Notes from the Principal

Building Our Community

In times of difficulty or hardship, especially economic hardship, people find themselves trying to connect to others, forging tighter relationships, building stronger communities.  When our wallets are flush, we often find ourselves working and living independent of one another, sometimes verging on isolation.  When money is tight, our natural tendency is to lean on one another -- to pull through the lean times together.  So, if there's anything good to come of this troubling economy we find ourselves in, it is this renewed sense of community we see all around us -- and the SJB school community is no exception. 

In the past few months and weeks, I have found it particularly refreshing to watch our own community grow and strengthen.  As I look back over the past two and a half months (I know, I have neglected this blog far too long even for my own procrastinating self!), there are some wonderful highlights that really illuminate the community that has been built and continues to thrive here.

In January and February, we opened our doors and our classrooms and invited prospective parents to see what we are all about!  Our two hugely successful open houses brought in a host of new and excited parents.  They walked our halls, peeked into classrooms, asked LOTS of questions and were able to see with their own eyes the amazing things that we know and experience on a regular basis.  Our pre-k and primary teachers and students were wonderful hosts to our guests.  These events and our devoted and reliable current school families translated into early enrollment numbers that quickly approached our current enrollment!  A waiting list for our kindergarten rapidly grew, and before we knew we were even ready for it, a second kindergarten class emerged!  In the midst of the doldrums of this long and dreary winter, here at SJB we felt warmed indeed by the prospect of our growing school community. 

While our community continues to grow from the outside, inside school, students and school families continue to support not only our own activities and programs, but they are continually on the watch for ways to learn about and reach out to communities outside their own.  Our 4th and 8th graders both took trips to visit their senior friends at the Bishop Conway House in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.  They played cards, sang songs and brought some good SJB cheer to the residents.  Not to be outdone in serving the community, our school parents pulled through with flying colors offering words of encouragement, good advice and some delicious and healthy snacks during Terra Nova testing week at the beginning of March.  Finally, last week, our fifth graders boarded a bus and rode to the Roseland neighborhood where they were greeted by friends from St. John De LaSalle School and treated to a tour of the neighborhood with a representative from the Alderman Beale's office -- all a part of a Big Shoulders Fund's tribute to Chicago's 100th anniversary of the Daniel Burnham neighborhoods plan.  They brought back a lot of notes and photos to create our school neighborhood report to add to and present at the Big Shoulders Burnham Neighborhoods Project next month.

So, I'll wrap up my musings on community (yes, I know, these posts could be much shorter if I wrote more often) with a reminder and an open invitation to join us at this year's Annual Glimmer Auction - this Saturday, March 14th - a great way to see for yourself the great community that is SJB.  The guest list is growing daily -- thanks to all of you who have already RSVP'd and donated -- and it promises to be a night of fun for sure.  In the meantime, remember that you are always welcome to be a part of our school community -- as a student, a parent, a volunteer, a donor or just a friend.  Hope to see you around the neighborhood!

Blessings, Peace and Joy to You and Yours . . .

Today as I write, I am sitting at my kitchen table looking out the frosty panes of the window onto a clear, crisp (and I mean "four below zero" crisp) morning.  Snow covers the yards and rooftops and smoke curls from almost every chimney on our block.  I feel especially thankful to be inside a warm house and to be looking forward to spending the next two weeks enjoying the company of family and friends, sharing in the giving spirit of the season.  In fact, when I think about our SJB community and the past year, I realize I have much for which to give thanks . . .

• To our school parents and families, who are committed to the education of their children (even on the snowiest of days!), who contribute hundreds of hours of volunteer time, who give generously and who are the backbone of our school community.
• To our students, who work and study hard, who show respect and kindness to friends and strangers alike, and who help to create a learning environment that is filled with life and creativity.
• To our faculty and staff, who work tirelessly and without complaint to engage and challenge our students, who coordinate and collaborate to make our school buildings, facilities and programs run well and who understand and are committed to the mission of our school.
• To our Board and Committee members who selflessly contribute many hours, who donate dollars and talent and who continue to provide our school community with guidance and support to help us grow into something amazing.
• To our friends, volunteers and donors who through their labor and donations provide an immeasurable source of support which puts the sparkle and shine on who we are and which reminds us the immense amount of potential we still have in reserve!

