St. Patrick's Blog Week of April 7th 2014

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of April 7th, 2014

Lenten Journey

We continue to discuss the themes of this holy season of Lent with our students as we journey toward Holy Week.  We challenge students to use this time for reflection and an examination of their approach to spiritual renewal.  The rich Gospel stories from the last few weeks have provided Jesus’ ministry as a strong example of what we should be striving toward as a community.

Father Greg has been in to the school offering students an opportunity for confession ahead of our Easter season.  We thank him for his time.

Mr. Nihmey - Presentation on Mental Wellness

Chris Nihmey, a graduate from St. Patrick’s Intermediate as well as one of our regular guest teachers, brought his message about mental wellness to our grade 7 & 8 students this past week.  Mr. Nihmey spoke of his own struggles with a bipolar condition, as well as the need for understanding and compassion for those suffering from mental struggles.  Chis has written a book chronicling his challenges entitled: Two Sides To the Story.  Our students were encouraged to have a discussion with their families about the topic, and certainly to see anyone in our student services department if they have further questions.
You can get additional information at Chris' website: http://chrisnihmey.com/

Lockdown Drill

St. Patrick’s practiced a lockdown drill this past Friday afternoon at the school.  The call was made in between periods 5 and 6, creating some challenges for students who were not yet in class.  Our students and staff reacted very well to the drill during this unstructured time.  Students who were not near their regular classrooms knew to report to the nearest class or safe area.  Staff ensured that students quickly moved from the hallways and had a place to locate themselves during the drill.  The process took less than half an hour, and students were released from secure schools as soon as we had visited every area of the school.  Our School Resource Officer Stephanie Lemieux and Constable Kevin, who assisted with the drill, had great things to say about our student and staff reaction.

School Council Meeting

The St. Patrick’s School Council met this week and discussed school budget issues, a volunteer survey to be sent out in September of next year, as well as the issue of family engagement within our community.  We are already beginning to plan our Grade 8 Closing Ceremony, and our school council is a huge supporter of this event.  More information to follow soon.

Top Marks Uniform Fittings

A reminder to all of our community that students and parents currently at St. Patrick’s, or those coming in September can place uniform orders in person with our Top Marks company this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (April 8th, 9th and 10th) at the school from 3:30 to 7:30PM.  Students can be measured for uniforms to make sure everything fits!  Call the school if you have any questions.

Have a great week;

Sean Kelly