FEBRUARY 2016 SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

Notre Dame High School

Senior Luke Mullin became a 3-time State Champion in Wrestling. The Team placed 6th in the State and earned the Region Championship.

The Boys' Basketball Team won the District Championship.

The Football Cheerleading Squad had three 1st place wins at competitions in Chattanooga, Atlanta, and Birmingham.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

Congratulations to OLPH 7th Grader William Meagher who has once again qualified for the State level of the National Geographic Bee. William was among only 100 students from across the state who qualified and he will represent OLPH on Friday, April 1, on the TSU Campus in Nashville, competing for a spot at the nationals.

Lady Rams finished the 2016 Varsity Basketball season third in the tournament and second overall in the regular season standings in their division! Congratulations to Georgia Wolf and Kenzie Campbell for being selected to the All-Conference Team! Way to go Lady Rams! What a great season!

OLPH kicked off Catholic Schools week with a Spiritual Pep Rally, and continued through the week with traditional events like the spelling bee, Crazy Hat and Sock Day, food collection for St. Vincent dePaul Society, volunteer appreciation Brunch, and the 8th grade vs Faculty Volleyball. In addition, this year we provided a brunch for 5th and 6th grade students and Deanery priests, held a patriotic prayer service to honor our service men and women, and topped off the week with a flash mob dance by our very own teachers!

St. Jude School

Students, Teachers and Family alike celebrated the gift of Catholic Parochial Education during Catholic Schools Week. We had a visit from Bishop Stika, Character Day, a visit from Notre Dame High School, an Ice Cream Social, an all school Rosary in celebration of the Year of Mercy, a Pep Rally and a Peanut Butter collection for the Community Kitchen. 7O and 4S won our door decorating contest and the morning "St. Jude Trivia" game was a hit! Our BETA club treated the regular attendees of daily Mass to a special breakfast and then took selfies with them!!

Chatti Gras capped off a great Catholic Schools Week as over 400 parents from St. Jude, OLPH and Notre Dame celebrated at the Chattanoogan with dinner, dancing, auction, and casino games. An announcement regarding proceeds will be announced soon and will be split evenly between the 3 schools and the Chattanooga Deanery Operating Fund.

St. Jude School hosted the smaller school ISC Middle School Basketball Tournament and both the St. Jude Boys and Girls teams won after several very hard fought games.

Knoxville Catholic High School

On February 1, nearly 450 students attend the AP Interest Meeting for the 2016-2017 school year. The number of students taking AP courses each year is on the rise and our students will attest that the benefits from taking these courses are numerous. Congratulations to the following five student athletes who signed letters of intent at a ceremony held on February 3 to continue in their sport at the college level. They are: Renѐe Semaan: Austin Peay University (Women's Soccer). Paige Merry: University of Alabama at Birmingham (Women's Soccer). Will Hunse: Virginia Military Institute (Men's Soccer). Logan Punch: University of Tennessee (Football). Austin Rowan: East Tennessee State University (Football). The Course Selection process for the 2016-2017 began with grade level meetings on February 11. Course Selection days are March 1-8.

Congratulations to the Irish swimmers and divers who wrapped up an amazing state meet, finishing 10th overall and 10th in the men’s division out of over 125 teams. Alec Connolly was State Champion in the 100 free and 4th in the 50 free, while Natalie Widmer was 8th in the IM and 7th in the 500 free. Addison Bond was 15th in the 100 free. The boys relay team of Alex Connolly, Luke Connolly, Addison Bond and Julian Nosarzewski finished 10th in the Medley Relay and 5th in the 200 Free Relay. The girls team of Libby Penn, Faith Barre, Liza Barre and Natalie Widmer finished 16th in the 200 Free Relay. Gill McMillan also aided the team with a strong 12th place finish in the 1-meter diving. Congratulations to Cross Country runner Johnathan Chavez for winning the two-mile at the UK High School Invitational. His time broke the school record by 9 seconds, qualified him for the national championships and ranks him 14th in the nation. The KCHS robotics Team “the Robotichauns” finished first in offensive goals for the qualification matches, and in 13th place overall at the 13th Annual Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Myrtle Beach, SC on February 24-26. The team lost in the quarter finals to the alliance that won the regional, but won the Hard Hat award for safety.

Parent/Teacher Conferences were held on Friday, February 26, with great parent attendance.

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

Catholic Schools Week 2016

Sacred Heart Cathedral School had an amazing time celebrating Catholic Schools Week.

