News

We are excited to have the 6th grade, South Boston Catholic Academy Class of 2022, leading the new school year! This year we have two 6th grade classes lead by Ms. Hoisl and Ms. Smith. The 6th graders took part in our first school Mass for this school year and did a fantastic job with the readings at this Mass. Father Casey, the Pastor and Father Boyle, the Parochial Vicar were the celebrants at this Mass at St. Brigid Church. The students were eager to get back in the classroom, and are off to a great start. We look forward to seeing what this year brings for our wonderful 6th graders! New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From Mr. Stautberg… The students in 3A built Marshmallow Spaghetti Towers as a team building activity on the first day of school! They used communication and teamwork to build their towers from the ground up. Terrific job with your towers 3A! The students in grade 3 participated in the school Mass, on Sept. 16, 2021. They did a wonderful job with the readings at this Mass! Father Casey, the Pastor, and Father Boyle, the Parochial Vicar, where the celebrants at this Mass. From Mr. Espinal, the Music Teacher…The ukulele is one the perfect induction instruments for children. The guitar and Ukulele are similar enough that if someone is interested in learning the guitar the techniques are easily transferable. The students in 3A are doing a great job learning how to play the ukulele! New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

Congratulations to all the 3rd Grade children of South Boston Catholic Academy and the Gate of Heaven and St. Brigid Parishes Religious Education Program who received their First Holy Communion on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at Gate of Heaven Church. The celebrants at this Mass were our Pastor, Father Casey, our Parochial Vicar, Father Boyle and Monsignor Bergin. Thank you to our great teachers at South Boston Catholic Academy and in the Parish Religious Education Program, who helped prepare the children for this very special day. Special thanks to all the wonderful families, the Principal at South Boston Catholic Academy, Dr. Civian and the Religious Education Coordinator, Mr. Hebert for the work they do through the year to ensure that everyone is ready for this Sacrament and to all who helped make this special day possible. May God Bless all these wonderful children and their families! “We do not go to Holy Communion because we are good; we go to become good” -John Bosco

