|
Dear Parents,
In true St. Therese fashion, we have had a very busy - and fun - last few weeks with May Crownings, our new Fun Run fundraiser, the Friday evening Talent Show, First Holy Communion, field trips, and more!
It was quite an experience watching the students run laps and dance to music in support of the school during our Fun Run. THANK YOU to everyone who supported our new program by sponsoring students, asking friends and families to support your student, and coming to help and cheer on the runners. We hope the students enjoyed the program - especially the running and dancing! We will announce the final amount raised. I am also working with all of our teachers to get their recommendations for classroom improvements at the St. Therese Campus building that may be funded with the proceeds from this fundraiser.
Many students showed off their talents at the Spring Talent Show. I would like to sincerely thank these talented students for entertaining us so well, and also thank our SFA who provided us with a fun new snack station. Thank you, too, for the generosity of Keely Foods and Emperor's Choice, who sponsored the snack station.
Finally, a series of meetings have been scheduled for next Wednesday, May 29th, for our School Board and SFA organizations to meet with their counterparts at St. Barbara School and begin the process of planning the coming school year together. SFA leaders and School Board members were sent information separately about this meeting. Please let me know if you did not get the details and are interested in attending.
Highlights for the 2019-2020 School Year Calendar have been added to the
website calendar. Please refer to this calendar when planning for the upcoming school year.
Best,
Ms. Oi
Principal
PS - These final weeks of school will remain very busy. Please review the important dates listed below in this newsletter.
|
|
School Honors Mary, Our Mother, During May Crowning
|
|
Shark Tank Team Presents Their Big Idea to Judges
Once again, the St. Therese Shark Tank Team put together another phenomenal idea and presentation for the Annual Big Shoulders Shark Tank event earlier this month. Our students' big idea was an App called the "High School Helper," and while it did not win the big prize, it definitely caught the attention of the judges and Big Shoulders staff! According to Mr. Dan Bennet of Big Shoulders, "The business plan was very good and I thought their presentation was strong...
I am proud of them for all of their work and I am impressed by the idea and the business they developed."
Congratulations to our Shark Tank team for their creativity and commitment to the project. We enjoyed seeing these young entrepreneurs in action. Team members included: Ephraim Balogun, Joel Casey, Matthew Chan, Chris Deng, Xahil Gonzalez, Alma Gyabin, Matthew Hui, Martin Moy, Samantha Woo, and Hailan Yu.
|
|
|
|
Congratulations to Our Math Competition Winners!
St. Therese students had another tremendous showing in this year's Catholic Math League Competition! We took top honors in a number of categories, including FIRST PLACE NATIONALLY in Algebra 1 by
Chris Deng (8th)!
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners: Noah Anderson, Oscar Au, Grace Chen, Leo Chen, Michael Cooper, Chris Deng, Brady Eng, Avram Filipiak, Izabella Jiang, Nicholas Lee, Juliana Pon, Martin Moy, Aaron Wong, Hailan Yu, Ana Yuen, Bohan Zhao, Eva Zhao, and Justin Zhen.
Not pictured: Juliana Pon
Chris Deng (8th) displays his FOUR individual awards
|
St. Therese Results
|
Hailan Yu (7th) displays her FOUR individual awards
|
|
|
In and Around the Classroom
|
|
3 PEAT!
St. Therese Students Win Tolton Essay Contest AGAIN!
For the third consecutive year, St. Therese won 1st and 2nd place in the Archdiocese of Chicago's
Fr. Augustus Tolton Essay Contest. Congratulations to Jacqueline DelRaso (1st place) and Tiffany Tse (2nd place)!
This year the topic was,
How would Fr. Gus Tolton respond to bullies? Students were encouraged to draw on their own experience of bullying and then apply it through the lens of the first African American priest in the United States of America.