Our 1st Annual Chili Cook-off followed by Parish Appreciation Day was a great way to start

the week. On Parent Appreciation Day we shared in a beautiful all-school rosary. On

Student Appreciation Day students were treated to ice cream in the cafeteria and the bonus

of no homework! The Talent Show on Thursday was a blast, featuring over 30 acts from

students grades Kindergarten through 8th. We finished off the amazing week by celebrating

Mass with Bishop Stika and were able to spend time with him in classrooms followed by

the 4th Annual SHCS Olympics to close out the week. We are all so grateful at Sacred Heart

to have the opportunities to experience all that a Catholic education has to offer!

Thanks to Knox County Sheriff’s Department

On February 19, we celebrated All School Mass for the intentions of the Knox County Sheriff

Department officers who served our community so generously during the fall. We are all so

fortunate to have such exemplary civil servants in Knox County! Sacred Heart Cathedral

School was blessed to have members of the Knox County Sheriff’s Department generously

volunteer their time to assist families enter and exit the campus from September 2015

through Christmas Break. Their services kept campus traffic fluid and enabled construction

of the new Cathedral to progress at a rapid pace.

Pennies for Haiti

Thank you to all teachers, students, and parents for their generous participation in our

penny drive for Haiti. As a school, we collected enough change and bills to completely fill 16

containers full to the brim! A winner from each grade level range was awarded with an out

of uniform day. The total amount from our Sacred Heart penny drive was an incredible

$2757.69.

NJHS

Congratulations to the 58 students inducted into the National Junior Honor Society

yesterday for their hard work, achievement and service. "We celebrate your

accomplishments and rejoice with you. You have an obligation to continue to show

scholarship by caring about learning and working with diligence; to serve by putting

others’ needs before your own; to lead by setting an example and initiating ways to

improve your school and community; to show character by taking the hard path, the right

one, not the easy path; to show citizenship by caring deeply for your community (school,

home, city, state, country, world) and by showing others that sincere care is a virtue. Our

devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus helps us remember that we are asked to love

humanity, as Jesus did." ~ excerpt from Mr. Breen's remarks to students.

Building the Cathedral

Kindergarten had a very special visit from Father David where he shared pictures and

discussed the hows and whys of what it means to build a Cathedral for our community. It

was exciting morning full of questions and boundless enthusiasm for the project!

SHCS Retired Teacher Luncheon

It was great fun to host a luncheon for some former SHCS teachers on February 26th! As

they toured and had lunch, they had a chance to visit with former colleagues and to see five

former students-- Sacred Heart alums who are now SHCS teachers! Including Mrs Connie

Schmidt, still on SHCS staff, these ladies in the photo have about 115 combined years of

teaching at Sacred Heart. It was so good to have them home! Jan Byers, Carol Curry, Kay

Nowinski, Libby Talley, Connie Schmidt, and Nancy Ohlweiler Cundall.

Mentorship Program

During Catholic Schools Week Mr. Breen, Father Joe, and the Mentoring Committee

expanded the Middle School Mentor program with the goal of furthering the development

of our students' academic, social, and leadership potential by introducing the new House

System. The 20 mentors and their student groups have been grouped within one of four

larger "Houses." These houses are named after each of the Evangelists - Matthew, Mark,

Luke, and John. At house meetings the activities focus on fun, spirit, community, and

service. We are all so inspired by the opportunity to continue to grow and learn together!

St. John Neumann School

Catholic Schools Week Fun - Community & Career Fair, Gingerbread Man Play (community outreach field trip), visit from Bishop Stika on Western Day, Color Wars, etc. These are just a few of the many fun events that we enjoyed while celebrating the gift of Catholic education. We want to express our great appreciation to all of our parents for helping us make Catholic Schools Week fantastic! What makes SJNCS such an incredible place to learn and grow is the cooperation between home and school for the benefit of the children. Thank you again for all that you do to support SJNCS in its mission of Catholic education.

2016 Ponytail Donations - Thank you to all the wonderful ladies who selflessly donated their hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths this year. You look marvelous! We'd also like to extend a special thank you to Belleza hair salon for providing haircuts to all the girls who donated hair this year. Pantene Beautiful Lengths provides human hair wigs to cancer patients around the world. This exciting annual event always takes place during Catholic Schools’ Week.

SJNCS Snowy Day - Check out this AWESOME video taken on February 12, 2016 of SJN School & Church courtesy of Ben Satterfield! What a wonderful testament to the beauty of our campus and the blessing of being part of this school and church community! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOzkEmu2Z74&feature=em-upload_owner

$500 Grant Awarded to SJNCS in support of Math Program - SJNCS is proud to be a recipient of the 2015-16 ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Grant Award. This grant money will be used to support the purchase of materials from the Mountain Math program for our Kindergarten through fourth grade classrooms. This year round supplemental, spiral review math program will help support our students in reviewing math concepts and maintaining math proficiency throughout the year. Many thanks go out to CrossAmerica Partners and ExxonMobil for supporting our efforts to incite a love and deeper understanding of math in our students.

