2008-2009 Issue 1 December 2008

GROWING IN

GOD’S GARDEN

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Issue 1 2008 - 2009 School Year December 2008

This year's theme is "Growing in God's Garden" and 5A (pictured below) was honored

to prepare the opening day prayer service. Mrs. Rhonda Houseman made flower pots

for each class. The students prepared the readings and distributed the flower pots. Each

grade level represented a part of the flower with the 8th grade students representing the

finished plant. Wesley Sheker, Cole Zimmerman, Drew DeBastiani, Caroline Hills,

Zach Swidler, and Hannah Deppen prepared the readings. Read below for the

beautiful verbal portrait of the STS garden as presented at the service.

Kindergarten, you are the newly planted seeds in the warm ground of St. Theresa

School. You will be learning many new things. Mrs. Teletovich and Miss Braun will

keep you safe and secure as you start to grow.

First Grade, you know that seeds will only grow if they have water. You are the rain

that waters our new seeds and helps them to grow. Mrs. Lenig and Mrs. Pinamonti will

take you by the hand and show you where you are needed and guide you to God's

Garden.

Second Grade, you are the roots that have sprouted from the seed. You are the

foundation of our school. This year is special for you. There are two sacraments

waiting to help you grow solid in your faith. Mrs. Costello, Mrs. Moser, and Miss Roos

will be there to make sure that you are firmly planted in the ground so you will grow.

Third Grade, you are the shining sun that all plants need to grow. The warmth from

your love will combine with the rain so our newly planted seeds will continue to

grow. This year you will learn about God's nature. Mrs. Wance, Ms. O'Connor, and

Mrs. Shaner will lead you to see the beauty of God's Garden.

Fourth Grade, you are the stems that have sprouted from the seeds. You stand sturdy

and tall and keep an upright stance. Your stem will hold all of us together. Mrs. Foote

and Mrs. Kline will be there to show you how important you are to the growth of all of

us in God's Garden. (continued on page 2)

2008-2009 Issue 1 2 December 2008

(Continued from page 1)

Fifth Grade, you are the leaves of our developing

plants. The leaves of the plant are the food factories that

help the plant to survive. By your actions and words you

feed the plants in our garden and help them to grow. Mrs.

Houseman, Mrs. DeBastiani, and Mrs. Kaufold will be

there to show you how important you are to God's

Garden.

Sixth Grade, you are the flower that grows on the top of

the stem. Your beauty from within shines through the

colorful petals. You add color to our garden. Mrs.

McCarthy and Mrs. Morgan will show you how to use

your talents to make our garden one that God will be

proud of.

Seventh Grade, you are the fruit of our plant. You help

us to see how everything we are learning will help us to

become like you, the fruit in God's Garden. Mrs.

Weltmer, Mrs. Chubb, and Mrs. Castner will help you to

develop your talents. It is your seed that will help St.

Theresa School to grow.

Eighth Grade, you are the entire plant. You were planted

as a seed in kindergarten. The rain of first grade helped

you to grow. The roots that you sprouted in second grade

have helped you to grow in God's love. By third grade, it

was your sunshine that helped the new plants to grow into

what you are today. In fourth grade, you developed the

stem to stand tall and believe in God's goodness. In fifth

grade, you developed your leaves and by using the food

of God's word, fed your faith. In sixth grade, you

blossomed into the beautiful flower that you are today

and, in seventh grade, you produced the fruit that makes

you whole. Now, you are the entire plant. Mrs. Banks,

Mrs. Bosso, and Mrs. Bamberger will be there to prepare

you for your last sacrament at St. Theresa School,

Confirmation. You will truly be the plants that grow in

God's Garden.

Mrs. Zimmerman, Mrs. Barno, Ms. Allen, Mrs. Meagher,

Mrs. Andreoli, Mrs. Beauduy, Mrs. Haser, Mrs. Diehl,

Miss Patton and all of our aides and staff, you complete

God's Garden that is growing in St. Theresa School by

showering us with all of your gifts and encouraging us to

grow into the sturdy plants of God's love.

Every garden needs a gardener to help it nurture and

grow. St. Theresa School has God as our gardener. He

guides the hands of Mr. Tracy and Mrs. McMullin as they

tend to our school with kindness, fairness, and love.

CAPTAIN PATTON MARCHES ON By Mark Sideck and Michael Wilson

At the beginning of the school year, Ms. Sheri Patton,

our wonderful gym teacher, accepted the call of duty

from the U.S. Army to

be stationed in Iraq.

The entire school

community gathered in

the gym one afternoon,

to wish her ―good

luck‖ and to pray for

her safety. There was

shock and awe from all

the local media that

showed up.

―I hope she comes back

soon,‖ and, ―We‘ve

known her for so long, so it‘s hard to see her go, but I

know she‘ll come back with new ideas for gym class,‖

were some reactions from 8th graders Nick Rudolph and

Tori Mooney when asked about Ms. Patton after the

ceremony.

