread flour, yeast, water, and 2 tablespoons olive oil into a bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the “dough” setting. Press start. When dough is finished, knead rosemary into the dough. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Divide the dough into three por-tions. Shape each piece into a heart about ½ inch thick. Brush with the remaining olive oil and spread a thin layer of pizza sauce on each pizza. Sprinkle cheese over pizza sauce and arrange tomatoes, zucchini, and pepperoni on top. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the crust is browned. Serves 12.

Valentine’s Pie

Ingredients: 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 c. confectioners’ sugar 1 (9 in.) prepared graham cracker pie crust 1 (8 oz.) container of thawed frozen whipped

topping 1 (16 oz.) can cherry pie filling Directions: In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and the powdered sugar until combined. Add va-nilla and beat for 2 minutes. Gently fold in whipped topping. Transfer mixture into pie crust. Top filling with cherries. Refrig-erate for at least one hour before serving.

Valentine’s Day Steak Rub

Ingredients: 2 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon 2 tsp. dried oregano 1 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. salt ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper ½ tsp. garlic powder ¼ tsp. onion powder ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional) Directions: Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Then put in air tight container or seasoning bottle to keep fresh. Caution: This steak rub is spicy!

Valentine’s Meatballs Ingredients: 1 c. shredded cheese 1 c. chopped fresh mush- rooms 2 lbs. lean ground beef 2 (1 oz.) envelopes dry onion soup mix Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium-sized bowl, toss together the cheese and mush-rooms. In a separate bowl, mix together the ground beef and the onion soup mix. Divide the meat into 12-16 balls, then roll each ball into a small, thin heart shaped patties. Press an indention into the cen-ter of half of the hearts and fill with the cheese and mushroom mixture. Place another patty on top. Press to seal the hearts around the filling. Place in a shallow baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes in the preheated oven until the beef is well done and the filling is hot. Serves 8.

Easy Valentine Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients: 1 c. butter 

1 egg 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

½ tsp. almond extract  

(optional) 

1 tsp. cream of tartar 

1½ c. confectioners’ sugar 

2½ c. all-purpose flour

 Directions: In a large bowl, cream together butter and confectioners’ sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla. (If desired, add almond extract) Mix well. In a medium-sized bowl, stir in flour, baking soda, and the cream of tartar. Blend into the butter mixture. Divide the dough into thirds and shape into balls.

Working with ⅓ of the dough at a time, roll out dough into de-sired thickness onto a lightly floured surface. For each heart sandwich cookie, cut out two 3-inch hearts. Cut out the center of ONE of the 3 inch hearts with a 1½ inch cutter.

Place each piece separately on an ungreased cookie sheet, 1 to 2 inches apart. Bake in a pre-heated, 350 degrees F oven until lightly browned (7-8 minutes for ¼ thick cookies). Cool com-pletely on a wire rack. Frost the bottom of the cookies with pink Valentine frosting and place an open centered cookie on top to form the sandwich. Also frost the small ½ inch hearts and serve as separate cookies. Serves 17.

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Let no man pull you low enough to hate him. —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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George Washington

Abraham Lincoln