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Christmas Celebrations 2012

Each year the Edison and Ford Estates invite area schools to participate in their “Children’s Tree Trail”.  This year’s theme was Edison & Ford Science.  Decorations this year were made by 2nd – 5th graders incorporating the images of Mr. Edison and Mr. Ford with their signature ties as well as super cool science goggles.  “Shrinky Dink” and permanent markers were used to create ornaments with various science vocabulary words and symbols.  Light bulbs completed our theme for the tree topper.  The Edison & Ford Holiday Nights decorations are exhibited throughout the Christmas season from Dec. 1 – Dec. 31.

In addition to the school tree the St. Andrew School Choir was once again invited to sing at the Edison and Ford Estates for the Holiday Nights.  Students performed many classic, new, and fun Christmas selections on December 6th for family, friends, and visitors.

As in years past students enjoyed shopping at the holiday gift shop sponsored by the Home and School Association.  They strolled the aisles for the perfect gifts for family and friends.

This year’s Christmas Pageant was held under the stars in the airnasium.  The St. Andrew Band began the evening with a few selections for gathered family and friends.  Then, students in grades PK – 5 participated with their classes by singing many well loved Christmas songs and hymns.  Drama club students performed the Nativity story in conjunction with the song selections to create a visual picture of the meaning of the Christmas season.

The St. Andrew School Christmas card was chosen and the original design is from 5th grader Rebecca Elia.  Rebecca’s design was duplicated on the official Christmas card that is sent out to our benefactors.  Second place was from Megan McMahon and third place by Sydney Doyle.  Each of the girls received copies of their designs for their families. Congratulations to our artists, and “thank you” to all who participated in the contest.

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“Do the Right Thing” Award presentation at Cape Coral City Hall

Our 5th grade student, Mary Castillo, was honored with an award from the Lee County Homeless Coalition as well as the “Do the Right Thing” award for her volunteer work feeding the poor and providing child care at a Fort Myers soup kitchen. Congratulations to Mary for this great honor!

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Prayer Service Honoring Our Veterans

On Monday, November 17th students gathered for a special prayer service to honor our local Veterans. The St. Andrew chorus serenaded those present with patriotic songs and special prayers were recited commemorating the efforts of the many “American heroes”.  From their examples our students may understand the importance of service to others.

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 Middle School Science Fair

After much hard work middle school students have completed their science fair projects.  The projects have been displayed, judging has commenced, and the winners have been chosen.

And the winners are . . .

First Place:  Yuri Archipov, Chase Bella, Sara Campos, Bianca Dunkle, Nick Roch, and Janice Smith.

Second Place:  Cosette Dunkle, Francesca Fuentes, Emily Koehn, Hannah Marzella, Angelina Silva, and Bryan Smith.

Third Place:  Miles Duca, Corey Heinrich, John Oliva, Carlo Pantoja, and Garrett White.

The six top award recipients will be entered in the Regional Science Fair held at Florida Gulf Coast University.

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November 2012

Lee County Design a Bookmark Contest Honorable Mention Winners - front row – Ella Sarnac, Vanessa Kozacko, Eli Marzella, Hailey Albrecht, Allison Shaw, back row – Mary Castillo, Christiana Hellenbrand, Mrs. Riczo, Faith Wood, Meghan Senes

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Halloween Fun at St. Andrew

October Recognized as Red Ribbon Month with “Make a Difference Day” 

This year marks the first year for St. Andrew Students to recognize “Red Ribbon Awareness Month”.  October is the month dedicated to raising awareness of excellent character building, bullying prevention, and drug free living.  Through the school counseling program students in grades K – 8 have taken part in class lessons and discussions on these subjects. Classes participated in a door decorating contest, with fourth grade winning first place.  Students were also encouraged to enter the “Red Ribbon Poster Contest” to show exemplary ways to live a life of excellence.  The winners of this contest were Sydney Doyle (1st Place), Chase Bella (2nd Place), and Cailtyn Kruse (3rd Place).  On Friday, October 19th, at the usual morning assembly, instead of seeing students dressed in their usual uniforms they were adorned in red shirts and wore ribbons to commemorate living an excellent life.

Mrs. Engle, an ER nurse, was a guest speaker to the eighth graders.  She spoke to the students about adolescent drug use.  She touched on key issues that affect young adults in today’s society and specifically middle school age students.  Students were asked “What is a drug?, What is a Poison?, What are the differences?, What is the most commonly abused drug?, Why should we avoid taking drugs?”  She also shared many interesting statistics addressing adolescents in particular.

