Advent Wreath Lighting

Kindergarten students Thomas B. and Rebecca H. take part in the weekly student Advent Wreath Lighting Prayer Service held every Monday of Advent, in Siena Hall.

Giving Thanks

Samantha ., dressed as a pilgrim, enjoys St. Catherine of Siena School’s annual preschool four Thanksgiving feast held on November 23 in Siena Hall. After performing on stage, students (dressed as Pilgrims and Native Americans) were served turkey, with all the trimmings, including homemade butter prepared by the students as a class project

Colonial Village

Mrs. Scalo's seventh grade students at St. Catherine of Siena School presented a living Colonial Village to parents and students on November 18 in Siena Hall. Students were first required to write research papers about a specific colonial trade. They then demonstrated their trade in a mock Colonial Village, while dressed in period clothing. Shown Above, Katherine S. (left) and Elizabeth S. (right) demonstrate the trades of Shoemaker and Baker to students in St. Catherine of Siena School.

Flapjacks & Fun

Hotcakes and smiles filled Siena Hall during this year’s annual Pancake Breakfast. Tons of school volunteers and parishioners filled the gym for a delicious morning breakfast. (Above), TJ Donnelly and sons Patrick D. and Brendan D. enjoy a hot breakfast with friend Patrick D. (Below) Henry Trautfetter, Rich Sanducci and John Szeluga dish up hot pancakes for the hungry crowd.

got milk?

Our Preschool 4 students sure do!  Above, Arianna J. tries her hand at milking a cow during a recent class trip to Green Meadows Petting Farm in Hazlet, NJ.  Mrs. Mulieri’s and Mrs. Giaquinto’s students enjoyed a unique hands on learning adventure with hundreds of friendly farm animals.  Some of the many petting zoo activities include milking a cow, feeding animals, tractor drawn hayrides and fall pumpkin picking.

Clothing Drive Generosity

St. Catherine’s HSA recently held their annual Fall Clothing Drive in Siena Hall. A special thanks to all the families who made donations and volunteered at the event. It was a great success. Shown above, Principal Celine Kerwin helps unload a bag of clothes with students Sophia B. grade 1 (left) and Jade L. grade 2 (right).

2011 8th Grade Cathedral Tour and Organ Concert

8th Grade Field Trip

Our 8th Grade class took a field trip to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ today.

Back to School Social

Good Morning SCS!

Every school day the students of SCS enrich their public speaking skills by broadcasting morning announcements  to the student body and staff. These student broadcasts include “this day in history”, saint feast day information, essays, a “jokester”, and much more. This year the students have expanded our morning broadcasts to reach beyond the school, posting them onto the web. The process is called podcasting and eighth grade students Jack C. and Sean R. make it all happen. Parents, families, and now even parishioners can take a listen to the broadcast at:  http://scs.podomatic.com. (It is posted on the schoolwebsite too!)  We invite all to check it out.  Shown above; Katie F. (left) and Gabbie R.(right) get ready for their morning broadcast of school announcements

9/11 Remembered

Eighth grade SCS student Anthony P. meets NJ Governor Chris Christie during a visit to The Empty Sky Memorial at Liberty State Park, in Jersey City on September 10. Several thousand people attended the ceremony and toured the Empty Sky Memorial, the name borrowed from Bruce Springsteen’s song about the “empty sky’’ where the World Trade Center towers stood 10 years ago.

Band - Summer 2011

Student musicians participate in the Summer Opportunity band program concert, held July 20 at St. James Church, Upper Montclair. Shown above,  top, Phillip M. gr.6, Kerry F. gr.8, center, Rebecca P. gr. 5, bottom, Brendan F. gr. 6 and Kerry F. gr. 8.

Welcome Back!

St. Catherine of Siena School welcomed back students this morning for the start of the 2011-2012 school year. Our early risers, before care students are welcomed to the building by Mrs. Barbarito, director of the the extended care program.

Essay Winner

Congratulations to Zachary G. of the 6th grade who placed 2^nd in the Knights of Columbus Essay Contest with his essay on What the American Flag Means to Me.

End Polio Now

SCS recently helped the Rotary Club, by wearing purple and collecting donations to help end Polio now. The Rotary Club US is on a quest to raise $200 million to match $355 million in challenge grants received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The resulting $555 million supports immunization campaigns in developing countries where polio continues to infect and paralyze children, robbing them of their futures and compounding the hardships faced by their families. As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children everywhere remain at risk.

Easter baskets for St. Vincents

Students in Mrs. Scalo's seventh grade class made bunny baskets filled with a stuffed animal and a heartfelt card and prayer for the residents of St. Vincent's nursing home. A group of students also hand delivered the baskets to residents for Easter.

Essay Winner

Congratulations to Mia D. of the 8th grade who won 2nd place in the Elks Club Essay Competition with her essay on Why I Am Proud to be an American. She was presented with a check and certificate at the February 3, 2011 Elks Club meeting.

Prayer & Pizza

SCS students and their families recently participated in the annual Prayer & Pizza sponsored by the school’s Home School Association.  Stations of the Cross were prayed by all and then families enjoyed a pizza dinner afterward.

Mass of the Children

SCS students recently joined the Summit Chorale and Lacordaire Academy to form a children's choir performing "Mass of the Children" by John Rutter.  SCS Music Teacher Mr. Albert Ganter welcomed the opportunity for SCS students to perform choral music at a more advanced and artistic level. The performance was conducted by Dr. Thomas Juneau of St. Johns University and solos were performed by Mr. Ganter.

Sports Award Dinner

The Annual SCS Sports award dinner was held in March in Siena Hall. Thank you to all our parent volunteers who make this wonderful program happen!

Class of 2011 Rings

Monsignor Slipe congratulates 8th grade student Michael B. on receiving his St. Catherine of Siena School ring in a recent ceremony held during mass in the church.

St. Patrick's Day

SCS classes enjoyed learning about the life of St. Patrick while wearing green to school on March 17th. Students in grades K-8 were also treated to Irish Scones baked by Mrs. Jeaneen Dwyer with the help of  parent volunteers. Special thanks to  Katie Reilly’s Irish Soda Bread and Scone Mix in Verona who donated the scone mix.

Flapjacks for all!

Mmmm pancakes! Parent Cliff Potters is all smiles as he prepares a new batch of pancake batter for St. Catherine's recent family pancake breakfast held in Siena Hall.

100 Day Celebration

Mrs. Tissot's kindergarten class enjoyed a day filled with the number 100! They celebrated their one hundredth day of school with projects, snacks and books all themed with counting to the number 100. Bravo!

Do you like green eggs and ham?

Students in St. Catherine's 7th grade recently celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday with Mrs. Tissot's kindergarten class by dressing up as the Cat in the Hat and Thing One and Thing Two. They surprised the kindergarten students with a visit and read some of their favorite Dr. Seuss books to the class.

Family Fun Night 2011

Family Hearts for Catholic Schools Week