Celebrating African American History

February was Black History Month and this year’s theme was "We are Connected. There's No Place Like Home." With activities like Black History Month trivia, musical highlights from Mrs. Dionne Smith, and a special guest speaker, students at Saint Patrick Catholic School had the opportunity to better understand the immeasurable impact the black community has had on our nation. 

On Thursday, February 27, the Second Grade transformed into historical black leaders for a Wax Museum presentation in the Theater. Parents, faculty, and staff strolled through the room asking each student about who they were portraying. These fully-costumed Wolfhounds spoke in first person about the life of those they represented and how they led by example and changed the world in a positive way.

On Friday, February 28, Middle School Director Akilah Ellison held a special assembly for students in Third through Eighth Grades. The program began with an introduction and prayer from Assistant Middle School Director Kevin Price and was followed by a “connections” activity with Middle School Director Akilah Ellison. She posed fun questions like “Who is sleepy this morning?”, “Who was born outside Virginia?”, and students answered yes to the various questions by standing up. Upon looking around, students were able to see that they have a lot more in common with their peers than they might think. The Fifth Grade then presented what they had learned about Gee’s Bend quilters in Alabama before unveiling their own artistic representation of a Gee’s Bend quilt that included contributions from every Fifth Grade student.

After the quilt presentation, Mrs. Ellison then introduced our guest speaker from The Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. Director of Youth Ministry and Faith Formation Nicole Drummond shared the rich history of the Basilica which includes the story of St. Patrick Catholic Church which once stood where the Basilica stands today. St. Patrick was burned down in 1856 by those that opposed black and white parishioners celebrating Mass together. A large wood crucifix was the only object to survive the fire and it remains housed at the Basilica. A replica of this crucifix hangs in the TowneBank Atrium at Saint Patrick Catholic School.

To conclude the assembly, Mr. Price called up Lindsay B., Myra B., Charlie D., Molly K., Toni M., Eliot R., Henry T., and Maelea W. - the eight Black History Month trivia finalists - to compete for champion of the trivia contest. Every student that participated worked hard to memorize 121 unique facts about black athletes, musicians, and religious leaders. While Molly K. eventually came out on top in the trivia contest, all Wolfhounds should be proud of their efforts!

Trivia Finalists (left to right): Charlie D., Myra B., Eliot R., Henry T., Lindsay B., Molly K., and Toni M.

Other Black History Month highlights:

• Prekindergarten had a Martin Luther King, Jr. theology lesson and introduced the word "inclusion" versus "exclusion."
• Kindergarten immersed themselves in stories of historical African American figures, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. In addition, they engaged in many hands-on activities centered around these literature studies.
• First Grade students worked on a sentence expansion activity that focused on the life of Ruby Bridges, the first African American child to attend an integrated school in Louisiana.
• Third Grade read the book, Belle: The Last Mule at Gee’s Bend, A Civil Rights Story. The students concluded the literature study by creating their own personal paper quilt inspired by the Gee’s Bend quilters. 
• Fourth Grade completed an in-depth book study on Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race.

From civil rights leaders to artists, from musicians to educators, from inventors to athletes, Black Americans continue to be a vital part of our past, present, and future. Wolfhounds will continue this learning throughout the year!

Sharing Their Gifts

Wolfhound Alumni Grandparent Howard Baugh preparing to teach his class on the Tuskegee Airmen.

As we celebrate the 20th season of our Evenings of Saint Patrick program, we are grateful for all of the adventurous, lifelong learners who have taken classes over the years and for their support of our Wolfhound students.  All proceeds from this program go directly to needs-based financial assistance for Saint Patrick families. Our participants have given hundreds of children the opportunity to receive a dynamic, total-formative education in a safe and joy-filled environment! We thank you!

We would also like to thank our Evenings at Saint Patrick instructors who have been instrumental to the success and longevity of the program. Evenings would not be possible without the willingness of Wolfhound parents, grandparents, and friends to share their unique passions, skills, and talents with our community. Jesus calls all of us to share “whatever gifts one has received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God” and our Evenings instructors lead by example. 

Whether it’s proud alumni grandparent Howard Baugh sharing the important history and courage of his father and fellow Tuskegee Airmen, Fifth and Sixth Grade Theology Teacher Nate Laurin teaching participants how to create delicious Filipino dishes alongside Wolfhound parent Bryan Soriano, or Wolfhound grandparent and WHRO radio personality Dwight Davis showing us how we can “Reach Beyond the Stodgy” and appreciate classical music in a new way, all of our instructors continue to enrich the lives of all those that engage in the fun of our classes. There is truly something for everyone and the vast variety of choices open to our participants demonstrates what a rich and diverse community we live in!

If you haven’t had a chance to experience Evenings at Saint Patrick yourself (or want to sign up again and again), just click HERE and find the class for you! We promise - you’ll never have so much fun at school!

