Celebrating National Catholic Schools Week, January 28 - February 2, 2007
My Favorite Things about Saint Patrick Catholic School
Excerpts from Third through Seventh Grade Students’ Essays, 2007
The staff pulls out the positive and works with that. They don’t just concern themselves with the education of the kids but also with their social life and spiritual life. Having a Catholic education is important to me because it helps me stay close with God. It makes me feel like I have someone out there watching over me.
I love that is I have a problem I can tell my teacher and they will help me with it. It makes my life just so much better and I love it here.
The teachers try to make the subjects fun and challenging to a student’s ability. Jesus and God want us to show our passions to the world. This is what St. Patrick’s teaches us. St. Patrick’s encourages me to express my passions and my feelings. St. Patrick Catholic School has shown me how to be who I really am inside.
Every staff member knows all the children’s names that attend here. This makes me feel special because they took time to learn who I was. The most important feature at STPCS is that the teachers actually want the students to succeed in life with flying colors.
I think you have to follow the Golden Rule more in a Catholic school than in other schools. I also think it expects more of you and that makes you work harder.
St. Patrick is special to me because people can be their self without being judged.
Each student is different and unique, just like the building. The outside of the building may look the same as other buildings, but behind the bricks is a family.
St. Patrick’s provides their students with the finest technology in order to fill our urge to learn. My school goes the extra mile to teach us at the best level at which we can learn. This school is where your future starts to unfold.
St. Patrick is a place where dreams become reality. I don’t have constant worries and I can focus on my school work.
I like that we have uniforms. I never have to worry what I am going to wear the next day to school. No one can be put down by people saying that their clothes are dorky. So it helps people not get made fun of. Teachers care about you and your learning. In most schools, teachers teach you something once and then don’t care about it anymore, but here the teachers will stay after school with you until you understand what to do.
Catholic education is important to me because it helps to have more than one point of view of the world we live in. With religion class, you may begin with seeing the world one way and then sit back and see the world in a whole new way than you did before.
Saint Patrick reminds me of a church. Mr. Hammond is like a priest. He is always teaching us life lessons. The faculty is very kind, too. They are like the nuns and monks of the “church.” I love my Saint Patrick family. I will carry them throughout my life.
Our small classes help “Teach the whole child, “as Mr. Hammond likes to say. Saint Patrick is providing me with an excellent foundation for high school. Its state of the art facility is impressive. The technology is excellent. Most schools have laptops, we have tablets. Most schools have overhead projectors, we have wireless projectors and the Elmo. All of this makes learning interesting for the students.
Everyone at this school loves coming in the morning and seeing all their friends and having fun at school.
It is great to come to school knowing that almost every day you will have a fresh, warm, delicious meal for lunch.
Being at Saint Patrick’s has showed me how much I was missing at my old schools. Good things happen here that I can’t imagine happening anywhere else.
I think what is best about our learning system is that while students are learning things like history, math, Latin, Spanish, science, religion, or even English they are also brining out their full potential to become what we call “The Grad at Graduation.” The “Grad at Graduation” is the whole school observing the spiritual and mental growth each student is going through while attending our school.
In social studies, we have conversations about world problems and the teacher lets us talk as long as we don’t interrupt other people, stay on topic, and if someone hasn’t said anything then we have to invite them into the conversation.
I think we are looked very highly upon by people because the reputation we have created for ourselves.
I learn about honor and other virtues from the morning speeches other students give at assembly. People are friendly in this building, which makes it even more kid friendly.
In art we do fun things like sculpting. You also have other activities like music, physical education, and keyboarding. You even get to learn Latin and Spanish!
In science, we had a report on the five kingdoms. I typed a great paper received a DC1. This is my second year at Saint Patrick’s and I’m doing great!
The teachers stay on point and don’t allow anything less than your best.
This is my first year in a Catholic School, and I love it. You get to share your faith with others, and you learn valuable morals. A lesson I learned is, connect with God as often as you can. …God is now a daily part of my life.
A Catholic education is important to me because I can learn about the great deeds that Jesus did. I can also learn about the bible and get closer to God.
The relationships at St. Patrick’s are another thing that amaze me. The relationships between the students and teachers are stronger than I have ever seen before. The teachers truly care about how you are doing in class and will help you if you need or want it.
We have great food at school. We have a large variety of little snacks, abundant main courses, and of course, desserts.
I learn exciting things at school like video production, keyboarding, study skills, better English, social studies, math, science, health, and model building.
When I opened the doors to this new school about 1 ½ years ago, I was greeted with warm smiles and open arms. All of the teacher made me welcome and acted happy to see me and glad to teach me. Being taught in this kind of environment plays a huge part in my education and the education of my friends. I find it hard to learn when you feel un-wanted and un-comfortable.
In my eyes the special thing about Saint Patrick’s is their community.
When I go to church now I know what the priest is talking about. That is why I like having Catholic religion taught in Saint Patrick Catholic School.
One of the many things I think are special about this school is that we can interact with younger children and make new friends in other grades.
Having religion class helps me understand things in church and the different readings. Praying during school helps me relax and understand things better.
We have many opportunities at Saint Patrick. We have soccer, basketball, indoor soccer, tennis, field hockey, cheerleading, and more. Our menus have little colored dots to tell you how healthy the choices are.
Saint Patrick School is special because it is a school that any kid from pre-k to 8th grade can love. When any person is
having trouble, the teachers are always there to help. We have a school code that everyone has to follow. We have to wear uniforms but they help us look like one strong community.
I like Saint Patrick’s Catholic School because it has taught me how to have better relationships with people. I have been taught how to socialize with all types of people.
