What's New at Cluny School? Here's The Connection...

The Connection/10 June 2016  


Kirsten Lemler, at left and Danielle Foster, Cluny School Eighth Graders.


Kirsten Lemler and Danielle Foster

The Cluny Connection presents the final installment in a series of short stories highlighting the lives and achievements of Cluny School Eighth Graders, who will graduate on 14 June.

The conversation with Eighth Graders, Kirsten and Danielle was genial and lively. They recounted many wonderful memories from their years at Cluny School, and both had been students since the early grades in Lower School.

Firstly, there was the field trip to Battleship Cove in the Fifth Grade. Kirsten and Danielle recall it was a very warm May day, but the ship hulls were dark and gloomy inside.

More recently, Danielle recalled Field Day 2015, remembering it was both very fun and sad. At the time, the Class of 2016 thought it would be their last, due to scheduling. Danielle said Field Day had been one of her favorite days of the year- the whole school would be outside playing games and participating in competitions.

More About Kirsten:

Kirsten is most proud of her achievements in gymnastics, and was awarded First Place at the 2014 YMCA National Gymnastics Championships in Tampa, Florida. The experience on the balance beam was freeing and refreshing. During the competition, Kirsten remembers telling herself to let go and allow her skills to do the work.

Kirsten has taken dance classes for twelve years, receiving instruction in  ballet, tap, jazz, pointe and lyrical dance. She attributes her achievement in gymnastics to her experience in dance. She has been a gymnast for five years.

Kirsten will attend Middletown High School in September. When asked what she hopes for in the future, she said, "health, wealth and happiness, but happiness is most important. Without happiness, everything else suffers."

More about Danielle:

Danielle's favorite hobby is drawing because it's relaxing and rewarding. She especially enjoyed Ms. Sakala's place setting assignment in art class. It required the students to choose a famous American artist and design a place setting inspired by the artist's style. Danielle chose to interpret the artistic style of Alexander Calder, the famous maker of mobiles (the kind that dangle in the air). "It was fun to use my imagination to complete the assignment. Creating wire sculptures was like drawing in the air, " she said.


Danielle is looking forward to graduation and recognizes it's a great achievement. She will attend The Prout School in September, and hopes to some day study abroad (possibly in England). She would like to travel the world, too.

Both Danielle and Kirsten agree that high school is going to be an exciting big step. After many year at Cluny School, it's time to branch out and have new experiences and meet new people. We know that Cluny will always be part of their collective memories. Best wishes to Danielle and Kirsten!




It Was An Awesome Field Day!

The students participated in the obstacle course, relay races (potato sack, wet sponge and balloon toss), kick ball, soccer, hockey- and the famous tug of war!

Special thanks to Mr. Lemieux and the Cluny Faculty for a really fun and exciting day! It was unforgettable!

To see an album of photos from Field Day on Facebook,  click here!





 Guyer Kopplin and the Salamander MKII: It's a Practical Invention!

On Friday, 22 April students in grades 5 and 6 participated in the annual Cluny School Invention Convention.  Students in Grade 6 were required to construct inventions using recycled materials. The convention inspired students to focus on problem solving and the environment, using the  Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for Engineering Design to formulate and build a prototype.

Sixth Grader, Guyer Kopplin and his family have two dogs. The female, a German Shorthaired Pointer, is named Padme, and the male, a French Brittany, is named Anakin. Guyer and his brother, Patrick, are in charge of taking care of the dogs, which includes taking them for walks to do their duty.

When the time came to build and invention, Guyer chose to upgrade the lowly pooper scooper.  The Salamander MKII consists of an open box construction, with two wheels, two blades, several flappers, and a long handle. As the wheels carry the device forward, the rotating flappers push the debris into a plastic bag attached to the box (the metal hooks on the right and left side of the box hold the plastic bag in place). 

In keeping with the Invention Convention requirement for 2016, the Salamander was constructed from a number of recycled materials.

With the help of his dad, Guyer melted plastic shopping bags (the ones you get in the grocery store), with resin. The mixture was poured onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. When the plastic/resin sheets were hard, Guyer cut out the wheels, blades and sides of the box. He sanded the pieces to smooth the edges and assembled the device.  The flappers were made from plastic one liter soda bottles.

