St. Mary`s Bellevue Alumni Newsletter

St. Mary’s Bellevue Alumni Newsletter
Principal: Mrs. Cheryl Castle
Winter 2013
Alumni Chairs: Joanna (Jungers) Lee (’89)
Janet (Jungers) Yale (’91)
Principal’s News
Welcome to the 2013-2014 School Year!
It is hard to believe we are well into this exciting school year! St. Mary’s School had
many updates over the summer. We have brand new tile in the main hallway! The shiny,
new tile makes the hallway look so bright and cheerful. We also have new carpet in Mrs.
Embury’s new third grade room (former PK room) and the secretary’s office. We would
like to thank the Home and School Association for the new carpet.
We have been working on accreditation through AdvancED and our external team visit
was held September 9 and 10. The team came to St. Mary’s and spent two days
observing our staff and students in action as well as talking to teachers, students,
parents, and parish members. We are looking forward to the team meeting with the
school staff to share their findings. They will recognize the strengths of St. Mary’s School
as well as make one or two recommendations for school improvement. We will then take
action to complete the recommendations and begin to plan our next cycle of school
improvement.
Contents
Principal’s News
1
Benefit Auction
2
Teacher’s Spotlight
2
Alumni Spotlights
3
Spartan Sports News
3
Adopt – A - Student
4
Upcoming
Events
♦
♦
♦
December 20-Jan
5 – Christmas
Break
Jan 27-31 2014
Catholic Schools
Week
April 5, 2014
Spring for the
Children Benefit
Auction
In September, we began a HOUSE program designed for middle school students. We have
borrowed the idea from other schools that have had great success with the program. The
middle school teachers/specials teachers divide the middle school students into small
groups or a house. A teacher sponsors a house. Each house has a saint’s name and the
teacher and students study the saint and use the saint as a role model throughout the
year. Each house meets on Friday afternoons and activities include practicing social
skills, discussing how school is going, team building, and a few activities that are just for
fun. Each month, assigned house members, along with Student Council representatives
meet with Mrs. Castle to discuss ideas they have for the school. The goal of the HOUSE
program is building relationships with peers and teachers and providing a support system
for the middle school students.
We would like to welcome Miss Erin Daisley to St. Mary’s teaching staff. Miss Daisley
teaches 7th and 8th grade math and middle school science. Miss Daisley has been a
teacher for two years. She taught at St. James School in St. Joseph, MO and one year at
St. Stanislaus in Omaha. We are excited to have her join our faculty.
Miss Nicole Koster is serving as director for the St. Mary’s extended day program. Miss
Nicole completed her director training program this summer and began her new position
as director on August 1. The extended program will serve students, ages 4-13.
We continue to work on our Catholic Identity goal this year. This year we have received
an OAEF grant for our Sewing for Seniors project. The purpose of the project is to serve
seniors in care centers who may need someone to make small repairs on clothing such as
sewing on buttons, putting in hems, or fixing small tears. The project will also include
using grant money to shop at thrift stores to purchase good used clothing for seniors who
do not have family members to assist them. A portion of the grant money will be used to
bus our students to the care center to meet the seniors and build relationships with the
seniors we are assisting.
We are looking forward to continued growth in faith and service to others. Our focus will
be on helping each child develop their unique God-given gifts.
God Bless,
Cheryl Castle
Principal St. Mary’s School
Page 2 of 4
St. Mary’s School Bellevue
“The mission of St.
Mary’s Catholic
School is to assist
parents, the
primary educators
of their children,
to educate and
nurture students
to develop and use
their unique gifts
to become
educated,
responsible,
communityminded, Catholic
adults.”
Alumni Newsletter
Spring for the Children Benefit & Auction
The 20th Annual Spring for the Children Benefit Auction will be held on
Saturday April 5, 2014 at the Livestock Exchange Building in Omaha. This is St.
Mary’s School’s largest fundraiser of the year. The event features a silent
auction, dinner, drinks, a live auction and fellowship with friends new and old.
The 2013 event proved to be our most successful auction to date bringing in
$81,098. That total was a 21% increase from the previous year.
The 2014 auction is being co-chaired by Craig & Dané (Huck ’86) Ames, Ed &
Joanna (Jungers ’89) Lee and Janet (Jungers ’91) Yale. Preparations are
underway and committees are being formed. If you are interested in donating
items for the auction they may be dropped off at the school or contact one of
the co-chairs to arrange assistance. There are also opportunities for ad space in
our auction catalog and corporate sponsorship packages. Volunteers are also
needed in many areas of planning and preparation for the event. Keep an eye on
the auction website www.springforthechildren.org for more information and
contact information.
We would love for you to be a part of this exciting and rewarding tradition.
St. Mary’s School Teacher Spotlights
Mrs. Maureen Sobilo * 2nd Grade
Years teaching – 23 Years at St. Mary’s – 23
Family – Been married 40 years to my husband Dave; Daughter Kelly; Son
Sean.
