With one foot in the past, the students and teachers of Saint Anthony Parish School in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, are boldly stepping into the future. The students are learning about traditional subjects—math, English, history, and so on—within the context of the timeless moral tradition of their Catholic faith. However, as a result of a major project over the past year, the Saint Anthony students are now doing so with the added help of cutting edge technology—including SMART Boards in the computer lab and in each of their regular classrooms.

Through a true community effort, the parish, the teachers, the administration, and the parents at Saint Anthony’s have demonstrated a long-term commitment to building up the school’s technology resources over the years, and they continue to do so. With a large computer lab, networked computers in every classroom, wireless notebook computers for library use, and a top notch group of IT professionals as volunteers, the ability to now place a SMART Board in every classroom represents another giant step forward for both the teachers and the students. Through this technology, teachers are better able to engage students with diverse learning styles and/or who are operating at varying skill levels; that means greater success for everyone involved.

In talking with teachers and students at St. Anthony’s, the excitement is tangible, and when you walk down the halls to peek in the classrooms, it is easy to see that each time St. Anthony’s plugs in a new piece of technology, it is the students who get more energy. As Mr. Fedie, the social studies and 6th-grade homeroom teacher, explained, “The SMART Board has really made my classes more interactive and helped upgrade all of the things I did before. Students’ focus has increased [. . .] and everyone wants to get involved. Even basic things like note-taking, videos, and map activities are more fun because of the technology and the active learning taking place.”

 

St. Anthony the Hermit Parish was truly blessed when Father Dennis J. Wieland became part of our parish family in June of 2008. He is the biggest proponent of our school and his presence really has an affect on our children.

When I heard that Father Dennis gave all the 8th graders a lollipop at Mass with instructions to Pay It Forward and give the lollipop to a fellow student, I was in awe at the lesson he was teaching our children. When the school came together to do a coin drive during Catholic Schools week and collected over $700, Father Dennis added another $500 for their hard work. The money was donated to our sister parish, Sagrada Familia, in the Dominican Republic. Father Dennis doesn’t just talk about being full of grace – instead he is a living example.

This past year I had the opportunity to work closely with Father Dennis while organizing our annual auction event which supports our Catholic Education Endowment Fund and let me tell you I don’t think that man knows the word “no”. Whatever our needs were and whatever obstacles we had to overcome Father Dennis supported us 100%. Even in these hard economic times we were able to raise a record amount of over $17,000. We would not have been able to do that without his support and dedication to our school.

Father Dennis truly is a special gift and I’m blessed to have him lead me and my family in our faith.

Submitted by: Andrea Holmes
 

In May, the Catholic Herald Parenting invited students and parents alike to submit essays and artwork featuring a special priest in their life to be published in the September issue.

Congratulations to St. Anthony 8th Grader Konya Ngaboh-Smart for being one of 13 winners chosen for this contest! She won a College for Kids certificate!  Her entry is found below:

Fr. Dennis Teaches By Example

This is my first year at St. Anthony Parish.  First, I was very nervous until I met my new priest.  Fr. Dennis (Wieland) at our first Mass. He gave us a word that corresponded with our reading and told us he would follow up the next week. I have found Fr. Dennis an inspiration.

One reason I find Fr. Dennis an inspiration is that when he delivers his homily he tries to get us involved by asking us questions and assigning activities.  Once when we did a reading he had two eighth grade guests.  One of the eighth graders was dressed like a businessman, and the other was raggedly dressed, dirty, barefoot, messy hair and torn clothes. He asked us if we woudl be afraid or greet the student if we were to pass him in the street and most of us said we would be afraid. Fr. Dennis made us understand the story of the Good Samaritan through his examples.

These examples show why Fr. Dennis is an inspirational priest. Fr. Dennis gives us money:  $5 to the sixth, seventh and eighth graders.  $2 to the fifth grade and $1 to the rest of the school.  He would ask us what we would do with the money. Most of us give the money in form of Sunday collection or to our parents or to those in need.  He thus teaches us the spirit of giving and to be thankful. For example, this spring he made us write a thank you letter to the parishoners, and made us understand that parishoners are the backbone of the church and school.  My parents rightly think he always has a welcoming smile.