The Salamander MKII may someday appear on the shelves of pet supplies stores across the country! Good work, Guyer, in your effort to re-purpose plastic shopping bags and soda bottles!

The Parents Club Invites You
to the
Family Mass and Picnic
Sunday, June 12th at 4pm


The Parents Club invites you to bring your families and come celebrate the end of the school year with a Mass and picnic to follow on the beautiful Cluny lawn.
 
Hotdogs and hamburgers will be provided along with beverages. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. If you would like to bring your own "grill-able" (chicken, steak, veggie-kabobs) to throw on the grill, you are welcome to do so as well.
 
  • Families A-K Please bring a side dish share
  • Families L - Z Please bring a dessert to share
 
Please RSVP with your family name and the number of people attending- so we can get an estimated count for hot dogs and hamburgers. Contact Brian Rochelle bkr1989@hotmail.com or Karen Mancini karen@northernshores.com if you have any questions.
 
P.S. Don't forget your lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.


Support scholarships for Catholic Schools in Newport County! Show your school colors! Join us on Wednesday, 15 June at Cardines Field for a game between the Newport Gulls vs. the North Adams Steeplecats.

Pre-game festivities for kids begin at 6pm- so come early!
The game begins at 6:35pm.

The principals of the Catholic schools will throw out the first pitch, and during the game there will be raffles and other activities in between innings!

Tickets are $4 each or a Family Pack of 5 tickets for $20.
For each ticket sold, $2 will be donated to a scholarship fund in support of Aquidneck Island Catholic Schools. The event is sponsored by St. Joseph's Church in Newport.

To purchase tickets, stop by the Cluny School office at 75 Brenton Road
or call 401.847.6043.

For more info on the Newport Gulls, click here!



Congratulations to the Winners
of the 4th Annual Tuition Raffle!
 
Thank you to all who participated in the 4th Annual Tuition Raffle,
which took place on 1 June!  Thank you to Sr. Luke Parker, SJC for drawing
the winning entries.  Congratulations to the following Cluny families:


1st Place- One Year Tuition Credit (a $7,510 value)
John and Kelly Reey
 
2nd Place- $500 Tuition Credit
Ann and Tim May
 
3rd Place- $100 Cash prize
Kurt Edenbach and Meaghan O'Neill
 
 
If you did not participate this year, do not worry;
the 5th Annual Tuition raffle will take place next spring!

What is Laudato Si'?

It's an Encyclical Letter written by Pope Francis,
and the  1st anniversary of it's release  takes place
on 18 June 2016!

Happy Anniversary Laudato Si'!

Pope Francis writes:
"The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation."
(Laudato Si' Chapter 48)



Sr. Luke Parker, SJC and Sr. Therese Jammeh, SJC of The Gambia, in West Africa pledged to conserve water in support of Pope Francis  and Laudato Si.'

Sr. Luke's and Sr. Therese's pledge supports the efforts of the Catholic Climate Covenant, an organization that inspires and equips Catholic people to care for creation and the poor. You, too, can "p ledge to pray, act, and advocate to solve climate change." To learn more about the Catholic Climate Covenant,  click here!

To access the blog of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, Province of USA and Canada, click here!


What are you doing this summer?
Register today for summer programs for kids  ages 3-12!
 For more information, visit the website,

Save the Date!


Here are highlights of upcoming events and activities at Cluny School.
See SchoolSpeak for the full calendar of events!

Sunday, 12 June, 4pm
Family Mass and Picnic Sponsored by the Cluny Parents Club

Tuesday, 14 June
Eighth Grade Graduation

Wednesday, 15 June
Pre-School and Pre- Kindergarten Year- End Celebrations

Thursday, 16 June
Kindergarten Transition Ceremony

Friday, 17 June
Last Day of School

Wednesday, 31 August
First day of School

Sunday, 25 September
Cluny School Country Fair

Useful Links:







Cluny School, as a Catholic school, exists to educate the whole person, empowering its students to live lives of integrity based on the Gospel values.

The Cluny School | 75 Brenton Road, Newport, RI 02840 | 401.847.6043 | clunyschool.org

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