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.

Matthew 25:31-46

  Classroom of Champions

    By Cecilia Gordan

                                   

Classroom of Champions is an exciting competition of trivia knowledge for our eighth graders. The team members  this year are Rebekah Burdine, Ceno Mouzaya, Pat Farrell, Tien Nguyen, Cecilia Gordan and Chayson Blanc. Every month, a certain subject is chosen as the topic for the competition. October’s was History, November’s topic was Science, December’s was English Literature, and February’s will be Theology. Before the monthly competition, the team meets with Mr. McKay and Mrs. Mazur to discuss studying ideas, competition tactics, and other strategies. The competition is held at Saint Edward High School in Lakewood. Each team has an iPad where they write or tap on the answer. If you get it correct and are the first one to do so, you will get the most points. There are about 11 teams there, including St. Mark, St. Albert, St. Mary of the Falls, and more. The Saint Charles team even came in second place in the Science competition! Remember to cheer on the eighth graders that represent you in this competition!

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Drama Club Performs Shrek!

                                 By Madelyn Hyland

This year Saint Charles’ Drama Club is putting on the show Shrek! If you are unfamiliar with the show, it is about an ogre trying to save his swamp. Shrek, an ogre, lives secluded in his swamp. He is perfectly happy until Lord Farquaad, the ruler of the nearby kingdom of Duloc, sends all fairy tale creatures to Shrek’s swamp because he doesn’t want any of what he calls “freaks” in his kingdom.  Shrek makes a deal with Farquaad. To get his swamp  back, Shrek must rescue a princess named Fiona from a dragon’s keep, and bring her back to Duloc so that Farquaad can marry her.  Shrek is helped in his quest by his stalwart, loyal, and kind of crazy friend, Donkey.

The lead characters are Shrek, played by Liliana Willrich; Donkey, played by Mady Hyland;  Fiona, played by Ruby Satanek;  and the evil Lord Farquaad, played by Bryson Romero. The students are working very hard by memorizing lines, blocking scenes, and developing their characters every week. They are guided by their moderators Ms. Perkins, Mrs. Gerity, and Mrs. K. All of them hope to see you in the audience on May 13 and 14! 
 

                                                   

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Stearns Farm Farm Food Drive

a Big Success!

Saint Charles Goes to Washington!
by Cecilia Gordan

As the eight graders left on the buses to go to Washington, D.C, there was a sense of excitement going through everyone. They drove through the peaceful Pennsylvanian mountains, the cities and sights of Maryland, the farms and fields of Virginia, and finally to Washington, D.C. 

The first stop was to the Udvar Hazy National Air and Space Center, which held the space shuttle, Mars rovers, and enormous airplanes and helicopters. Next, they drove around the city, seeing the Washington Monument, the White House, and other famous landmarks. They had fun going souvenir shopping before they saw the World War II memorial. Afterwards, they visited the solemn Vietnam memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial, the MLK memorial, and the famous Lincoln memorial. After a long day, they finally rested at the hotel, sharing all the exciting stories with their roommates through all hours of the night. 

           

  Photo Courtesy of Google Images

The next day, November 7th, they woke up early and had a tasty breakfast and left for the day. The first destination that day was the mesmerizing Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in America. Two of our students brought gifts up to the altar. After a trip to the shrine’s gift shop, they took their class photo in front of the Capitol. Afterwards, students broke into groups with their chaperones to go see either the Air and Space museum or the Natural and American History museum. They got to choose a fun food truck or restaurant for lunch. 

After lunch, they went to the Arlington Cemetery, where they went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There, they watched the changing of the guards, and four students brought up the new wreath to be placed in front of the tomb. They also saw the Kennedy Gravesites, where President Kennedy, his wife, his two infants that died at birth, and his two brothers are buried. 

For dinner, the eighth graders went on a moonlight cruise named the Odyssey. On the beautiful Potomac river, with a gorgeous view of the city at night, the students both enjoyed the view and danced on the boat. Finally, They went to view the giant Jefferson Memorial. At the end of a long and exciting day, they rested, preparing for their last night at Washington, D.C. 

After waking up to another delicious breakfast at the hotel, the eighth graders got on the bus and passed through the historical city one last time. Then, they arrived at the Gettysburg National Park, the place where the Civil War turned around for the Union. With help from a tour guide, they went all around the battlefield, from watchtowers to hills to castles and cannons, all with breathtaking views of the vast countryside, where so many of our Americans gave their lives for unity and equality in our country. 

Back in the bus, they drove for another few hours, where they stopped at Dobbin House Tavern, where they got an authentic taste of rural Pennsylvania. They later arrived at the honorable Flight 93 Memorial, where 40 ordinary passengers on September 11th saw what the hijackers were going to do, and attempted to stop them. By doing so, they gave their lives. The memorial was where the plane crashed, in a “common field one day, a field of honor forever.” Its museum had extra information, and like so few other places in the world, it  was a quiet and solemn place of respect and thankfulness. 

The students remembered all of the fun they had on the trip, and brought it with them as they went back to their everyday school routine. It was certainly a trip of a lifetime, and they will remember this trip long after eighth grade

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Welcome Mrs. Cremona
by Michelle Salem
 

We welcome aboard our new gym teacher, Mrs.Cremona. Mrs.Cremona is the mother of three children who all happily go to Saint Charles Borromeo. When our school was looking for a new gym teacher, she decided to apply for the job because she has always wanted to be a gym teacher. She loves kids, loves physical education, and loves our school. Thankfully for us, she got the job!