After some initial training at Fort Indiantown Gap,

Captain Patton is currently stationed at Camp Shelby,

Mississippi, for additional training. If all goes well, she

will be back at STS in time for a farewell at Christmas

before being shipped out to Iraq.

BACK TO SCHOOL By Peter Lazzara

Students got a wake-up call on August 29th for the

beginning of the 2008-09 school year, but their parents

got a wake-up call at the Back-to-School Nights. Student

Council Officers Jack Shelly, Mark Sideck, Colleen

Laubach, Alex Failla, and Emily Spishock along with

Class Representatives greeted the parents warmly, as they

started on their way to explore the lives of their sons and

daughters, one classroom at a time. The parents were

guided to their children‘s classrooms, they sat down in

the same chairs as the students do and the various

teachers ―teach‖ the parents about the curriculum plan for

the school year.

Back-to-School Night is an

important night for the parents of

STS because they will be ready for

what their children will be doing the

rest of the school year, and it is

especially good for the parents of

students that are new to STS, so that

they get a feel for what their child

will do here. It won‘t take long for everyone to realize

that this is the World‘s Best Catholic School.

2008-2009 Issue 1 3 December 2008

KINDERGARTEN HIGHLIGHTS THE

SEASONS By Mrs. Kathy Telatovich

Grandparents‘ Day was celebrated in Kindergarten on

October 10th. The children sang songs and had a great

time showing their Grandparents around their classrooms.

Then everyone enjoyed refreshments and worked together

on a Family Tree project. It was a fun day for all.

The New Cumberland Fire Department paid us a visit

during Fire Safety Week. In our classrooms, we had been

learning important fire safety information. It was a

meaningful learning experience to see a real fire fighter

with all of his gear and equipment. The children had the

opportunity to ask questions and even sit in a fire truck.

As the Kindergarteners learned about the very first

Thanksgiving, they looked forward to celebrating with

their Fifth Grade Buddies. The fifth graders represented

Native Americans and the Kindergarteners were the

Pilgrims. The Kindergarteners are so very thankful for

their Buddies for all of the help that they give to them as

they work on projects throughout the year.

As the November days turn colder

and colder and we all look toward

the Christmas Season, the children

in Kindergarten are getting ready

for Joy Craft Day. They will be very

busy making gifts to give to loved

ones at Christmas.

KA1 and KA2 are also looking

forward to another fun day when

they will be working with their

Buddies and all of the children will

be making gingerbread houses. The

creations are always creative and

delicious!

CELEBRITIES READ During National Young Readers Week, in November,

New Cumberland Mayor DJ Landis read a story to all

the first grade students. Mr. Mick O'Hearn from ABC-

TV 27 read, and another

day that week Mr. Mike

Tracy, STS Principal, read

too. Students in Mrs.

Terry Pinamonti’s class

participated in this

celebration by sharing

book reports of a favorite

book and making a puppet

of a character from the story. Students presented their

book reports and puppets to the class.

By Mrs. Tina Zimmerman

This is the 16th year for STS preschool. There are 40 4-

year old students and 25 3-year old students enrolled.

Mrs. Cindi Petrillo and Miss Sara Braun are the

teacher aides. The 4‘s have school on Monday, Wednes-

day and Friday at either 8:30 – 11:00 or 12:30 to 3:00.

The 3‘s meet Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 – 10:30

(11:00 starting in January) or 12:30 – 2:30 (3:00 in Janu-

ary).

The Preschool celebrated Grandparents Day. The grand-

parents and special friends truly appreciated being able to

spend quality time with their little ones. The children

were just as excited and proud to share their special gifts

with them by coloring a prayer together, making flowers,

sharing a snack, touring the preschool and playing.

As part of Fire Safety/Prevention Week, the preschool

classes visited the New Cumberland Fire Department to

explore a fire truck and ambulance and to ask questions

about this community service. Students also practiced a

fire drill, talked about Stop, Drop and Roll and learned

two fire safety songs.

In September, there was lots of fun learning about apples

on Johnny Appleseed Day. The children planted apple

seeds, made an apple tree by tracing their arm and hand,

strung Apple Jack cereal on yarn—eating the necklaces

as fast as they made them, strengthened hand muscles

with a clothespin exercise, and had an apple tasting buffet

for snack that included apple butter, apple jelly, apple-

sauce, and apple juice. Students are learning the letters

of the alphabet and the months of the year. As part of the

letter ―C‖ for community helpers, the 4‘s wrote letters to

their parents, put a stamp on the envelope

and walked the letters to the blue mail box.

When they got to the box, a mail carrier was

emptying it. The lucky students were able to

look inside the box and handed each letter to

the mail carrier. Awesome!

CONSIDER ST. THERESA SCHOOL Our mission at St. Theresa School is to recognize each child as

a unique individual. As Catholic

educators, we strive to provide each of our

students a God-centered educational

experience in harmony with their spiritual,

emotional, physical, mental and social

development. By integrating spiritual

values with academic excellence, an

education at St. Theresa School empowers

the mind, enhances the spirit and enriches

our children‘s lives. We strive not only to

educate but to nurture a Christ-centered

way of life.

