St. Marys School April Newsletter 

I hope that you had a blessed and enjoyable Easter.  When I left school on Holy Thursday, the Stations were hanging in the halls. Every year for our last Way of the Cross, each class makes a station that is brought to church and held in front of everyone as the prayers are said.  When I returned to school on Tuesday after Easter the Stations were gone and the Alleluia banners were hanging over the classroom doors.  On the following Friday the second graders who had received their First Holy Communion received the Brown Scapulars of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. After Mass, Fr. White blessed the sacramentals that they had received as gifts. 

The Iowa testing was completed last week, although there was some rearranging of the testing schedule due to the snow day we had on March 25 and a two hour delay the following day. It was déjà vu for me.  The last day of school before we were to begin our Christmas break was cancelled due to weather and it enabled me to get my Christmas candy making accomplished. Our Holy Week snow day enabled me to get my Easter baking finished. Talk about a gift from above! 

This Friday, April 12, was kindergarten screening for the 2013-2014 school year.  The present kindergarten class enjoyed an extra day off from school.  If you missed the screening, or know someone who is interested in sending a child to kindergarten next year, it isn’t too late. Just call the school and we will set up an appointment for your child. 

This Monday, St. Mary’s proudly presented its Spring Spectacular, and trust me spectacular doesn’t even begin to describe it.  The public was invited to take a quick tour around the world with the fifth and sixth graders’ “Countries Around the World” social studies project.  Those interested in science could view the science fair and all enjoyed the art fair. The entire school joined in transforming Mrs. Foster’s classroom into a giant undersea world. All the artwork was made from recycled items.  Among the many denizens of the sea, were a shark, an octopus and a narwhale. All the artwork was painted with neon paint and displayed under black lights for a truly fantastic effect.  My class contributed starfish made from recycled paper. We shredded newspaper, added water and ran the mixture through a blender to produce a pulp. Between the shredding of the paper and squeezing out the excess water in the pulp, this was easily my class’ favorite project.  I’m not too sure it was our custodian’s, Mr. Bingham, favorite project.  I think it may have ranked right down there with the glittered Christmas angels!  On the students were available to show their projects. Music for the evening was provided by the”K through 4 Singers” and Mr. McCoy and his band students. It was a great evening.