 Mrs. Cremona went to Canandaigua Academy in New York state, located near the Finger Lakes. She graduated in 1997 and went to the University of Dayton for college. There she played softball, volleyball,and football! Mrs. Cremona received her degree in Science. Her first job shows how she wants to help others -she worked at a nursing home in the kitchen and maintenance department. 

Mrs. Cremona loves this school because of the joy and happiness the students and teachers give to her and others. Mrs. Cremona also enjoys reading and coaching. Mrs. Cremona is a good and caring teacher, while also being an amazing mother. So Mrs. Cremona, we welcome you to the staff of Saint Charles, and we hope you stay our physical education teacher for as long as possible! 

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The Power of the Pen
by Ava Finn
 

  The Power of the Pen is a creative writing competition where students who are in 7th grade compete in three competitions per year with their whole team. They also compete individually. This wonderful competitive writing club is organized by one of our amazing teachers, Mrs. Seguin! This club meets on Mondays and Thursdays from 2:40 until 3:30. To prepare for the competitions, the children practice writing to a broad selection of prompts.  Then the students give and receive feedback from their peers. They are also given extra challenges by adding a metaphor to their story, or a specific trait for the character in their story. The competitions are organized so the students write individually, and those scores are ranked against their opponents. Also, the scores that the whole team gets are ranked against other teams that are competing. Mrs. Seguin hopes that these students will gain a sense of skill and confidence in their ability to think and write creatively. It’s nice to receive recognition for their incredible academic achievements too! The first competitions will be virtual but the last one will be at the College of Wooster.
We hope to see you there!

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    Why We Celebrate Halloween

by Alena Predmetsky



   

The tradition of Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced “Sew-en), when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. The Celts believed that on the eve of that day, Samhain then and October 31 now, the boundary between the living and dead worlds opened up and ghosts returned to earth. Soon, All Saints Day brought in some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.
The word ¨Halloween¨ comes from “All Hallows´ Eve” and means ¨hallowed evening.¨ Hallowed means  “holy”.  

 Hundreds of years ago, people dressed up as saints and went door-to-door , which is the origin of Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating. The pumpkin is a symbol of Halloween because it is often associated with rebirth, and pumpkins also symbolize harvests and crops. They fit the season in which Halloween falls every year. For those who go trick-or-treating, a brightly lit carved pumpkin on the stairs is the symbol that those who live there want a visit. Gifts-like candy!-are given to trick-or-treaters. 

           Traditionally, orange and black are the main colors used in Halloween house decorations during this mystical holiday season, with purple often used as an accent color. Also, orange and black are chosen as Halloween colors because of the fall-winter connection the day represents. Orange symbolizes the warmth of autumn and the last of the harvest season, while black represents the cold, dark, and long winter. Purple is one of the more surprising Halloween colors because it seems to have appeared out of nowhere. It does not represent the harvest season or winter. There are many symbols related to Halloween, such as jack-o-lanterns, bats, black cats, ghosts, witches, goblins and skeletons. These are the many reasons why we celebrate Halloween! 

Sources Cited:
 https://www.countryliving.com/entertaining/a40250/heres-why-we-really-celebrate-halloween/ 

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Top Three Chromebook Shortcuts

By: Patrick Farrell

(Do you use these shortcuts on your chromebook? You should!)

1. Control + C / Control + V

A simple quality of life shortcut, holding Ctrl and pressing C, this command copies the text you highlighted with your mouse. When you want to paste or add the text wherever you are typing you simply hold Ctrl and press V.

2.  Ctrl + Alt + ?

When holding Control and Alt then hitting ?, you can see all the shortcuts on your Chromebook that didn’t make the top 3. You should use this shortcut to make your own list of shortcuts and show off to your friends.

3.  Alt + Tab

And, at the top spot (my personal favorite), when holding down alt and hitting tab you can switch between tabs with ease. This shortcut is very helpful when you have multiple different google chrome tabs open to do work.

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         Welcome Back, Mrs. Mazur!
                                        By Cecilia Gordan

     In May of 2019, the school said goodbye to our math specialist Mrs. Mazur.  And now, we welcome her back as a fourth grade teacher! When she left three years ago, it left a hole in the Saint Charles community, and now that she’s back, that hole is filled with joy and fun!. As a fourth grade teacher, she teaches math, English, religion, health and reading to her homeroom, and science for all of the fourth grade. Her students are always happy around her, and are always learning something new. Fun Friday is a highlight of their week with her, where the students have 20 minutes to play outside, in the classroom, or in the gym. She finds many exciting ways to teach new topics like Kahoots, cut & pastes in notebooks, and creative science experiments. She encourages questions if you don’t understand something.
     Who could talk to Mrs. Mazur and not realize how funny she is! She makes jokes all throughout the day. She always keeps a light spirit present in the classroom. She can smile even on the worst days, and all the students are in a better mood because of it. (When you're a fourth grade teacher, you definitely need to have patience). Somehow, Mrs. Mazur seems to have an infinite amount of it! If you don’t understand something in her class, she is always happy to help you out. She truly cares about everyone’s grades and their emotional health.
     We are all very happy to have Mrs. Mazur back in our Saint Charles school community. I hope she knows that we are grateful for her presence and joyous spirit!
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SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO CHURCH

BOY SCOUT TROOP 221

CUB SCOUT PACK 73



 

• The enrollment for the 2021-22 school year in  preschool through grade eight is 389.
• 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).