Towards the end of April, Mr. Hutchinson’s eighth-grade science students dissected frogs in the school science lab. Students can learn a lot from frog dissection. According to Mr. Hutchinson, “They see the similarities and differences in the anatomy of a frog and a human, but more importantly, they learn not to be afraid to try new things in school.”
Mr. Hutchinson has been teaching the frog dissection lab each of the six years that he has been St. Anthony’s middle school science teacher. “Two years ago,” said Mr. Hutchinson, “we also added eyeballs to our dissection unit.”
With so much of school being online nowadays, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, hands-on activities grab students’ attention a lot better than many of the virtual options available.
Despite a few students feeling a little nervous before the lab, the eighth graders did very well with the assignment and seemed to enjoy it. Leah G., a student, commented, “I learned about teamwork and how to be steady and serious while dissecting a frog. I also learned about the muscles in a frog, how they work, and what makes them so important. Lastly, I learned about a frog’s eye, how it works, and how it’s similar to a human eye. I did enjoy the lab very much. I thought it was fun, challenging, and educational."
At St. Anthony of Padua School in Parma, Ohio, an important goal is to help children become compassionate citizens who will model Gospel values throughout life. For example, Mrs. Lavelle’s seventh-grade students’ service project for computer class is creating 3D manipulatives based on storybooks for the Cleveland Sight Center’s Bright Futures Preschool. (Manipulatives are objects that students can touch to help them understand a concept.)
Students began by reviewing the Tinkercad program, which enabled them to create the 3D manipulatives. Mrs. Tomaszewska, the preschool teacher from the Sight Center, came to speak to the students about the preschool programs. She explained that when her students are being read to, it is nice if they can feel the objects in the book. She stated this allows the students to feel and explore the shapes. The books she brought were about shapes, contrasting objects, and adventure. Matthew R. is awed by the fact “that what we make will help children see through touch.”
Mrs. Tomaszewska’s presentation sparked a great deal of excitement for the students. They thought carefully about choosing preschool books for which they could create 3D manipulatives. Some of their choices were If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Mrs. Tomaszewska also threw out another challenge: to create name bars in braille for all her students. Ana L. immediately jumped to the challenge. She states, “This is for a wonderful organization and to help other children. I feel honored to create name bars for all her students.”
The students started to work hard on designing their manipulatives. Once they completed their designs, they downloaded them to the MakerBot program. This program allowed the students to print their 3D manipulatives in MakerBot’s 3D printers.
The seventh graders will complete this project and give twenty-five story boxes to the Cleveland Sight Center by March. This project provides an educational experience to learn technological skills and to develop a deeper sense of empathy.
Did you ever find a math problem challenging and you needed a little extra help? Mrs. Hinz’s fourth and fifth graders often have this challenge while reviewing new material or preparing for a test. With the help of Mrs. Krayzel and her eighth graders, the extra help comes in the form of math tutoring.
The tutoring program benefits all the students involved. It allows the eighth graders to teach and review material they already have learned, and it provides the fourth and fifth graders the extra help they need.
Mrs. Krayzel wanted to provide a way for her eighth-grade religion students to earn service hours. At the same time, she wanted these hours to serve the school. Mrs. Hinz saw a need for extra help for her students when new material is challenging or when students need assistance preparing for a test. So the idea of peer tutoring worked for both Mrs. Krayzel and Mrs. Hinz.
Peer tutoring is an excellent way for students to expand their knowledge and review material. Learning from peers also provides a level of comfort knowing that the help is coming from a student who may have gone through the same learning challenges.
Mrs. Hinz finds that many students need guided practice in order to master skills. They practice in class, and they practice through homework. Having a peer tutor gives students the extra bonus of having guided help from a fellow learner.
Mrs. Krayzel and Mrs. Hinz both enjoy seeing the interaction of students at different grade levels. The school day is busy, and students do not always have the opportunity to interact with other grade levels. Weekly tutoring after school has provided a chance for the students to interact and learn at the same time. For the fourth and fifth graders, tutoring has helped to increase scores and to build confidence. The eighth graders seem to enjoy tutoring because they continue to tutor after meeting their service hour requirement.
