Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth, and the life of Christ”

 

                                                                                                  March 29, 2018

 

Dear St. Augustine Family,

 

“Faith in the resurrection of Jesus says that there is a future for every human being; the cry for unending life which is a part of the person is indeed answered … God exists: that is the real message of Easter. Anyone who even begins to grasp what this means also knows what it means to be redeemed.” ~ Pope Benedict

 

Holy Week

 

This week did not have any snow days, dress down days, or special events. It was just a very simple week. I told the students on Monday morning that it seemed appropriate that this week did not have a lot of activities, but instead let us focus on Holy Week. Please join us at St. Augustine Parish for the Holy Triduum.  It begins with the Holy Thursday Mass at 7pm, and then follows with a reading of the Passion at 3pm Friday and Stations of the Cross at 7pm. The Easter Vigil takes place on Saturday at 7:30pm. There are also Easter Sunday services at 7am, 9:30, and 11:30am.

 

Providence Journal’s Readers’ Choice Awards

 

Thank you to all who voted for St. Augustine School as one of the top three private schools in Rhode Island. It is the second year in a row that we have received this honor. Just like last year, we will not find out if we came in first, second, or third place until a banquet held on May 3rd. The two other schools in the final three are LaSalle Academy and St. Mary’s of Cranston. LaSalle Academy was the first place finisher last year.

 

God Bless,

 

Mr. Andrew Brassard

 

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/

 

Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth, and the life of Christ”

 

                                                                                                 March 23, 2018

Dear St. Augustine Family,

 

First Penance/Living Stations

 

This past Sunday, our second graders made their First Penance in preparation for their First Communion in May. Father Forcier said they were all very well prepared and that each of them gave a solemn confession. May God bless them on their sacramental journey. Our sixth graders, directed by Mrs. Corsini, also presented a moving rendition of living stations in the church this past Thursday afternoon. Thank you to both the second and sixth graders for reminding us of the true meaning of Lent and the upcoming Holy Week.

 

Science Fair

 

Last weekend, the Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair was held at CCRI in Warwick. The seventh and eighth grade winners of our school fair represented St. Augustine School in the event. Noah Perullo was awarded First Grant for his project “Walk on Water”. Three students were awarded Second Grant; Lindsay Vescera for her project, “How Waterproof is Water Proof?”, Aria Teare for her project, “Do Jellyfish Make Good Pets?”, and Lindsey Frisina for her project, “The Popability of Popcorn”.  Brigid McGrath achieved Third Grant for her project, “Price Vs. Durability”. In addition, Aria Teare will be receiving a special award in her category at the award ceremony on Thursday evening.

 

State Champions!

Congratulations and good luck to both our Girls’ Grammar and our Boys’ Junior Division One basketball teams who became State Champions this past weekend. The girls beat St. Michael’s of Smithfield on a game winning shot by Meah Piscopiello. The boys won both their games this past weekend over Our Lady of Mercy and Holy Apostles. Those two victories put the boys at a perfect 14-0. Both the girls and boys will take part in the New England Championships in Waterbury, Ct, on the weekend of April 6th. I will provide more details when they become available.

 

God Bless,

 

Mr. Andrew Brassard

 

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/

 

Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth, and the life of Christ”

 

                                                                                                           March 15, 2018

 

Dear St. Augustine Family,

 

Lumen Gentium Honor

 

We are proud to acknowledge our own Sister Dorothy Schwarz, SSD, who is the recipient of the 2018 Lumen Gentium Service Award in the category of Catholic education. Sister Dorothy has served as the Directress of the CCD program in our parish since 1990. Sister, who has been in education since 1960, serves as our seventh grade religion teacher and also prepares our second graders each year for their First Penance and First Communion.  Sister Dorothy is also the Provincial, (Community Leader), for the Sisters of Saint Dorothy in the U.S.A. Sister has a generous heart, strong faith, and love of teaching. She reflects her love of Christ through all her works. She and the other award honorees will receive their awards at Twin River Event Center on Wednesday, May 16th.

 

Faculty/Eighth Grade Basketball Game

 

On Thursday, we had our third annual basketball game between the faculty and eighth grade students. The faculty won 87-80, but the eighth graders showed that they could compete at a high level. Thank you to Mr. McGrath who refereed the whole game by himself.

Readers Choice – Voting Ends March 21st!

 

Please remember to vote for St. Augustine School in The Providence Journal’s Readers’ Choice Contest as we enter the last week of voting. You can vote once a day from any e-mail up until March 21st. Remember, once you click on the link below, you will select the icon that is titled Kids & Education. Then, you will select the Private School tab and select St. Augustine School to cast your vote. Thank you in advance!

http://promotions.providencejournal.com/2018-Providence-Journal-Readers-Choice-Awards-Voting/

God Bless,

Mr. Andrew Brassard

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/

Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth, and the life of Christ”

 

                                                                                                                   March 1, 2018

Dear St. Augustine Family,

 

Hundredth Day of School

 

The school year is going by fast! We have recently passed the hundredth day of school. In celebration of the hundredth day of school, the early childhood team collected 330 food items that were sent to St. Edward’s Food and Wellness Center.

