Third Graders Create Stations of the Cross Art

This spring, School of St. Mary eighth graders are taking part in a unit of study on the Holocaust that integrates language arts and social studies. They have read and discussed excerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank and Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau.  On April 6, the students attended a presentation given by a survivor of the Dachau concentration camp during a field trip to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. The students and teachers heard the speaker's testimony about the years he spent in concentration camps from the age of 14 until 20, when Dachau was liberated.  According to eighth grader Christian Kulas, who was able to converse with the speaker in Polish after the presentation,"The message was to remember the Holocaust and don't take life for granted.  It taught me to appreciate life." While at the museum, students also examined artifacts and testimony in the Karkomi Permanent Exhibition to learn more about Holocaust survivors, witnesses, resistors, and rescuers.

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School of St. Mary third graders are creating Stations of the Cross art as a form of Lenten prayer and remembrance. Working in teams of three to four, students used document cameras to outline the 15 images of the Stations of the Cross onto large white canvases. They then used markers to enrich each picture with color. Finally, teacher Jennifer Dziki applied pastel watercolors to frame the pictures and to enhance the background.  The final products will be displayed in the school as a representation of the Easter story.

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The School of St. Mary second and third graders had the opportunity to take part in an after-school sports camp lead by physical education teacher Michelle Kaefer this year. Students met on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. from November through April to play a variety of sports and games such as football, basketball, soccer, floor hockey, kickball, "Skittles" and "Pacman".  On the last day of camp, each participant chose a favorite sport or game to play. Next year, the camp will be expanded to first, second and third graders and each grade will have its own six-week session.

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This spring, School of St. Mary parents are invited to Spring Coffees for each grade level to discuss students' social and emotional well-being.  School social worker, Brianna Eisen, along with  Director of Student Services Susan Slagle, and school administrators will be facilitate the discussions. The meetings will be held at the Upper Grade Center in the multi-purpose room. Parents will be notified of the dates and times, and they may contact the school for more information.