Celebrating Those That Serve
Saint Patrick Catholic School is honored to have been chosen as a 2023-2024 Virginia Distinguished Purple Star School!
The Virginia Purple Star Designation is awarded to military-friendly schools that have demonstrated a major commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military. Close to 40% of our Wolfhound students are military connected, so we, the Saint Patrick community, recognize their sacrifice as well. Military-connected refers to children of service members on active duty and in the National Guard and Reserves.
The Purple Star program is designed to help schools respond to the educational and social-emotional challenges military-connected children face during their transition to a new school while keeping them on track to be high school, college, workforce, and life-ready. We are honored and humbled that so many military families have chosen Saint Patrick Catholic School for their children. Whether they spend two years or ten years with us, they will always have a home here and will forever be Wolfhounds!
On Thursday, November 9 we held our annual Veteran’s Day ceremony to honor all our servicemen and women (past and present) that lead by example as true servant leaders. Who better to teach our children the meaning of living one’s faith through courageous and selfless service to others than our military? Organized by Fifth Grade teacher and military spouse Brigid Barrineau, several of our military-connected students led this special ceremony. Third through Eighth Grade students were joined by parents and grandparents who are active duty or retired members of our military as we celebrated the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Space Force. After honoring each branch of the United States military, a single rose and candle were placed on the stage to honor all those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. To close out the program, Retired Rear Admiral and current Saint Patrick Catholic School board member Kevin Sweeney talked about his experience in the Navy, his calling to serve, and the many ways he has continued to support and guide the United States military even after retiring from active duty.
Our entire Saint Patrick Catholic School community is deeply grateful for the many sacrifices made by those in the military and by their families in order to protect and serve our country. We keep all of them in our prayers and hearts as we try to follow their examples.