Our yearly “Make a Difference Day” fortuitously coincided with “Red Ribbon Month”.  This year students were challenged to “walk a day in someone else’s shoes” and show excellent character development in action.  On Tuesday, Oct. 23rd, students, faculty, and parents met at 7:30 am in the school cafeteria for assignments to venture out to various non-profit agencies across Lee County.  The volunteers spent the morning at work and then joined together at the Cape Coral Yacht Club.   The afternoon was filled with a lunch picnic and middle school retreat with group activities throughout the afternoon.

Some of the locations visited were:

*The Cape Coral and Ft. Myers Soup Kitchens

*Destiny Diapers

*Impact for Kids

*Special Equestrians

*Ronald McDonald House

*Heights Foundation

*Gulf Coast Retirement Village

*Grace Community Church

*Child Care Facilities

The following are some quotes from student volunteers about their experiences.

“I thought my experience was wonderful.  It made me appreciate what I have.”  -  J.C.

“I learned that I’m lucky not to have learning disabilities.”  -  C.

“It was fun and interesting to interact and talk to the residents. . . I liked that we collected blankets for the homeless veterans.  I am very glad I helped and made a difference in their life.”  – H.

“What I did at the (Special) Equestrians was for the good of disabled children. . . The experience was heart warming and full of tremendous fun.”  -  J.

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St. Andrew teams place Second in the Suncoast Jr. High League 2012 Tournament

Congratulations to the girls varsity volleyball team who placed second in the Suncoast Junior High League. The boys varsity soccer team also placed 2nd in the Suncoast Junior High League.  Great job to both teams and coaches for a great season!

Girls Varsity Volleyball Team:  Julia Canzano, Bianca Dunkle, Rebekka Fila, Francesca Fuentes, Caitlyn Gibilisco, Taylor Lukasik, Hannah Marzella, Samantha Massaro, Addison Nugent, Grace Oyer, Madeline Sarnac, Sophia Shahriari, Kelsey Sullivan.

Boys Varsity Soccer Team:  Matthew Aparte, Sergei Archipov, Gage Burrow, Mark Evans, John Martin, Ciro Martinez, Connor Moore, Joey Munroe, Nick Shaw, Nick Trigleth, CJ Trunkett, Tyler Williamson,  Adam Daniels, Miles Duca, Kyle Dos Santos, Karry Hannah, Christian Moore, John Oliva.

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10/5/12 – Our Lady of the Rosary Retreat Day with Second Grade

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10/4/12 – Annual Pet Blessing for St. Francis of Assisi’s Feast Day

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9/26/12  -  Johnny Appleseed Day

Kindergarteners united with their fifth grade buddies to learn about and celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day.  Students paired up and rotated to various learning centers for lots of fun.  The youngest students practiced pattern making with bead stringing, gluing and cutting while making apple men, coloring with worksheets, and storytelling.  The highlight of the day was the apple tasting center.  Each student participated by tasting red, yellow, and green apples.  They then cast their vote for the most “delicious” tasting apple. By graphing their apple choices on the board the clear winner was the green apple!

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9/11/12  -  Prayer Service for Peace that Flows from Love

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8/17/12 – A NEW YEAR WITH A NEW BEGINNING!

Another school year has begun at St. Andrew Catholic School making this our 23rd year of “building in faith, hearts, and minds”.  As with each new school year there are new beginnings, this year St. Andrew welcomes a new principal to lead us into the future.  Mr. David Perry comes to us from Davis, California where he was principal of a PK – 8th grade Catholic School.  He is the first male principal to St. Andrew and his educational background has been formed by the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

The welcome message in the school entrance this year states “Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve”.   This message exemplifies the philosophy that Mr. Perry and the faculty and staff of St. Andrew strive to impart to our children.  May this school year be filled with learning experiences to broaden our minds, and service opportunities to expand our hearts and strengthen our faith.

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New Principle David Perry – Used with permission from the Cape Coral Daily Breeze.

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          To read more about Mr. Perry see

          “New Year and New Principle at St. Andrew Catholic School”

           in the Daily Breeze.

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5/18/12 – Teacher and Student of the Year and Middle School Awards

This year the City of Cape Coral has honored Mrs. Colleen Mattfeld, our second grade teacher, as educator of the year at St. Andrew.  Eighth grader Matthew Honc has been named by the city as student of the year at St. Andrew Catholic School.