Thank you to all of our instructors in 2025:

• Lisa Barrows
• Dan Batkin
• Howard Baugh
• Ronn Bonheur
• Georg Dahl
• Dwight Davis
• Whitney Davis
• Erika Donohue
• Suzanne Emmons
• Josh Evans
• Josh Fisher
• Cynthia Garcia
• Ashley Hartson
• Chistine Hoppe
• Corinne Hupp
• Christian Joyner
• Morgan Kelly
• Jason Kypros
• Lisa LaRock
• Meg Lassalle
• Nate Laurin
• Stanley Lawson
• Lauren Mazzari
• Erika McCullough
• Joe McDonald-Cruz
• Xemis McDonald-Cruz
• Carolyn Meyer
• Heather Perry
• Meiga Price
• Carrie Prince
• Tessa Robinson
• Zoah Scheneman
• Candace Seidensticker
• Bryan Soriano
• Nicolle Stopa
• Emily Uhl
• Mary Elizabeth Ward
• Brandy Williams

Quality Always Improves

On Tuesday, February 18, the Faculty and Staff at Saint Patrick Catholic School gathered on the final day of winter break for a day of professional development. We encourage all Wolfhound students to become enthusiastic, lifelong learners and hope to model this by continuing to grow in our own knowledge and expertise as it relates to our work at Saint Patrick.

Our first speaker, Amy Woods, a representative from the Sarah Michelle Peterson Foundation, led a certification/training course for faculty and staff on recognizing early warning signs of depression and anxiety to help prevent suicide. She guided us through the Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) Gatekeeper training, which helps debunk common myths about supporting individuals with depression and provides practical strategies - including specific language - to facilitate productive conversations that can connect a person in crisis to the help they need.

With suicide rates continuing to rise, including children as young as 10 years old, this training served as a powerful reminder that while anyone can experience these struggles, suicide is preventable. We found the session incredibly informative and valuable in our commitment to keeping our Wolfhounds safe. A special thank you to our guidance counselors, Shana O’Boyle and Dan Batkin, for organizing this essential training. We look forward to extending this opportunity to parents as part of an upcoming Wolfhound Wellness series.

Steve Hammond, Founding Principal of Saint Patrick and expert in Glasser Quality Schools, was the next to offer training to our faculty and staff. His presentation highlighted our school culture's unique qualities and characteristics that set us apart. We have made a lot of progress this year in helping students successfully assess their own growth in each Life Of. To build upon that progress and deepen teachers' understanding of Glasser’s Choice Theory in their classrooms, Mr. Hammond provided a variety of useful rubrics to help faculty and staff assess their own growth. These resources sparked meaningful discussions and thoughtful reflection among our faculty and staff. A heartfelt thank you to Steve Hammond for his continued support in making Saint Patrick a safe, faith-filled learning environment where the operating belief remains that “quality always improves!”

Each member of the faculty and staff at Saint Patrick Catholic School works daily to fulfill our mission of educating and nurturing the whole child – mind, body, and spirit - to be Christ-centered, compassionate, and courageous servant leaders. We welcome the opportunity to continue to grow both personally and professionally in our respective roles to provide an academically challenging, yet needs-satisfying educational experience for all Wolfhound students!

Cheers & Beers!

Come celebrate the 20the year of Evenings at Saint Patrick with "Cheers & Beers and BBQ, Too!" at Afterglow Brewing on Saturday, March 29 from 4:00 - 7:00 PM! The event will feature live music from Scotch n' Rye, barbeque from The Fishin' Pig, and the launch of our very own Wolfhound beer!

All current and alumni Wolfhound parents, grandparents, alumni (21+), and friends of the school are welcome and encouraged to attend! Click HERE to purchase your tickets today. 

We can't wait to see you there!

100 Days!

On Friday, February 7, we celebrated the 100th day of school! As our Pre-K students celebrated the day by dressing as if they were 100 years old, it was hard to believe we have already reached this annual milestone. Luckily for us, there is still plenty of learning and fun to be had this year!

Saint Patrick is in the midst of an exciting basketball season and our Evenings at Saint Patrick program is in full swing. We encourage you to take a class, learn something new, all while supporting our school. All proceeds benefit Saint Patrick Catholic School Financial Assistance.

We are preparing to welcome our newest Wolfhounds at the Feast on the Feast on Monday, March 17! As we begin to look forward to spring break, Field Day, and the graduation of the Class of 2025, it’s important to reflect on the great year we have had so far and how blessed we are to be a part of such a nurturing community. Go Wolfhounds!

Save the Date!

We will be kicking off our fifth annual Day O' Giving on Monday, March 17 and are asking all Wolfhound parents, grandparents, alumni, and friends to help us fill our pot o' gold!

Whether you are a first-time donor or a loyal supporter of Saint Patrick, we hope you will participate in our Day O' Giving. Every gift, no matter the amount, is truly appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your support on Monday, March 17!

Alumni Update

Congratulations to Katie Hogge Moore (Class of 2008) who married George Moore IV on Saturday, December 7, 2024! We wish you both a lifetime of happiness! 

Anne Dorsey (Class of 2010) lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and has worked for Waymo (formerly known as the Google Self Driving Car project) since 2018. She is a Staff Software Engineer and is currently the technical lead manager for one of the teams that focuses on how our fully-autonomous cars drive safely and comfortably around "vulnerable road users" - a category that includes pedestrians, cyclists, people on scooters, rollerbladers, horseback riders... etc. In her job, Anne gets to work with people in a lot of different roles, like fellow engineers, product managers, local, state, and federal regulators, transportation and safety advocacy organizations, and more! 

Congratulations Josh Seidensticker (Class of 2022) who is the indoor 3200m VISAA Division 1 State Champion! He ran a personal best 10:01 to win the championship race. Great job, Josh!

Our Contact Information
*{{Organization Name}}*
*{{Organization Address}}*
*{{Organization Phone}}*
*{{Organization Website}}*

*{{Unsubscribe}}*