2008-2009 Issue 1 4 December 2008

AROUND THE SCHOOL By Kaitlyn Andersen

The students of St. Theresa have been very busy right

from the start of the school year. In September, 1st

graders had a pot luck party. Each student brought a food

that began with the first letter of either their first or last

name. Parents were invited and Father James Lease,

Parochial Vicar of St. Theresa Parish, came and read the

Pot Luck Party Classbooks that the students wrote and

illustrated. The food was delicious; they ate almost

everything from A to Z. What a great start to the year!

Pre-school, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades celebrated

Grandparents Day in mid-October. Students in 1st and 2nd

grades presented a Music Program, shared activities and

refreshments with their special guests.

Mrs. Terry Pinamonti’s students participated in an

online project called ―That‘s the Way the Cookie

Tumbles.‖ The Students stacked Oreo cookies and

counted how many each child stacked before they

tumbled. The class average was sent in and compared to

the averages all over the US and in other countries.

Ms. Angela Roos’ 2nd graders did reports on their favorite

President and did a variety of Halloween activities.

Students in 3rd grade finished their very first book report.

They read a book and then presented it in the form of a

diorama. They enjoyed doing these book reports. They

also had Grandparent‘s Day. The students enjoyed

singing and eating with their grandparents for the

afternoon. ―I remember Grandparents Day; it was so

much fun,‖ said one STS student.

GINGERBREAD FRIENDS 2008 TOUR By Mrs. Terry Pinamonti

In early November, I had the opportunity to meet Jan

Brett when I attended her book signing event at Weg-

man's. She is one of my favorite authors/illustrators. Her

stories are great and her illustrations are beautiful! I use

her books with my class every year and have more than

30 Jan Brett books in my collection. Jan Brett shared the

story of her new book, Gingerbread Friends, and then did

a 15-minute drawing demonstration. Her presentation was

wonderful! It was followed by the book signing and pho-

tographs with her. Jan Brett's Gingerbread Friends 2008

Tour bus was outside and available for more photos. It

was a pleasure to meet her and an exciting day that I will

always remember!

GRANDPARENTS ARE

SPECIAL BECAUSE . . .

they visit us

they take us to the park

they help us with homework

they let us watch TV

they take us to the beach

they buy us Lego cars

they take us to fun places

they help us get dressed for Halloween

they play games with us

they take us to school

they help us build Legos

they take us swimming

they are nice

they take us to the store

they play chess with us

they take us for walks

they help us to feel better when we get hurt

they take us to the library

they take care of us

they love us and we love them!

dedicated to the best Grandparents in the world!

By 1B

AUTHOR TO VISIT On December 18, STS is happy to welcome Mrs.

Harriet Cameron, a children‘s author, who has written

several books dealing with Christian themes. Mrs.

Cameron will visit individual classes to read her book,

Nomad’s Joyous Christmas. She will be accompanied by

her husband who will display the colorful illustrations on

a projector while Harriet is reading. After she has

finished reading to the children, Mrs. Cameron will be

happy to remain and answer any questions that they may

have about her books or the writing process.

2008-2009 Issue 1 5 December 2008

BING, SCRATCH, BUZZ If you passed by Mrs. Karen Shaner’s 3rd grade science

class and heard strange sounds coming from the room,

you heard the sound lab. Students explored sound at

different stations around the room. Students used

stethoscopes to hear snapping fingers held under water.

At one station, students hit a tuning fork with a hammer

and touched it to a ping-pong ball. Then they struck the

tuning fork and placed it in a bowl of water. A cup had

an attached string with a nail at the end; the student struck

the nail with a ruler and the sound traveled up the string.

Of course, everyone wore goggles for safety. What fun!

WHAT’S NEW? By Victoria Mooney

Whether you smell it, use it, or waste it (we wish you

wouldn‘t), it‘s now hands free. That‘s right--hand

sanitizer now requires no hands! During the summer, an

automatic hand sanitizer was

brought to the school cafeteria

and given a position right at the

end of the lunch line. Now,

anytime you walk by, just stick

your hand under and you instantly

receive a perfect amount of hand

sanitizer to rub while you‘re ―on-

the-go.‖

HCA MISSIONS UPDATE By Peter Lazzara

STS students contributed a total of $586.41 to the

missions in October. The collection is sent to the Holy

Childhood Association (www.hcakids.org), a Catholic

mission society for children in kindergarten through 8th

grade. HCA asks Catholic children around the world to

be missionaries by sharing their love and their faith in

Jesus with children all over the world. The collection is

given to missionaries who use the money to spread the

Good News of Jesus and to provide children with food,

clean water, clothes, books, medicine and desks for

school. The STS classroom with the highest amount of

money raised was Pre-school with $86.51. Good job,

Preschool! Other winning classes are 5B with $73.08 and

7C with $75.24. Next month, YOU can be the winner!