Enjoys Most about St. Mary’s – Having the opportunity to share my faith as
I teach. I love preparing the students for Reconciliation and Eucharist.
What sets St. Mary’s apart from other schools – It’s like a family. I have
taught many children of the same families throughout my years here and
now are seeing their children at church.
Why do you choose to teach at St. Mary’s – It’s my small part of giving
back– I received a Catholic education myself.
Something else – I love to travel and read. I spent 8 ½ years living in
Germany. I was born in New York and left there in 1973. I also lived in
California, Arizona and New Jersey.
Mrs. Joanne Sjostedt * Spanish & Resource
Years teaching – 19 Years at St. Mary’s – 7
Family – Husband Dave; Children Daniel, Laura, Natalie, Annika & Gabrielle.
Enjoys most about her classes – Exposing the students to other cultures, seeing the
excitement on students faces in class and sharing the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe
during the Christmas season.
What set’s St. Mary’s apart from other schools – Our school families are awesome
and so supportive of the school. We wouldn’t be as strong as we are without support
from our families.
Why do you choose to teach at St. Mary’s – I had always wanted to teach in a
Catholic School after teaching in public schools for 12 years. I wanted to be able to
pray and share my Catholic faith during the day.
St. Mary’s School Bellevue
Alumni Newsletter
Page 3 of 4
Alumni Spotlights
Four seniors on the 2013-14 Bellevue East
Football Team played in the Nebraska State
Football Championship Tournament are St.
Mary’s Alumni. They lost in the first round,
but were proud to be part of this successful
team. Pictured from left: Justin Fuller (’10),
Tommy Walther (’10), Mamer Mamer (’10),
and Michael Cook (’10).
Class of 2013
We would like to welcome the newest members to the St. Mary’s Alumni Association:
Alfred Balamay
Jean-Marie Djidjoho
Michael James
Sara Kepford
Mikayla Sage
Cole Wellman
Juan Chavez Jr.
Marcel Dugas
Joseph Keenan
Maya Lewis
Nick Schnitzer
Shayanne Cornett
James Goetz
Nowa Keita
Danny McMaster
Lauren Traggiai
We asked the recent graduates “How has St.Mary’s helped you to prepare for your future?”
Here are some of their responses:
“It taught me how to challenge myself and reach for my goals.” Sara Kepford
“St. Mary’s has helped me by telling me what I need for High School and what teachers
will expect of me.” Maya Lewis
“It helped me get ready academically, socially, athletically.” Jean-Marie Djidjoho
We want to wish the best of luck to our recent graduates and welcome to the Alumni Family!
Spartan Sports and Club News….
St. Mary's 8th grade girls' volleyball team was very successful this
season. They won first place in the Girls Sports Association league
and then ended the 2013 season with a first place win in the CYO
tournament. They played a hard game against St.Philip Neri at Gross
Catholic High School Sunday, Oct. 27th. They won the 1st set (25-23),
lost the 2nd set (22-25) and then won the 3rd set (15-11). It was
exciting to see the girls play as a team! All of their hard work and
dedication this season paid off. Their team consisted of: Megan
Kreps, Maggie Targy, Kellee Halliburton, Maddie Breathnach, Jenna
Bellmeyer, Molly Cloyd, Rene Hasiak, Callie Billings, Ellie Foral,
Maureen Goetz & Maggie Heltzel and coaches: Aimee Buckley and
Jennifer Kreps.
Let us know …
We want to know what is going on in the lives of St. Mary’s Alumni. Please
send any news information, weddings, births, graduations, degrees earned,
accomplishments, etc. to alumni@stmarysbellevue.com. Alumni are frequently
featured on the school’s website www.stmarysschoolbellevue.com. Visit the
site often and see what is going on with fellow alumni.
St. Mary’s School
Bellevue
903 West Mission Ave
Bellevue, NE 68005
Phone:
(402) 291-1694
E-mail:
alumni@stmarysbellevue.
com
We’re on the Web!
We also appreciate you keeping us updated of address or contact info changes
for future mailings.
St. Mary’s School is on Facebook. Like St. Mary’s School Bellevue to follow us.
Adopt – A - Student
Make a Difference … Help Educate Our Tomorrow. Your response will help
ensure St. Mary’s School will continue preparing Christian leaders of the future as
they continue their education in a Christ centered environment. Please consider
helping the parish financially by Adopting-A-Student. Your generosity will
forever impact a child’s life for the better as well as their community. You can
make a difference! For more information please call Cheryl Castle at 402-2911694 or email Cheryl.castle@stmarysbellevue.com
www.stmarysschoolbellevue.com
Thank you to Jackie Ortega for contributing to this
newsletter. If you have any news ideas, please contact
us at alumni@stmarysbellevue.com