From our Principal, Dr. Civian… “We are honored to be able to welcome all our old and new students, families, faculty and staff back to South Boston Catholic Academy. We are excited to work closely with our families to ensure the success and well-being of all of our students. The Administration, Faculty, and Staff of South Boston Catholic Academy have prepared well to welcome all the children back to school for a quality catholic education, while taking every precaution to protect the health and well-being of every student, their family and their teacher.” From Ms. Gannon…In Grade 1C class we read “First Day Jitters” by Julie Danneberg and discussed how we felt on the morning of our first day. Some of the children were also feeling how the main character, Sarah Jane Hartwell felt, very nervous! The class enjoyed Jitter Juice at snack time, to help the butterflies in our tummy. We had a great first day and we are looking forward to a great new school year in 1C! “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -Benjamin Franklin New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From Ms. Molly Maguire, the K0A Teacher…Mary Powers has been a wonderful asset to the South Boston Catholic Academy Community for many years. Her dedication to Catholic education has made such an impact on her students and fellow educators. Her charismatic leadership, and love for teaching are unmatched. She is not only a valued member of the SBCA staff, but she is also a part of the Lynch Leadership Team, and awarded ‘Teacher of the Year’ by the Archdiocese of Boston in 2019. After teaching at Gate of Heaven School and South Boston Catholic Academy for many years, Mrs. Powers will be missed, but is now starting a new journey of her well-deserved retirement! Thank you, Mrs. Powers; all of us at SBCA wish you the best in your retirement! May God Bless you and your family always. “Often when you are at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” Fred Rogers. New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From Ms. Sarah Hoisl, the Sixth Grade Teacher…It was my pleasure to be able to speak on behalf of the Sixth Grade this year. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the kids during the academic year of 2020-2021. As I said at graduation, this class has been through many unprecedented times and encountered many unpredictable moments. Throughout all of it they have never ever let anything get in the way of their success. Congratulations to my favorite class of 2021. To my first ever class. To a class I will never forget. I truly cannot believe that I am standing here today on the last day of school. The first thing that I want to do is thank your parents and support systems at home. None of this would have been possible without their constant love and support. They helped you through the hardest days throughout the past 7 years. Please take the time today to give them a hug and truly think about the amazing things they have provided you with… These students are going to some amazing schools around the Boston area, some of them including BLS, BLA, Newman School, Brimmer and May, BC High, Cathedral High, St. John’s, Collegiate and many more. They are all going to do amazing things because they have created such a strong foundation of Catholic faith, love for others and a work ethic like no other at South Boston Catholic Academy. It was my honor to work with this class and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead of them. They are special and will never be forgotten by SBCA. Love the love in the world for that class. SBCA strong. Congratulations South Boston Catholic Academy Class of 2021! Thank you and God Bless you, Ms. Hoisl, for a most wonderful school year Making Grade 6 Memoires, in Masks! God Bless and Best Wishes from all of us at SBCA to all our wonderful Sixth Graders and their families as they start a new chapter in their lives. New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy. Here is the entire wonderful speech Ms. Hoisl gave at the 6th Grade Graduation Ceremony… “I have dreaded this day for as long as I can remember because it is the day, we have to say goodbye and go our separate ways. Congratulations to my favorite class of 2021. To my first ever class. To a class I will never forget. I truly cannot believe that I am standing here today on the last day of school. The first thing that I want to do is thank your parents and support systems at home. None of this would have been possible without their constant love and support. They helped you through the hardest days throughout the past 7 years. Please take the time today to give them a hug and truly think about the amazing things they have provided you with. Since the first day of school all of you have made so much progress. In August when we first started school it was the first time that you guys had been in a classroom setting for 6 months. There were emotional challenges, personal challenges, and academic challenges to face. There were days where we did not know where to start and days that you guys definitely did not know what to expect. But you never let anything set you back and you never let anything get in the way of your success. We started in brand new territory that none of us really knew how to navigate but you came together as a strong class and got through many challenges thrown at you. From the start of the year when we were getting ready for the Fall MAP test, then we were prepping for the ISEE. Between middle school admissions and the change in BPS expectations you showed the utmost perseverance. Then through all of it you acted as leaders in the school, from creating the enchanted village, the nativity play, to the stations of the cross, prayer services, masses, student council leaders, and many other things. You showed so much character and leadership. One of the main things that we have focused on from the start of the year is the development of your characters and the legacy that you are going to leave behind at SBCA. Some of you have been going here for 6 or 7 years, some of you took some years off, but all of you have called this place home for a period of time. From the start it was my goal as your teacher and our goal as a class to leave a legacy of kindness, determination, and a group that left many smiles behind. We worked on personal growth and acceptance of all people around us no matter what our differences are. You have achieved that. You should be so proud of yourself. Between all of this we have had many laughs, a lot of kickball games, lots of funny park times, fun fitness club activities, and many other irreplaceable memories. Because of all of you I smile a little harder and laugh a little more often. Thank you for teaching me some amazing life lessons and leaving such an amazing legacy on SBCA. You are all about to begin a new chapter in your life. You are heading to some amazing schools. Brimmer and May, BLA, BLS, BC High, Saint John Paul, Cathedral, Archies, Saint Sebastian’s, St. Johns, Collegiate, the Newman School and many more. As you all step into this next chapter in life I want you to remember a few things.1. Smile often. All of you have the most amazing smiles and they are contagious to all of the people around you. 2. Try new things and do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. It is not until you all tried to step out of your comfort zone that you got to know one another. 3. Make your own change and have your own impact everywhere you go. You are all capable of big change and the world needs you now more than ever. You are all so ready to move on and make some amazing changes anywhere you go. Be someone your future letter to yourself will be proud of. But do not forget to come back home to SBCA and visit from time to time. Do not forget to play a game of kickball when you are down. Do not forget all the amazing morals and values SBCA and your parents have provided you with throughout the years. We will miss you tons. I will miss you tons, and cannot wait to see all the amazing things that lay in each of your futures. I will always be your number one fan! Keep rocking the world! Congratulations class of 2021. This is not a goodbye this is just a see you later you all know that.”

