The Choice to Act Lovingly

April 13, 2017

When we began our Lenten Journey, we talked about using this liturgical season to do three things:

  1. Pray a little more: to spend more time with God in the depths of our hearts.
  2. Help others a little more: especially those who are in real need. 
  3. Fast a little: to give up (or fast from) something. 


St. Philippine Duchesne Elected to St. Louis Walk of Fame

April 12, 2017

Sister Glavin recently received the exciting news that St. Philippine Duchesne has been elected to the St. Louis Walk of Fame! The induction event will take place on Friday, June 23, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, at 11:30 a.m. at her star and plaque, 6241 Delmar in The Loop. A ragtime band will play before and after the star and plaque are unveiled. All are welcome to attend.

What a fun and engaging event to add to the slate of bicentennial activities getting underway this summer!


Stations of the Cross

April 11, 2017

Today some of our Middle School students led a traditional Holy Week devotion, the Stations of the Cross, which commemorate our Lord’s Passion and Death. Sixth Class students led the morning Stations of the Cross, and Fifth Class students the afternoon’s. Classes 1–8 were invited to attend. 


The Fire of Learning

April 6, 2017

The hallways have been unusually quiet this week as many of our students have been engaged in taking some standardized assessments each morning.

We use the ERB (Educational Records Bureau) for student assessments in grades 3–7. The reason we use the ERB is because, in our experience and estimation, they are:

  • Sufficiently challenging
  • Thorough in assessing application of knowledge
  • Informative in the data provided, which is used for curriculum review


Super Speller

March 23, 2017

Congratulations to Rishi Tarapareddy, Fifth Class, who competed in the finals of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 18. Rishi was out in the fifth round with the word “roturier,” and the winner was declared in the seventh round. Great job, Rishi!   
[St. Louis Post-Dispatch photo]


Super Speller

March 17, 2017

Our school Spelling Bee champion, Rishi Tarapareddy, has qualified to compete in the oral bee at McKendree University on Saturday, March 19. Congrats to Rishi, and best of luck to him in this next level of competition! Find his name in this list of finalists.


7th and 8th Girls Expand their Horizons

March 17, 2017

Extracting DNA from a strawberry, mixing chemicals, creating a volcanic eruption, tracking turtles in Forest Park, and learning how to evaluate and care for athletes were just a few of the topics presented by female scientists during “Expanding Your Horizons,” a STEM conference for girls held March 13 at Florissant Valley Community College. The focus of the conference was to engage young women in experiences to spark an interest in STEM activities and careers—and our Seventh and Eighth Class girls were receptive to the message!

The keynote speaker highlighted the need for women in STEM fields and encouraged young women to develop 21st century skills of collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, communication and coding. She encouraged the girls to be problem solvers, to invest in themselves, to step up and get involved, to challenge themselves and to not be afraid. Hands-on workshops conducted by St. Louis area scientists followed.


Clothing and Shoe Drive

March 16, 2017

Spring is a great time to clean out your closets! If you have clothes or shoes that need new homes, consider donating them to our Clothing and Shoe Drive. Shoe donations will benefit the Shoeman Water Project to build wells in developing countries. Clothing will be donated to those in need. Bundle clothes and shoes in separate trash bags, please.


Academic Bowl Success

March 16, 2017

Congratulations to our Seventh Class team on their second place finish in St. Dominic High School’s Academic Bowl on March 7. They were one of 12 teams competing in the Large School category; 22 teams participated in all. Well done, Seventh Class team members Brian, Ismael, Matthew, Paul, Nathan, Charlie, Matthew and Ansel!


Perfect Scores

March 14, 2017

Two Academy students received a perfect score in the second of three meets in this year’s WordMasters Challenge—a national vocabulary competition involving nearly 150,000 students annually.

Competing in the Gold Division, SIxth Class students Jaye McNeil and Christine Mwangi each earned a perfect score of 20 on the challenge—an accomplishment achieved by only 18 sixth graders in the nation! Another Academy student, Marian Cooley, also achieved an outstanding result with a score of 19. Students were coached in preparation for the WordMasters Challenge by Mrs. Laura Craig.


A Space Inside for God

March 9, 2017

Dear Parents,

As we each continue our Lenten journey, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on the purpose of the traditional Lenten invitations to prayer, alms and fasting. That purpose is: To carve out a space inside of ourselves for God.

To create that inner space, we are asked to let go of something:

  • In the Lenten invitation to more prayer, we are asked to let go of our over-activity, thus creating an inner silence in which God might commune with or communicate to us more easily.
  • In the Lenten invitation to more alms, we are asked to let go of something material to which we are attached, leaving an opening in our heart for God’s Spirit to swoop in.
  • In the Lenten invitation to more fasting, we are asked to let go of some habit which is not always healthy (it could be the habit of indulging in chocolate or it could be the habit of indulging in gossip). And, again, the very act of letting go of a habit creates a conscious space in our actions and routines, thus, allowing God more time and attention in our lives as we redirect those routines and habits in other directions.

I pray that we are allowing more spaces in our minds, in our hearts and in our wills for the God who wants and waits to fill us to overflowing.

May your Lenten Journey continue to be God-filling,

—Maureen Glavin, rscj