"Fr. Gus is being considered for canonization precisely because Jesus blessed him with the grace to respond to bullies in dynamic ways," shared Thomas Howard, Director of Religious Education. Thanks to this essay contest and to Fr. Gus' intercessions in heaven, St. Therese students have been granted direct access to virtues like resilience and grit and courage as well as be connected in a very intimate way to long suffering, which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. For the past three years, Fr. Tolton has literally showered St. Therese with grace through this project."
|
|
|
|
|
IMPORTANT DATES
As we rush toward the end of the year, please make note of these important dates coming up over the next several weeks.
|
| Wednesday, May 29th 7pm & 8pm |
St. Therese - St. Barbara Boards and SFA/Ladies Guild organizational meetings |
| Friday, May 31st at 1pm at church |
Baccalaureate Mass |
| Sunday, June 2nd at 1pm at church |
Commencement |
| Tuesday, June 4th |
8th Grade Trip to Springfield |
| Wednesday, June 5th |
PK, JK, K graduations and last days of class |
| Friday, June 7th at 10am |
Awards Assembly |
| Friday, June 7th at NOON |
Dismissal for the summer |
|
|
Congratulations to our First Communicants!
|
|
Talented Students Highlighted at Annual Spring Talent Show
What a show! Twenty-six talented individuals and groups entertained a full house Friday, May 17th, at our annual Spring Talent Show.
This year's show featured individual and group singers, dance troupes, and musical solos. Thank you to the students who worked so hard on their acts and provided a truly enjoyable evening for all. Kudos to Ms. Lofton and Ms. Geli for their hard work in helping these students prepare and to Mr. Delfin for emceeing the evening.
|
|
|
|
Students Qualify for National History Bee
Once again, a large team of St. Therese students qualify for the National History Bee! Some of these fine history buffs will be attending this year's event in Chicago on June 7-9. Congratulations to our qualifiers and good luck to all attendees!
Congratulations to our EIGHT qualifiers: Ephraim Balogun (8th), Hailan Yu (7th), Brady Eng (5th), Parker Paduk (5th), Anais Ng-Ortega (5th), Ray Lee (5th), Ysabelle Balogun (5th), and Harry Zhen (5th).
|
|
|
|
School's 1st FunRun was a BLAST!
Our first FunRun on Friday featured lights, music, dancing, and running laps in support of our school! Students, teachers, and volunteer parents all had a blast raising fund for our school!
Thank you
everyone for sticking with us as we tried out this new format for a fundraiser, for getting sponsors for your students, and for all of the parents who came to help out during the event! Please let us know what you think!
|
|
St. Therese Teachers and Staff Attend and Present at NCEA
Each year, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) conference is held for Catholic educators throughout the country. This year, the conference was held in Chicago and all our faculty was able to attend.
Each teacher was able to chose various sessions to attend over several days, and each brought back new ideas, tips and suggestions that many will be able to implement in their classrooms. These topics included the adolescent brain, planning for the full school year, new classroom tools, and more.
|
|
Our Lion and Dragon teams helped open the ceremony with their rousing performances, to the great appreciation of the audience. St. Therese teachers and our former principal also played pivotal roles in leading several informative sessions for their peers at the conference.
At the opening dinner, our very own Principal Oi was also officially awarded The Catherine T.
|
McNamee, CSJ Award, which is presented to an individual or institution that offers exceptional leadership in promoting a vision of Catholic education that welcomes and serves cultural and economic diversity or that serves students with diverse needs.
All in all, it was a very productive few days that also allowed our school to show a bit of what makes us so special.
|
|
|
|
Unique Employment Opportunity at St. Therese
St. Therese School is looking to hire an Executive Assistant/Development Associate.
The Executive Assistant/Development Associate is an integral member of the school's administrative team, working closely with the Principal as well as the development and marketing team. This individual will contribute to major initiatives and fundraisers, as well as help maintain social media and other communications for the school.
This individual will report to the Principal, but also work under the direction of the school Development Director for school advancement activities.
|
|
