St. Louis Catholic School Alumni Newsletter
Greetings from Your Elementary School Alma Mater!
WINTER 2019
As an alum myself (St. Louis Class of '83), it is with great joy that I connect with the alumni community through our alumni newsletter. Each one of us has memories of our days, teachers and friends at St. Louis School, and all of those memories combine to create more than 60 years of deep tradition and ongoing Christ-centered education here on Popkins Lane. It is our goal to connect with you and share the blessings of a united school community.

We hope that you enjoy the new format for our newsletter. We've re-designed it to be easily read from screens of all sizes - from smartphones and tablets to laptops and desktops!
Dear St. Louis Alumni,

On the heels of the 2019 St. Louis School Silent Auction, I am full of excitement for the St. Louis community and the support of its current and alumni families. The PTO planned and executed an exhilarating evening of fun, food and fundraising. I am so very grateful for the thousands of dollars raised for the school (final totals are being tallied as I write), and equally important, I am grateful for the opportunity to meet with so many people who love our school. Whether you made a donation, bought a raffle ticket, attended the auction or prayed for its success, I thank you, the alumni, for being an important part of the evening. Some of the funds raised at the auction will be going towards our Spring kitchen upgrade, which has our 1985 stove and 1956 hood being replaced! (See the article and photo below.)

Teachers are busy with students in the classrooms! As you can imagine, while many things remain the same (the classroom coatrooms, the green wall tile, the “upper hall and lower hall”, etc.), many things continue to change and upgrade. A lot of alumni couldn’t have dreamed of chromebook computers being open on all desks, or interactive whiteboards in all the classrooms, or a beautiful science lab in a separate middle school building. In addition to our growing resource program and staff, we are getting ready to add a fulltime STEM lab teacher to our staff. We look forward to implementing STEM lessons in a consistent, ongoing way from 8th grade all the way down to Kindergarten.

Security continues to be an important focus for our school. In addition to the exterior door replacements, added security cameras, hired security, and regular review and practice of drill procedures, we are always looking to do more. Our current annual fund drive will be helping to replace the original interior classroom doors and all door locking systems. We know that the safety of our students and staff comes before anything else.

St. Louis School continues to thrive with full classes, and we have a growing number of alumni who are enrolling their children here. I know what a joy it was to have all five of my children receive their education at the same school that I attended, and it is now a blessing to have my own niece and nephew here! Many blessings to each one of you and your families this Lent. If you are in the area, stop by and take a tour - we are always happy to see you!

Peace,
Kathleen Faherty McNutt, Class of 1983
Principal
1960 aerial photo of St. Louis School and surrounding area recently featured in Covering the Corridor.
Alumni Spotlight
UPCOMING EVENTS

MARCH 8, 15, 22, 29
APRIL 5, 12
Alumni are invited to join the school community for Friday Mass and Stations of the Cross in St. Louis Church during Lent.
Mass
8:45am
Stations of the Cross
2:30pm

MARCH 6
Ash Wednesday Mass
8:45am, St. Louis Church

MARCH 25
Band Concert
7pm, McClunn Hall

APRIL 17
Living Stations of the Cross
2pm, St. Louis Church

MAY 3
May Crowning
8:45am, St. Louis Church

MAY 10 & 11
Annie Jr. Spring Musical
7pm, McClunn Hall

MAY 20
Band & Chorus Concert
7pm, McClunn Hall
Dan Baillargeon, Principal 2006-2014
For the many students and families who were associated with St. Louis School between the years of 2006 and 2014, Mr. Baillargeon is a name they would definitely know and remember!  Dan Baillargeon was the school’s principal during those years, taking over after the retirement of Mrs. Noreen Gilmour. Mr. Baillargeon was known for his tremendous spiritual leadership, and he was a principal who brought many new changes to the school as it fully focused on 21st century learning and instruction. He helped transition the school from a one-building institution to a two-building campus with a separate middle school. He also brought interactive white boards into every classroom and paved the way for Wifi to be installed throughout the parish. He facilitated many renovation projects, including the addition of the preschool in 2012.

In June 2018, Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski named Daniel Baillargeon as the new superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. "I am honored that our search efforts brought forward such a dynamic candidate, one with extensive background in Catholic education," said Bishop Rozanski.  

