Thursday Folder Now Available Online
Pope John XXIII School Goes Green with Electronic Thursday Folder
In an effort to help preserve the environment, Pope John XXIII School has made the transition to an electronic version of the traditional Thursday Folder. All of the documents that were usually included in the Thursday Folder will now be compiled into one PDF document each week. This PDF will then be e-mailed to parents and uploaded to the Pope John XXIII website.
The first online Thursday Folder is available here. The second is avalable here.
Thursday Folders will be linked on this page as they become available.
Science Olympiad Team Qualifies for State
Earn Trip Downstate With Fifth-Place Finish at State Of Illinois ISO Regional Meet.
On Saturday, March 13th, our Science Olympiad team got up early to make the long drive to Grayslake and compete at the College of Lake County in the State of Illinois ISO Regional Meet. There were eighteen public and private schools there from the northern Chicago and suburban area. The students competed in twenty-three different events. Five of these events were building events, the rest were academic events. The team had been preparing and studying since October for this day. Many parents and the three coaches had been coming in afterschool and on weekends to study and test equipment.
We are very proud of all the members including the alternates who contributed to the success of the team at this meet. Rob Colgate and James Allen won 5th Place for Ornithology. Ryan Prestangen and John Brugliera won 5th place for Physical Science Lab. There were six events where we placed 4th: Can’t Judge a Powder with Sophie Gray-Gaillard and Eleanor Clark; Trajectory with Jack Bernin and James Allen; Wright Stuff with Walter Haracz and Elaine Simon; Dynamic Planet with Bryan Brannon and Jack Bernin; Disease Detective with Vaishnavi Paudel and Elaine Simon; and Battery Buggy with Eleanor Clark and Bryan Brannon. Willow Smith and Ben Hullinger won a third place for Roads Scholar, an academic event. Rob Colgate and Sophie Gray-Gaillard won 1st Place for a new building event called Junkyard Challenge!
The team won a plaque for 5th place and qualified for the State of Illinois Science Meet on April 10th. We are very proud of these bright hard working future scientists! This is the sixth time we have been invited to go down to Champaign Urbana to compete at the state level! Our Regional team awards have been: 2000-6th place, 2001-6th place, 2002-spirit award, 2003-4th place, 2004-8th place, 2005– 10th place, 2006-7th place, 2007-7th place, 2008-5th place, 2009-4th place, and 2010-5th place. We have won three Spirit Awards—in 1997, 2002, and 2009. 
Science Olympiad Team members are left to right, front row: Willow Smith, Rob Colgate, James Allen, Sophie Gray-Gaillard, Walter Haracz, Ben Hullinger, Eleanor Clark, Vaishnavi Paudel, John Brugliera; top row: Anthony Hersee, Carley Washa, Tim Boex, Jeremiah Bournes, Bryan Brannon, Ben Tufano, Ryan Prestangen, Olivia Gerasole, Joel Aretha, Elaine Simon, Melissa Tan, John Caproni, and Jack Bernin. The teacher coaches are in the back on the far right: Mrs. Walck, Ms. Eichberger, and Mrs. Garber.
Rob Colgate Wins State Spelling Bee
Congratulations to Pope John XXIII student and Saint Mary’s parishioner Rob Colgate, who won first place at the Knights of Columbus Illinois State Spelling Bee held Saturday, April 10 at Glenwood High School in Chatham, Illinois near Springfield.
Rob, an altar server and son of Marissa and Ed Colgate, won a plaque and a $200 savings bond. The seventh grader outlasted a field of 40 spellers in 12 rounds over two and one half hours In the tenth round, with only three spellers left, each of them misspelled their assigned words. In the next round, Rob correctly spelled beguine (a dance from Martinique) while the other two spellers missed mitomycin and streuselkuchen. Rob then correctly spelled camaraderie to seal the win.
That final word was fitting, as Rob and other students had practiced for months in preparation for the various rounds of school and regional competitions. Although they did not go on to the state level, parishioner and eighth grader Anthony Hersee, who finished fifth in the sectional spelling bee held March 27 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Glenview, and fellow eighth grade speller Rosemary Peterson continued practicing along with Rob to prepare him for the state championship. Many thanks to them and to spelling bee coaches Ms. Christina Lampa, Ms. Katie Eichberger and Mr. David Onofrey for their camaraderie and sportsmanship.
Fourth Grade Panther Basketball Teams Enjoy Successful Seasons
The Fourth Grade basketball teams achieved great success in their recently completed seasons. The Fourth Grade Girls took second place in the conference, while the Fourth Grade Boys finished fourth in the conference.