Religion is a lot of fun because we get to do a lot of fun projects like the STOP organization. We raised money for this organization, which helped free a few slaves in the Sudan. I love Saint Patrick.
What I love about Saint Patrick is the Latin and I think it is so cool. I think it is a great idea to have the root language of them all.
The good thing about having a Catholic education is that now I know more about my faith. Also, I am able to share my faith with others who will understand it. After masses and chapel, we explain the gospel. We have daily prayers. It’s a great way to connect to our faith.
Saint Patrick Catholic School is the best school I’ve ever been to, and always will be. We have many opportunities at Saint Patrick…we do activities like drama, math giants, stock market, keyboarding and many more. We also have the opportunity to sign up for sports, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, cross country, and cheerleading.
There are no bullies here. There is an honor code that says you can’t other people’s things (prevents bullies). I also want to learn Latin and its verb forms. The school is awesome.
They care for you at Saint Patrick’s. The teachers do not let people reject people from a group…
This school is a little more challenging than other schools and that gives me more experience. My favorite subject is math because of my wonderful teacher. I might even consider being a math teacher.
I love this school so much because of all the privilege and opportunities that the give me. I play for the basketball team and that is the best privilege of them all.
Mr. Kypros always brings out the best voice in us. Mr. Hammond, our principal, is always living, laughing, and loving in the worst of times. Every staff member in Saint Patrick Catholic School is always smiling.
The fact that we are a private school can make us more flexible to what we learn, when we learn it’s always interesting. If you walk down the hall, you will notice that we don’t have locks on our lockers. Why? We trust each other to follow the honor code. Our honor code gives us the same idea as the Ten Commandments, and it feels good to be able to trust each other.
There are so many extra-curricular activities like Spelling bees and Word Masters. Many kids that participate say it is a challenge and that they love the challenge. I also love the sports and enjoy playing them all!
Having half days every Wednesday ROCKS! That is the time teachers have meetings during the week. Friends can come over when we get out, it is a great time to do projects, and you can just have fun!
STPCS provides a great “physical life.” It has beautiful facilities. They gym is a fun place to hang out on Saturday mornings during basketball season. The “Grad at Grad” is a term quite frequently heard at my school. The “Grad at Grad” resembles what a St. Patrick student should be when he or she graduates from St. Patrick’s. The school wants you to be able to go out into the work and be a successful person.
The food service here is great. We eat family style and rotate tables to get to know other teachers and students. One thing that makes you feel at home is that we say prayer before and after the meal. Sports are an important part of STPCS. I play soccer and basketball where I have met most of my best friends. Sports have been a great way form to hang out with my friends. My coaches teach me not only about the sport, but about responsibility and leadership skill with the team.
This is not a boring school. There is a lot of natural light from the windows. It is much more peaceful with a lot of light. Each hallway isn’t just plain white; it is red, yellow, orange, green, blue or stone “brick!” All those colors make it a “happy school.” The classrooms are filled with light, posters, pictures, and more it’s like going to school in Heaven.
I like the aftercare program. It is fun and exciting to be in while I wait for my parents to pick me up after work. We start aftercare by playing either in the gym or outside on the playground. We make our way over to the dining hall to have a snack. Next, we do our homework. When you are done with homework you can play games or make crafts.
The teachers care about us. They are worried about you when you are sick. They make sure we do not play in the rain during recess because the last thing they want is for us to get a cold. They also ask you if you are having a good day and if you say no, they ask why not. They try to help us solve our relationship problems with each other so we can get along at school.
When you go somewhere inside our school building, you see that everything is very clean – I like this about STPCS.
One of my favorite things about Saint Patrick’s is the athletic teams. The reason I like them so much is because we have something to do after school and we can get active.
Honestly, nobody actually likes school, but STPCS makes it fun.
The teachers are resources at our school make it great. Our library has over 6,000 books. The whole school property is about sixteen acres. We have two soccer fields, a garden, and the school is planning a meditation fountain.
A good thing about our school is that it is clean. Having a clean school is a little bit important because it makes you feel comfortable.
I like that students get to video assemblies, control the microphones, and interview speakers and introducer.
The lobby has a beautiful waiting area. There is a crucifix of Jesus, an exact replica of the one that survived the Saint Patrick Church fire. There are also gorgeous chandeliers, elevator, water cooler, and a TV with a slide show that shows you what is happening around school. I also like our safety patrols. I am a patrol and it is a lot of fun and a great experience. It is hard work. You have to get to school early and leave late. It isn’t easy. You have to be responsible.
St. Patrick’s is very cozy. It almost never has any empty areas. At my old school you were always alone in the halls. Everyone here is always saying nice things to one another. We have fun while learning. Sometimes our teachers do math assignments outside.
Saint Patrick Catholic School is special because the student body always has their "radios on." STPCS is always listening, being attentive, and making quality work.
Saint Patrick Catholic School is like pop tarts – crazy good!
My Catholic school is a great place to build the kingdom of God.
We don’t leave anything out at STPCS. We let everyone join in, try never to forget our homework, and never purposely exclude anyone.
The teachers make advanced work easy. They challenge you, so you can see that you have to try and really try hard to succeed.
Magic Mondays, Wacky Wednesdays, and Fun Science Fridays make our school days fun!
The teachers give everyone an even chance and they don’t have a favorite. That’s why I can’t pick a favorite teacher!
I like organizing myself with a planner. The rock climbing wall is awesome!
We are making art like Jacob Lawrence’s pictures of the migration. I like his art!
We have fun projects to do in our class. We make power points, 3-D relief maps, put on plays, create tornados, make Native American crafts, and so much more!
All the masses are good because they aren’t rushing and trying to get the mass over with.