2019-20 Annual Report
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St. John the Beloved School Annual Report 2019-2020 St. John the Beloved School 905 Milltown Rd. • Wilmington, DE 19808 www.sjbdel.org ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE, COMMUNITY, SERVICE, WORSHIP! Believe and see the glory of God! Class of 2020 MIDDLE STATES Accredited NCEA Member Our Mission AMLE MEMBER MISSION STATEMENT The MISSION of St. John the Beloved School is to teach and model the Gospel of Jesus Christ, foster academic excellence, and encourage service to others. BELIEF STATEMENTS 1. We believe that Reverence, Respect and Responsibility are the foundations of our Catholic School. 2. We believe that the whole child will be developed spiritually, intellectually, physically and socially. 3. We believe that the academic and Catholic religious formation of our students is a shared responsibility among the home, the school and the parish. 4. We believe that the academic needs of students are met through the quality of differentiated instructional techniques utilized in our programs. Class of 2020 Janaury, 2020 Dear Staff, Students, Families & Friends of St. John the Beloved School, These past months have been different and difficult because of COVID -19. As we once again look into the value of Catholic education, we presently marvel at the dedication of our school principal, staff, teachers and student body as they reprogram our educational procedures to safeguard everyone and continue their studies. Parents and guardians likewise deserve recognition for their extraordinary efforts in educating their children. Thank you one and all. Many school programs offer quality education and opportunities that allow children to develop into gifted, responsible adults. Catholic education not only leads in these areas but has been very successful in continuing to educate, virtually and in-class, to the present time. The mission of the Church, to evangelize, must not stop especially when the world is facing a crisis. Our St. John the Beloved School takes this responsibility seriously. Our parishioners, friends and entire school staff seek to make our school children advance in academia, social skills, athletics and moral behavior. Each child has unique qualities that our school works with to affirm his/her advancement. More so, each child is a Child of God that must be loved and taught to love and respect those around them. As we progress into another academic year, may the Good Lord bless each one of you for supporting and making sacrifices for Catholic education. Our efforts make a difference in enhancing the world. God Bless You! Vy. Rev. Joseph J. Piekarski Pastor Class of 2020 Page 1 St. John the Beloved School Serving 4 year old Early Childhood through 8th Grade 905 Milltown Rd. • Wilmington, DE 19808 • 302-998-5525 A Catholic school in the Franciscan Tradition. www.sjbdel.org January, 2020 Dear Friends, Believe and See the Glory of God! St. John the Beloved School does believe and has seen the Glory of God! We have indeed been blessed for over 60 years! St. John the Beloved is a Blue Ribbon School. We are in the top 15% of schools in the nation. The Glory of God shines forth through our ministry of Catholic education. Let us share the good news with you. Our children are successful. They are formed in the faith. When they leave us, they are prepared to be successful in high school and beyond. All of this happens because of the tremendous work and support of our children, their parents, our parish, and our faculty and staff. We are truly blessed! We have been blessed with cutting edge technology resources to offer quality programs and we are always searching for innovative ways to educate our 21st century learners. We are fortunate to have a healthy student enrollment and plans are in place to keep this a reality. As you read and page through our Annual Report, you will be amazed at what takes place in our school in the space of one year! Even COVID-19 did not slow us down as we embraced virtual learning with success. These achievements do not just happen. They are the result of hard work, planning, and prayer. I take this opportunity to thank our faculty and staff for their flexibility, ingenuity and commitment. Thank you for your continued support as we teach and model the Gospel of Jesus Christ, foster academic excellence, and encourage service to others. Grace and blessings, Principal Class of 2020 Page 2 Highlights Accomplishments 2019-2020 Soaring for Fun 5K Padua Scholarship Dinner CATHOLIC IDENTITY CURRICULUM Celebrated monthly liturgies Recognized as National Blue Ribbon Prepared second grade for First School 2016 Communion Adopted the new Renaissance STAR Celebrated First Reconciliation & testing for K – 8th grades Communion for second grade Emphasis placed on Step Up to Student choir and band for liturgies Writing Program school wide Instructed Kindergarten in prayer Well-defined Spanish Program EC3 – assisted by their eighth grade buddies 8th grades Recited the Rosary in May as a school Instituted an in-depth memorization community program for multiplication