St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School ANNUAL REPORT
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St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School ANNUAL REPORT Nutures the formation of Saints and Scholars St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School strives to develop the Catholic faith, demonstrate Christian living, commit to student learning, and foster good stewardship of God’s world. It does not matter where you come from or what you have experienced, gratitude can be held by any heart, at any age. We feel profound amounts of gratitude for your blessings and friendship! On behalf of the students, faculty, and staff of St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School, I wish to express our sincere appreciation for your continued generosity to the Annual Fund, Endowment, G.R.A.C.E. Scholars, and various other scholarships. In fact, more than six hundred people made a gift to St. Jude School this year. Thank you! This year’s Annual Fund was a huge success! I consider that the success lies not only in the amount raised but also in the number of donors supporting the effort. I am delighted to report that 100% of our parents, faculty, and staff supported the Annual Fund! As stewards of this school, we embrace the enormous responsibility of providing our students with a first-rate academic, spiritual, and physical environment that will prepare them for life. We can only succeed at such a lofty undertaking with your continued financial support. One of our greatest assets is our volunteers; they make such a difference in the lives of our children. From selling cookies and magazines to monitoring lunch and recess, volunteers provide countless (and tireless) hours to make our school better. Volunteers are a critical part of our future success. I am humbled by our volunteers’ generous spirit and dedication to St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School. I wish to thank the P.T.A. for their generous support in time, talent, and treasure. This year, by any form of measure, was extremely successful! I have found that no job has ever been too big or too small for the St. Jude P.T.A. This year’s gifts included Google Expeditions: Tools for Tomorrow, and enhancements to the SJA News Room. St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School has made a difference in our community for the past fifty-four years. Whether you have benefitted directly from our school as students, parents, or grandparents, or if you experienced parish-based Catholic education elsewhere, your belief and support in Catholic education enables us to continue to provide for our children a high-quality education rooted in Catholic foundation and traditions. We are grateful for your role in allowing us to carry out our mission. Your dedication, support, and commitment are the true embodiment of Christ’s spirit alive in our midst. I encourage you to review the Giving Opportunities listed on the following pages. To whichever fund you choose to contribute, know that your donation helps to ensure the future financial Piglet noticed that even viability of our school. We are grateful for your role in though he had a Very Small allowing us to carry out our mission. Heart, it could hold a rather Many thanks from grateful hearts! God Bless. large amount of Gratitude. A.A. MILNE 1 Continued implementation of our STREAM (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts, mathematics) The Best of initiative across the curriculum 2 Hosted our 3rd annual Chastain Night as a fun kick-off to St. Jude our Annual Fund 3 Achieved 100% parent participation for the 2nd year in a row with our Annual Fund campaign 4 Partnered with Rise Against Hunger for our school-wide service project during Catholic Schools Week; students packaged over 11,600 meals in one day that were sent to children in Swaziland 5 Hosted our bi-annual Monte Carlo event; proceeds benefit our Endowment Fund to ensure our school’s future financial stability 6 Successful site visit for our AdvancEd accreditation 7 Enhanced Middle School electives program 8 Middle School drama students presented ELF, Jr. in December and No Body to Murder in the spring; both productions delighted and entertained our audiences 9 Three Odyssey of the Mind teams won their regional competition and went on to place in the state competition 10 Placed first in the state Future City competition; went to Nationals in Washington, DC 11 Celebrated our 29th annual Grandparents’ Day on May 12, 2017 4 Great St. Jude, hear our prayer guide us with thy loving care. School Facts Accreditations and Affiliations District-wide Accreditation by AdvancEd, parent corporation of SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) Twice recognized National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) GA Independent Schools Association (GISA) BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) 2003 / 2014 Atlanta Area Association of Independent Schools (AAAIS) High School Matriculation / Class of 2017 Blessed Trinity 12 Marist 3 St. Pius 32 Other private schools 1 School Profile Public high schools 6 St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School was established in 1962 as part of St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church. As a parish school, we serve as an extension of the church community aiding in the formation of citizens willing and able to serve God and live as useful % members of society. 