March School News

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Spring. Eastertide. Life is renewed. Our students responded well to the call to serve others. During Lent, they collected more than five hundred dollars to help feed starving children in Ethiopia. Our eighth graders also visited and entertained the elderly at Hancock Park Convalescent Home for Easter.

Meanwhile, the normal rhythms of the school year continue to provide our students with the foundation of their maturing into responsible Catholic young people. Our second grade students made their First Confession on March 11. It was gratifying to see so much family participation in that important step in the children's spiritual formation. The class is now preparing for their First Holy Communion on April 19.

Our eighth grade students have much to celebrate. They received letters of acceptance to an impressive array of Catholic High Schools. Most were accepted to schools of their first choice: Bellarmine Jefferson, Bishop Alemany, Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto, Cathedral, Crespi Carmelite, Holy Family, Immaculate Heart, Loyola, Marymount, Notre Dame Academy, Notre Dame High School, Providence and St. Genevieve's. We congratulate all our eighth grade students on their success and especially those who received honors at entrance.

We are also very proud that a team of our eighth graders competed in this year's Junior High Academic Decathlon at the Sports Arena on March 18. We congratulate William Louie who placed 5th in Science and Janette Lee who placed 6th in Social Studies. That's a major accomplishment against a field of the best students from 105 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese.

March was also a month for field trips. Our first and second graders enjoyed a live production of Aladdin, presented by the Nine O'Clock players at the Assistance League. Our sixth grade students explored the California Science Center. They participated in the "Big Lab" where they learned, first-hand, about different kinds of energy, gravity and force by building and operating roller coasters. They also visited the IMAX theater to see Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs, which solidified their unit on Egypt which they were studying as part of our Social Studies curriculum.

Our fifth graders are enjoying reading an abundance of well chosen literature books, thanks to the Riordan Foundation which provided the class with $1,000 worth of books. Thank you very much Richard Riordan.

Our Track and Field season is in full swing. Our students have been practicing regularly for the Mount San Antonio meet which is taking place this weekend. We wish our students luck!