 

Mother/Daughter Dinner and Movie Night

 

This past Saturday night was the Home & School Mother/Daughter dinner and movie night. It sounds like everyone had a great time and enjoyed a good meal, the movie, The Star, and just an enjoyable time spent together. Thank you to Mrs. Brennan and her crew for all the work they did planning, setting up, and cleaning up after the event.

 

Stations/Confession

 

Since Lent began, we have been attending stations of the cross on Fridays. We will have our sixth grade perform a living stations on Thursday, March 22nd, at 1:45pm, in the church for those who would like to attend. The next two Mondays, we will be having confessions at church for the students in grades three through eight.

 

Readers Choice

Please remember to vote for St. Augustine School in The Providence Journal’s Readers’ Choice Contest. Remember, once you click on the link below, you will select the icon that is titled Kids & Education. Then, you will select the Private School tab and select St. Augustine School to cast your vote. Thank you in advance!

http://promotions.providencejournal.com/2018-Providence-Journal-Readers-Choice-Awards-Voting/

 

God Bless,

 

Mr. Andrew Brassard

 

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/

 

Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth, and the life of Christ”

 

                                                                                      March 1, 2018

Dear St. Augustine Family,

 

Safety in Our School

 

In light of recent events at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, we wanted to let you know that the safety and security of your children is a highest priority for our school.  The faculty and staff were trained in the past year by Lock-It-Down Consulting, L.L.C.  on lock down procedures. The training provided strategies and information that was helpful to us in preparing our school for situations that could occur. Part of the process, with Lock-It-Down Consulting, involved a review of our safety plan. After the review, the consultant was impressed with our plan, but also provided some things that we could add to our plans. The revision of that plan was conducted this past summer and shared with the Providence Police Department. Our school conducts all state required safety drills: fire drills, lockdowns, and evacuations.  Last year, we also installed an additional security camera for the front door to make faces even more visible for our office staff. When a person is not recognized, we will ask questions through our intercom system. Please advise any relatives that come to our school to be patient if questions are asked over that intercom. That step provides us with needed information we require when they approach the door. Please know that we are doing everything reasonably possible to protect the children from harm.

 

Welcome Back/Readers Choice

 

We would like to welcome back both Mrs. McCurdy and Mrs. Simeone who returned this past week from their maternity leaves. We also continue to ask for your prayers for Mr. Vacca who is still recovering from eye surgery he had in late November.

Please remember to vote for St. Augustine School in The Providence Journal’s Readers’ Choice Contest. Remember, once you click on the link below, you will select the icon that is titled Kids & Education. Then, you will select the Private School tab and select St. Augustine School to cast your vote. Thank You in advance!

http://promotions.providencejournal.com/2018-Providence-Journal-Readers-Choice-Awards-Voting/

 

God Bless,

 

Mr. Andrew Brassard

 

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/

Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth, and the life of Christ”

 

                                                                                                                  February 23, 2018

Dear St. Augustine Family,

 

Providence Journal’s Readers’ Choice

 

The Providence Journal is once again having its Readers’ Choice Awards. Last year, we were voted as one of the top three in the private elementary/middle/high school category, along with LaSalle Academy and Mercy Mount Country Day. Much of that success was due to the St. Augustine community voting online during the contest dates. We have just been informed that we have made the top five in voting for the 2018 contest. We would like to take another shot this year on being one of the top winners. All you need to do is follow the link below and vote for St. Augustine School under Kids and Education category, but specifically under Private Education. As was done last year, you can vote every day between February 25th and March 21st. You can vote on any of your e-mail addresses. Below is the link:

 

http://promotions.providencejournal.com/2018-Providence-Journal-Readers-Choice-Awards-Voting/

 

Remember, once you click on the above link, you will select the icon that is titled Kids & Education. Then, you will select the Private School tab and select St. Augustine School to vote for us.

Science Fair Winners!

 

It’s official! The following students will represent our school in the State Science Fair at CCRI in Warwick on Saturday, March, 17th.

 

Grade 8:  Lindsay Vescera, Noah Perullo, and Lindsey Frisina

Grade 7: Joshua Greenberg, Aria Teare, and Brigid McGrath

 

Thanks to Ms. Buote for all the work she did in guiding the students through the Science Fair process.

 

God Bless,

 

Mr. Andrew Brassard

 

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/

 

Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth, and the life of Christ”

                                                                                                             February 15, 2017

Dear St. Augustine Family,

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Ash Wednesday

Lent began this week with the Mass on Ash Wednesday. All of the students from Pre-K through eight received their ashes at the end of Mass. We will have our first school Stations of the Cross after the upcoming winter break. Remember that there is no school this Friday. Hopefully, we will all return rejuvenated on Wednesday, February 21st, as we reach the end of the second trimester on March 7th.

Science Fair

The students in seventh and eighth grade completed their science fair projects. I was very impressed with the work of the students. In addition to their project board and research paper, Ms. Buote has each student present his/her project so that she can determine how well they grasped the topic they chose. There are also judges that score the projects based on a rubric provided. Our three winners from each grade will represent St. Augustine School at the State Science Fair in March.