70 OF FACULTY HAVE Serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade, our teachers average ADVANCED DEGREES 14 years of teaching experience. The curriculum includes religion and all required elementary school subjects. In addition, computer, Spanish and French enrichment, physical education, chorus, art, drama, and band are offered. St. Jude recognizes the value of technology in the classroom as a teaching tool for the 21st century learner. Here are some of the ways technology is utilized by students: k-2...In the Primary grades, a set of 8 iPads can be found in each classroom. Teachers use them for learning centers or in combination with a cart of iPads so students can work in pairs or individually. 3-5... Intermediate grade students have access to iPads and Chromebooks in the classroom to enhance learning, complete assignments, and create multimedia projects. Each grade has one iPad cart and one Chromebook cart. 6-8...Middle School students take part in a 1:1 Chromebook program where they access learning resources, class notes, teacher communication, and other information on a daily basis. k-8...All classrooms contain an interactive LCD projector/whiteboard that is connected to the teacher computer for viewing class materials and curriculum resources. k-8...Enrichment classes such as foreign language, art, and music have access to a class set of iPads and Chromebooks for student use to augment these subject areas. k-8....All grade levels attend the Technology Lab for instruction once a week. STUDENTS Teachers may sign up for additional weekly time slots as needed for student 503 research and project completion. The Tech Lab houses 33 Chromebooks and FROM 324 FAMILIES two 3-D printers. IN 21 PARISHES k-8...The Media Center provides 15 laptops and 15 Chromebooks for 16:1 STUDENT / FACULTY online student research and access to our library management RATIO system. The Media Center is also equipped with a state-of-the-art broadcast studio. The student-led news crew delivers a Morning Prayer and News Show daily. ST. JUDE SCHOOL ANNUAL REPORT 2016/2017 5 MONTE CARLO 2017 Monte Carlo 2017 was definitely a night to remember! The law offices of Nelson Mullins, overlooking downtown Atlanta, provided a stunning venue for our bi-annual casino style event benefitting the St. Jude School Endowment Fund. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, parents, and friends, we raised over $22,000 - the most ever! Guests enjoyed a wonderful evening complete with great food, signature cocktails, and fun casino games along with fantastic prizes. The Reverse Raffle is always a highlight of this event, and this year was no exception. St. Jude School parents Casey and Rem Reynolds, and the family of assistant principal Josette Perez, split the grand prize of $5000! Thank You! We are especially grateful to our Monte Carlo committee: Tara Barnett, Debbie and Larry Molnar, Sindy Scholze, Kim and Mike Yates, and Liane York. Their time and efforts provided amazing food, beautiful décor, and exciting prizes! Thanks to the tremendous dedication of our parents, everyone who attended, our family and community sponsors, and everyone who purchased raffle tickets - Monte Carlo Night 2017 was a grand success! 6 Help us learn, help us grow, all through the day. Thank you to our many supporters. Your generosity makes St. Jude what it is today. PATTY CHILDS ROYAL FLUSH $2500 Erin and Molly Schlader, Brown-Forman STRAIGHT FLUSH $1500 FOUR OF A KIND Parker School Uniforms ADDITIONAL SUPPORTERS Dr. Arjun Patel, Quest Orthodontics $500 Casey Reynolds, Realtor Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty The Chapman Family, Allen Pool Services TrustDALE.com Bob and Vanessa Cucchi Brooklyn Cafe Skip and Elaine Dolt, Jackson Family Fine Wines Siegal and Dolt Dental Care Joey D’s Restaurant The Tapp Family Mather and Annie Lindsay, UGA ticket donation Aliesha Porto and family, FULL HOUSE Lake House weekend getaway $250 Quest Orthodontics St. Pius High School The Barnett Family, Experimac Table and Main Restaurant Matt and Katy Cowan TrustDALE.com, Fox Theater tickets Skip and Jen Fowler Mark and Natalie Uebelacker, Glen and Kelly Iannucci Braves ticket donation Bradley and Jaime Podraza The Pearlman Family, Woodhouse Day Spa Dan and Colleen Sheehan Jason and Liane York, Mike and Julie Stevenson Beach House getaway David and Sharon Troncale ST. JUDE SCHOOL ANNUAL REPORT 2016/2017 7 SEESAW...This past fall saw the launch of some new technology integration strategies with both teachers and students.