Together, St. Ann Can Be Great!

I am not one to attend the same Mass every weekend.  I do my best to change it up and attend Mass at St. Ann at different times. One of the things I've noticed when attending the different Masses at St. Ann is that there are so many school aged children attending Mass who don't attend St. Ann Catholic School.

To me, this is very sad and worrisome. I do fear what is going to happen with Catholic education in the future. It is no secret that the school at St. Ann wasn't far from closing its doors before this school year started. We have added some years to St. Ann by improving the school, which has helped to increase enrollment. Yet, we are a long way from being in the clear from any type of closure. If we don't continue to improve and change the way we approach education, we are not sure what the future will look like.

Until this year, enrollment had been in decline since 1985. After a 33 year decline, we finally reversed this enrollment decline this year . We have to continue this trend. We cannot expect to have 200 families fund the whole school. We need to build on that with St. Ann families and alumni support. We need to fill our school. If that happens, tuition will be more manageable for all families. If you attend St. Ann Catholic Church, have school aged children, and would like for your child(ren) to attend St. Ann Catholic School, but are not sure if you can afford a Catholic education, please come meet with Angela de Jong in our school office. I think you will be surprised. angela.dejong@sascolts.org

We are making strides every day to improve the school. Come visit. See what's going on in the classrooms. As I said, I think you will be surprised.

If you are reading this and know of a family with school aged children who attend the parish but not the school, please share this blog with them. For the sake of the parish, school, and our Catholic faith, we have to grow. But, we have to start the growth from within. For those who are a part of the school but not the church, we need to make our parish so wonderful that you will want to be a part of St. Ann and not just during the school year. We need to work together to make St. Ann the best parish possible for everyone.

The fourth session of Extracurricular Exploration begins January 8th. We will introduce the offerings on Monday during the regular EE time and conduct sign-ups then.  The offerings for this fourth session, which runs from January 8th through February 15th are:
1.  The History of Pop and Country Music (John Baum)
2.  STEM Building (Stacey Griffith)- Students who participate in this EE will also compete in a STEM contest at Southwest Community College on February 23rd. The competition is not optional.
3.  Sewing/Art (Ruby Langford, Lauren Truelove, Billy Gage/Katie Jones)
4.  Basketball/Volleyball (Blake Arey, Tracy Angotti/Jennifer Podesta, Jessica Orban)
5.  Chess (Annmarie Ghio)

I do want to say thank you to the families that stepped up and purchased chess sets for the school. We asked for help and you responded. In no time, all six chess sets were donated to St. Ann. Just like when we needed speakers for the classrooms, you responded with kindness and generosity. Thank you. We will have more requests in the future. Please continue to support the school and our students.

The Stuppy Family Foundation out of Kansas City, Missouri has donated a little over $3K to St. Ann for the purchase of lockers for the 8th graders. To help keep our school nicer and neater, we are adding lockers by the 8th grade homeroom (Mrs. Griffith's science labs). This will give the 8th graders their own locker space as well as allow the 6th and 7th graders to have their own locker walls. The lockers have been ordered and should be arriving any day. Thank you to Frank and Kelley Stuppy for their support. Kelley is a 1987 St. Ann graduate. Once a Colt...!

Something that I would like to do in my blog is to brag on students about some of their personal accomplishments, and not just things they do at school. So, here are a few shoutouts to several of our St. Ann students.

Adam Locke is a black belt in karate, and he became a black belt with his

mother, Lori, and brother, Ethan. He made blackbelt from Bartlett ATA last December. It took him three years to accomplish this feat. Now, he is focusing his time and energy on scouting and trap shooting. We might have to create a St. Ann trap shooting team. Who is ready to lead this venture?

My family went skeet shooting over the Christmas break in Maryland, and we loved it. It reminded me of the times when I was young and my father used to take me shooting. He taught me how to shoot. In turn, I taught my son and daughter how to shoot. Need to go skeet/trap shooting more often.

Brett Battle read all seven of the Harry Potter books. This means he read over 1 million words. Is reading all seven books a big deal? Yes it is especially if you have a diagnosed learning disability. Brett shows us that through hard work, perseverance, and parental support, the possibilities are endless. When he isn't jumping out of airplanes, Brett is reading Harry Potter. Congratulations and great work Brett!

Zach Griffith, Kate Bannister, and Savannah Bannister performed in all 23 shows of Christmas Carol at Theater Memphis. Zach played the roles of young Ebby and Peter Cratchit. Kate and Savannah played the roles of Want and Ignorance as well as carolers. Not only did they perform in 23 shows, they kept their grades up during their very busy schedule. Congratulations and thank you for your dedication to excellence.

As we begin the second half of the 2018-19 school year, I ask for your prayers for our students, families, staff, volunteers, and donors. Please pray for guidance and wisdom for our school leaders. Please pray that we continue to improve the school and the education we offer our students. Please pray for continued support from our donors and alumni. Thank you in advance for adding St. Ann to your prayer list.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School