What a busy week at St. Ephrem Catholic Academy. It all really began last Saturday as our 2nd grade received their first penance. On Sunday, we had a record turnout for the Bay Ridge St. Patrick's Day parade. Thank you to all that marched, we had great weather and a great time. The week had just begun as we went into Monday set for a stellar week of learning and activities. As all weeks of school, there were bumps along the way but our students ended the week with the annual Hoop It Up competition. Next week brings the NYS ELA test for the 4th, 6th, and 7th grades. Our students have historically performed exceptionally well and we expect continued success, but while we are proud of their work we don't want to over stress you or your children. The results are great for us but personally they are best as a tool to understand where we can improve. Enjoy the weekend and see you all Monday.
Eagle
St Ephrem
St. Ephrem marches together
St. Ephrem Catholic Academy stephremacademy.org 718-833-1440
Last Sunday, St. Ephrem Catholic Academy joined forces with our great sports program to march in the Bay Ridge St. Patrick's Day Parade. 41 students joined us to march which is an amazing 20% of our entire school. We had a great time celebrating our Irish decedents and friends while supporting our school. The after party at the school featured traditional Irish food, music and dance. Hopefully, we can do something similar for the Memorial Day parade to celebrate our great nation and the ideals and traditions that bring us all together as Americans while honoring those that gate the last full measure of devotion to us all.
principal's DESK
Issue 18 | Volume 1 | March 30th 2019
The penitent man shall pass
Our Lab Learners program starts young with our Pre-K students. Their experience here at this age will allow them to better understand the natural world around them and give them the skills they need to perform more sophisticated lab work as they grow. This week, the Pre-K took to the lab to learn about the growth of the Lima bean. Through hands on work and observation they will begin to discover that all living things grow just as they do and that they are a part of a bigger world of nature ruled by the immutable law of physics. We are but a small part of the vast universe but even from the smallest things we can open the dorrways to the largest ideas.
Our second grade took a great leap in the faith as they received their first penance. We joined together to celebrate our young students receive their first sacrament of healing. Throughout our lives we do things that we regret and sometimes we do things that injure our relationship with God. As Catholics, we can repair that relationship through acknowledging those transgressions and being truly sorry for them. We have faith that our sins are forgiven and our relationship with the Lord is fully healed as the forgiveness of God is infinite. So while our little 2nd graders haven't done much to atone for, they are learning the forgiving nature of the Lord for a life time. Congratulations.
Issue 18 | Volume 1 | 2019
Lab Learners in Pre-k
St. Ephrem Catholic Academy stephremacademy.org 718-833-1440 website.com 555.555.5555
mathletics
Mathletics continues to rule our lower grades as two students received a gold certificate and three others a silver. Along with the 27 bronze certificates it was another successful week of math learning in the digital age. Soon, we will be gearing up for the annual Math Bowl where our students will pit themselves against other schools in a friendly competition of mathematical knowledge. Great job again and good luck! Gold Certificates were awarded to: Molly Merced Thomas Surace Silver Certificates were awarded to: James Jarah Sofia Marchese Hailey Stauffer
There has been much criticism of the high stakes testing that takes place each year in NYS and the common core standards that they test. In Catholic schools, we test our students at different times and for different reason than the public schools. We test in the 4th, 6th and 7th grades. These tests, of which we are very proud of our students results, are not used as measures of success or means of promotion to the next grade. We use these tests and the back end data that comes with them to ensure that we, as a school, are teaching our students what they need to know. The tests are simply a metric of the job we are doing, not the students. We want our students to take the tests seriously so that we have a better understanding of what we do well and what we need to work on. So don't stress the test, simply take it seriously and do your best.
What dreams may come
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nys testing, it might not be what you think
Our art teacher, Mrs. Parchment, has begun a new club this Friday. The mural club will work to bring a new vibrancy to our school's walls through the painting of murals that will display the neighborhood and spirit of our school. Their first project, a vision of a sunrise over the Verrazzano's Narrows Bridge commenced on Friday. What you see here is just a draft of what will be a full color mural inspiring our students each day to forget past mistakes and start each day anew. We hope to have many new murals and inspirational words fill our building in the coming months and years as we grow to encompass more and more people like you, devoted to a better education for their children.