Thanks to all of you, St. John Berchmans continues to be a great place to be!  Please know that my gratitude for you and for that all you do and are is beyond measure.  Looking to the coming year, I feel confident and hopeful as our school community continues to amaze me with its growth, its generosity and its bursting vitality! 

I wish for you and your family a Christmas season filled with hope, joy and love and look forward to seeing you in the new year!

It all adds up . . .

Money.  It seems like it's all I think about lately.  Every time I turn on the TV or the radio or open the newspaper, the outlook is gloomy to say the least.  Prices at the grocery store and the gas pump don't seem to help, either.  On top of that, here at school, we are working on finalizing our budget, three year outlook and our portion of the parish's annual fiscal report.  And on top of THAT, as part of my coursework at DePaul, I am currently enrolled in a course called School Finances.  Phew!  That's a lot of talk about money. 

Good or bad, talking about money is inevitable.  We certainly need and use a lot of it to clothe, feed and educateour children.  Here at SJB it costs over $6000 to educate a single child for one school year.  That money goes to textbooks and supplies, teacher salaries, building utilities and maintenance and services and programs.  It all adds up!

It all adds up.  It all adds up to what?  We think at our school it adds up to something pretty special.  You can see that "something special" if you walk the grounds of our campus.  I see it when I walk the halls and grounds every day.  I see it when a preschooler greets me on the playground in Mandarin Chinese.  I see it in the art room when our kindergartners are elbow deep in papier maiche.  I see it in a first grader whose eyes are wide as they learn how to read; or in the satisfied sigh of an 8th grader whose hard work and persistence has finally paid off with an 'A' paper or a perfect test score.

It is easy in this dismal economy to become discouraged and feel downtrodden.  It often feels like nothing is paying off.  As a part of the SJB school community -- as a student or teacher, parent or alum, staff or family -- I know that you make sacrifices to be here.  So it's important that you remember that this is one investment -- born of sacrifice -- where your return is guaranteed.  If our revenue and expense sheets could measure hearts and smiles, friendships and learning, faith and love -- our bottom line would certainly show us being a school with wealth beyond all of our dreams. 

Dear Friends:

     As I write this, in homes all across Logan Square (and some beyond!), new uniforms hang neatly in closets, school supplies are carefully packed away in colorful backpacks and children are savoring their last bits of freedom – sleeping late, splashing around in the swimming pool, or just enjoying an afternoon with nothing much to do.  At the same time, parents are heaving a sigh of relief at the thought of returning to early bed times and regular routines.  Meanwhile, here at school, teachers are busily cleaning their rooms – clearing out last year’s clutter to make way for new textbooks and materials. They are preparing their class rosters, putting their lesson plans in order, firing up their computers and making everything ready for their students, who before long will fill our empty halls and classrooms.  The air is charged with feelings of optimism and renewal.  It is truly a great time to be at  St. John Berchmans School!

      Every fall, with the start of the school year, I consider the irony of this yearly “rebirth”.  For more than thirty years, I have arranged my life around the academic calendar – as a student, as a teacher and now as a principal.  So for me, the anticipation and revitalization that attend each fall seem natural.  But in reality, nothing could be more “unnatural”.  From nature’s perspective, fall signifies an end, marked by hibernation and a slowing-down – by decay and even death.  So when I think about the juxtaposition of my hopefulness at the beginning of the school year with the poignant mood brought on by nature’s demise every autumn, I consider myself lucky.  For me, the beginning of every school year feels like spring!  Just like I watch for the crocuses peeking from the cold winter ground at the end of every February, at the end of every August, I keep my eyes peeled for all of the “newness” that will accompany the new school year – new teachers, new students, new textbooks and materials, new technology that will fill our empty seats and shelves.  Just as the buds suddenly pop from tree branches and slowly (but surely) unfold into beautiful green leaves over time, our school community “pops” into action on the first day of school, and then slowly (but surely) grows into an environment rich with life and learning.  Just like spring fills us each year with enthusiasm and vigor, in many ways the start of every school year feels the same.

