Saint Charles Borromeo School

Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic School is a faith community committed to sharing the responsibility of life long faith formation and preparing students for the future with relevant and authentic experiences in a nurturing, Christian environment.

By Jacob Hudak

     The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a bestselling book first published in 1989.  This year at Saint Charles School, we are examining the “Seven Habits” and considering how they can help us be more effective students and teachers.  In regards to the seven habits, Mrs. Updegrove said, “Our goals are to become more effective, healthy, happy people and to develop better habits.” The first three habits are about improving oneself, and they build on one another. We can improve ourselves by being positive in difficult situations, for example.



The next four habits are about us getting along better with others. How can we do this? First we improve ourselves, and then we use that to get along better with others. Thinking before acting helps us to make better choices. This week we learned about habit four, “Think Win-Win,” which means to try to find solutions that are good for everyone. This habit is not just about being nice, it is to value and respect people by understanding a “win” for all would be better than just a win for only one person. Following these seven habits here at St. Charles and out in society will give everyone a positive outlook in their personal and spiritual lives.  

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Trip to Washington, DC a Huge Success

By Samantha Zukowski
 
     On November 16th, our eighth graders left for Washington, DC. The bus ride was eight hours long, but included several movies, stops, and singing that made it go by much faster.  As soon as we got there, we were off and running to see everything we could in the three days we had. We saw the White House, Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument, just to name a few highlights. We even got to stand right where Martin Luther King Junior gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, which was a amazing experience. We also saw the Jefferson Monument, Vietnam Monument, the Flight 93 Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Holocaust Museum. It was fun getting to explore a new place, and spending time with friends.


Lincoln Memorial (courtesy National Park Service)
 
     Student Kaiden Bruno said her favorite part of the trip was the Flight 93 Memorial “because it was very moving and so well put together, and it showed all the people who died for others.” Rachel Farage said D.C. was “very cool and pretty chill.” Rachael Sroka said she had fun getting out of school for a day and hanging out with her friends. Sydney Wenzel said she loved “the dance party we had on the boat. It was a lot of fun.”
 
     Overall, the students saw some memorable sights and learned a lot of history of our country in a fun and engaging way.  The trip was a wonderful blend of entertainment and learning, and was a fantastic experience for the eighth graders.  We are so thankful to our parents who put a lot of time and energy into planning this incredible trip for us!
 

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Drama Club
by Taylor Hallock

 This year the Drama Club is performing the play Elf, a very funny story about a man raised as an elf at the North Pole who discovers he is a human and decides to travel to New York City to locate his real father. The directors are Mrs. Kwiatkowski, Mrs. Gerity, and Miss Perkins. Drama Club rehearsals are on Wednesdays from 2:40-3:45 in the Music Room. Back in September, Miss Perkins scheduled an informational meeting for interested sixth, seventh and eighth graders.  She went over her expectations and gave everyone some dialogue to practice for an audition.  Then she assigned a date to audition as an actor in the play. If you wanted to be in the very important tech crew, you had to write two paragraphs about why you would be an asset to the crew and the production. If you were in the tech crew last year you only had to write one paragraph.



     Gabby Kravanis is a 7th grader who will be playing the role of the nun. She thought it would be fun to express herself on stage, and she likes hanging out with friends. She loves Drama Club because she gets to have fun and be herself. Nobody judges anyone by the way they act- it is a safe space. She says Drama Club has helped her deal with stage fright, and it has made it easier to give presentations in her classes.
 
     Miss Perkins said that Drama Club helps build self-confidence in public speaking. She said that one challenge about putting on the plays is just finding the right play to perform each year. Another challenge can be the technology, such as the actor’s microphones-they don't always work as expected!  Miss Perkins has been directing the Drama Club for over fifteen years. She wants everyone to know you don't have to be a great actor to join Drama Club. You just have to be willing to work hard, learn your lines,  and work well with others. This year’s production of Elf will premiere on Friday, May 8, at 1:00 PM in the Corrigan Gym. There will also  be a performance at 7:00 PM that night, and at 1:00 PM on Saturday. See you there!  

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Trunk or Treat by Ava Goralczyk


 Boo! This year's Trunk or Treat on October 11 was extraordinary. There were so many different costumes! Trunk or Treat is a fun event where instead of going house to house to trick-or-treat, you go car to car. The PTU provides pizza and apple cider for guests. If you are a member of the PTU, you can attend this fun event. Not only can you dress yourself in a costume, you can dress your car too! Every year there is a winner for best costume and best car.


