Schools News
St. Mary Parish School's Student Council Receives Excellence Award
For its exemplary record of leadership, service, and activities that serve to improve the school and community, St. Mary Parish School (www.stmaryparishschool.org), Menomonee Falls, student council has been awarded a 2013 National Gold Council of Excellence Award by the National Association of Student Councils (NASC).
Fewer than 20 middle level councils from across the country were named National Councils of Excellence. Of those, St. Mary Parish School is one of sixteen middle level councils to receive the highly-esteemed honor of being named a National Gold Council of Excellence.
To meet the requirements for the NASC National Councils of Excellence Award, a student council must demonstrate that it meets a variety of criteria. Those councils named to the Gold level have successfully met a greater number of the criterion. In addition to basic requirements such as a written constitution, regular meetings, a democratic election process, and membership in NASC, schools that qualify for the award demonstrate such things as leadership training for council members, teacher/staff appreciation activities, student recognition programs, school and community service projects, spirit activities, goal setting, financial planning, and active participation in their state and national student council associations.
“Receiving an NASC National Gold Council of Excellence Award indicates the highest level of dedication on the part of the local school to providing a strong, well-rounded student council program,” says Jeff Sherrill, associate director of NASC. “NASC applauds the work of the National Gold Councils of Excellence and challenges them to continue their leadership and service to their schools and communities.”
“As St. Mary Student Council Advisor, I am proud of our student council’s involvement and proud of all of their many accomplishments,” says Karen Schumacher, Guidance Counselor, St. Mary Parish School.
The National Association of Student Councils (NASC) promotes and provides leadership development opportunities to prepare and empower students to serve their schools and communities. NASC is a program of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). The NASSP—the preeminent organization and national voice for middle level and high school leaders—also sponsors the National Honor Society (NHS) and the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), which recognizes outstanding middle level and high school students who demonstrate excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. For more information on NASC, visit www.nasc.us.
News information provided by St. Mary Parish School.
Catholic Financial Life Names
“Catholic Educator of the Year” Recipients
Catholic Financial Life has named five recipients for the 2013 Catholic Educator of the Year award. The award honors Catholic primary and secondary school educators within the Archdiocese of Milwaukee who live their school’s mission and impact the faith lives of others.
This year’s winners are: Kathy Armstrong (St. Katherine Drexel School, Beaver Dam), Mary Christensen (Pius XI High School, Milwaukee), Terrence Kelly (Marquette University High School, Milwaukee), Shannon Matheis (Holy Family School, Whitefish Bay), and James Schultz (St. Anthony High School, Milwaukee). The named educators will each receive a $1,000 cash prize, and their respective schools will receive $500 to award in scholarships for the coming school year.
“The value of a Catholic education is undeniable,” stated Catholic Financial Life President and CEO Bill O’Toole. “We look to honor educators who live their faith, in word and deed, and inspire their students to do likewise.”
“We are very grateful to our friends and colleagues at Catholic Financial Life for honoring outstanding Catholic educators in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee through these generous awards,” said Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dr. Kathleen Cepelka. “Most importantly, this initiative pays tribute not only to the award recipients themselves, but to all who faithfully and generously carry out the Church’s teaching mission through Catholic education.”
(For more information on each award recipient and high resolution images, click here.)
Catholic Financial Life, a faith-based membership organization, puts Catholic values in action by serving God through serving others, providing financial security, and by enhancing quality of life for our member families and their communities. For 145 years, Catholic Financial Life has helped members take control of their financial future by providing real solutions to everyday challenges. Catholic Financial Life is the second largest Catholic fraternal in the United States.
News information provided by Catholic Financial Life.
St. Mary's "The 7 Wonders" to Compete at 2013 Global Finals
St. Mary Parish School, Menomonee Falls, is celebrating its middle level Destination Imagination team’s recent success at the Wisconsin Affiliate Tournament 2013. The team, called “The 7 Wonders,” took first place by demonstrating exceptional creativity, teamwork and innovation. Over 600 teams competed to get to the State Tournament.
The 7 Wonders team is the first in St. Mary Parish School history to take first place at a state competition and receive an invitation to move on to the top level of competition, the 2013 GLOBAL FINALS, the world’s largest celebration of creativity. The GLOBAL FINALS is the culminating event to every Destination Imagination competition season. Over 1,200 teams from 45 states, 7 Canadian provinces and 13 countries will gather in Knoxville, Tennessee on May 22, 2013 to compete and showcase their challenge solutions. Over 15,000 people are expected to attend this event.
The honor of competing on an international level does not come without significant cost. The team registration fees will add up to $4,500 plus travel costs. St. Mary Parish School Principal, Linda Joyner, expects the costs to total more than $1,000 per student for the four day event. “This unique and well-deserved opportunity shouldn’t be passed up because of funding issues,” says Joyner. “It is a challenge to come up with this significant amount of funding within just a few weeks. I’m hopeful that our community will rally together to sponsor our DI team.”
To become a spons
or or make a contribution to The 7 Wonders team, please contact St. Mary Parish School at 262.251.1050. Checks should be made out to “St. Mary School” and mailed to St. Mary Parish School, attention Destination Imagination Global Competition, N89 W16215 Cleveland Avenue, Menomonee Falls, WI, 53051.
For those who answer the team’s call for support, Joyner offers this special message, “When these seven kids are competing in Knoxville in a few weeks, we can all be proud that we helped make this once-in-a-lifetime-experience possible. The 7 Wonders have been working very hard since last November to develop and perfect their challenge solution and I thank you in advance for helping to make this dream a reality for them and for our school!”
Destination Imagination (DI) is a challenge based program that teaches kids the creative process and encourages them to solve problems in astonishing ways while building self-confidence and teamwork skills. To learn more, visit www.destinationimagination.org.
Superintendent of Catholic Schools Receives
2013 NCEA's John F. Meyers Award
Dr. Kathleen Cepelka, Ph.D, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, has been chosen by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) to receive this year’s John F. Meyers Award.
This distinguished award is given annually to individuals who have made significant contributions to Catholic education in the areas of development, public relations, scholarship programs, financial management and/or government relations. The award seeks to recognize educational professionals whose work has impact on the national level.
Dr. Cepelka has spent more than 40 years serving Catholic schools in various capacities. Prior to being named superintendent of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, she served Marquette University’s College of Education as both a full and part-time faculty member, including the roles of associate dean of the College of Education and director of teacher education. Today, she oversees 14 secondary and 99 elementary schools in the 10-county Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
On a daily basis, Dr. Cepelka motivates students, faculty and principals to strive for excellence in the Catholic tradition.
“Catholic education is my life and my passion. I am so honored and so humbled to be part of the landscape at the national level,” she said. “I gratefully accept this award on behalf of the work of all our Catholic educators in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.”
Dr. Cepelka will receive the John F. Meyer award April 1, 2013 in Houston.
Rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, NCEA is a professional membership organization that provides leadership, direction, and service to fulfill the evangelizing, catechizing, and teaching mission of the Church. It is the largest private professional education organization in the world, representing 200,000 Catholic educators serving 7.6 million students in Catholic elementary and secondary schools, in religious education programs, in seminaries, and in colleges and universities. For more information about this organization, please visit www.ncea.org.