     This year, we will begin the school year with three nearly full pre-school classes, a total school enrollment that has grown (and continues to grow daily) by more than 10%, brand new science, social studies and reading programs, a digitized library and an enriched after school program which will offer foreign language (French and Mandarin Chinese) and music classes.  Our teachers, new and veteran, have filled their lesson plans with fresh and innovative ideas and are driven by a commitment to help our students excel.  We are focused on continuing the work we began last year on reflecting on and revising our curricula in order to both support and challenge our students in our instruction.  I share all of this to give you a glimpse into the “spring” of our school year, and to invite you to share in our optimism and excitement as we begin.  I urge you to join us as we journey through the year in any way you can – in our volunteer opportunities, at our Family Masses or school events like the spring concert, as a part of our fundraising efforts like Walk-a-Thon or Glimmer, or by encouraging and supporting a student in their studies.  The “spring season” of school is set to begin, and I look forward to working with you as we watch, nurture and harvest the fruits of  St. John Berchmans School in the months to come.

With warmth and gratitude,

Peggy Roket

Head of School

Summer at last!

“Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”

  ~Henry James

What is summer for you? Is it green grass growing tall and sidewalk gardens painted rich in yellows and reds? Is it the beach with sand in your swimsuit and between your toes? Or maybe it’s glorious early sunrises and lazy late sunsets? Does the July sun help you forget about all the frigid air and slushy snow of a Chicago winter? Do you let flip flops and sundresses, baseball mitts and ice cream remind you of what is good and simple about life?

For me, summer is all these things and more.  I have always been in school – as a student, a teacher and now a principal. So for me, summers always promise something special.  Each year, when I turn the calendar page to June, I begin to feel a transformation. I begin to forget about the oppressive, cold, grey skies that shadowed me all winter long. I begin to shed, with my winter coat and wool sweaters, all the daily duties of the school day that have filled my waking (and sometimes sleeping!) hours all year long. I begin to feel reborn.

I hope for you – as a student, a parent, a teacher, a volunteer – that summer can mean something special, too. I hope that you allow yourself to savor long summer afternoons with an ice-cold lemonade on a front porch swing.  I hope that you find yourself cooling your sun soaked skin in the chilly Lake Michigan waters at  North Avenue Beach. I hope that a good book and an afternoon nap on a hammock become a part of your daily routine.  I hope that each night, when you lay your head down, with the taste of chocolate ice cream on your lips, you close your eyes and sink into dreams of another day filled with sunshine and hot dogs on the grill, bare feet and swatting flies, baseball and drive-in movies.   I hope that you feel reborn by summer, too.

Thanks for a great school year and a summer worth relishing.  See you in August!

Testing: Good for our brains or bad for our egos?

On Monday morning of this week, a parent told Melissa Skinner-Liberman, our Director of Advancement, “My kids are officially nervous about the upcoming Terra Nova tests”.  And although I don’t want our students scared to the point of distraction, I have to admit, it did make me smile a bit to hear.  I started to think about that “butterfly” feeling that I know at least two of our students were experiencing that first morning of testing.  I remember feeling those butterflies on the first day of school (almost every year – as a student and a teacher), and when I received my sacraments – First Communion, Reconciliation, Confirmation and Marriage.  Those butterflies emerged on the morning of the ACT, the GRE’s and my teaching certification test.  They appeared before job interviews, and public speaking engagements, before a marathon I ran and as I prepared for the first day of a new job.  And although those butterflies were a bit uncomfortable – they served a purpose – they made me think, they made me focus, and they made me serious. 

I sent a letter home last week asking parents to talk to their children about the Terra Nova – asking to help them understand its significance, while at the same time encouraging them and reassuring them that they were prepared.  Our parents must have done their job.  As I walked through the halls on Monday morning, once the test had begun, I saw teachers and students working hard and with purpose.  The halls and classrooms were quiet and studious.