From Ms. Smith… On Tuesday, June 8, 2021, the 5B Grade class had a “Publishing Party” to celebrate and share their narrative “books” the students wrote. A Narrative is writing that tells a story. It has a sequence of events, the plot…A novel written from the point of view of the main character is a narrative. The students found topics of interest to them and using their imagination wrote their very own and unique story around it and made their own books to share with their classmates and families. Some of the titles of their great books are as follows… M. V. P., The Overtaking, Into the Jungle, Digging to China; Timothy, Bill, Bob (The Three Musketeers); Steve the Duck, The Missing Child, Attack of the Ivy, The Mysteries of the Forest, The Martians and Peter The Dragon…Fantastic work on your “books” Grade 5B! From Ms. Reh… Monday, June 13, was an exciting day in 2B! We had a Fairy Tale Celebration in our classroom! The students worked on their magical math mission and I lost my voice like Ariel does in the "Little Mermaid." Thank you all to our parents for providing such awesome materials! The room looked AWESOME! The students were in pure shock when they came in that morning. Just a recap, we have been focusing on Fairy Tales in Language Arts for the past 9-10 weeks. We studied seven different fairy tales, and each student wrote their own original fairy tale. As a fun wrap up to the year and celebrate all of their hard work, each child dressed up as their favorite fairy tale character! This past Monday was truly a magical day in 2B! Thank you to our families for everything! “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” – C.S. Lewis. New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

The first thing we all love about spring is that it is warmer and people can spend more time outside. The Student Council took advantage of the warmer weather and being able to be outside, that they beautified the school grounds recently. The students were eager to give back, and embrace the spring weather by cleaning the school yard play area and front lawn. They planted bushes and flowers, and worked together as such a great team! It was a joy to see their huge smiles as they played in the dirt and found many wiggly worms. The South Boston Catholic Academy Student Council, also, hosted a clothing drive to benefit Cradles to Crayons during this season of spring cleaning! What a great opportunity to support other Boston Families through a Boston based charity. Cradle to Crayons provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play. They supply these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities. Their vision is that one day every child will have the essentials they need to feel safe, warm, be ready to learn and valued. Thank you, to all our wonderful and generous families and friends, for their donations to this special drive. As a special end of the school year treat, the Student Council organized a Carnival Day for all the students at SBCA on Monday, June 7, 2021. As you can see from the photos, it was a sunny and fun fill day full of crafts to color and make and fun games to play! A Big Thank You to our wonderful Student Council members and to Ms. Tynan, the Music Teacher, for her guidance, help and support with this year’s Student Council Members. We thank them for all their terrific and inspiring work throughout this very challenging year. Great job SBCA Student Council! New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

A Big Thank You to Mrs. Elizabeth Brooks, a parent at South Boston Catholic Academy, for organizing this year’s Scholastic Book Fair and to her committee of SBCA parents who volunteered their time. As always, Thank You to all our families and friends at South Boston Catholic Academy for their support in helping to make this year’s school book fair a big success. We are very grateful for their support throughout the school year that has made this and all our events possible. “There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” —Jacqueline Kennedy. New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From Ms. Bourdon, the K2C Teacher...The students in K2C were surprised in early April with a class pet. They received 5 baby caterpillars. They were so excited and observed the caterpillars as they grew bigger and bigger, eventually entering their chrysalides, and then were amazed when they emerged as butterflies. After feeding and nurturing the butterflies for a few days, K2C released the butterflies, on May 6, 2021, into nature. They will miss the butterflies, but were happy to see the butterflies soar and explore the world! New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From Ms. Olsen, the Grade 2A Teacher…The students kick started a new science unit by going outside to explore different plants, animals, and other things that may be seen around the school yard. The students had the option to either draw what they saw or write down what they saw using their words. When they were outside, they were eager to point out what they were seeing to one another. They worked diligently to find as many things as possible. When we went back inside the students shared what they had observed. As a group we discussed which objects needed water, food, and oxygen to survive and labeled them living. The students went off on their own and sorted their observations into living and non-living categories. Great job with this Science Project 2A! God Bless all mothers on this upcoming Mother’s Day weekend and always, from all of us at South Boston Catholic Academy! New families are welcome to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From Ms. Worthen, the Grade 5A Teacher…Students in 5A love recreating book jackets after a class novel study! Our most recent novel that we read was Holes by Louis Sachar. The students enjoyed a special guest teacher named Mr. Greg Tang. He introduced the students to new ways on how to approach Math. Is it a chemical or physical reaction? Students made butter, by shaking heavy whipping cream in a mason jar. The students were all so engaged in this science experiment. Afterwards, they got to enjoy a warm piece of toast with the butter they made! In Math class, students created Leprechaun houses out of graph paper. They enjoyed finding the area, perimeter and volume of their house! Great job Grade 5A with all these class projects! New families are welcomed to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