Pope John XXIII Principal, Rosalie Musiala, was thrilled with what these students accomplished, "I am so proud of these very young athletes in fourth grade not just because they broke a record and competed at the championship level for the first time in over 16 years as fourth graders. But because both the boys’ and the girls’ teams earned a Pope’s Pride Award for their team spirit, sportsmanship, and determination. It was a thrill for parents and all spectators to watch them play as a unit supporting each other and not giving up." Both teams played their best from the opening tip to the final buzzer. This was first year that these students were eligible to play on a school sports team, and they worked hard to learn new skills. In the process, they bonded as a team.
Above left is the Second Place Fourth Grade Girls Basketball Team with their coaches left to right: front row- Vera Wall, Holly Desmond, Isabelle Bavis, Olivia Lackey-Benson; middle row- Helen Hitt, Louisa Edwards, Mikayla Koconis-O'Malley, Amal Nashashibi; back row- Coach Tom Desmond, Principal Rosalie Musiala, and Coach Pat O'Malley.
Above right is the Fourth Place Fourth Grade Boys Basketball Team left to right: front row– Morgan Banks, Henry Haracz, Bronson Engel, Sebastian Nalls; top row– Danny Dotson, Michael Cutler, Peter Kelsh, Wil Edwards, and Brendan Scheib-Feeley.
Completed loft highlights end of Kindergarten renovation
The Kindergarten renovation project was completed over the Christmas holiday break when volunteer painters put the finishing touches on the play lofts. Parent Joe Sperti built the lofts almost single-handedly, working weekends and Friday evenings since September. He used the plans designed by parent Scott Prestangen and he created two beautiful spaces for our kindergarteners. The finishing touches were added during the Christmas break by volunteer parent painters Richard O'Dwyer, Craig Landis, and Patricia Wellman. They were joined by our teacher, Mrs. McMahon and alumni Sabrina Marino. These five painters put in many hours to get the loft ready for this second semester.
Pope John XXIII receives distinguished Blue Ribbon Award
Congratulations to the administration, the teachers and the “Blue Ribbon Students”of Pope John XXIII School. On September 9, 2008 the U.S. Secretary of EducationMargaret Spellings announced the names of 320 school identified by the U.S. Department of Education as the No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools for 2008. Pope John XXIII School was selected because the test scores placed them in the top ten percent of schools in the nation. Fifty private schools were among the awardees this year, the maximum number of private school awards allowed. Pope John XXIII School was one of the fifty in the nation to receive this award.
“These Blue Ribbon Schools are an example of what teachers and students can achieve,” Spellings said. “Now our challenge is to help other schools follow their lead by continuing to measure progress through No Child Left Behind, and by using the knowledge we’ve gained to replicate effective strategies and help every student improve.”
The award ceremony was held in Washington D.C. on October 20-21, 2008. Principal Musiala and a teacher representative, Mrs. Wolff, received a plaque and a flag to signify Pope John XXIII's status as a NCLB BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL.
This award indicates that Pope John XXIII School is academically superior based on standardized test scores, core curricular programs in reading, math, science, and social studies, excellence in foreign language instruction in the middle school, and special course offerings. You can go online to learn more information about this award at www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs.
Kevin Griffin Scholarship Fundraiser Scheduled for November 6, 2010
The Kevin P. Griffin Scholarship Fund, proceeds from which benefit the students of Pope John XXIII School, announced their annual fundraiser recently.The event will be held on the afternoon of Saturday, November 6, 2010 at Mystic Celt, located at 3443 N. Southport in Chicago, from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Tickets, which are available both in advance and at the door, are being sold for $30.
The Kevin Griffin Scholarship fund helps disadvantaged students by offering scholarships based on financial need and a strong effort on the part of the student, allowing these hard-working students the opportunity to receive the same fine Catholic education that Kevin himself received.
For more information on the Kevin Griffin Scholarship Fund or to make a donation, please visit kevingriffinfund.com.
Congratulations - Red Ribbon Award
Pope John XXIII School was awarded the national RED RIBBON AWARD for excellence in drug free education, providing a safe environment, and promoting healthy life styles.
Sr. Mary Paul McCaughey, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools presented the RED RIBBON AWARD to the students at an outdoor assemble onthe second day of school in August 2008.
Everyone was very proud to be one of three schools in the state of Illinois to be so honored.