Just donate money to the missions; it‘s as simple as a few

cents a day.

SPANISH CLUB By Mrs. Christie Morgan

The article below is purposely written in Spanish. I

thought it would be a fun challenge to see if anyone (adult

or student) who is reading this is able to translate all/part

of it to English. Good luck and have fun!

¿Habla usted español? ¡Esto es una pregunta que la Sra.

Morgan espera que por el fin del año escolar, por lo

menos 50 estudiantes podrán responder, "Sí hago"! ¡El

segundo Club español anual es en plena actividad y la

Sra. Morgan y Señorita Roos disfrutan de ello tanto! Una

vez al mes los estudiantes se juntan y aprenden acerca de

vocabulario español básico como los colores, los

números, las temporadas, los saludos, etc. Ellos también

tienen la oportunidad de aprender alguna diversión y

canciones emocionantes.

Hacia el fin del año escolar en mayo, el club tendrá su

"final espectacular" con un Cinco de mayo fiesta. ¡Esto

fue definitivamente un punto culminante del año pasado

que los estudiantes, los maestros, y los padres tuvieron un

fabuloso tiempo que toma parte en! En STS, entre la

introducción que los estudiantes reciben a latín, a francés,

y a español, los estudiantes tienen la oportunidad de ser

quadralingual. ¿Cuán magnífico es eso? ¡Las

felicitaciones a los que han traducido esta exitosamente y

Acción de gracias Feliz a todo!

SHARE YOUR NEWS Saints Shout! would love to hear from you!

Students, parents and teachers are welcome to

submit articles. Next issue deadline is January 6.

The issue will be distributed during Catholic

Schools Week. Send to school office or

saintsshout@sainttheresaschool.org

2008-2009 Issue 1 6 December 2008

AMERICAN HERITAGE In October, 5th grade celebrated their annual Native

American Day. Mrs. Rhonda Houseman, Mrs. Vikki

DeBastiani, and Mrs. Lynn Kaufold worked together to

provide the classes with an exciting learning

experience. The students were divided into clans. Each

clan chose a name and spent the day together going from

station to station. At each station, the students were told

about the craft and learned the Native American Culture

that used it. The students made teepees, whistles,

headdresses, Aztec masks, maracas, wampum bracelets,

and buffalo skin writings. Each class then did a

scavenger hunt on famous Native Americans. The

students looked up the Native Americans in various

books and then matched them to what they did. Last, but

not least, each class made the sticks to play Native

American Basket Dice. The classes enjoyed tacos, corn,

corn muffins, chocolate, and, of course, the delicious

dessert, pumpkin pie. This day was the culmination of

the Native American unit in Social Studies.

STUDENT AUTHORS Mrs. Rhonda Houseman is very proud of the students

who submitted essays to the Creative Communication

What's Important to Me competition. Mrs. Houseman

had each student pick a topic of interest. The class then

went through step-by-step lessons to learn how to set up

an essay, determine the audience, and write an essay that

will grab the reader‘s attention. Congratulations to the

following students whose works will be published in the

Fall edition of the Creative Communications book. Morgan Beatty- American Girl Dolls

Noah Diorio- Baseball

Nick Fanning- Sponge-Bob Square Pants

Derek Ford- Football

Caroline Hills- IPods

Erin Meagher- My Pets

Kaitlyn Railer- Maggy

Anna Smith- Snowball

Zach Sowa- Which Video Game Console

Zach Swidler- Penn State Football

Cole Zimmerman- Sylvester

AN ELECTION PREDICTION By Matthew Gregoire, 7A and A.J. Sowa, 7A

Mrs. Chubb organized a mock election on October 30.

Between Barack Obama and John McCain, you chose a

winner. Our prediction was that it would be a close race,

but Barack would edge out John by a few votes. You

decided! Our prediction was not correct; John McCain

triumphed over Barack Obama!

By Kaitlyn Anderson and Kaitlin Laman

As part of the presidential election, Mrs. Vikki

Debastiani’s 5B class studied ―Newspapers in

Education‖ during Language Arts class. They are

learning--What is voting? Who can vote? Why should we

vote? The fifth grade class can now fill us in on these

questions, and they were ready for the presidential

election. The students used the daily Patriot-News to test

their skills with a fun election scavenger hunt, and they

created cool ads to persuade people to vote. That sounds

like fun! The 1st and 2nd graders wrote reports on their

favorite president, doesn‘t that sound awesome? STS has

been very involved in these elections, and we were

anxious for election day to come along. On October 28,

STS participated in a mock election. Mrs. Lucy Chubb’s

classroom was the polling place, and it looked the part

thanks to Mrs. Deb Foote and her 4th graders who

covered it with red, white, and blue

decorations. The ballots included

both local and national candidates.

The voting was close but at STS,

John McCain won the day.

