Congratulations to : Andalushia Reilly, Linda Ashby, Nathan Kirsch, Janneselle Umalin, Briana Patterson, Chuckie Rakackzy, Andres Recalde, Erin Sheedy

98th Graduating Class

The American Legion Awards for Scholarship and Citizenship from Frank R. Kirk Post 145 were awarded to 8th graders Julian Bonds and Ana Petrak. Commander Carl Smith and Auxiliary President Barbara John reminded the recipients that the virtues of Honor, Courage, Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Americanism, which the award recognizes, are the foundation upon which our country was founded and are the virtues which must be fostered for our country to remain strong. Christian Leadership awards were presented to Maggie Leone, Sara Szymanski, Luke Rattay, and Harrison Klein. Recipients of both awards were chosen by vote of the students and the St. Philip Faculty. Eric Ashby, Ana Petrak, Jimmy Hurley, Luke Rattay, Sara Szymanski, Julian Bonds received the Principal’s Award for a perfect 4.0 average all 4 quarters this year. A reception for the students and their parents followed the graduation. The 46 graduates honored that night will attend Bishop Canevin, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Oakland Catholic, Central Catholic, Brashear, Sci Tech Academy, Montour, Carlynton, Seton LaSalle, City High, and North Hills with 78% choosing Catholic High School.

As a culmination of learning in reading this year, the children in 2A designed props and performed a Reader’s Theatre presentation of Swimmy, a Caldecott Award winner, written by famed author Leo Lionni.  The story is the final reading selection of the year for this class and is a beloved classic of children’s literature.  When learning through Readers Theatre, students develop fluency through multiple readings of the text by using expressiveness, intonation, and inflection when rehearsing the text.  Most exciting for the students is the chance to “perform” for the other children in the primary grades.  Using the story vocabulary describing the animals’ bodies and actions, to make the animals look and move in a life-like way, is evidence of the progress children have made in reading since the beginning of the year.   And with an ocean theme, it was a perfect way to end a wonderful year and head toward summer! 

Congratulations to Maggie Leone and  Ana Petrak who represented our school and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 at the PA State Middle School Computer Fair in Carlisle. The girls created a Web site chronicling
our Fairchild Challenge Ecology Project complete with their own graphic designs!

Students in the second grade were treated to a visit from Verna McGinley, better known to the children as the “Critter Lady”, of Creative Environmental Education.  Tying in directly to the second grade science curriculum, Verna brings much experience and expertise about all things “creepy and crawly” and reaches the children right at the level of their understanding.  For this visit, Mrs. McGinley brought some of her reptiles and amphibians to St. Philip School and dazzled the children with her knowledge about each.  Nina and Norman, 47+ year old turtles, Slymantha, a large salamander, a Corn snake, a large toad, and a legless lizard were just a few of the treats for the children to pet or hold.  Seems every animal has a special story of how it came to be cared for by Mrs. McGinley, with most being brought to or rescued by her.  Money garnered from her visits helps Mrs. McGinley to fund the proper care and rehabilitation of the animals.  She works closely with a trusted veterinarian who helps her to give the best chance to each animal.  Some return to the wild, some to zoos or private owners.  But, many stay with Mrs. McGinley and receive wonderful care while helping children and adults alike to learn more about God’s creation.