STAS Happenings

CONGRATULATIONS SCHOLARS

We would like to recognize and congratulate our current STAS Scholars who obtained 90% or better for the second marking period this school year.  They are:

Thank you very much to Miss Chonski’s Dentist, Dr. Bill Promomo, for the dental health kits for Nursery and Pre-K classes. Students received a new toothbrush, toothpaste, stickers and a cool poster on caring for their teeth.  Thanks for keeping our smiles bright and sparkly!

Pre-K participated in a Valentine Card exchange sponsored on-line by Technospuds entitled “From Me to You”. Students created cards to send along with an informational sheet on our school.  Cards were received from many states in the USA plus Ontario Canada! An especially thoughtful note was received from the Ronald McDonald House in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Everyone seemed to appreciate our efforts towards thinking of others and small ways to bring joy.

Our own Chef Kathy Purello will be conducting a cooking class for grades 6-7-8. Kathy will be teaching them the correct way to set a table, preparation of a meal and how to serve the meal properly.   There are already 30 students who will be participating, and we wish them a great time with this wonderful learning experience.

Stuffee, a 7 foot blue haired doll that can be unzipped for access to internal organs, visited the grammar school on Friday February 15^th.  Children in Pre-K through Fourth grade were introduced to the importance of good nutrition and health as we viewed the lunch Stuffee brought with him.  We learned about the body and some of the major organs. The children got to touch Stuffee’s soft, sculptured organs as they were removed from his body by way of the large zipper in the front. They also got to hear his “heartbeat”. What a great way for the children to have a hands-on exploration of the body systems. This program met Science standards, 4, 6 and 7.

WHO’S WHO’S RECOGNITION

Congratulations Emily Panganiban grade 6, for having been nominated for recognition in the 2007-2008 Who’s Who Registry of Academic Excellence (Middle School Edition). Emily this is quite an honor, keep up the good work, and we are all very proud of you.

 CATHOLIC SCHOOL HONOR BAND

Congratulations Kristina Heil, 6^th grade, for being selected to participate in the 2008 Capital Region Catholic School Honor Band Concert. The Concert will be held on Sunday, March 9 at 3:00p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Delmar.  This event will feature 50 of the most accomplished musicians from the Capital Region Catholic Schools.  This is quite an honor Kristina.

8^TH GRADE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED

 to Brendan O’Sullivan, grade 8, who has received a $12,000 scholarship to Christian Brothers Academy. Brendan is also a strong candidate for a merit-based scholarship to La Salle Institute based on the results of his Entrance & Scholarship Exam. Brendan we are very proud of all your accomplishments.

STAS 80^TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

We have mailed invitations to our Alumni and Parish Members to come celebrate with us at St. Teresa of Avila’s 80th Anniversary on April 5, 2008.  Our Anniversary Eucharistic Mass will be celebrated by the Most Reverend Howard J. Hubbard, D.D. at 4:00p.m., followed by Open House in both buildings.  We will have class pictures and memorabilia on display. At 6:30p.m. we will meet at the Italian American Community Center for cash bar and dinner at 7:00p.m. followed by music and dancing.  The cost of this event is $45.00 per person.  At 8:30 we will have a raffle drawing for which tickets to be purchased were included in the invitation.  Anyone interested in joining us who did not receive an invitation please contact us at 482-3736.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

The Albany Council 173 Knights of Columbus has presented our school with a $1,000 donation. This gift is intended to help support our continued efforts and programs as they recognize the significant contribution that Catholic Schools make to our society. We wish to thank them for their continuing support.

LOVE BAG CAMPAIGN

Grades Pre-K-8, with the help of Holly McKenna, participated in a Love Bag Campaign.  Brown bags were sent home with the children to be decorated, and then their families filled them with life’s basic necessities. The Love Bags were donated to St. Teresa’s food pantry and were distributed to their clients this past week.

The 4^th grade constructed very creative models of Iroquois Longhouses. They enjoyed explaining their projects to the younger grades.  The longhouses are currently on display in the library.

The Science Club, grades 5-8, wants to thank Councilman Jim Sano for the recycling bins.  The bins will be used to teach the club members about being eco-friendly at home and school.

On Tuesday, February 26, 2008, the 8^th grade participated in Groundhog Job Shadow Day with St. Peter’s Hospital.  Mrs. Serge arranged for the students to experience working in the emergency department, pharmacy, rehab, security, respiratory therapy, medical imaging, NICU, Nutrition, transportation, labor and delivery and laboratory.  The students also met with the head of the volunteer services department.  They had a great day! They learned so much about the many various jobs that are available in a hospital setting.  They saw robots in the pharmacy, as well as learned about caring for newborn babies who were born prematurely and weighed only about 1 pound!  Some of the students also got to watch a gallbladder being cut open and saw the bile and stones that were in it. That was fascinating. The experience of shadowing at St. Peter’s was quite an eye opener for many of the students. Many are looking forward to contacting St. Peter’s to begin to volunteer this summer.  We thank all the people at St. Peter’s for such an awesome day.