MAPPING POLITICAL

OPINION POLLS Who doesn't remember our recent

historic election? Mrs. Rhonda Houseman's 5A class

was interested in this election. Each student was given a

map two weeks before the election. Together they filled

in the number of Electoral College votes for each

state. Using a recent poll map, students colored in each

state as to which candidates were supported, leaned to, or

in a toss-up. After the student mock election, the

students were given a second map. This time they

colored in the states according to the student vote. The

two maps were compared to see how close the polls and

the students were. They were not even close! On the

Wednesday after Election Day, the students were given a

third map. This was colored based upon who won each

state and then compared to the other two. What did they

find? The poll map from two weeks prior was almost

identical to the actual election map. This surprised many

of the students.

2008-2009 Issue 1 7 December 2008

STUDENT COUNCIL UPDATE By Jack Shelly and Colin Laubach

The school year has begun and Student Council is

helping to make STS the WBCS. Already, we have held

Back-to-School and Halloween Socials for the 7th and 8th

grades, presented a school liturgy during which the

officers and class representatives were inducted,

improved the school‘s recycling program by adding one

large dumpster, and helped out at Back-to-School Nights

and the Social for New Families.

A very successful drug and alcohol abuse awareness

campaign was held at STS in October. Student Council

sponsors Red Ribbon Week each year. There was a

poster/bumper sticker contest. Students submitted

posters and bumper stickers for judging. The winning

submissions were hung in the hallways. Students wore

―Drug Free‖ wristbands and pledged to be drug free. The

week was capped off with a wear red day and a treat,

compliments of Student Council, to remind the students

how sweet it is to be drug free. ―Great job‖ to the

students who participated in Red Ribbon Week!

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, talk to a

member of Student Council; the member will be glad to

help. You can find them by the gold pins on their vests. Student Council Officers

President – Jack Shelly

Vice President – Mark Sideck

Secretary – Colleen Laubach

Treasurer – Alex Failla

Sergeant at Arms – Emily Spishock

Representatives

8A – Rachael Barbush, Jordan Bour

8B – Gino Gwyn, Colin Laubach

8C – Molly Brennan, Vincent Ruminski

7A – Kylee Harner, Isaac Zimmerman

7B – John Ford, Kyle Scott

7C – Will Alford, Elizabeth Mueller

WHO GOES “AHOY, MATEY”? Of course, it's a pirate! Mrs. Rhonda Houseman's 5A-2

reading group is working on the book Mystery at Black-

beard's Cove. It's an exciting story about four children

who get into trouble when they try to keep a promise to

an old friend and embark on a treasure hunt. After each

chapter study, the students were given an assignment to,

first, choose a pirate name, second, name the ship, third,

design their own pirate flag, and, from then on, build

characters and events. By the end of the book, each stu-

dent will have written their own pirate story. You can't

have a pirate story without a pirate, so each student is

developing their own pirate character. These can be seen

in the hallway next to the 5A classroom.

SCHOOL COMMUNITY RAISES $14,000 School families sold Wolfgang Candy and Sally Foster

Wrapping Paper during September to raise money for the

PTO. These funds support numerous projects for teach-

ers and students throughout the year. Third grade was the

highest selling grade. Mrs. Danielle Oakes and Mrs.

Laurie Abiuso coordinated this successful fundraiser and

were very proud of all of the students who participated. Overall sales:

1st Place: Ian Myers, 3B

2nd Place: Kathryn Bernick, 2C

3rd Place: Nicole Slabonik, 3A

Wolfgang Candy sales:

1st Place: AnnaRose Smith, 5A

2nd Place: Kayla Ramos, 6C

3rd Place: Kenneth Stetler, KA1

Sally Foster sales:

1st Place: Quincy Loss, 5C

2nd Place: Samantha Bohl, KA1

3rd Place: Chelsea Reneker, 7A

On-line sales:

Madeline Ortenzio, 6A

The coordinators said that they couldn‘t have done it

without the volunteerism of Mrs. Roxane Cudahy, Mrs.

Shonna Ramos, Mrs. Michele Stager, Mrs. Beth

Brennan, Mrs. Kathy Leisenring, Mrs. Kathy Grogan,

Gabrielle Oakes, Isabella Abiuso, Kaitlyn Anderson,

Jordan Bour, Emily Spishock, Molly Brennan, Alonna

Ramos, and Alexa Ramos.

CALLING ALL MATH LOVERS By Victoria Mooney

Interested in math? Do we have the solu-

tion for you! Mrs. Vickie Bosso, the

middle school math teacher, is holding

an after school Math Club, exclusively for the 7th and 8th

graders. C‘mon in and learn a whole different kind of

math. A math that you won‘t learn during the school

year! Ever hear of Challenge 24? Or the Mathcounts

Competition? Well, if you join, you will gain new knowl-

edge about it, that‘s for sure. Interested now? Well,

come and check it out for yourself at the next meeting.

