School Programs

CLASSROOM BUDDIES

Here at St. Patrick’s we like to promote friendship and helping others in need. We have several systems for this and have developed “buddies” in our different classrooms.

8th Grade/1st Grade Buddies – The eight graders and first graders are buddied-up with each other and do several activities throughout the year together. One is the Pow-wow in November where the two classes get together for a Thanksgiving feast. They also exchange gifts at Christmas, go to Mass weekly together and have several other get-togethers throughout the year. Information goes home in the teacher newsletter.

2nd Grade/5th Grade Prayer Buddies – Each year the 2nd graders are prepared for 1st Communion and to help them along, they’re buddied up with a “prayer buddy” from the 5th grade. Again, information will be provided from your child’s teacher.

Kindergarten/3rd Grade Reading Buddies – These classes are buddied-up with each other to help the Kindergartners out with reading.

MASS (WEEKLY)

All children (except Kindergartners) attend Mass on a weekly basis. This year Mass day is Friday and will be at 8:30 a.m. Each week a different class is responsible for the readings and prayers. This is a very special time and all parents are invited to attend. One weekly mass per month is a food collection mass. Every child is asked to bring a non-perishable food item to school on the designated collection day. These food items help stock our local food pantry for the needy – Open Door, located on Cooley Lake Road.

LUNCH

When -    11:05 - 11:43 and 11:52 - 12:30 daily

Who -   All children take the lunch break, but different classes eat at different times.

Where -   Most days the children eat in the Hall, except for Thursdays or any other schedule conflict such as a funeral luncheon. In that case the children eat in their classroom. Please always send in a towel to put down on their desks. It’s healthier than putting the lunch on the table/desk, and we sometimes never know when there could be a change in eating areas.

What -   Lunches may be brought in (please label) or you can order hot lunch on designated days. The hot lunches require order forms and pre-ordering usually a month in advance.

Other Information:

Chips -   This is sold at nearly every lunch by lunch monitors. The chips cost $.30. You may send money in with your child, no pre-ordering is necessary.

LUNCH MONITORS

This is a paid position and parents (siblings are allowed) are scheduled to help daily during the lunch hour. Responsibilities include: making sure children are eating, cleaning up after themselves and playing safely on the playground. Clean up of tables, chairs, and floor after lunch hour is also required. Cleaning supplies are provided by the school.

MORNING DROP-OFF MONITORS

Parents offer their time (this is a paid position), to help our children at drop-off in the morning to make sure everything runs smoothly and our school stays safe. They need to arrive early (approx. 10 minutes) to prepare the parking lot for the onslaught of cars and keep everything running smoothly by helping the children out of their cars and into the school in a safe and timely fashion.

CREDIT UNION

The program known as “Shamrock Savings” is offered by the Oakland Catholic Credit Union. Every other week representatives from OCCU come to the school and allow students to open/deposit funds into a savings account per their parent’s approval. The past several years, representative have been at St. Patrick School on Thursdays (see school calendar) from approximately 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

STUDENT COUNCIL

St. Patrick School has a Student Council Program, which operates with elected students from 3rd through 7th grade, serving their terms in the following year. The purpose of this program is to allow students a glimpse into the organizational and operational fundamentals of a “student” led group. The students plan fundraisers, help in Christian Service style programs throughout the year and make themselves available to help when/where needed if applicable. Student Council programs are mentored by St. Patrick’s staff throughout each year, guiding when needed and allowing organizational learning to take place throughout the ups/downs of each event. Mentors guide students, allowing them to make “mistakes” along the way so that they learn from the process. The staff in charge changes yearly. In summary, students in grades 4-8 run the Council, every event must meet with School/Parish approval, and students in grades 7-8 hold the offices Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-president and President.

READING RAILROAD

In honor of birthdays, Mrs. Pierce, our librarian offers every child the opportunity to help purchase a book in his/her name to donate to our library. Each child’s donation is recognized during his/her birthday month. Information will come home at the beginning of the school year regarding this program. Also, see the weekly newsletter for more information.

7th GRADE FUNDRAISING (FOR WASHINGTON D.C.)

Every year the 8th grade students take a trip (in October) to Washington D. C. The class works during their 7th grade year to raise money to offset the price. The following are the present fundraisers.

HOT LUNCH

These programs are run by different volunteers from the 7th grade twice weekly. Order forms are sent out once/month and expected to be returned by a date specified on the form. Payment is made with the order and be cash or check. Children then receive their hot lunch on that day. Also, no extra food is ordered for that day so if you want your child to have the lunch, you MUST send in your order form. Look for information about this in the newsletter. Payment for hot lunch can be cash or check made out to: St. Patrick School” with “DC” in the memo section.

MARKET DAY

This is a 7th grade fundraiser that also requires an order form and now offers on-line ordering. It usually occurs once/month. The food is pre-ordered and then picked up on a specific day in the school. The food ranges from great meats and vegetables to convenience foods for the lunchbox. Look for the order form to come home with your child. Payment for Market Day can be cash or check made out to: Market Day.