in grades Celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of three through five the Rosary at Pilgrimage Google Doc school Students participated in a monthly service All updated Curriculum has online project that benefited various component Organizations 1:1 Chromebooks 3rd – 8th grades Franciscan Award at eighth grade Chrome Book Carts grades 1-2 graduation Additional iPads for primary grades Franciscan Value Awards awarded each Expanded Reading Assist – Mrs. trimester to those who model our Tharan RA Coordinator Franciscan Values Employs Instructional Coach – Mrs. Continued support to our sister school with Ryan Neighbors to Nicaragua MAINTENANCE Stripped and waxed all floors Area Carpets Cleaned Asbestos Inspections Detailed Student Bathrooms \ Donuts with Dads Class of 2020 Page 3 COMMUNITY OUTREACH Honors Awards and Breakfast of Raised over $8,000.00 for various Champions Charities including Special Olympics, HOME & SCHOOL ASSOCIATION/ Little Sisters of the Poor, Family BID-A-MANIA COMMITTEE Promise, & Neighbors to Nicaragua Finances the following after school Adopted 25 families for Christmas programs: Italian Club, Science Restocked Outreach throughout the Explorers, Math Leagues, Science year Olympiads, It’s Academic, Jr. and Sr. Raised over $21,000.00 during Many Chess Club, Discover your Palette Gifts, One Nation Day of Giving Breakfast with Santa and Santa’s Secret Workshop STUDENT ACTIVITIES, ATHLETICS Grade Level Socials EXTENDED CARE & SUMMER Father/Daughter Dance SCHOOL Family Night Bingo Hosted Art Fairs in January Multiple Business Take-Overs Received first and/or second place by National Spelling and Geography Bees several athletic teams in all sports rd Speech Debate Annual Christmas concert K – 3 St. Nicholas Day with school Choir Soccer Shots PARENT PARTNERSHIP Library Volunteers TECHNOLOGY Parent Volunteers IPADS – ECP through Kindergarten Ongoing Upgraded technology curriculum Updated School Check In Web-based curriculum for Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading & Vocabulary Smart Boards in all classrooms Clear Touch Interactive board – next generation Smart board – 1st grade Additional Chromebook Carts purchased Developed protocol for remote T1 Peacemakers learning EC3 – 8th grades. Designed Symbaloo Page school wide ACHIEVEMENTS & RECOGNITIONS Received acceptances of all Graduates into a High School of their choice 17 students received 25 scholarships to various High Schools Celebrated the life and retirement of 2 teachers (Mrs. O’Brien-Roache and Mrs. Oldiges) and 1 Administrative Assistant (Mrs. Thompson.) th Sixteen 8 grade students received U.S. President’s Award for Color Wars Educational Excellence Class of 2020 Page 4 Our History Celebrating over 60 years of Catholic Education In 1953, after two years of searching for a desirable site, his Excellency Bishop E. J. Fitzmaurice and Monsignor John J. Lynch decided to purchase a nine acre farm on Milltown Road, which included a nine room house. Boundaries for the proposed parish were loosely drawn up and some 500 families began congregating at the armory on Kirkwood Highway for Sunday service. Bishop Fitzmaurice appointed Rev. John J. Sheehy, the founding pastor of the parish, to select a new name for the community, to organize a building program and to establish various parish committees. During this time, a contract for the design of the school was confirmed. Construction began in the summer of 1956 and in August 1957, seven Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia moved into their new home and began preparations for students to enter their new school. On September 4, 1957, Sister M. Eutropia, the grade school principal, along with four sisters and four lay teachers, opened the doors to approximately 500 students. The school at this time was a nine classroom structure. With time and the expansion of surrounding suburbia, St. John the Beloved’s much heralded school became increasingly crowded. Enrollment increased from 500 in 1957 to 940 in 1963, requiring the scheduling of split academic sessions, under the principalship of Sister Edward Augustine, OSF. To meet the demands of this growth a new junior school was built and on September 6, 1964, it opened to provide much needed classroom space. In its first 15 years of growth, St. John’s experienced many clergy changes; the second and third pastors respectively were the Rev. Alex Gorski and the Rev. Monsignor John H. Dewson, and the third principal was Sister M. Synesia, OSF. Later, in 1971, Sister M. Rita Thomas, OSF, assumed the principalship of the school and introduced updated teaching methods in reading and mathematics. In 1974, the new church was built. The fulfillment of a promise made to the parishioners since 1955 was realized on December 21, 1976 with the dedication of the church. Shortly afterwards, in the spring of 1978 the Rev. Daniel W. Gerres became St. John’s fifth pastor and in the fall, Sister Patricia Hutchison, OSF, assumed principalship of the school. The school’s population continued to increase and once again in 1983, the need was recognized to enlarge the school.