Sunday Evening News 10.18.2020

October 18, 2020 - 11:18 pm

October 18, 2020

SUNDAY EVENING NEWS

We make ourselves who we are by how we act.

Peace and Greetings:

In the midst of the darkness of this lingering pandemic, mid-October once again brings us the magnificent beauty of the autumn season. Surrounded by a canvas of nature’s colors, it’s hard not to appreciate the gift of life and feel hopeful for the future. Let our actions reflect our gratefulness.

EVENING REFLECTION & PRAYER

Jesus remind us in the Gospel this weekend to “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” What is the ultimate end of human person? God, or eternal beatitude, is what St. Thomas Aquinas cites as the ultimate end and happiness of every human longing and desire (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1024). Humanity needs help to reach this goal; we cannot do it alone. The Church, through her divine mandate and sacramental ministry, leads and helps people to reach this goal. Humanity’s proximate end is the virtuous life lived here on earth. Freedom for excellence over freedom of indifference is expressed by the human person having virtuous thinking, choosing, and living. Humanity is able to assent to the life of grace and participate here below in the life of the world to come: eternal bliss. At the same time, the goal of society is the virtuous life of each and every citizen. The state government in which we live then should protect and preserve the religious liberty of individuals to live their lives in keeping with this truth.

Let us pray:

Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Have a blessed week. Fr. Glen, Chaplain

SCHOOL CALENDAR (Week of October 19 –26)

Monday, (Day 1); Tuesday, (Day 2); Wednesday, (Day 3); Thursday, (Day 1) and Friday, (Day 2)

DINING HALL HVAC PROJECT

In our Reopening Plan – Fall 2020, we outlined several facility steps that St. Paul was implementing to prioritize the health and safety of our entire school community as we prepared to return to in-person learning on campus. These included: limiting classroom sizes, increasing lunch waves and provide outside tent dining, directional signage, install hand sanitizers throughout the building, install plexiglass dividers where needed, hire a day porter to sanitize classrooms, bathrooms, etc. throughout the school day, and so on.

I also shared that we contracted with Air Temps to inspect and service our ventilation system to assure that it operated at maximum capacity for the existing equipment in the building. Air Temps replaced any belts, fans and motors that needed repair prior to school beginning. Since this summer, we continued to be in conversation with Air Temps to further evaluate and enhance our existing HVAC system.

I’m pleased to report, that Air Temps will be increasing the ductwork in the Dining Hall to allow greater conditioned fresh air to be supplied to the lower level of the school and install a new outside condenser to provide heat and air-conditioning to this assembly area. The HVAC project will take approximately two weeks to complete with 4-5 days of disruption anticipated in the Dining Hall ceiling itself.

CALENDAR CHANGE: In order to minimize the inconvenience to the academic program, we have scheduled this project to begin Thanksgiving week. Therefore, Monday, November 23 and Tuesday, November 24 will be remote learning days for the entire school. Wednesday, November 25 was originally scheduled as a noon dismissal and will now be part of the Thanksgiving Holiday – no school. Students and faculty will return to campus on Monday, November 30.

This exciting project, which will provide a climate-controlled atmosphere in the Dining Hall for our students, is being primarily funded through COVID-19 designated grants: Cares Act (Esser Funds) and the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools (FACS). It is hoped that the remaining project balance will be supported by individual donor gifts.

ARCHDIOCESE OF HARTFORD, ST. GIANNA BERETTA MOLLA METAL

Congratulations Sammi! The annual Respect Life Mass was held this afternoon at St. Bridget of Sweden Parish, Cheshire. Archbishop Leonard Blair presented Sammi Bray with the Youth Witness Award recognizing her involvement and leadership with our active Pro-Life Club. We’re very proud of you!

WEEKDAY MASS

Our weekday Mass on Wednesday, October 21 at 7:15 am will be offered for the special intentions of the Boys & Girls Cross-Country team. Students and faculty/staff are invited. Please enter St. Gregory the Great Church by the side parking lot entrance.

LIVING ROSARY

The month of October is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. The liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7. Our school community will participate (socially distant) in the Living Rosary on the McPhee Field/track area this Friday, October 23 during G Period. Given that the prayer service was rescheduled due to weather, this week’s Walk-a-thon dress down will be moved to Thursday, October 22.

ADMISSIONS NEWS

There are still some private tour appointments available for our next Open House scheduled for this Saturday, October 24 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. Do you know any prospective 7th or 8th grade or transfer students that might be interested in attending St. Paul? Prospective students can also contact Mr. Crowley, mcrowley@spchs.com or Ms. Mone, cmone@spshs.com to schedule a virtual tour.

Our first Placement Exam for the Class of 2025 is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2020 at 8:00 am.

COPING WITH COVID: Adapting to Stress and Change During these Viral Times – Zoom Session on Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 pm

COVID-19 has resulted in difficult changes on many social, academic, emotional and physical levels. These challenges have led many of us to feel anxious, depressed, lonely, confused, and struggling to balance our time and responsibilities. “Coping with COVID” is an opportunity for a virtual group conversation with Dr. Tom Finn, a clinical psychologist, with the goals of increasing our understanding of how COVID-19 has impacted us and learning how we can better manage the stress we all feel. The Zoom session will be held on Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 pm and will also include an opportunity for questions.

Dr. Finn has over 35 years of clinical experience and works as a licensed psychologist at the Franciscan Life Center in Meriden, CT, as well as in private practice in Southington. He also served as director of LEAP Adventure Programs, an experiential team-building and leadership training service for personal, organizational and spiritual development conducted through the Franciscan Life Center. Dr. Finn has led seminars in the U.S. focused on anxiety management, parenting, marriage, human sexuality and spirituality and teaches the Pastoral Counseling seminar at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. Dr.