God Bless,

Mr. Andrew Brassard

 

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/

Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth, and the life of Christ”

                                                                                                      February 3, 2017

 

Dear St. Augustine Family,

 

Green & Gold Game

 

As always, it was another exciting Green & Gold game last Friday, between the seventh and eighth  grade basketball players. The game went down to the wire, and all the players had fun, as well as, all the students watching the game. There was also a halftime performance by the dancers from our grade three through eight dance team. You can read about the game and other postings by our eighth graders on their blog at the following link.

 

https://staugustinesite.wordpress.com/2018/02/02/green-and-gold-2018/

 

Foul Shooting Contest

 

The following students competed in the St. Augustine Parish Knights of Columbus foul-shooting contest and will represent our school in the state competition in March. For the boys, we had: Stephen Buco, age 9, Ryan Fitzpatrick, age 10, Corey Coughlin, age 11, Juan Sanchez, age 12, Ben Reyes, age 13, and Noah Perullo, age 14. For the girls, we had: Elyse Brassard, age 10, Zennia Sam, age 11, Tamara Lopotosky, age 12, and Natalina Sharpe, age 13. Some of these shooters have won the event two years in a row. Congratulations to all, and good luck in the state competition.

 

Keeping our Crossing Guard and Crossers Safe

 

A quick reminder to make sure that we stop when our crossing guard’s hands are held up. We are finding that some drivers are not seeing the crossing guard as they pass a car who is pulling off to park to drop off their child. This can be dangerous to him and the people crossing. Thank You in advance!

God Bless,

 

Mr. Andrew Brassard

 

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/

 

Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth and the life of Christ”

 

                                                                                                         February 2, 2018

Dear St. Augustine Family,

 

High School Acceptances

 

This past Friday, the Catholic High Schools sent out their acceptance letters to current eighth graders. I was proud of our eighth grade class when I heard the results of those letters. Here is some of the data that we were able to compile. Our eighth graders received thirty-two acceptance letters from Catholic high schools, (some students received double acceptance letters since they applied to two schools). Of those thirty-two acceptances, twenty-five of the acceptances were into honors programs. The acceptances were as follows: twenty -two to LaSalle Academy, four to Bishop Hendricken, three to St. Raphael Academy, two to BayView, and one to Bishop Feehan. Also, all the students that took the entrance exam to enter Classical High School in Providence were accepted. Two of our students received academic scholarships to the Catholic High Schools – a task which is based on their entrance exam score and not easy to accomplish. Peter LeBeau received a scholarship to Bishop Hendricken, and Joseph Rose received a scholarship to LaSalle Academy.

The success of our soon  to be graduating eighth grade class is a testament to the hard work of those students, but also a credit to the work of the teachers that they have been taught by throughout their years at St. Augustine School. These students, some of whom have been here for ten years, make us all very proud.

I was also proud of the eighth graders who served as tour guides this past weekend at our open house. The guests told me they were impressed on how the students represented themselves and their school. They were also glad to hear that the students have thoroughly enjoyed their experiences at St. Augustine School. That personal touch was certainly helpful for us this weekend in representing our school to the public.

 

Spelling Bee

 

Also, both Joshua Greenberg and Stephen Buco, who I watched compete in the Diocesan Spelling Bee at St. Mary’s this Thursday, exhibited an excellent effort by advancing to the later rounds of the bee.

Until next week…

God Bless,

Mr. Andrew Brassard

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/

 

Mr. Brassard’s Weekly Letter

St. Augustine School

“Following the way, the truth and the life of Christ”

                                                                               January 26, 2018

“Education cannot be neutral. It is either positive or negative; either it enriches or it impoverishes; either it enables a person to grow or it lessens, even corrupts him. The mission of schools is to develop a sense of truth, of what is good and beautiful. And this occurs through a rich path made up of many ingredients. This is why there are so many subjects — because development is the results of different elements that act together and stimulate intelligence, knowledge, the emotions, the body, and so on.” ~ Pope Francis

Dear St. Augustine Family,

Catholic Schools’ Week

Next week is Catholic Schools Week. The theme for this year is  – Catholic Schools:  Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed. This week we acknowledge the blessing of Catholic schools. We pray for a continued success of Catholic Schools across our nation, so that all children will be able to receive a Catholic School education if they so desire.

Grandparents Day/Open House

We begin the week on Sunday, with our open house from 12:30-1:30pm, and then another open house on Tuesday, January 30th, from 9:30-11:30am. Monday we have our annual Grandparents’ Day Mass. Grandparents are a true source of support and love to our students, and a major reason why our children attend a Catholic school. We will honor them Monday at Mass and welcome them to our school afterwards for a visit. On Friday, we end the week with our annual green/gold basketball game featuring our 7th and 8th grade basketball players.

Until next week…

God Bless,

Mr. Andrew Brassard

Visit us at: http://www.staugustinesri.com/