News - March 2023

The students at South Boston Catholic Academy enjoyed celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and also the students at the Early Childhood Center, with help from our terrific Student Council members that helped the Toddlers and K0 students celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the Patron Saint of Ireland and of the Archdiocese of Boston, on Friday, March 17, 2023. We started the day off with a School Mass at St. Brigid Church that the 6th Graders participated in as Greeters, Readers and students brought the Gifts up to the Altar. Our SBCA Children’s Choir sounded wonderful, too. Father Christopher Boyle, our Parochial Vicar, was the celebrant at this Mass. At school students took part in a day filled with Leprechaun Hunts, wonderful Irish Step Dancing, from our many talented students, and we all enjoyed the wearing of green! St. Patrick had a great love for God and he taught about the great love God has for all of us. We hope everyone had a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig daoibh… is Irish for, St Patrick's Day Blessing to you! New families are welcome to email our admissions team at: admissions@sbcatholicacademy.org for more info. about South Boston Catholic Academy.

Cheers rang out from the 3B classroom as students watched their ZOOMED-in classmate, Nora Witkin, clinch the school’s top speller spot in the 12th round. The next step for our winner is competing in the 2023 Boston Citywide BCYF Spelling Bee that will take place on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square Branch. Congratulations to all our superb South Boston Catholic Academy spellers for their diligence, determination, and school spirit! A Special Thank you to Mrs. Evans, our Upper Elementary Literacy Coach and Latin Teacher, for organizing this Annual School Spelling Bee. We wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! New families are welcome to email our admissions team at: admissions@sbcatholicacademy.org for more info. about South Boston Catholic Academy.

On Tuesday, March 7, our former First Grade Teacher, Sister Evelyn Hurley, SCN, who taught students for many years celebrated her 108th Birthday. Our Pastor, Father Robert Casey, visited her at the Mother House in Nazareth, Kentucky as she celebrated her 108th Birthday. He also celebrated a Mass in her honor for her birthday and brought her well wishes and greetings from all of our Parishioner and SBCA students, teachers and staff. Father Casey also brought the beautiful cards that the SBCA students made for her to wish her Happy Birthday and to let her know she is in our thoughts and prayers. Ms. Caroline Gannon, who is currently one of our three First Grade Teachers, told her students in 1C a little about Sister Evelyn and how she was her dad’s, Paul Gannon’s, First Grade Teacher. Here are some of what Ms. Gannon’s students wrote in their Birthday card to Sister Evelyn…Dear Sister Evelyn, Happy Birthday! What is your secret? Do you eat your vegetables? Another student wrote… Dear Sister Evelyn, Happy Birthday! Wow 108 that number is really BIG! And another student wrote… Dear Sister Evelyn, Happy Birthday! My teacher, Ms. Gannon, said you taught her dad in First Grade. Sister Evelyn was born in South Boston on March 7, 2015, she became a Sister of Charity of Nazareth in 1933 (90 years ago). She resided at St. Brigid Convent for over 60 years and taught the First Grade at St. Brigid School, South Boston for most of those years. She is an amazing woman and Religious Sister. She prays for everyone daily. Dear Sister Evelyn, All of us at SBCA wish you a Very Happy and Healthy 108th Birthday! God Bless you always. New families are welcome to email our admissions team at: admissions@sbcatholicacademy.org for more info. about South Boston Catholic Academy.

Ms. Faith Smith’s 6th Grade students learned all about Ancient Egypt by taking a virtual field trip, writing their names using hieroglyphics, choosing what they would keep in their tombs, and being wrapped like mummies. Fantastic job 6th Grade! Some interesting facts about Ancient Egypt…The Ancient Egyptian civilization spanned more than 3,000 years. King Tut was only 9 years old when he became ruler of Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian women and men were treated equally. Some Egyptian doctors had specialized fields of study. Ancient Egyptians loved board games. Cats were considered to be sacred animals. Egyptians kept many animals as pets. Most pyramids were built to be tombs for pharaohs. It took about a mile’s worth of bandages to wrap a mummy. There have been more than 130 pyramids discovered across Egypt. The Great Pyramid, or the Pyramid of Khufu is the tallest and largest Egyptian pyramid of the three pyramids towering over Giza. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence, despite its being the oldest wonder by about 2,000 years. The Pyramids of Giza are naturally temperature controlled. The hieroglyphic alphabet consisted of more than a thousand unique hieroglyphs. Ancient Egyptians were probably the first society to read and write. The Ancient Egyptians forged one of the earliest peace treaties on record. New families are welcome to email our admissions team at: admissions@sbcatholicacademy.org for more info. about South Boston Catholic Academy.

For the students at South Boston Catholic Academy, the past week was another special week full of great fun, activities, and letting all our families, friends, teachers, and staff know how much we care and appreciate them. The students had a chance to celebrate our 100th Day of School. What is the meaning of 100 school days? 100 School Days marks the 100th day of learning in the school year. It offers students and teachers time to reflect on the work done by students and allows schools to celebrate achievements and accomplishments. The students had a chance to think about all the different ways we can count up to 100 to celebrate our 100th Day of School! In Ms. Byrne’s class, they did 100th Day Exercises - including counting out 100 M&M’s. The older students made fanatic and interesting posters using their creativity and imagination. Each class celebrated its 100th day in unique and special ways. We hope everyone had a wonderful St. Valentine’s Day! Saint Valentine is the patron saint of love. Believers say God worked through his life to perform miracles and teach people how to recognize and experience true love. This famous saint, an Italian doctor who later became a priest, inspired the creation of the holiday of sending letters/cards to those we love on St. Valentine's Day. The students made Special Valentines with messages to their parent(s). The students had parties in their classrooms where they had a chance to exchange cards and candy with everyone in their class. Shout out to our Home and School Committee for all their great help and support, our awesome Student Council, who helped write, organize, and deliver candy grams for the students, and to Ms. Olsen, for her wonderful guidance and help with this year’s Students Council. New families are welcome to email our admissions team at: admissions@sbcatholicacademy.org for more info. about South Boston Catholic Academy.

A BIG Thank you to Nicholas Foligno, an American Professional Ice Hockey Left Winger for the Boston Bruins, Janelle Foligno, Author and Blades, the team mascot for the Boston Bruins for coming to visit the students at South Boston Catholic Academy. They came to tell us about the importance of heart health and how we can keep our heart healthy by exercising and eating right. Janelle Foligno, wrote a book entitled, “Dear Heart, A Letter To My Special Heart” that she dedicated to her daughter Milana. Janelle read her inspiring story to the students. Quoting Janelle, “Milana’s journey has taught us a lot. It’s identified the important need for congenital heart defect research and heart research in general, which has spear-headed our efforts to make a difference for those battling heart disease. Our mission is to live a heart healthy life. Not only for Milana, but for ourselves and others. We strive to create a family foundation that can grow as we do. It’s important for us to give back through philanthropy and show our children the positive impact it can have to their communities.” The Foligno family is dedicated to helping others learn more about the importance of our heart health. For more information about them and our heart health, go to http://heartsplaybook.com/our-story.html. Thank you again to The Foligno Family and the Boston Bruins for this very special visit to SBCA. The students loved meeting them and learning about the importance of keeping our heart healthy. February is Heart Health Month. Stepping away from the computer once a day to get some fresh air and sunshine can improve your mood by increasing serotonin levels and the production of endorphins. Getting outside can also increase red blood cell production, which carries oxygen throughout the body and to your brain. New families are welcome to email our admissions team at: admissions@sbcatholicacademy.org for more info. about South Boston Catholic Academy.