On March 12th to celebrate Pi weekend and Math in general; mathematician and author Greg Tang zoomed into classrooms at South Boston Catholic Academy, K2 - 6, to teach interactive, engaging math lessons. Students in Kindergarten and Grade 1 participated in an interactive addition and subtraction lesson. Grades 2 and 3 examined multiplication as repeated addition; while Grades 4 and 5 explored fractions and their decimal equivalents. Mr. Tang writes math books explaining concepts with poetry. Math enrichment using rhyming language is extended into April; as students celebrate poetry month, by creating their own poetry text. Quoting Albert Einstein, German Theoretical Physicist…. "Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas." A special Thank you to Mr. Greg Tang for teaching these very interactive and engaging math lessons to our students and to Mrs. Moriarty for coordinating this special Logistics for Math Enrichment Program for the students at South Boston Catholic Academy! New families are welcomed to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From Ms. Gibbs, our Teacher in Grade 4A… Just like the students in grade 4B did with their Build a Wigwam Challenge, the students in 4A at SBCA have been learning about the people and land of the Northeast region of the United States during our social studies time. To make the experience more interactive, students worked in small groups to create models of wigwams, the homes that the Narragansett group of Native Americans lived in. Students were provided pipe cleaners, twine, tape, playdough, and Popsicle sticks to work with and then were sent to work. The students were not given any instructions on how they should build the wigwams to add an extra challenge and creative element. The projects turned out great, and this was a fun way to combine social studies and science in our classroom! Fantastic job building your Wigwams grade 4A! New applicants are welcomed to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From Ms. Hoisl, the 6th Grader Teacher…Sixth Grade decided to give back this Easter. We wanted to participate in something larger than our class so we decided to make 27 Easter baskets for Saint Monica's Parish. We had some of the supplies donated by my parents and then the rest supplied by the children's parents. We will deliver them to Saint Monica's in hopes that they have an amazing Easter this year. All of us at South Boston Catholic Academy wish everyone a Blessed and Happy Easter! New applicants are welcomed to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

On March 17, 2021, the students at South Boston Catholic Academy had a chance to celebrate a very special St. Patrick’s Day filled with leprechaun hunts, Irish step dancing, and lots of green! The children learned about St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and of the Archdiocese of Boston. He is credited with bringing Christianity to the people of Ireland. St. Patrick had a great love for God and taught about the great love that God has for all of us. We hope that everyone had a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! “Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!” is Gaelic for “St. Patrick's Day blessings to you!” New applicants are welcomed to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From our 1C Teacher, Ms. Gannon…As part of Reading Across America Week and celebrating Dr. Seuss’s 117 Birthday on Tuesday, March 2, we read many Dr. Seuss books as a class. The students also brought in their favorite books from home and were able to partner read and share their favorite parts of the book with each other! Lastly, we colored in pictures of Dr. Seuss and completed a word search all about Dr. Seuss. It was a great day! It was nice to see that 1C, along with the students in Ms. McCarthy’s 1A and Ms. Byrne’s 1B class, as well as, students in the other grades all had a chance to take part in this Read Across America Week project. From our K2C Teacher, Ms. Bourdon…In honor of Dr. Seuss and Read Across America month, K2 has been collecting videos from friends and family who live across the country. Family and friends have been reading their favorite books, and students have been coloring in the corresponding state. The goal is to have a representative from all 50 states! Quotes from some famous authors…“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.” and “You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax all you need is a book!”— Dr. Seuss, “There are many little ways to enlarge your world. Love of books is the best of all.” – Jacqueline Kennedy and “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” – Margaret Fuller… Happy reading everyone! New applicants are welcomed to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

