Some Saints New Year's Resolutions

With the arrival of the new year, many people are eager to make positive changes in their lives. This can include both short term and long term goals. This year, we asked some of the St. John high school students and faculty what their resolutions are for 2013. Leave us some of your resolutions in the comments section.  Here's what some of our Saints had to say:

Mr. Heath: Eat Healthier






Jamie Daw: Finish the things I start






Ashley Gallinaro: try out for more plays





Mrs. Scherschel: spend more time with my family




       



Mr. Fisher: share my life with someone





             Ross Defino: Live life and don't hold anything back
             John Gilman: do better in school
            Anthony DiLavore: get all A's for the 2nd semester

 

Operation Christmas Child

By Rachel Bookbinder

Even though Christmas is few months away, it doesn't mean that giving has to begin there. Children in third world countries are not as fortunate as many of us in the United States. For many children, December 25th is just another day struggling to find food and clean water. They don't wake up on Christmas morning with the excitement to  to see gifts are under the Christmas tree. 

This year, our Anchor club sponsored and promoted Operation Christmas Child for our students and families. This organization asked people to donate shoeboxes filled with children's toys, necessary hygiene utensils, and a Bible to send to the children in different countries.  Participating in this service project helps to spread the Word of God to all the children who may not know about Jesus.

The Anchor Club advisor, Mrs. Fontaine, hoped the school would donate at least 100 hundred shoeboxes. Her expectations were greatly exceeded when she found out that the whole school donation totaled 349 boxes. The Anchor Club was thrilled to hear that the whole school was as excited as serving others as they were.  Thank you to those students and families who participated by sharing their Christmas.
 

Fall Fest was a Huge Success

 

  By: Madeline Seiberlich
This year the Fall Festival was awesome! I hope all of you were able to attend because it was definitely something worth talking about. The field was totally transformed into a huge fall celebration filled with tons of booths and lots of activities to participate in! There was a cupcake walk, a photo booth, bean bag toss, mask and face painting, and even a petting zoo!  I think one of everyone’s favorite things was the dunk tank. Especially since it gave the students the opportunity to dunk some of their favorite teachers and fellow classmates. The Fall Festival was also filled with prizes, including the chance to win a goldfish and earn tons of candy!  Overall, the Fall Festival was a huge success this year, and I think it was the perfect thing to get everyone in the fall mood. 

   

Homecoming Week is here!

 

Homecoming is just around the corner here at St. John, with several events leading up to the big weekend. The big football game and coronation of the Homecoming Queen and Court will take place on the night of Friday, November 9, at home.  Before the game, alumni will be gather at an informal tailgate party at Brick City starting at 6 pm.  Game kickoff is at 7:30 pm. 

The Winter Wonderland themed dance for the high school students will be held on Saturday, November 10, from 7:30pm-11:30pm, in the Grand Ballroom of the Ocala National Bank building. 

But, before all of that, a fun-filled spirit week has been planned for all grades to participate in: Monday will be pajama day, and Tuesday, students can dress up as their favorite character or super hero.

Tuesday is also the huge all school Pep Rally at 7 pm in the Saints Gym.   The cheerleaders will get everyone fired up for the week ahead, students will perform skits, sports teams in grades 5th-12th will be introduced, and then high school students will attend the annual bonfire!  

Wednesday is favorite sports team day, where students can wear jerseys or dress up as full on sports players. Thursday is called “Alpha and Omega Day,” where students are encouraged to dress as either old or young people. Finally, Friday will be SAINTS spirit day, and blue and gold will be worn by all. Remember to participate from November 5-9 to prepare for St. John’s exciting homecoming week!

Happy fall ya'll

By: Madeline Seiberlich

The weather is getting cooler, pumpkins are being sold, and leaves will hopefully start changing soon… This can only mean one thing; it’s time for the Fall Festival! On Thursday, October 18 from 4-7pm be sure to make your way to the back field to enjoy some fall time festivities! Whether you love playing games, getting candy, or doing arts and crafts the St. John Fall Fest will have it all! This is event is for everyone so be sure to invite your friends and family members! Hope to see you there! Happy fall ya’ll!

Forensics with Mrs. Fontaine

 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to solve a crime scene? Well now you can right here at St. John! Mrs. Fontaine has started a new class on forensics this year for seniors in high school.
This class is all about solving crimes through the means of science.

Mrs. Fontaine wanted to start a very hands-on class that was available to non-science majors. She hopes it will peak student interest in science in college. The class is very hands-on and has many fun and educational labs to keep the students interested in the subject, while teaching them about the criminal justice system.

The course is fun, but it also requires a lot of work and thinking capacity. Mrs. Fontaine thinks the students will be most challenged by using their deductive reasoning skills to solve criminal cases.

The course will cover plenty of topics regarding forensic science. Mrs. Fontaine noted that a few topics covered in class will be trace evidence, criminal sketching, blood and bone analysis, and plenty more. Each chapter includes a hands-on lab that focuses on forensic investigation. For example, the class does do crime scene sketching, digital photography, and activities like that. In each chapter there is a criminal case that the class has to solve by using the forensic skills they learned so far in this course. This class also gives the students knowledge about the criminal justice system.

"Class has been very exciting so far! The students have been talking on Facebook and discussing results on the summer murder case that they tried to solve in class," said Mrs. Fontaine

Mrs. Fontaine seems very excited to teach forensics.  Eddie Cruz is a student in Mrs. Fontaine’s forensics class and he said, “I am looking forward to learning a lot more about criminology. I’m also interested what it’s like to investigate crime scenes. Class-wise,  I’m looking forward to labs and investigating crime scenes.”

High school students, be sure to check out forensics class when you’re a senior at St. John! 

Musical Visitor Entertains Our Elementary

An Artist Visits St. John

 

by Britani Jurkowski

The Pied Piper got to wear a cool hat and hold a recorder

                On Tuesday October 1^st, the preschoolers and elementary school students were visited by a special guest: a professional musician by the name of Ms. Donna Wissinger came to share her music and stories with the children. She prepared several fun activities, such as acting out the story of the Pied Piper. All the preschool through second grade kids were able to participate as they acted out parts like the mayor, the rats, the villagers, and of course the piper! Another cool activity she led included the children placing their hands on their heart as she played different tunes on her golden flute. The children were then asked how the music made them feel. They came up with great words like “amazing,” “happy,” “soothed,” and “excited.”

           The third through fifth graders had a great time as well, especially when they learned how different materials and sizes create different musical sounds. In addition, Ms. Donna told the students the legends of William Tell and Robin Hood. Through her music and stories, she encouraged the children to read and write in order to learn new things. Her legends had a moral of always putting forth your best effort and never quitting. At the end of each assembly, the musician played “Yankee Doodle” on the piccolo while the students marched in rhythm back to their classrooms. Ms. Donna’s high energy and talent made for a wonderful event. The students had a great time and are so thankful!

The "rats" got to wear hand-made masks!