 

So why is the Terra Nova so important?  Why should we be focused and serious about this particular test?  What do our results mean for our students, and what do they mean for our school?  When we think about this test and the ensuing results, it is important to consider the politics of testing versus the value of assessment.  In approaching the Terra Nova and looking at its results, we should be careful not to view them through the “politics of testing” lens.  What I mean by this is that our Terra Nova scores need careful interpretation – and we cannot deduce, just by looking at the raw data (either for individual students or for our school as a whole) what is “wrong” with our students or our school.  We can, however, use the Terra Nova as a valuable assessment tool, in combination with our classroom work and assessments, to discover a whole wealth of information.  We can use the Terra Nova to help guide and adjust our curriculum.  We can use the Terra Nova to help us to better understand individual students and their skills and needs.

 

I once had a professor who told me, “There’s nothing wrong with teaching to a test, if the test is a good test”.  In other words, if the Archdiocese and we as a school community have decided to use the Terra Nova test as an assessment, it is important that we work hard to prepare our students as best we can with the tools and skills they need to be successful.  In addition, we have to approach the test with an appreciation for its value and implications.  This past week, I was pleased with our school’s efforts. I would like to thank our students for their hard work this year and this week – I am sure your results will reflect your efforts.

 

I would like to thank our parents and families for supporting our students this week – they appreciated your words and more importantly, your snacks!  I would like to thank our teachers for working so tirelessly with their students preparing for and administering the tests.  It is my hope that as we move forward, this year and in the future, that our continued conscientiousness and diligence will manifest itself in a better curriculum, better students, and yes – even better scores!

St. John Berchmans School Helps to "Light the Way"

One of my all time favorite quotes about education is from the Irish poet and playwright W.B. Yeats.  He says, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire".  So, when I saw the theme for this year's Catholic Schools Week, I couldn't help but to consider all the metaphorical implications that theme carries with it, including how closely it matches the sentiment of the Yeats quote.  The image of light, both in terms of education and our faith, reminds us how influential all of our roles in Catholic education are -- as administrators, as teachers, as students, as clergy and as parents.  We are charged with a sacred mission to teach, to learn, to believe and to do all of this as means to light the way for others.

Each day, as I walk the halls of St. John Berchmans, I am fortunate enough to see the spark of everyday learning in our classrooms.  I see it in our preschoolers who wonder and discover about polar bears.  I see it in our first graders as they wander in their minds through imaginary rain forests.   I see it in our eighth graders as they question and answer their way through their lessons on the federal and state constitutions.  It is inspiring to watch our dedicated teachers work hard to ignite in their hard working students the flame of learning.   But as a Catholic school we are in a unique and wonderful position which allows us to extend the light of our education beyond reading and writing, beyond state standards, beyond science experiments and gym exercises.  In our school, learning does not stop in our heads, but it extends to our hearts.  We encourage our students to use both their hearts and minds to become people who think and act for others, lighting their way, truly extending in their own lives the lessons Christ has left for us.   

As we begin Catholic Schools Week, I urge you to remember the ways that Catholic schools illuminate your life.  If you need a reminder, we welcome you to stop in and visit -- at our family mass and science fair beginning at 9:45 on Sunday, January 27th, at our Family Activity Night at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29th or at our open house beginning with mass at 8:30 on Friday, February 1st.  Please join us at one or all of our Catholic Schools Week events, and help us to shine our light for all to see! 

Well, it may be cold outside, but here at SJB, it seems like we're just getting warmed up!  The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity for our school community.  Some of our traditional annual events, including Halloween Fest, Scholastic Book fair and parent teacher conferences got us moving at the end of October and beginning of November.  In addition, we hosted a fantastic group of philanthropists from Big Shoulders Fund on our successful Lend-a-Shoulder Day, where participants spent the morning singing with the student choir in mass, reading stories to pre-schoolers and getting their hands dirty with a 5th grade science experiment!  Our Centennial Celebration was spectacular -- with over 500 people in attendance, alumnae and friends of SJB gathered to honor and celebrate an amazing 100 years of excellence, tradition, hard work and faith.  Finally, just this past weekend, we had an amazing turnout at our annual Breakfast with Santa, where I hear, Santa was jolly and the food was delicious!

The halls and classrooms of our school continue to hum with activity.  Here in the Altgeld campus, our 8th graders are starting the high school decision making process.  They have participated in shadow days at Loyola Academy, Mount Carmel High School and Resurrection High School.  Furthermore, three of our students have been nominated for PEAK scholarships at Holy Trinity High School!  Students in the 5th grade took an inspiring trip to the Field Museum where they saw an exhibit on Ancient Americas.  All the students in Altgeld have been in fierce competition in this month's "Coin War", sponsored by our Student Leadership group and which will raise money for Heifer International. 