Congratulations to Ned Kiely, Grade 6, South Boston Catholic Academy’s 2021 Spelling Bee Champion! Ned broke a tie for champion with 5th grader Sean Costello and spelled his way to a win. Six classroom champions in grades 3-6 participated in the annual school event. The other SBCA spellers who competed in the Spelling Bee are – Summer Maki, grade 3, Maddison Parthum, grade 4A, Marielle Nicholas, grade 4B, and Thomas Brooks, grade 5B. The winner, Ned, will move ahead to a local Boston Spelling Bee to be held on March 20. Using a hybrid spelling bee format, the spellers, who were competing in a separate space in the school, were cheered on remotely by their classmates who zoomed in to the competition from their classrooms. Shout out to all our wonderful students in grades 3 through 6 for doing such a fantastic job in this year’s Annual South Boston Catholic Academy Spell Bee! Special Thank you to Mrs. Evan’s for coordinating this school Spelling Bee. All of us at SBCA wish Ned that Very Best of Luck at this year’s Boston Spelling Bee Competition. New applicants are welcomed to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

The students in Ms. Smith's 5B grade class celebrated Black History Month by researching African American heroes, whose legacy still impacts the world today. The 5B historian’s researched hero’s like Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Maya Angelou and created banners in their honor. We ended this unit with each student presenting his or her hero. We had fun and learned a lot. God Bless America!!!! During Black History Month students in Ms. Szmurlo’s Art Class, have been studying artists such as Alma Woodsey Thomas, Faith Ringgold and even Jean-Michel Basquiat. They have learned about their impact on Art history as well as African American history. In third grade, students learned about Alma Thomas and how she used abstract painting techniques to create concentric circles. Fifth and Sixth grade learned about Faith Ringgold and how she uses paint and sewing techniques to create memory quilts about her life and ancestry. Students created based on those artists, while still creating their own meaningful work of art. This year South Boston Catholic Academy students in Ms. Tynan’s Music class are proudly honoring the lives of Black musicians of present and past. Starting with our youngest friends in Kindergarten through 6th grade, we are exploring the lives of black musicians and their contribution to musical history. Where would jazz be without Louis Armstrong? Or opera be without the early voice of Marion Anderson? In Kindergarten students have learned biographical songs, set to American folk tunes, like a song about Louis Armstrong set to the tune of When the Saints Come Marching In (one of his biggest hits). We also are exploring the lives of less famous artists such as Melba Liston, a contemporary of Armstrong, who was the first female trombone player to be allowed to play on the bandstand. In sixth grade we read "When Marion Sang", describing the amazing life of Marion Anderson. Anderson was a famous opera singer who fought to be heard in the United States, and eventually convinced Eleanor Roosevelt to help her overcome the racial bias in the opera world. With Roosevelt's help she was invited to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to a crowd of thousands. Sixth grade has also discussed the lives of various black composers and modern artists. The gift of music is one of the many wonderful gifts God has given to us all! Some of our other February highlights include…Celebrating our 100th Day of school and February Vacation Camp…The students that attended camp during our February vacation had a terrific time making Musical Rain Sticks, making crafts, playing fun games in the gym and much more. Ms. Reh’s 2B students have been working so hard on their biographies for Black History Month that she wanted to celebrate their hard work. On February 25, Ms. Reh took her students on a field trip to M Street Beach. As you can see from their photo, a good time was had by all! On February 26, the 3rd grades students in Mr. Stautberg’s class, the student's in 5A in Ms. Worthen’s class and Ms. Hosil’s grade 6 students also got a nice treat by going out to M Street Park to enjoy the great weather after a week of hard work. What a great way to end the month of February and welcome the month of March! New applicants are welcomed to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.

From Mrs. Dawson, our Grade 4B Teacher…This month was a busy month in 4B and one of the many classroom activities our students did was to create Wigwams as part of our study of the Northeast region of our country. We studied the people and historical events that have contributed to the development of the Northeastern region of the US. The students did a great job on their Student Lab Sheet: Build a Wigwam Challenge. The students enjoyed this hands-on classroom project and working as a team. They found that building a Wigwam can be interesting and fun, as well as, educational. A fantastic job with your Wigwams, Grade 4B! New applicants are welcomed to email Mrs. Jamie Brown at j.brown@sbcatholicacademy.org to learn more about South Boston Catholic Academy.