Focus on literacy: Thanks to a grant from the Catholic Schools Center of Educational Excellence, our school began a two-year process to implement a science-based reading program that will build foundational literacy skills across all grades. As a part of this process, we also implemented Core5 (phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) to track student achievement in reading.
Developing a Service Mindset: Our 5th graders’ Advent service project was definitely a highlight of the year. They conducted a bake sale and collected $2,000 which was donated to the St. Joseph Community Food Shelf and Feeding Area Children Together. The whole school participated in gathering food items during Catholic Schools Week as well.
Not only did they students donate the money but they helped to unload food donations and pack numerous bags of food. These experiences open our students’ eyes to the broader community needs.
School upgrades: Our 4th graders were thrilled to be able have new desks and chairs – with white boards – and everyone benefited from some much-needed new foldable tables in the lunchroom. Our students overall educational experience is improved with these changes. We are grateful to the donors who made these purchases possible.