St. Luke’s Episcopal Students Fundraise for Good Samaritan Pre-School Classroom
St. Lukes students with pre-school students in their new classroom.
St. Luke’s Episcopal School students have funded a brand-new preschool classroom at the Good Samaritan Center. The school was chosen as a Silver & Black Give Back 2015-16 Team Up Challenge semifinalist and was awarded $2,500 to begin their service-learning project. Students used the Team Up Challenge award to pack 1,500 weekend snack bags for children from food-insecure households.
In an effort to extend their project, the students raised an additional $1,050 to assist the Good Samaritan Center. “The Good Samaritan preschool classrooms were full,” said St. Luke’s Team Up advisor Angelica Rossi. “There was a true need for the children they serve, and we wanted to help.” The St. Luke’s funds allowed Good Samaritan to outfit a new preschool classroom for 3- to 5-year-old children.
St. Luke’s students traveled to the Good Samaritan Center to assemble the furniture and classroom toys purchased with their donation. “As we have partnered with the Good Sam Center on a variety of initiatives, we have become ever more interested in supporting the breadth of services that the Center offers,” said Head of School Thomas McLaughlin. “Our student leaders were excited about investing in the outfitting of this classroom. We all look forward to seeing great things happening in the space.” The experience was equally impactful on the St. Luke’s students. “Seeing all the little kids’ faces when they ran in and saw their new classroom was a really memorable experience,” said Team Up Challenge student leader Caroline Hale.
St. Luke’s Episcopal School Congratulates Class of 2016 on High School Acceptances
St. Luke’s Episcopal School welcomed representatives from local high schools to their annual high school signing event on May 3. School leaders presented eighth-graders with a shirt from their future school, signifying a new academic chapter. St. Luke’s has performed this special ceremony for more than 20 years.
The St. Luke’s Class of 2016 will attend Saint Mary’s Hall, TMI: The Episcopal School of Texas, Keystone School, Incarnate Word High School, Central Catholic High School, Antonian College Prep, Alamo Heights High School, Winston Churchill High School and Telluride High School of Telluride, Colo. “St. Luke’s is sending scholars, citizens and leaders to nine different high schools next year,” said Assistant Head of School Christopher Bertha. “We are very proud of these young people and look forward to celebrating their future successes with them.”
The ceremony was an emotional experience for many students. St. Luke’s “lifer” Sydney Murray has attended the school since pre-kindergarten, 11 years of her life. “St. Luke’s has been my home for the past 11 years. It’s mind-boggling that in just a few weeks I will have to move on,” she said. “This school has shaped me into the person I am today and offered me opportunities I would never experience elsewhere.”
St. Peter Prince of Apostles School Celebrates 90 Years of Excellence
St. Peter Prince of Apostles School, celebrating 90 years of excellence in education, received an award at the Hall of Fame Leadership Dinner at the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Also, Mike Jones, fifth- through eighth-grade history teacher, is retiring after 40 years of teaching. He has been at St. Peter’s School for over 13 years.
UIW’s Direct Admit Health Professions Program Starts This Fall
The University of the Incarnate Word, a longtime leader in health care education, has announced a new initiative for high school seniors with strong academic ability seeking advanced degrees in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, optometry or medicine. UIW’s new Direct Admit Health Professions Program provides provisional admission into one of the university’s professional programs for Texas high school seniors ranking in the top 5 percent of their class after their junior year.
Students can choose from the following professional programs:
• Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.)
– Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions
• Doctor of Optometry (O.D.)
– Rosenberg School of Optometry
• Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
– School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
– Feik School of Pharmacy
• Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.)
– School of Physical Therapy
The initiative features an added bonus to help students attain their goals — a $2,500 scholarship per year for full-time study, renewable for up to eight years. This scholarship is in addition to any UIW academic award for which the student is eligible and continues into the professional program. Students will be required to maintain an acceptable GPA to continue in the program and will also be required to complete a program interview by the respective professional school.
Students whose high schools do not record student rankings or those who are home-schooled may still qualify for the Direct Admit Health Professions Program if they meet certain criteria.
St. Peter Prince of the Apostles Quiz Bowl Medal Winners:
Art
Kyleigh Leisk, seventh grade – second place
James Cortez, eighth grade – third place
Social Studies
Gabby Hodge, seventh grade – third place current events
Madilyn Hernandez, sixth grade – third place
Hayden Colson, seventh grade – third place
Annalisa Cristadoro, eighth grade – second place
Michael Lunbery, eighth grade – third place
Religion
Hayden Colson, seventh grade – second place
Kyleigh Leisk, seventh grade – third place
Michael Lunbery, eighth grade – second place
Number Sense
Madison Ramos, sixth grade – third place
Science
Gabby Hodge, seventh grade – third place
Howard Kindergarteners “Race to Read”
Howard students hit the finish line in their “Race to Read,” a program run by the Howard library as support for teachers and a reward for all of the hard work by kinder students as they learned to read. The Howard Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), which provided medals for all of the eager readers, supported the library.
During “Race to Read,” Howard’s 5- and 6-year-old students worked hard reading to earn bookmarks and reading medals. In order to earn a bookmark they must read five books and have five books read to them. To earn a medal they must read an additional eight books and have eight more books read to them for a grand total of 26 books. Response from parents was overwhelmingly positive, with many saying that their students are begging them to read to them more at home.
The school hopes the excitement of this reading program will ignite the students’ desire to keep reading through the summer. The “Race to Read” creates a fantastic feeling of reading success that the library and Mrs. Gurwitz, the librarian, are happy to support. Howard students read 6,888 books in two short weeks!
Lamar Elementary Celebrates Mother’s Day
Lamar Elementary School mothers and grandmothers convened for “Muffins for Moms” to celebrate Mother’s Day. The standing-room-only event was hosted by the Lamar PTA.