Becoming an eighth grader brings many exciting opportunities for the students. One of the most privileged titles is becoming an eighth-grade buddy to a kindergartener. Each eighth grader recalls the amazing experience he or she had as a kindergartner and looks forward to the day when he or she is assigned a little friend for the entire school year. The kindergarten and eighth-grade teachers pair up the students who they think will be a perfect fit. Due to the class size of each grade, some students may be partnered with multiple students. This year, with a larger eighth grade, some kindergarteners have two or three buddies! Eighth-grade teacher Mrs. Kemp loves witnessing the first time the students get to meet their buddy. It’s not only a rite of passage at St. Anthony School, but also a great way for students to learn patience and responsibility and to nurture the first year of school for our youngest members.
Our kindergarten aide, Mrs. Bordonaro, shares her experience as both an aide and a mom. As a parent of three daughters--ages 17, 15, and 12--the experience was wonderful when they were children in kindergarten. They would come home from school so excited on meet-our-eighth-grade-buddy day! It was such a big deal, and their buddies made them feel very special. Two of her daughters have also had the privilege of being an eighth-grade buddy themselves. She enjoyed watching them act as role models since they have grown out of the quiet, timid girls they were in kindergarten. Her sixth grader is already counting the days until she will have a buddy of her own!
The classes try to meet with their buddies once or twice a month, and they work together on a craft or activity. For example, the first time they met this year, they just talked, colored, and got to know one another. The kindergarteners are usually very shy to begin with, since they are new to the whole school atmosphere. It is nice to see the eighth graders talk to them and make them feel relaxed, and by the end of the first visit, they act as though they have been friends forever! Some examples of past activities include designing a puzzle describing each person’s interests and activities, eighth graders interviewing their buddies on how to make a Thanksgiving turkey dinner, and playing Christmas Bingo and other holiday games. Most importantly, the buddies attend church together for all-school Masses. The eighth graders play a big role in helping the kindergarteners understand the steps of the Mass. They help them recite the Sign of the Cross, learn to pray quietly to Jesus, sing together, and say prayers. Mr. Hutchinson, an eighth-grade teacher, thinks the kindergarten buddy program is fantastic for our eighth graders. It definitely teaches them patience, responsibility, and understanding. They truly enjoy helping the kindergarteners learn and develop. For many students, this is one of the highlights of their eighth-grade year.
Our kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Hopkins, loves the eighth-grade/kindergarten buddies as a teacher and a mom of an eighth-grade student. She remembers when her son Matthew’s kindergarten class first met their eighth-grade buddies; they were nervous and kept saying how tall their buddies were! Now they are the tall eighth graders! It is so nice to see them pass each other in the hall, say hi, and give a hug to their buddies! The eighth graders are as excited to see their buddies as the kindergarteners are to see them. It reminds her of them being in kindergarten and being so happy when they were able to do activities together! Mrs. Bordonaro, Mrs. Kemp, and Mrs. Hopkins are so blessed to be able to be a part of the kindergarten and eighth-grade buddy program as both moms and educators! It is such a special program that we have at St. Anthony School!
Here is what some of our own eighth graders and kindergarteners have to say about the buddy program:
As role models, the eighth graders play a special part in the kindergarteners’ lives. In return, the kindergarteners look up to them and get so excited when we get together or even see them throughout the school. By the end of the year, all the students form friendships that can last a lifetime. They may see each other at high school sporting events or Sunday Mass and still give a wave, a hug, or simply ask how they are doing!
Father Dan is an intelligent, energetic, multi-talented young man, and he is our new parochial vicar. He is an enthusiastic music lover. His instrument of choice is the sliding trombone. But that is not his only interest; he enjoys reading, sports, learning, and meeting new people.
Born and raised in Hudson, Ohio, Father Dan attended Mass at Saint Mary Church with his family. He attended Hudson public schools for kindergarten through twelfth grade, and he was accepted at the University of Notre Dame to study chemical engineering.
During his junior year of college, he had his first calling to serve God. He changed his major to theology to become a youth minister. He signed up to do a work-study to supervise high school retreats. It was during this summer that he stated that he wanted to be a youth minister and maybe a priest. During this time, many acquaintances and friends started to advise him that priesthood might suit him better. By the end of the summer, he answered the call to become a priest. When he was back at college, he enrolled in classes that would help him at Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology.