Baillargeon moved to Massachusetts after administrative positions in Cullman, Alabama and Manchester, New Hampshire. His beautiful family has continued to grow since his days at St. Louis. He and his wife, Megan, have eight children (four of whom attended St. Louis School): Jonathan, Thomas, Therese, Zelie, Nicholas, Dominic, Colette and Andres.
Catholic Schools Week 2019
Students marked Catholic Schools Week 2019 with opportunities to learn, serve, lead, and succeed. It was a week filled with fun and excitement! 8th graders helped kick the celebration off by bringing their confirmation saints alive with a school wide assembly. Students in 4th-8th grade competed to be the best speller while representatives from all grades shared their religious knowledge in “It’s Cath-a-demic”. Fifth graders transformed McClunn Hall into an incredible wax museum where students got to visit and learn about many famous athletes and former presidents as well as innovative scientists. Wednesday and Thursday were set aside for prayer and service - students gathered together to pray the rosary and collect baby items for our local community. Friday ended our celebration with a lot of Hawk pride. Teachers and students battled it out in relay races and our school principal and assistant principal bravely got slimed in good faith.
Eighth Grade students representing their Confirmation saints with "Saints Alive!" View the video here .
The school community prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet and released our balloon rosary.
Students raised $2,800 for the Prayers for Squares Ministry and Catholic Charities Gabriel Project.
School News
March for Life
St. Louis students joined the St. Louis parish youth ministry at this year's March for Life in Washington, DC.
2019-20 Preschool Registration
St. Louis Preschool offers classes for 3 and 4 year old's. Openings are still available in some of our preschool classes. For registration information, please contact Dare Hurley, dhurley@stlouisschool.org .

Science Fair
Thank you to our alumni and former faculty who judged the 2019 Science Fair on February 7th. Under the guidance of their teacher Mrs. Karen Miller, students conducted experiments and completed research in order to become true scientists! Ten of the school winners will go on to compete at the diocesan fair April 13th.

Spring Musical
Mark your calendars! Bring the family! Middle School students will be performing Annie Jr. on May 10 and 11. Showtime is at 7pm in McClunn Hall. Tickets available at the door.
End of the Vulcan!
The St. Louis School Kitchen underwent a mini-overhaul this past summer, with the replacement of the kitchen floor and the removal of the last bit of contained asbestos in the building. Along with floor work, the original kitchen electrical panel was replaced and upgraded, allowing for future updates in appliances and digital connections. This turned out to be a big blessing, as our monstrous stove began to misbehave! 

Our Vulcan gas stove is quite a piece – it was installed in 1985, and has remained connected to the original 1956 hood. While both the stove and hood have been good to us for so many years, it is time for their replacement. A new stove brings the need for an up-to-code fire suppression system and a link to our new digital fire alarm system. The new stove, hood and fire suppression system will be installed in late March. Our cafeteria manager and St. Louis alum, Judy Goebel Thomas (Class of 1979) , looks forward to having a new stove for school lunches. She is always grateful for those alum cafeteria volunteers who still pop in to help and say hello from time to time! 
2018-19 Annual Fund
We have met two-thirds of our $75,000 goal!
We are thankful for the support of our school families, alumni and the local community as we raise funds to replace 22 original classroom doors and locks, upgrade the locks on 15 classroom doors, purchase additional chromebooks and provide tuition assistance for those school families in need.

As a 501(c)(3) organization, donations made to the annual fund are fully tax deductible and can be made at any time via check, PayPal or Faith Direct. For more information, please visit the school website or contact Kristin Matheis, development@stlouisschool.org . 

CLASS NOTES

Thank you to our alumni families who have shared family news with us. do you have a life event or photos to share with the school and fellow alumni? We love to hear from our alumni - where you are now and your memories of your time at St. Louis.

Email your updates to development@stlouisschool.org

ALUMNI DIRECTORY

Currently our online Alumni Directory has listings for more than 1,000 Alumni from 1963-2018 for whom we have some contact information.

Don't see yourself? Please take a moment to register, and if you've moved, please be sure to update your contact information.

Looking for an old friend? Our Alumni Directory allows you to search for and be located by former classmates. If found, you may be able to connect through a web-based email form.

ALUMNI SPIRITWEAR

Available through Lands' End, the St. Louis School Alumni embroidered logo is available on a variety of clothing and gear items. Order yours online today!