2008-2009 Issue 1 8 December 2008

7TH GRADE LIFE By A.J. Sowa, 7A

The 7th grade students have been busy learning new things

in all their subjects. Here is a sample:

In math, we are learning about integers. We are

multiplying, dividing, subtracting, and adding them.

In science, we are learning about pollution and working

on our science fair projects.

In social studies, we are learning about Australia and

New Zealand.

In religion, we are preparing for confirmation, starting a

saint project, and learning about early church history.

In language arts, we are reading The Adventures of Tom

Sawyer. We are also expanding our vocabulary and

writing skills.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN RESPECT LIFE? By Gino Gwyn

Immediately after school on November 7, the Respect

Life members went to Mallard Run to visit the residents

there. Students brought board games to play and snacks

to eat. The Club is coordinated by Mrs. Lucy Chubb.

Club Officers are: President: Gino Gwyn

Vice President: Kelsey Pianka

Sergeant in Arms: Madison Castelli

Secretary: Molly Dupin

Treasurer: Claire McCarthy

Helper: Abby Butala

By Molly Dupin Did you know that …

Your body grows 40 yards of hair every day?

Every person has somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000

taste buds? Girls usually have more than boys do!

Your lungs are the only organs in your body that can

float on water?

There are 1 million ants for every person in the world?

You share your birthday with at least 9 million other

people in the world?

The most dangerous animal in the world is the common

housefly? They are known to transmit more diseases than

any other animal!

Elephants are the only animals that can't jump?

In your lifetime, you'll shed over 40 pounds of skin?

SUMMER READING PROGRAM By Nick Rudolph

This year‘s Summer Reading

Program involved nearly 125 STS

students. This program was created

to encourage reading and to help

students keep their reading skills

over the summer break. Once

applying for this great program, each student kept a

record of the books they read over the summer, and

returned it to Mrs. Pam Beauduy at the library. Each

student who participated received a Reading

Accomplishment Certificate, a new book and a bookmark.

The 2008 participants: Preschool--Ethan Pfeffer, Anna Arensdorf, Emily Ford,

Zach Giles, Gina Ledermann

Kindergarten--Matthew Emery

1A--Alec Diehl, Connor Fry, Helaena Holjes, Daniel

Johnston, Emma LaPenta, Emily Long, Emma Posavec,

Michael Soule, Amanda Smith

1B--Paige Barlick, Michael Berrigan, Ian Dice, Jocelyn

Francis, Jacob Kreiser, Joshua Reid, Laura Zemba

2A--Mark Centurione, Christopher Dare, Daniel Emery,

Willian Ewan, Joseph Francis, Madison Poladian, Bennett

Sheker, Wilson Sheker, Ryan Stager, Brianna Wisman

2B--Avery Arnold, Delaney Cutter, Leah Deppen, Anthony

Eisenhower, Ellen Frantz, Hannah Kline, Alana LaPenta,

Patrick Levin, Steve Mitrzyk, Thomas Reilly, Christian

Selan, Kevin Stager

2C--Jonathan Holjes, Maggie Killmeyer, Campbell Moss,

Tristan Gill, Chase Diehl, Marisa Kowalski, Houston Tyree,

Ryan Stepp, Ayva Lacoco

3A--Elizabeth Binder, Sarah Eby, Catherine Noble, Kanyon

Reichard

3B--Derek Borza, Hannah Brenkacs, Sara Cooney, Jared

Eby, Rachel Emery, Matthew Marone, Rachael Reilly,

Andrea Repetz

3C--Noelle Chavey, Patrick Connolly, Joel Eby, Makenzie

Mettler, Laura Mueller

4A--Ava Arnold, Katie Hogg, Julianna Kreiser, Erin

Pfeffer, Nicole Stepp, Kelsey Young, Matthew Zemba

4C--Alexandra Borza, Kelly Brittingham, Deborah Manasi,

Catherine Gregoire, Victor Piscioneri, Payton Whyne

5A--Hannah Deppen, Derek Ford, Caroline Hills, Wesley

Sheker, Cole Zimmerman, Zachary Sowa

5B--Colleen Connolly, Joshua Eby, Veronica Repetz

5C--Joe Binder, Rebecca Reilly, Bella Ricci, Brendan Borne

6A--Nick Centurione, Katherine Killmeyer, Hannah

Tedesco

6C--Philip Deppen

7A--Matthew Gregiore, AJ Sowa, Isaac Zimmerman,

2008-2009 Issue 1 9 December 2008

UNDEFEATED! By Matthew Gregoire, 7A

For the first time ever, the STS

JV soccer team has gone

undefeated, with a record of 5-0-

1. They won their first three

games, with scores of 8-2 (vs. St.

Patrick), 6-3 (vs. St. Joseph), and

10-2 (vs. Prince of Peace). Then

they tied Holy Name of Jesus, who also went 5-0-1, in a

hard fought battle that went down to the final whistle.

