 Sr. Joan Stoverink, ASC, of the Good Shepherd class of 1966, was honored at the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, January 31, 2010, as the 2010 Good Shepherd Catholic School NCEA Distinguished Graduate. Fr. Chris Holtmann, pastor or Good Shepherd Parish, presented the award to her and thanked her for her work in Catholic education.
The award is presented to a graduate "who exemplifies the highest qualities of Catholic Education and has rendered distinguished service to the Catholic Church and the United States of America."
Sr. Joan taught for 25 years in Catholic elementary schools, and now serves as Pastoral Assistant and Director of Religious Education at two small parishes in the Belleville Diocese in Illinois. She also assists with RCIA, liturgy planning, sacramental preparation, pastoral visiting and more. In her words, "The variety of experiences keeps me busy and happy. God wants us to be happy, and I am!"
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 In December, St. Simon School and St. Cecilia School and Academy completed the Saint Louis Symphony's 16-week Adopt-A-School program. Bringing an intensive music curriculum geared toward second grade students, Adopt-A-School focuses on the symphony orchestra, classical music, and basic musical skills and concepts. The Saint Louis Symphony also provides resources and performance/ concert opportunities to introduce classical music to students. Real instruments are brought to the schools during the program to give students the experience of trying out the instruments they see and hear when they visit the Saint Louis Symphony.
Pictured below are students from St. Cecilia School participating in the program:
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Best-selling author Ridley Pearson made a visit to St. James the Greater School in Dogtown on January 19. His works include 37 books, one of which is the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer. Mr. Pearson has also co-authored (along with Dave Barry) a series of novels that explain the beginnings of Peter Pan. The first novel in this series, Peter and the Star Catchers, spent 47 weeks on the New York Times Children’s Bestseller List.
During his visit, Mr. Pearson conducted a highly interactive and entertaining writing workshop with fifth through eighth grade students. He demonstrated to the students that much of the work in writing involves ‘re-writing’. “I can write a book fairly quickly,” he said. “But, it’s never very good the first time around. Most of my time is spent re-writing what I have already written and getting it just right.” He also encouraged the students to use descriptive language. Students wrote four or five sentences describing the face of a well-known celebrity. Mr. Pearson read some of these sentences aloud, and the students had to name the celebrity based on the description alone. “They did a good job!” he said.
Novelist Ridley Pearson with students from St. James the Greater School. The students are holding signed copies of Mr. Pearson’s latest books.
In preparation for his visit, St. James students read two Ridley Pearson novels for young adults – The Kingdom Keepers and Steel Trapp. Students discussed the content of these books with the author during a question and answer session. At the conclusion of the event, Mr. Pearson signed each child’s book.
Fifth grade student Amanda Isom exclaimed, “It was so much fun! I loved it. I had already read both Kingdom Keeper books and loved them. I can’t believe I just met the author!” Language Arts Coordinator Linda Colvis added, “The students were really engaged throughout the entire workshop. Ridley Pearson kept the course light-hearted and fun. He also did a fabulous job emphasizing the writing process and reiterating what we teachers tell our students daily – the best products are created after they’ve been written, re-written, and written again.”
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The 22nd annual Archdiocesan Student Art Exhibit will take place at area malls from January 31 through February 4, 2010 Catholic Schools Week. Eight area malls will host displays of over 1000 pieces of elementary, secondary and special education schools student work, spotlighting the visual arts program in our Catholic Schools, and promoting support of Fine Arts. The following schools will be displaying art work at these malls:
Archdiocesan Student Art Exhibits (1/31 – 2/4/10)
Chesterfield, Ascension, Barat Academy, Gateway Academy, Holy Infant, Incarnate Word Elementary, Most Sacred Heart- Eureka, St. Alban Roe, St. Clare of Assisi, St. Joseph - Cottleville, St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, St. Monica
St. Louis Galleria (1/31 – 2/4/10)
Annunziata, Chaminade College Prep, Christian Brothers College, John F. Kennedy High School, St. James the Greater, St. Joseph's Academy, St. Peter - Kirkwood, Ursuline Academy
St. Louis Mills (1/24 – 2/4/10)
Assumption - O'Fallon, Holy Spirit, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Norbert, St. Peter - St. Charles
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