St. Joseph School

Catholic Schools Week – February 1-5 Monday SJS students shared their gifts at our School Talent Show!

Tuesday Our Staff defeated our 8th Graders in the Annual Volleyball Match and our Varsity Boys and Girls Basketball teams showed off their skills in a mixed exhibition game.

Wednesday Our Middle School students took part in our Annual Saint Albert the Great Science Fair

Thursday Our school brought warmth to our community through a Coat Drive for the Ladies of Charity.

Friday Crazy hats were worn by all!

Lady Bulldogs KISL Champions – February 5 The girls' varsity basketball team finished their spectacular season with a 26-0 record after defeating King's Academy 23-17 at Freedom Christian Academy. Congratulations to our girls and to their coach, Mr. Seth Mofield. Thanks also to our awesome Cheerleading squad for making every game a HOME game for our teams and to our parents and fans who are always supportive of our athletic programs.

Mardi Gras SJS Benefit – February 6 Our Annual Dinner and Auction event raised over $40,000 for programming for our school. Special thanks to all who helped make the event a success!

Ash Wednesday – February 10 – Lenten Observance We began our Lenten observance with an all-school Mass on Ash Wednesday with Father Jerry Tulley, C.S.P. presiding and Deacon Patrick Murphy-Racey assisting. Father Tulley's homily reminded us that the ashes we bore on our foreheads call to mind not just our sin, but God's plan to conquer it from our very beginning - when God took the dust of the earth to create Adam - and our final end - when our bodies are returned to the ground to await Jesus' gift of Resurrection! Our students will have the opportunity to pray the Stations of the Cross each Friday at school during this holy season and to focus their almsgiving efforts on the CRS Rice Bowl campaign. Principal-for-the-Day Coleman Sharp – February 18 An auction item from our Mardi Gras event – Coleman Sharp served as Principal-for-the-Day. Here’s how it went: After Mass and some core lessons, Principal Sharp began his day dealing with some minor discipline issues, then helped a few 8th Grade boys defeat members of the reigning KISL Champion Lady Bulldogs at recess. He spent some time cooling down in the office and making plans, especially in regards to what to order from Chik-fil-A for lunch, how to benefit his 2nd Grade classmates, and how to give the whole school a reasonable amount of extra recess. After a brief meeting with Father Chris Michelson in the parking lot, Mr. Mofield and Mr. Gensheimer helped deliver his lunch and it was enjoyed alongside our Primary Teachers in the Staff Lounge. When asked if he thought eating in the Lounge was cool, he replied, "Well, I ate in here last year when I was Principal, so I'm not that impressed." His chocolate milkshake in hand, he proceeded to the gym for Phys. Ed where he made and betrayed countless alliances with unsuspecting 8th Graders in Scatterball - a game for which he has a particular skill. After touring some classrooms and sending a few emails, Principal Sharp called for a Tornado Drill - giving us good practice for upcoming spring weather. He rejoined his classmates briefly at the end of the day for Gym, before choosing two friends to lead prayer on the Afternoon Announcements. It was a great day!

Parent-Teacher Conferences – February 18-19 Thank you to our parents for participating in our Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences. Our Mission Statement begins with the Church teaching that guides our practice at Saint Joseph School - "in cooperation with parents..." We are honored to help parents, the primary educators of our students, in their mission to bring children to a full life in Christ! Rosary for Life with Bishop Stika – February 25 On Thursday, our Middle School students prayed the Rosary for Life with Bishop Stika across the street from Planned Parenthood of Knoxville. Several of our 7th & 8th Graders lead the Luminous Mysteries. The event was part of the Diocese of Knoxville's 40 Days for Life Campaign of providing a prayerful and peaceful witness to the sanctity of human life - the foundation of all social justice. Below is a message from Mr. Paul Simoneau, diocesan Director of the Office of Justice and Peace: Dear Saint Joseph School, Thank you for your help in bringing such a great Catholic witness to Cherry Street! When our youth stand on the sidewalk and pray, it is a witness like no other and it says more than any sign we might hold! God bless you and all you do for the Gospel of Life!