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On May 18th the middle school gathered to celebrate the outstanding achievement of fellow students at the middle school awards ceremony.  Recipients are as follows:

6th Grade:  Science – Corey Heinrich & Amanda Kovacs, Religion – Martin Renteria & Bridget Linden, Math – Corey Heinrich & Janice Smith, Language Arts – Chase Bella & Janice Smith, Social Studies – Chase Bella & Hannah Marzella, Literature – John Oliva & Hannah Marzella.

7th Grade:  Science –  Tyler Williamson & Madeline Sarnac, Religion – John Martin & Bianca Dunkle, Math – Gage Burrows & Julia Canzano, Language Arts – Eddie Gibbons & Taylor Lukasik, Social Studies – Nick Trigleth & Taylor Lukasik, Literature – Matthew Aparte & Madeline Sarnac.

8th Grade:  Science – Andrew Vellela & Bianca Ferrara, Religion – Nathan Holmes & Megan Klein, Math – Matthew Honc & Mikayla Otzko, Language Arts – Andrew Vellela & Jeni Schuman, Social Studies – Dane Thomas & Erin Roche, Literature – Matthew Honc & Siobhan Brennan.

The Sister Karinne O’Malley Service Award was awarded to eighth grader Siobhan Brennan.

The Fr. Beattie Non Exident Verot Award was awarded to eighth grader Nathan Holmes.

Congratulations and God’s Blessings to our graduating students!

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5/16/12 – National Junior Honor Society Collects for the Cape Coral Caring Center

The National Junior Honor Society has been busy this year collecting non-perishable food to assist the Cape Coral Caring Center.  Each month has been dedicated to a specific food item(s).  NJHS members have encouraged their fellow classmates to donate by placing posters throughout the school as well as making regular announcements on the morning school news.   Some of the items collected have been pasta & sauce; canned veggies, fruit, and tuna; and breakfast cereal.  The month of May ends with the collection of peanut butter and jelly.  A huge thank you to all that have helped NJHS help others!

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5/14/12 – Top Accelerated Reader Students 

Each year students at St. Andrew participate in the Accelerated Reader Program as part of the curriculum.  Students try to better their reading skills while accumulating as many AR points as possible.  Mrs. Dunn, the media specialist, announced the top readers of the year.  The top rated classes are:  7th grade with 5,394 pts, 6th grade with 5,651.4 pts, and 5th grade as the top class with 6,138.2 pts.

The top readers in each class are:  Kindergarten – Melissa Blaine, First – Jacob Roberts, Second – Justin Blaine, Third – Ryan Morehead, Fourth – Anthony Stross, Fifth – Celeste Canzano, Sixth – Hannah Marzella, Seventh – Julia Canzano, and Eighth – Julia Flynn.

The top ten overall point earners are:

1. Taylor Lukasik (362.5 pts)
2.   Jur-el Jumalon (440.4 pts)
3.   Alexis Hannah (490.5 pts)
4.   Colette Kryzwick (505.4 pts)
5.   Anthony Stross (559.6 pts)
6.   John Oliva (756.1 pts)
7.   Janice Smith (1065.4 pts)
8.   Hannah Marzella (1153.3 pts)
9.   Celeste Canzano (1169.5 pts)
10.   Julia Canzano (1192.3 pts)

The school grand total of AR points this year is 26,144.2.  Congratulations to all AR readers!!!

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Drama Club adaptation of the Wizard of Oz

5/10/12 – The President’s Fitness Challenge  

Congratulations to all the students in P.E. who participated in the 2012 President’s Fitness Challenge and qualified for the Presidential Fitness Award. This award recognizes youth who achieve an outstanding level of physical fitness and score at or above the 85 th percentile of qualifying students on all areas of the assessment.  This years recipients are:  Ella Sarnac, Anna Haber, Treven Figueroa, Ellise Holmes, Colette Krzywick, Nicholas Otzko, Kailee Figueroa, Caitlyn Gibilisco, Tim Shallow, Gage Burrow, Julia Canzano, John Martin, Ciro Martinez, Connor Moore, Danielle Rieselman, Madeline Sarnac, Tyler Williamson, and Siobhan Brennan .  Great Job!

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5/8/12 - St. Andrew Student Athletes

On Tuesday, May 8th the following students were honored at the annual Sports Award Ceremonies.