     This year's winner for best costume was M & M’s, Aluminum, Porta-Potty, Tic-Tac, and headless women. This year's winner for best car was Alice In Wonderland. One of the best things about Trunk or Treat is that you can dress up as whoever and whatever you want. Some of the most common costumes this year were princesses, unicorns, and foods. You can do a group costume with friends, too. One popular group costume is the friend group from the movie, Descendants. Trunk or Treat is a fun night for everyone. If you didn’t go this year, there is always next year-so sign up for PTU and come!
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Made for Greatness by Jacob Hudak

   This year’s school theme is "Made for Greatness", which comes from a quote by Pope Benedict XVI. It is our school theme because we should always strive to be our best. My class can use our school theme by showing our pride in our school. This can be done in different ways, such as participating in the various clubs our school has to offer, or just wearing shirts and such with our school logo on it. Mrs. Updegrove chose this as our school’s theme when she was inspired by a sticker she saw that said “made for greatness”. She is hoping that students will know that they were made by God, and it is for God that we are called to love with all our hearts, She also said we would have an assembly once a month related to the theme and it will include the seven habits of happy, healthy kids.



     Mrs. Seguin will be incorporating this year’s theme into her class by remembering how God intended us to be. She is hoping her students will remember that God’s plan is bigger than they would imagine. Mrs. White is incorporating this year’s theme into her class by having her students look to find greatness in each other. She is hoping her students will learn that they are called by God to be the best version of themselves.
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Music Ministry by Taylor Hallock
 

      On Fridays during our all-school Mass, we can hear the Saint Charles Music Ministry singing in the church loft. Under the direction of Mrs. Mara Werhung, our choir director for the last four years, students from sixth, seventh and eighth grades perform beautiful and inspiring songs to accompany the liturgy.  
     The fourteen kids in the Music Ministry come to the church loft every Thursday from 2:40-3:45 to practice for Mass on Friday morning. Did you know there are two different types of pianos in the loft? There is the pipe organ, which is in the center of the loft, and a regular piano by the balcony. 

       
Mrs. Wehrung and the Music Ministry Choir

     Every practice starts with a prayer. Then the singers work on warming up their voices, and finally they start practicing the songs. Some of the songs the singers practiced for last Friday’s Mass were “In Christ Alone”, “Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones”, and the communion hymn “O Saving Victim”.

     Choir member Danielle Williams says the reason she enjoys being in the choir is because she “loves to sing with her friends”. She also loves the music we sing during the Mass. She said she would recommend choir because you can sing and learn about God as you are singing. 

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Eighth Grade Retreat  by Samantha Zukowski


     On Friday the 13, 2019, you might have seen the eighth grade wearing black shirts with the words “Got Prayer?” on the front. Those shirts are from the Camp Christopher Retreat that the eighth grade participated in on Tuesday, September 10, 2019.  The Camp Christopher Retreat is held by Trinity High School and run by Mr. Swoboda, the vice principal at Trinity High School. Other Trinity teachers and many Trinity students were there as well. During the retreat, we prayed, hiked, talked to God, forgave friends, confess our sins, wrote a letter to ourselves, cried, and ended the day with Mass. It was an amazing experience that made me feel holier and closer to God. 

Jazlyn Stanton, an eighth grader at St.Charles, says that she was not really sure what to expect when she got on the bus that Tuesday morning. But as soon as she stepped off and  saw the happy Trinity students waiting to meet us, she knew that it was going to be a good day. The entire day was just so amazing, peaceful and happy, and every moment was so much fun. Her favorite part was when we heard the Trinity kids witness stories, and when we sat on forgiveness hill, and tossed our rocks into the pond. Jazlyn’s advice to the seventh graders is, “It’s absolutely necessary to put your jokes, laughs, and remarks aside for a little while, and open up a bit. Participation is key.”

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SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO CHURCH

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• The enrollment for the 2019-20 school year in  preschool through grade eight is 364.
• All employees and volunteers who have contact with students undergo thorough screening, including background checks through the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation & Identification (BCI&I). For complete information on screening policies, see the revised Policy for the Safety of Children in Matters of Sexual Abuse, section 1.2 (p. 3).