St. Mary School – Oak Ridge

Catholic Schools Week continued through the first week of February. Our

Middle school students demonstrated their appreciation for our Parish by cleaning the church on Monday. Our

students were treated to ice cream during lunch on Tuesday for student

appreciation. St. Mary’s entire student body went bowling on Wednesday dressed in their finest Blue and White

attire! Our faculty was treated to a lovely luncheon on Thursday followed by a fun but competitive Volleyball match

with our 8th graders. Go Crusaders! The

week concluded with a school-wide Faith

Rally.

On February 6th we hosted our Mardi Gras Endowment Dinner & Auction. The evening was filled with fantastic Cajun food,

live music, amazing auction items, King Cakes, casino games and fun for all who

attended. The proceeds from the evening will go to the School’s Endowment Fund.

Congratulations to our students in grades 6-8 who recently participated in the 2016 St. Mary’s Science Fair on February 18th. Fifteen of those students received awards for their projects. The winners from each category of Physical and Biological science will attend the Southern Appalachian Science & Engineering Fair (SASEF) at the University of Tennessee in April. We are so proud of the efforts of all of our young scientists!

Physical Sciences: 1st Sydney Mesmer, “Earth Lovin' Oven”; 2nd Amelia Van Berkel, “Water, Water Everywhere, but not a Single Drop to Drink”; 3rd Sarah Tackett, “Pearly Whites”; 4th Ryan Rearden, “Do you hear what I hear?”; 5th Mateo Gorrondona, “You Keep It a Little Warmer in Here” Honorable Mention: Anna Kasemir, “World Wide Whisper”; Ryan Audet, “Ball Bearing and Magnets”

Biological Sciences: 1st Catelyn Krings, “All the Buzz”; 2nd Elizabeth Waltman, “Denature or Die: The Importance of Protein Denaturation for OAS sufferers”; 3rd Joseph Duhamel, “And the Eye Color Is?” ; 4th Ashlyn Riikola, “A Stomach's Worst Enemy”; 5th Jacqueline Audet, “Is that cat fat?”; Honorable Mention: Elliot Barnes, “Hot or Cold: Left or Right”; Paige Halcrow, “Bacteria Counts”; Emmett Brown, “Acid Rain Hurts”

St. Mary’s 8th grade students and Sister Mary Rebekah, O.P. along with Kathy Mesmer and our Young People’s Choir presented the Living Stations of the Cross on Friday, February 26th. Our entire student body was able to prayerfully attend the afternoon presentation and the St. Mary’s Community

had the opportunity to participate at 6:00pm that evening. The students’ portrayal of Christ’s Passion was truly inspiring.

St. Dominic School

Congratulations to SDCS 5th grader Turner Stout for winning the Knights of Columbus Tennessee

State Free Throw Championship in the 11 year old division. This is his third year in a row winning. Turner won the title in a close and exciting contest by hitting 84% from the line.

Catholic Schools Week provided many great “CELEBRATIONS” for our students. Throughout the week our children were presented with examples of success, visions of career opportunities, chances to step outside their comfort zone, and opportunities to serve others. Kingsport Mayor

and parishioner, John Clark, delivered a special proclamation in honor of the 70 years Saint Dominic Parish has provided a faith-based education for families in our community. SDCS alumni returned to share their thoughts on the impact Saint Dominic Parish has had on their lives. Dobyns Bennett Junior Air Force ROTC presented the colors as a demonstration of service to America and spoke with our students about service opportunities. The week concluded with “Church Day” where the students and staff spent the day on the Church campus. Children spent the day studying the Year of Mercy through hands on activities.

In celebration of Engineering Week St. Dominic School hosted their seventh annual Math and

ScienceNight.Thethemewas“StatesofMatter”andincludedactivitiesforpre-school and

elementary school students. Over 70 students and their families enjoyed a night of hands on

activities.

Principal for a Day: Recently

Kindergarten student Ellenor Taylor had

the honor of being Principal for a day.

She demonstrated a heart for service by

asking for donations in support of our

local animal shelter.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~Leo Buscaglia SDCS is blessed to have many volunteers who continue to give unselfishly of their time, talent and treasures. We honored our “angels” with a Volunteer Appreciation Lunch in February.

St. Mary School – Johnson City

Our St. Mary’s students are now opera buffs! ETSU Opera Workshop presented scenes from their upcoming production, “The Magic Flute” and educated us on opera. This was to help us celebrate Catholic Schools Week. During Catholic School Week we also experienced Crazy Sock Day, Pajama Day and our Faith Rally with Adoration and the blessing of our Mercy Doors. Our St. Mary’s Science Fair was February 22nd – 25th with an Open House for our parents, parishioner and friends on the evening of February 25th.