Don't worry, the Logan Campus isn't letting the Altgeld Campus have all the fun!  Late in October, the 3rd and 4th graders went on a field trip to our local library, where they learned about all its resources in a fun scavenger hunt.  Students have also been learning a lot about science and nature.  Some of the pre-schoolers performed a sink and float experiment with pumpkins, while the 1st graders sorted and categorized leaves they had collected on a nature walk outside.  All of the students in the Logan campus had fun learning about bike safety from our special visitor, Toby the Tire!  Finally, today everyone celebrated St. Nicholas Day by reading stories, singing songs and receiving a special treat.

We won't let the recent snow and cold temperatures slow us down, as we look forward to some of these upcoming events:

• Rite of Enrollment Mass for our 8th grade Confirmation Candidates on December 9th.
• A special fitness presentation from some Chicago Bears on December 12th.
• The Christmas Concert on December 13th.
• Christmas School Mass on December 21st.
• Christmas Break!
• Catholic Schools Week the week of January 27th.

In the meantime, I wish everyone a blessed and safe holiday season and hope to see you soon!

Autumn has arrived . . .

Finally!  It's hard to believe that the last time I posted, we were still sweltering in the summer heat.  But the leaves have indeed begun to change, and we finally (I think!) can tranisiton from our summer wardrobe to snuggly sweaters and maybe even mittens.  Here at school, things are transforming, too.  Our pre-school has, at last, been granted a little more breathing room with the opening of our third classroom.  On Monday, October 22nd, 16 of our pre-schoolers moved to our brand new class with Ms. Mary Hudson and Ms. Carmen Ortiz.  With smaller class sizes, we feel assured that our budding young students will have all the room they need to grow and expand their minds!  Also in the Logan building, our library is nearing its completion.  Repairs have been completed and painting has begun!  We hope to show it off in its complete or near to complete state at Parent Teacher Conferences on November 4th. 

We've had and continue to have quite an eventful month.  Our legs and hearts  got a workout in the early part of October with both Walk to School Day and the Walk-a-Thon.  We raised awareness and some money and had a great time at both events.  We had a beautiful Family Mass on the 14th, after which we dedicated and blessed some of the new facilities in the Altgeld building, incuding the library, the science lab and the computer lab.  Finally, we're all looking forward to some end of the month celebrating at the Halloween Fest on the 31st.

As always, we welcome and encourage everyone to join us in all of our activities.  Mark your calendars for some of these upcoming events . . . we hope to see you there!

• November 4 -- Parent Teacher Conferences
• November 7 -- Mandatory Parent Meeting
• November 11 -- Family Mass
• November 17 -- Family Mass & Centennial Celebration
• December 13 -- Christmas Concert

What a great start!

Greetings St. John Berchmans Community!

Things here at school are starting to settle down as new and experienced teachers and students are settling into their regular routines.  Here on the Altgeld campus, the 4th graders are really stepping up as they adjust to life in a new building.  I can already see how their behavior reflects a new level of maturity!  The 5th through 8th graders are busy with homework from not one, but as many as NINE different teachers!  Full backpacks and quiet classrooms let me know that they are certainly being challenged.  Over at the Logan campus, things seem just as productive.  Preschoolers are always busy at both work and play.  I met lots of students from the primary grades when they came over to visit our library this past week.  Based on their excitement over the Altgeld library, I know that the Logan library will be a busy place when it's finished.  Finally, I want to thank all the parents, teachers and staff who participated in the First Mandatory Parent Meeting on Wednesday, September 5.  It was a hot and humid night, but we had a great turnout and I was truly inspired by the dedication and spirit of all the attendees.  Thanks and we look forward to seeing everyone again soon.  Students, keep up the great work in your classes and in the hallways.  Parents keep up your great work, too!  We appreciate all your hard work and sacrifice to keep your children here at SJB, and we appreicate the support you provide at home so that we can keep our school a safe and engaging place of learning!