Once again, Saint Ann School students participated in the Science Fair Week back in February. Middle school students presented their scientific findings on a research project of their choosing. Just to name a few, we've heard presentations about the energy usage of different computer modes, the behavior of a student's bearded dragon, and how different breeds of dogs respond to different genres of music. At the end of the week, the winners of the science fair were unanimously agreed upon by Mrs. Daniel and two community members. It was tough to determine first place as we had some really well-done experiments. the winner was determined not only by how well the scientific process was followed but also by the ingenuity of the project and the discovery of new information for the scientific community. 8th-grade student Spencer brought home first place with the project "Analyzing the effects of time, type, and cleaning method on bacterial growth/presence in disposable and reusable masks." The second and third places were Joice and Jillian, 7th grade. Some of our students went on to submit their projects to the Mercer Science and Engineering Fair and few 7th graders (Jillian, Lily, William, Jamison, and Joice) won prizes and recognitions. We are very proud of our students' accomplishments and we look forward to next year's Science Fair for more interesting findings!
A new youth initiative called "NeXt Level" is coming to our parish! NeXt Level is a pilot program of the Center for FaithJustice funded by the Lilly Endowment, which offers and is researching a new approach to youth ministry designed to strengthen Catholic parishes. For those of you who don’t know, our parish was selected to participate in this groundbreaking study! This is a selective program that gives the young people of our parish an opportunity to put their faith into action, be formed as leaders, and use their gifts to address the needs of our parish and surrounding communities. If you are a teenager in grade 8-12 who may be interested in joining please attend our information session this Tuesday, 3/16 at 6 PM! Please visit the Youth Ministry Page on the Parish Website or speak to the youth Minister Linh Nguyen for more information.
Saint Ann School's 8th-grade student Liz Ravenel shared her talent and performed in the Newtown Arts Center virtual show "Art from the Heat", an evening of songs that celebrated all things love. Liz has been part of the SAS Drama Club since 2nd-grade and showcased her beautiful voice with the song "I've never been in love" from Guys and Dolls. We are very proud of Liz, one of our many talented students here at Saint Ann's!
On behalf of the PTA Nominating Committee let me thank everyone who submitted applications for and/or on behalf of others for the open positions. The work of the PTA is instrumental in providing needed resources. I look forward to working with the incoming and returning members of the PTA Board. Hopefully next year we are able to host some of the various activities that we could not hold this year. Each of the individuals who have agreed to accept a position is, similar to our general population, motivated and dedicated to Saint Ann School. Please welcome them to their positions. Our newly elected members are President, Rachel Young (P’24), Co-Vice Presidents, Janet Ragan (P’20, ’24), and Lisa Rancan (P’21, ’26), Treasurer: Monica Haley (P’28). I am excited to work with these and all members of the PTA and our greater parent community. Sincerely, Salvatore Chiaravalloti - Principal