Julia Flynn – Female Athlete of the Year

Andrew Velella – Male Athlete of the Year

Matthew Honc – Athletic Scholar of the Year

Congratulations!!!

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4/26/12 - Sunshine State Young Readers Luncheon

This year twenty-two students attended the very special Sunshine State Young Readers Luncheon, hosted by our media specialist Mrs. Dunn.  The luncheon is given to honor those students who have dedicated the time and energy to read at least seven of the fifteen books from the Sunshine State Young Readers list.  At the luncheon, students enjoyed various activities and games as well as a wonderful lunch prepared by Mel’s Diner with dessert from Bob Evans and the Ice Cream Club.  With help from parent volunteers, students were able to leave the luncheon with gift baskets and goodies donated from local stores and restaurants in recognition of their accomplishment.  Keep on reading!!!!!

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4/23/12 – 4/27/12 - Week of the Young Child at St. Andrew

This year’s theme for Week of the Young Child is “Improving & Loving the Earth”.

Here are some of the highlights from the week.

Monday – Water Safety presentation for PK3 – First grade.

Tuesday  -  Children learned about the parts of a plant and how to care for them.  Then, students planted their own plants with plants, soil, and cups donated by the Home Depot at Merchants Crossing.

Wednesday  -  Students celebrated Earth Day with fun outside learning centers.

The Elementary Science Fair also coincided with WOYC.  Displays of trifolds and posters from our young students have been displayed in the parish hall for all to see.

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4/4/12 - Living Stations of the Cross

Traditions continue each year at St. Andrew, especially those surrounding the important feast days of the church.  Just before Easter, the 7th grade present the Living Stations of the Cross for our school and church community.  By visually and narratively re-enacting the various stations, students remind all of the importance of Christ’s passion and resurrection  preparing us for the most sacred days in the church year.

March – Youth Art Month

March is Youth Art Month and the perfect month to celebrate our children’s talents and the fun that they have expressing themselves through their art.   Throughout the month artwork was displayed throughout the hallways and special projects were initiated in class.  Our Patrons of The Arts organization sponsored the Florida Repertory Theater which performed “The Imaginators” and “ Thomas Edison: Fire of Genious” for the students.

Our Odyssey of the Mind teams also took center stage to present their problem solving skills and talents in their original skits.

As a finale our school participated in The Future of Art – LAEA Exhibit at the Alliance of the Arts at the beginning of April.  The Arts are alive at St. Andrew School!

3/12/12 – 3/16/12 – The Naples Holocaust Museum/Educational Center and Holocaust survivor Cesare Frustaci visit middle school students.

Middle school students have been studying about the Holocaust and working on research projects about survivors through the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  The research project has been named Windows of Remembrance as students acknowledge that we can only get a “look into” what the reality was like for those who lived through the Holocaust.

At the end of this unit of study, students were visited by speakers from the Naples Holocaust Museum who shared a brief but concise history leading up to and through the Holocaust.  The students had the opportunity to see display boards and artifacts from the time period and to ask questions of the visitors.  Holocaust survivor Cesare Frustaci also spoke with students about his experiences as a young person during this time in the not so distant past.  He shared aspects of his life before, during, and after the war and how his family had been separated.  He spoke of his mother, who had been in a concentration camp, and of her quest to find and eventually reunite with him.

As a momento of appreciation, students presented Mr. Frustaci with a very special lantern and poem which they created in his honor and all those affected by the Holocaust.

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3/2/12 - Dr. Seuss’ Birthday and Read Across America at St. Andrew School

In many elementary schools across the nation March 2 is a very important day.  The reason being that it is Dr. Seuss’ birthday.  All the Dr. Seuss books come off the shelves and are opened for the joy of reading.  How appropriate that the nation wide initiative “Read Across America” conincides with such a day.  This year our youngest students celebrated with outdoor centers focusing on books by Dr. Seuss.  Mrs. Mattfeld’s second grade students are taking part in a book reading/sharing project initiated by Mrs. Glogau’s second grade class at Bishop Schad Regional School in Vineland, NJ.  The book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” is making it’s way from school to school and will eventually return home to NJ in May.  Mrs. Mattfeld’s class have read the book and have now sent it on to Ms. Love’s second grade in El Paso, Texas.  We are really “Reading Across America”!

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1/30/12 – 2/3/12  -  Catholic Schools Week

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 1/16/12  Science Fair Update!!!!!