The 2nd Annual Best Young Catholic Poets' Workshop Ever

Date: Saturday, August 15th 

Location: Mt. Mary College 

Time: 9:00 - 1:00

Ages: 7-17

Cost: $5/participant (just helps cover supplies and printing costs)

Host: elementary/middle school teacher with over ten years of experience at different grade levels and a growing track record of publications

Guest Speakers: TBD

Lunch: b.y.o.b.b. (bring your own brown bag)

Main Sponsor: Signs and Wonders: The Poetry Journal for Young Catholics

If you are >7 and <17 , then this is your chance to learn about poetry with other kids who share your Catholic values. Among the highlights of the workshop:

• Learn how to construct a good simile or metaphor to crystallize your ideas

• Hear readings by experienced poets

• Have fun!

• Learn about what makes Catholic poetry different from other kinds

• Participate in hands-on practice sessions to help build your poet’s toolbox

• Have a chance to meet an editor or two

• Have fun!

• Discover ways that practicing poetry can add life and color to all of your writing

• Take a quiz to find out why poetry is not for girls alone

• Find out the top ten ways to pass yourself off as an eccentric poet

• Come away with a new way to think about how poetry strengthens your faith and faith strengthens your poetry

• And, in case we haven’t mentioned it: Have fun!

Here are a couple of comments from last year:

“It was fantastic! Not only was the instruction part fun and informative, but
he had two published, accomplished poets as guest speakers.”

“Thank you for a wonderful poetry class – I brought our kids in hopes of getting them excited about writing this year (we have reluctant writers).  The mission was accomplished!”

 

To register, or if you would like more information, please contact Mr. Richardson at: erichardson@wi.rr.com

St. Anthony Parish School Four Year-Old Kindergarten - NOW ENROLLING!

• Looking for an exciting, nuturing learning environment with an emphasis on high academic standards and Christian values?
• Searching for a small, intimate setting for YOUR child's educational experience?
• Do you want your child to be one of only 15 to 20 kindgergartners with personalized individual attenging?

If so, come and explore the K4 Classroom on a personalized tour for you and your family!

For more information call: 262-251-4390

Congratulations to the following St. Anthony Parish School Students for their recent accomplishments!

Knights of Columbus State Math Competition

Jonathan Grey competed in the Knights of Columbus State Math Competition on April 4th in Wisconsin Rapids.  He placed 2nd!!! Congratulations Jonathan, we are so proud of you!

Junior High Students compete in DSHA Excel-a-Thon 

Ten of our 6th and 7th grade grils participated in a Divine Savior Holy Angels annual Excel-a-thon on April 2, 2009.  There were over 208 girls and 30 teams competed.

• Sixth grade team took 1st place in Current Events competition!
• Haley Shepherd placed 3rd in 6th grade science!
• Marissa Baumhardt placed 3rd in 7th grade science!

2009 Art Fair Winner

First grader, Anna Pappas was awarded the "Artists Award" in the Parochial School Art Fair.  Congrats Anna!

St. Anthony Parish School held it???s 6^th annual auction and tasting event on Saturday, March 28, 2009.  With a new theme, Taste Around the World, experienced record attendance with over 270 parishioners, school families and friends supporting the St. Anthony Catholic Education Endowment Fund.  In addition to record attendance, we also made over $17,000 from our cash raffle, silent and voice auctions, raffle baskets and other donations and sponsorships!  Thank you to everyone who attended and supported this event! We look forward to seeing you next year!!!

My schedule does not usually allow me to go to the Saint Anthony sporting events, but Thursday and Sunday, I had the opportunity to watch our 8^th grade girls play in the Padre Serra tournament, and I learned some important things about whether Saint Anthony’s is really preparing our kids to succeed as they go off to high school and beyond.  The answer is: we are indeed!

