St. Mary’s School May Newsletter 

What a whirlwind of a year! It is incredible that this Friday is our last day of school. Although the year was somewhat compacted, we managed to fill it with learning, love, and laughter, and not necessarily in that order! We will be bidding our eighth graders a fond farewell as they graduate this Tuesday. The evening begins with Mass. After Mass the students will be honored at a reception and will receive their grade cards and diplomas. During the evening the students will receive some symbolic gifts from the staff and scrapbooks of their years at St. Mary’s. Of the many special things that I really love about St. Mary’s are our traditions and the graduation ceremony is one of our most special. All of us wish the eighth graders good luck as they continue their education and want them to know that they will always have a special place in our hearts. 

May is the month we honor our Blessed Mother in a special way. May crowning was held on Friday, May 3 after the 8:00 Mass. Molly Hunt had the honor to crown Mary. The sixth, seventh and eighth graders formed the honor guard. The fourth and fifth graders led the Litany of Mary. The preschooler, kindergartners, first and second graders laid flowers on Mary’s altar. The eighth graders have been leading the school in saying the Rosary. They begin the opening prayers of the Rosary and start the first decade. During the eighth graders’ absence when they were on their class trip, the seventh grade did a fine job of leading beginning the Rosary for the school. 

The eighth graders, Ms. Kelly-Pressnall, and the chaperones left on the class trip to San Francisco early on the morning of May 6. They returned on May 10. After talking to several of the students, I gathered that they had a great time and certainly packed a lot of sightseeing into the five days they were there. They visited the fifth holiest place in the world, the cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. Relics of St. Francis and St. Claire are kept in the cathedral along with a replica of the small church that Francis built in response to a vision from God. All the materials in the replica were brought from Italy. At the gift shop, the students met Fr. Alan who amazed them with his magic tricks. The students also visited Mission Delores which is the third most northerly mission and the sixth to be established by Fr. Junipero Serra. The third cathedral they visited was the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul. 

The students enjoyed various forms of transportation. They rode a “Duck Bus”, which is an amphibious vehicle, a “Hop-On, Hop-Off” bus across the Golden Gate Bridge, and of course a cable car. You can’t go to San Francisco and not ride a cable car. For a bit of spooky adventure the class took a ghost tour of China Town and visited the Winchester House, which is reputed to be haunted by those who lost their lives due to the Winchester Rifle. The students also toured Alcatraz. To get a sense of the natural wonders of the area, they toured the Muir Woods Memorial Park and saw the giant redwoods. They visited Muir Beach and Pier 39 to see the famous sea lions. They hiked up Lombard St. which is said to be the most crooked street. They visited a Japanese Tea Garden. They enjoyed eating at the Hard Rock Café and Francesca’s Crab House, and what for me would have definitely been the highlight of the trip, enjoyed ice cream at Ghiradelli’s. 

While the eighth graders were traveling, the rest of us were hard at work. The kindergarten and the first / second grade classrooms were hatcheries. Each class had an incubator containing twelve eggs. On Tuesday, the chickens began to the hatch. My class’ chickens were a little slow in hatching, with most of the ones that did hatch doing so on the next day. I did wonder if our chicks’ reluctance to leave their shells had anything to do with the barbecued chicken we were serving for the school’s last chicken barbecue of the year. On Thursday, our class had what I referred to as “Chickie Roundup”. The children sit in small groups, forming circles. I spread a little chicken feed in their circle. Then several chicks are put in the circle and allowed to roam. The children are delighted as the chicks come close, sometimes even hopping up onto their hands. 

The last day of school is, as I mentioned this Friday. So this will be my last column for several months. Have a great summer. Until next school year, may God keep you in the palm of His hand.