On his twenty-second birthday, March 22, 2013, he was accepted into the seminary. In his time at Saint Mary’s, he had two internships at local parishes. The first one was at Saint Hilary in Fairlawn, where he enjoyed greeting the school’s students in the morning and having lunch with them. On March 22, 2018, his twenty-seventh birthday, he was called to the order of deacon. His second internship was with Saint John Bosco in Parma Heights; since he had been ordained a deacon, he performed many of the duties of a priest. Only a few short months ago, on May 18, 2019, he was ordained to the priesthood, and his first assigned parish is Saint Anthony of Padua.
Father Dan is eager for the new school year to start at St. Anthony School. He is looking forward to greeting the students and interacting with them during their lunch and recess. Additionally, he has already taken steps to be active at Padua Franciscan High School, where he hopes to meet the students and help with retreats and religious ceremonies.
We are blessed that he answered God’s call with a yes!
For St. Anthony’s fifth graders, the much-anticipated science event of the year is Science Career Fair! This project was a culminating activity that covered science topics which they have studied in both fourth and fifth grades. Each student researched a selected science-related career. The objective was to discover and present to a younger audience (grades K through 4) the way(s) in which this chosen career makes our lives better. The students needed to include the education required for this field, the job description, and an example of a specific scientist. Most importantly, they needed to explain, with a visual aid, why this field of study is so important to us (how it improves our lives).
The fair, held on May 10, represented a wide variety of life, earth, and physical science careers, such as the following:
The planning, research, and preparation for this fair was broken into smaller assignments and extended through the entire second half of the school year. According to Mrs. Lillstrung, science teacher, “The fifth graders put a great deal of effort into their projects and were very excited to share their hard work!”
The spotlight is on Father Peter Kovacina for a very good reason: The impact he has had on our school is incredible. He has become a member of the St. Anthony family and is a beacon of light to everyone in the school. This year our school theme is “Be the Light,” and Father Peter lives that theme daily. With a smile on his face and the love of God and Jesus in his heart, he spreads that love to the faculty, staff, and most importantly the students.
Father Peter came to St. Anthony three years ago, and it became apparent very quickly that we would be seeing a lot of him in the school. Since that time, he has come into the fifth-grade class to talk about being altar servers and has played the chimes alongside middle school students during a Christmas concert. He not only came to the school’s fundraiser to show his support, but also was a very willing participant. He got his own sponsors and ran during the Fun Run along with the students. After the run, there was a dance party, and he even was a part of a dance off with the principal and students. “Father Peter is just really fun,” said Julian, a fourth grader. A classmate, Payton, added, “It is really special that he gives us his time.”
The students see Father Peter’s faith as they look out the window and watch him taking his walks on the school grounds and saying his prayers as he carries his rosary. From his high fives to all students as they leave Mass, to his rosary challenge (ask him to show you his rosary, and he always has it, but you better have yours!), and going into the library to do Math Facts with the kids, he is an example of “Being the Light” for the students.
For the last two school years, Father Peter has met with grades K-3 and 4-5 for monthly saint talks. One fourth grader, Aiden, described these monthly meetings as “fun and enjoyable.” Casey, a fifth grader, noted that Father Peter is inspiring. Last year the saints who were discussed during these meetings were those who helped the poor and vulnerable. This year Father Peter selected saints who were children to impress on the students that they can also become saints. During the saint talks, he tells the students about the saint’s life, oftentimes using a slide show, videos, or having the children act out scenes of the saint’s life. This year he is also talking about a different part of the Mass each time the group meets. He usually ends each meeting with any questions the children have, and there have been some very deep and interesting discussions.
The following sentiments expressed by several fifth graders reflect the truth of the saying “out of the mouths of babes . . . comes wisdom.”
“Father Peter has made me a better Catholic.”
--Gabriella
“Having Father Peter as a priest changed the way I think and care about others.”
--Cassie
“Father Peter helped me through sad times by bringing Jesus and God to help me.”
--Avery
We are certainly blessed to have such a role model whose light shines within our school.