Top Story:
Bishop Hurley Visits School and Celebrates Mass with Us
Bishop Hurley celebrated Mass at Saint Thomas on Friday, March 7th, and visited with students in their classrooms. It was an honor to have him with us. He told students how "lucky they were to be at a school like Saint Thomas." We know what a true blessing Saint Thomas is to all of us. We are grateful for the Bishop's visit and pray God will continue to bless him and his important work.
Click here to view a photo montage of the Bishop's visit.
Our Students Professionally Recorded a New CD!
Yes, it’s true, they really did! A copy of their newly released CD was sent home to each family as a gift from Saint Thomas students to their families this Christmas! (Click here to listen to the CD now.)
As most of you know, the theme of our school year is, “Alive in the Power of the Holy Spirit”. One day this fall our principal Mr. Faber was listening to the second graders singing this year’s theme song, “Holy Spirit Come” during music class. He was so inspired that he asked our music teacher Mrs. Proulx if it would be possible to do a professional recording with the entire school. She told him that she knew the people at RiverCity Studios in downtown Grand Rapids. Mr. Faber thought it would be a great experience for the students to do a professional recording in a studio, so Mrs. Proulx checked into the cost and possibility. One thing led to another and our students (grades 1-8) made their first professional recording on November 13. Unfortunately, the studio capacity was not large enough for the whole school recording so RiverCity did a remote recording on location here at St. Thomas. Our students were incredible in their preparations under Mrs. Proulx’s direction. We had several contributing student artists on instruments and Amanda Vernon on the piano. Mrs. Skallos assisted with the technology aspects of projecting the words so that all students could follow along without papers, and Mrs. Barth designed the artwork that was stamped on the CD itself.
A BIG THANK YOU to all who contributed time, talent, or treasure to this exciting project!
You can listen to our newly recorded School Theme Song now by clicking here!
St. Thomas Receives "2007 School of Distinction" Designation
Saint Thomas the Apostle School has been awarded the 2007 “School
of Distinction” designation by the Michigan Association of Non-Public
Schools (MANS). Saint Thomas the Apostle School is one of only two schools
statewide that has received this first time ever award which was given on
the basis of Saint Thomas’ exemplary efforts in ongoing school improvement.
Noteworthy accomplishments that figured into the awarding of this special
designation to Saint Thomas School include the development of processes
used to evaluate the ongoing effectiveness of the school’s program,
including it’s most recent graduates; the ongoing development and
use of a comprehensive long range plan to guide the school into the future;
exemplary efforts in adopting curriculum changes and integrating technology
throughout the curriculum; and the school’s efforts in communicating
its image and mission to the community through ongoing marketing efforts
that have continued to boost a strong and growing enrollment in a climate
of declining enrollments in surrounding schools.
This is the first year the Michigan Non-public Schools Accrediting Association (MNSAA) will award this designation, which was introduced in 2005. Similar to the “Blue Ribbon School” designation, this award is designed to honor schools that set themselves apart as a model for other schools. Barbara Stork, director of the MNSAA said, “At Saint Thomas we found the ‘Wow Factor’ we were looking for.”
Saint Thomas the Apostle School is a Catholic preschool – 8th grade school with a current growing enrollment of 327 students, up 13% since the year 2000. The school features a talented faculty and staff and over 200 active volunteers who all share a dedication to the school’s mission of: “…Dynamic Education Centered in Christ.” David Faber, Principal of Saint Thomas the Apostle School said, “God’s blessings have compelled us to share what’s possible when a community of faith comes together in support of its school mission!”
Mrs. Sue Ysasi, school secretary and a member of the School Improvement Team which sought the designation, agreed with his comments summing up why she felt Saint Thomas was a “School of Distinction” and such a special place. “It’s the people—the faculty, parents and students—all working together for the same purpose with Christ as our focus and at the center of all we do.”
Bernard Stanko, Superintendent of Elementary Schools for the Diocese of
Grand Rapids concluded his report on the school with, “I wish to commend
the St. Thomas the Apostle School community for its commitment to continued
self-evaluation and improvement and I wish you every success in the future.”
Other Top Stories:
- New Web Site Goes Live in Spring of 2007...thanks to the
help of some very special people!!
As you can see, our new site features captivating pictures. Most of these wonderful photos were taken by professional photographers and St. Thomas parents Bob Neumann and Julie Line. In addition to the awesome photos, our site also features new information, interactive menus, printable forms, sports schedules, the Parent/Student Handbook broken down into easy-to-find and read sections, school and classroom newsletters, calendars, curriculums, a whole section dedicated to our Alumni and more….
An extra special thanks to DDM (especially Darek Jansen and St. Thomas parent Laura Palma) for the countless hours they donated pro bono toward the design and development of this site. Also, thanks to Williams Group and Sue Haas-Williams (parishioner and former parent) for the artwork for our new school and parish logo. Thanks to our Marketing Coordinator and school parent Kathy Barth for acting as our webmaster in writing copy, taking photos, making corrections and pulling this together along with our Technology Coordinator Maryly Skallos who got the site up and running on our server. Praise God for the many talented and generous individuals and organizations who made this gift to St. Thomas School a reality.
Please page through our new site and send us any information or stories you think might be of interest to the St. Thomas community—especially from our alums! Also, please drop us an email (info@stthomasgr.org) if there is something additional you'd like to see on the site. We already have plans for some additional features we hope to add in the near future and we value your suggestions. We hope to make this site one you'll return to--and use--often!