Finn received Masters and Doctorate degrees in Clinical-School Psychology from Hofstra University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Fairfield University.

This will be one in a series of monthly health and wellness sessions that we will offer our St. Paul community as we navigate the stresses of COVID-19.

Join Zoom Meeting – Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 pm https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5627109087?pwd=Z2IrblNzT2I4M0p3NWFnWC9GS0xyQT09

Meeting ID: 562 710 9087 Passcode: 824833

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP CORPORATION

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Congratulations to Emma Schatz who was recently announced as a Commended Student in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2021 competition by taking the 2019 Premininary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Quite an impressive accomplishment!

COLLEGE BOARD NATIONAL RECOGNITION PROGRAM

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Congratulations to Sophia Gerst and Jonathan Passander who were identified as College Board National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars based upon the 2019 PSAT/NMSQT. They scored in the top 2.5% of all test takers in their category. Job well done!

MICROSOFT “AI FOR GOOD” IMAGINE CUP JUNIOR 2020 COMPETITION

Congratulations to Lila Alderete and Alecia Barbieri who recently received their Imagine Cup Award and free Microsoft Surface Pro with keyboard. As previously announced, the St Paul Data Analytics Team was named a winner in the Microsoft “AI for Good” Imagine Cup Junior 2020 Competition. St. Paul Data Analytics was one of nine teams from schools worldwide selected as 2020 winners.

Imagine Cup Junior 2020 provided an opportunity for students to learn about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and develop innovative solutions to major global challenges. Students were asked to select an issue facing the world, conduct research, articulate their concept using AI, and showcase their understanding of the ethical and responsible use of AI in their project proposal.

The St. Paul team developed and submitted “ABBY”, a smart watch app to support young people with autism by identifying and reducing their anxiety while supporting their communication and social skills. WOW, way to go!

GUIDANCE NEWS

VIRTUAL COLLEGE REP VISITS

College representatives virtually visiting St. Paul this week include:

Monday, October 19 St. John’s University A period
Queens University of Charlotte (NC) B period
Tuesday, October 20 Marist College A period
Regis College B period
Wednesday, October 21 Brandeis University A period
Thursday, October 22 Providence College A period
Stonehill College B period
Friday, October 23 Lasell University A period
Catholic University B period

Please sign up on Naviance by the end of school the day before the visit to attend.

COLLEGE EARLY ACTION

PAST DUE: Seniors, just a reminder that if you plan to apply to college by the November 1 Early Action deadline you need to fill out this Transcript Request Form ASAP. https://forms.gle/sCnKgpy9yrQ8GVJX9

ATHLETIC NEWS FALL SCHEDULES

Fall Schedules can be accessed via the St. Paul website by using the following link: https://spchs.com/sportscalendar/. JV soccer & freshman soccer games are still being scheduled and will be added as soon as they are confirmed. Another good resource to access fall schedules is ciacmoblie.com which can be downloaded onto your phone as an app.

SENIOR NIGHT GAME (Week of October 19)

Boys Soccer – Tuesday, October 20 at 6:30 pm vs Holy Cross HS

PERFORMING ARTS ON NBC CT (WVIT)

NBC Connecticut News (WVIT) will be broadcasting tomorrow morning (Monday) on their 6:00 am Morning News the impact COVID-19 has had on CT high school performing arts programs. St. Paul was chosen as one of the schools interviewed highlighting our creative response this fall. Plan to watch tomorrow morning!

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Student Government will be sponsoring “Halloween for Charity” again this year on Friday, October 30. If you bring in $2 for charity on that day, you will be able to dress up in your Halloween costume. This year the funds will go to support the Bristol Boys & Girls Club’s Cambridge Park program. St. Paul NHS members have a long tradition of tutoring elementary school students in this low-income neighborhood.

Please remember to wear your masks with your costume but no Halloween masks are allowed. All costumes must be appropriate for school and cannot hinder your movement or ability to go up and down stairs. A costume contest will be held during all lunch waves. Categories will be announced.

Student Government will also be sponsoring a Halloween movie night on Friday October 30 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm in the auditorium. Movie feature is “Hocus Pocus.” Sign-up will be in advance.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (October 19 – 26)

Happy Birthday wishes go to: Matthew Downes, Madison Farrell, Brandon Frye, Adrian George, Crichton Granados, Matthew Palmieri, Patrick Russo, Brianna Wood and Abigail Wroblewski.

FINAL WORD

October is designated as Respect Life month in the Archdiocese of Hartford. This afternoon, Fr. Glen, who also serves as the Director of the Archdiocesan Respect Life Office, gave a beautiful homily at the Respect Life Mass centered on the dignity of human life as outlined in The Gospel of Life.

Life is a fragile gift. Understandably, there is much focus today on all the health and safety measures we are employing during this pandemic to protect our human life. However, this is also an appropriate time to reflect upon the respect for life at all stages … for all people: the unborn, the homeless, the elderly, those suffering from terminal illness, those that are trafficked and for many more reasons for those that need our prayers. May we continue to grow as a faith community that acts to respect life and respect one another.

#spstrong

Game plan to stay in school – 3 W’s

Wear a mask, Wash your hands and Watch your distance, all of us … all the time!

Stay well.

St. Paul, pray for us!

Cary M. Dupont ‘72 President/Chief Administrator