After the tie, St. Theresa won their last two games with

scores of 6-4 (vs. St. Joseph), and 14-2 (vs. St. Catherine).

Leading the scoring rampage with eighteen goals was

Ryan Grogan. Coming in a close second was Brett

Becker and Matthew Gregoire. Will Alford, Ramone

Gwyn, Jacquelyn Barbush, Regan Devine, Kevin Hills,

Alex Lund, Maddie Ortenzio, and Logan Shettle all

contributed scores. Not everyone scored, but everyone on

the team leant a helping hand in all of our victories.

The roster for the 2008 STS JV soccer team:

For 6th grade: Jacquelyn Barbush, Patrick Brennan,

Kevin Hills, Ann Margaret Kennedy, Katherine

Kilmeyer, Nicco Lazzaro, Alex Lund, Ryan

Musselman, and Maddie Ortenzio.

For 7th grade: Will Alford, Brett Becker, Regan Devine,

Shannon Fagan, Matthew Gregoire, Ryan Grogan,

Ramone Gwyn, Rachel Hepp, Logan McNally,

Brennan Resetar, Logan Shettle, Alexander Sowa,

Alexis Verdini, and Isaac Zimmerman.

A huge thank you for all her support, leadership, and

encouragement goes out to coach Mrs. Paula Verdini!

Also, a round of applause for all of the parents and friends

who supported us throughout the season. Great job,

everyone.

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER

Oh God, as we listen to the

Christmas music tonight,

We thank you for the message of

peace that Christmas brings to our

distracted world.

Give peace among nations,

Peace in our land,

Peace in our homes,

And peace in our hearts,

As we remember the birth at

Bethlehem of the Prince of Peace,

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

THE BEGINNING OF THE END By Sam Magaro

Summer has been long over and school is going by so

fast. Eighth grade is really hard to get used to with the

harder lessons and stricter teachers, and it‘s only the first

marking period! A lot is going on; so much has already

happened. We‘ve had our first luncheon and field trip.

Mr. Ted Laubach, Mr. Sam Magaro, and Mr. Dan

Bates coordinated our two car washes which raised

nearly $2,000 towards the dues for 8th grade activities.

Upcoming is science fair, Confirmation preparation,

other work, and National History Day. So far, we have

had a good start to what is going to be a great last year

for us at STS!

8TH GRADE FIELD TRIP TO MESSIAH By Gino Gwyn

Mrs. Michelle Banks arranged the 8th grade science class

field trip to Messiah College. Nick Rudolph said this

about the field trip, ―It was a lot of fun and educational. I

learned a lot about creek health and nature.‖ Students

went into the museum where they learned about animals

that live in Africa and the United States. Students also

went into the creek; the water was freezing but you got

used to it after a while. ―The creek study was a lot of

fun,‖ said Peter Lazzara. ―We were looking to see

macro-invertebrates. They told us, if the creek was

healthy, we would see them.‖ One group found a water

snake. Students hiked around the campus to look at

nature and learn about many kinds of trees and how to

identify trees by their leaves. The field trip was a lot of

fun and this writer wouldn‘t mind going back again.

STS STUDENTS GROOMED FOR

VOLLEYBALL Congratultions to Isabella Abiuso and Gabrielle Oakes,

8th graders, who were selected

in mid-November to play for

a Triad Volleyball travel team

under the direction of Mr.

Uros Davidovic, Trinity High

School‘s Varsity Coach. We

know you will go for the dig,

make the set, and put it away

with a kill!

2008-2009 Issue 1 10 December 2008

STS STUDENTS “ROCK” AT CROSS

COUNTRY By Nate Repetz

This year, Jack Shelly, Brett Becker, Matt Bernick, and

I ran Cross Country for the Trinity Junior High ‗Rocks.

Our meets, or races as they are known, were filled with

ups and downs, literally. The hills were the hardest part.

Though it is a team sport, you run mostly for yourself.

Every meet, you try to beat your personal best time. The

meets take place on a two-mile course, filled with up

hills, side hills, and if you‘re lucky, a long downhill. You

run on all sorts of surfaces: grass, asphalt, woodland

trails, gravel, and more. The best part for me, is making

new friends. The team is open to students from STS, St.

Patrick, Good Shepherd, and St. Joseph. All the kids on

our team got along very well. I‘ve met many life-long

friends.

I highly encourage 6th and 7th graders to try out for next

year‘s team. Here is a little secret: YOU DON‘T HAVE

TO BE A GOOD RUNNER TO TRY CROSS-

COUNTRY! My coach will dig deep to find the runner in

you! I guarantee you will love it. For more information,

see Jack, Brett, Matt, or myself for more information. We

will be glad to talk with you. Cross Country can be tough

at times. But it can be fun and very rewarding. I love this

life-long sport, and I hope you will too.

Thank You to Our Sponsor ! Diocesan Publications

Harrisburg - Regional Office 698 Limekiln Rd.