Sure, we all would have loved it if the team had come in first (or second).  I am really glad they didn’t, though, because their loss on Saturday is what really set the stage for the things I saw on Sunday. 

I saw young women of remarkable poise and character shine through, and I was glad my daughter was along to see it—and to hear her comments afterward.  They are good role models to her and all of our other students coming after them.  It was a tough loss on Saturday, and it was a hard game on Sunday.  Some of the breaks didn’t go our way on the floor, our girls took a few injuries, and they also took a few rough fouls.  Not once did I see a glimpse of anything but resolve, determination, and good sportsmanship out of our students.  To our young women—Madeline, Elizabeth, Rachel, Sarah, Maggie, Leslie—and to the parents and teachers who have helped to shape them, I say, “thank you.”

I also saw our other students—I think almost all of them between the two games—band together and give an impressive show of support for our team.  Again, it is all the more remarkable to see that after a loss than after a win.  But on Sunday, there they were, cheering, clapping, stomping, and jumping up and down as one, with just as much energy and sympathy as if the girls were playing for the national championship.  I even saw a couple of kids with painted faces.  To the St. Anthony cheering section, and to their parents and teachers as well, I would also like to say, “thank you.”

A lot of things have to go right to win, and many of them are beyond our control.  We can’t choose to be taller or faster, we can’t choose whether God gave us the gifts to make us more suited to the team or to the cheering section.  We can’t choose how rough the game might be on a given day, which of our players might be injured, or whether the calls seem to go our way.  Our young women (and their passionate supporters) are a good example of the fact that we can choose how we respond to any of those things and that those choices reflect a character that I wouldn’t trade for all tournament wins in the world. 

It’s easy to have good school spirit when you have a team of students with remarkable athletic talent.  I think we should be all the more proud to have students of such remarkable moral character.

Sincerely,

Mr. Richardson

St. Anthony Parish School Teacher

For more information or to get tickets, please contact Andrea Holmes at (262) 293-9475.

Congratulations to the St. Anthony 8th Grade Girl's Basketball Team who advanced in the Padre Serra Tournament over the weekend. The girl's next game is Thursday, March 19th at 7:45pm at Mount Mary College Gymnasium against Holy Apostles.

Last fall, Mr. Richardson published the first issue of a new poetry journal for young Catholics, called Signs and Wonders.  A good explanation for his inspiration was giving during his interview as the featured poet in the November issue of The Centrifugal Eye, the editor asked about his new poetry journal, and the following is just a brief excerpt from that interview.

***

ER: I think you will find it very telling that I just launched a print poetry journal for young people called Signs and Wonders, which focuses on that sense of a divine presence just below the surface of the everyday world — a sense expressed so well by the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins that "the world is charged with the grandeur of God."

That first issue was very well received among students and parents from around the country, with comments and feedback like: “What a beautiful publication!” and “

Thank you for giving our children a place to express their work.”

Hopefully the journal will continue to grow.  As more Catholic students read the journal and submit their own poetry, the goals of the project will achieve greater success.  Looking forward, the ideal would be for this little poetry journal to become a popular outlet to help young people connect with each other and with their religious faith in a way that is hard to accomplish outside of poetic expression.  In doing this, it could help to create a deeper sense of community in a time when the Church desperately needs to reconnect with our young people. 

Mr. Richardson is currently putting together the second issue of his poetry journal, complete with a few poems from the brilliant young writers at Saint Anthony’s.  As a non-profit enterprise, the funding is currently coming out of his own pocket, which is not a sustainable solution.  As he likes to joke with people, “It seems to be a favorite game of God’s to give me a great idea, but not give me a plan to actually make the idea work!”  (Some of you might be familiar with that game.)  If you can, help spread the word about the journal. If you know of any people, groups, or businesses that would be interested in advertising or sponsoring to help sustain and grow this project, please e-mail Mr. Richardson at erichardson@wi.rr.com for more information.