New Cumberland, PA 17070 800.233.8200

VARSITY SOCCER Due to what appears to be a record turnout of 8th graders,

this year‘s varsity soccer team fielded 20 players, all in

8th grade. Commissioner Neil Gregoire and Coach

Paula Verdini were pleased with the mix of seasoned

players. The players extend a sincere thank you to the

coach and commissioner who made this season great fun,

a unique sports experience, and a genuine pleasure to

play. To the fans who watched every nail-biting, heart-

pumping, thrilling game, the Varsity players appreciated

your unflagging support and superior snacks!

The Roster: Isabella Abiuso

Rachel Barbush

Jordan Bour

Jake Diorio

Alex Failla

Gino Gwyn

Casey Ives

Bailey King

Colin Laubach

Colleen Laubach

Peter Lazzara

Kelly Leisenring

Samantha Magaro

Josh Musselman

Kelsey Pianka

Vince Ruminski

Jack Shelly

Mark Sideck

Emily Spishock

Jackie Winieski

Giant food stores offer the

A+ School Rewards

program for schools to earn

cash each time you shop at

any Giant store using your

Bonuscard. Visit the

website www.giantaplus.com to designate your

Bonuscard to benefit STS. Then, each time you shop at

Giant using your Bonuscard between October 5, 2008

and March 14, 2009, STS will earn credit for 1% of your

total purchases. At the end of the program, STS will be

awarded a check for the total amount earned through

participation in the program. As of early December, STS

ranked 4th among local schools with a year-to-date award

of $4,032.

2008-2009 Issue 1 11 December 2008

2008 - 2009 Calendar

December 23 11:30 Dismissal

December 23 —

January 2 Christmas Vacation

January 5 Return to School

January 9 School Christmas Liturgy

@ 8:45 am, Church

January 16 11:30 Dismissal,

Teacher In-service, pm

January 18 PTO Bingo Bash

January 19 Martin Luther King Day

No School

January 23 The Spoon Man,

Christian Themed Assembly

January 24

First Penance for STS

Harrisburg Diocese Night @

Giant Center, Hershey Bears

January 25

Catholic Schools Week

Opening Liturgy @ 10:30 am, Church

PTO Family Movie Day

January 26 Information Night

January 30

Closing Liturgy for Catholic Schools Week @ 8:45 am, Church

PTO Sundae Social, pm

February 13 No School

February 20 11:30 Dismissal,

Teacher In-service, pm

February 25 Ash Wednesday Liturgy

@ 8:45 am, Church

February 27

Confirmation Retreat

Stations of the Cross

@ 2:00, Church

All Other Fridays in

Lent

Liturgy @ 8:45 am, Church, followed by Stations, except March 13

March 11 Liturgy @ 8:45 am, Church

March 13 11:30 Dismissal,

Teacher In-service, pm

March 20 Confirmation

@ 7:00 pm, Church

March 21 PTO Craft Fair

April 8 11:30 Dismissal

April 9 — 13 Easter Break, No School

PTO NEWS YOU CAN USE By Ms. Danielle Tedesco, PTO President

Parents have expressed an interest in learning how the

monies from PTO fundraising are spent. In an effort to

educate folks, we wanted to share some of the current

expenditures. So far, the PTO has spent $2,500 in enrich-

ment items. This includes $730 in playground mulch and

the purchase of music room supplies, AV equipment, and

furniture. We have also contributed $4,000 towards the

purchase of the classroom supplies formerly supplied by

students. Each teacher receives $300 for teaching sup-

plies; the exception is pre-school who receives more be-

cause of multiple classes. We have reimbursed teachers

$4,000 so far this year.

Non-academic expenditures have included the initial

costs of the Family Bingo Event and Apple Festival

Pumpkin Painting Booth; note that these costs were re-

covered with additional modest profits. The PTO paid

$200 for the sundae party enjoyed after a week of ITBS

testing in October. We also spent $335 to cover the costs

of the Family Pool Party in November. The final cost for

the Muffins with Moms event will be reported out soon.

All fundraising efforts have seen a significant drop in

profits including our largest event, the Fall Wolfgang

Candy/Sally Foster Paper sale. With the economic condi-

tions observed locally and nationwide, we expected at

least a partial decrease in our profits. Know that your

participation in our fundraising activities does matter.

The PTO survives solely on the monies developed

through fundraising and we appreciate your support dur-

ing these difficult times.

The PTO is in the process of developing a survey for

families. It will include questions about the community

events, fundraising, budget items, and family events.

When it arrives via your child‘s book bag, please take the

time to complete it. The feedback we receive will be

heavily incorporated into our decision making for next

year‘s calendar. Specifically, in order to hold any fund-

raisers, we have to offer our fundraising calendar to the

Parish for approval by Spring 2009.

We encourage folks to come to the PTO meetings to ex-

press their thoughts and opinions on our activities. The

next decision-making meeting will be held on January 20,

in the Art Room at 6:30. Happy Holidays and God bless.