Dear St. Dominic School Families,

The last full month of school is here. I'm not sure about you, but for me this year has absolutely flown by. In the next month, we will have so many events and activities that will bring us together as a school community, starting with the St. Dominic Show on Thursday night. Mrs. Capece has created a spectacular show that reflects the gifts and talents of our students. If you don't know, this show is a tradition at our school and began over 60 years ago. Back then, it was a celebration of Irish culture in honor of the pastor at the time, Father Gallagher. Each class would perform an Irish song and dance. The show has definitely changed since then, becoming not only more reflective of the variety of cultures and ethnicities at our school, but also an opportunity for the director to put her own personal stamp on the performance.

The St. Dominic Show, as well as so many other events at our school, could not happen without the help of volunteers. I like to take time in May to thank our school volunteers with donuts and coffee following a school Mass. This year's Volunteer Appreciation event will be on Friday, May 26. Two volunteers, in particular, I'd like to recognize are Sean Tuggle and Faye Forney. Mr. Tuggle, who recently retired from his job hasn't had much time to rest, as we put him to work right away as a recess volunteer. The students appreciate his gaga pit refereeing and basketball shooting, and Miss Kennedy is grateful for his calm and steady presence at recess. Faye Forney not only volunteers weekly in the library, but she has taken on the challenging task of monitoring and organizing the uniform closet. As donations come in, she cleans them and then sorts and hangs them by size. The closet has never looked better. So many of you have volunteered this year --- from field trip chaperones to room parents -- and I cannot thank you enough. Our school is better because of parental support like yours. I look forward to celebrating you after Mass on Friday, May 26.

Over the next few weeks, our Catholic second graders will receive the Sacrament of First Holy Eucharist. Please keep them in your prayers as they enter more fully into the Church. On Friday, May 12, we celebrate Mary with a special prayer service and the crowning of Mary with spring flowers. All our welcome to join us for this beautiful tradition. The 8th grade parents are especially encouraged to attend as we will be taking photos of the class following the prayer service.

There will be so much joy this month as we continue to live out our theme of Choose JOY.

God bless you,

Mrs. Maureen Covington

Each month, this space will include the students who are recognized for being leaders at St. Dominic School. After our Friday masses, Mrs. Covington announces the names of all the student leaders who have been recognized. She will then bring them a bracelet that says "I am a leader at St. Dominic School" and take their picture. Pictures are displayed on the bulletin board off the main entrance area.

Teachers, parents, and fellow students are encouraged to identify students who lead in worshipping, learning, serving, and connecting. These are students who go above and beyond by giving of their time, recognizing a need, and putting others ahead of themselves.

Congratulations to our Earth Day Art Contest Winners who won Mitchell's gift cards:

K - 2: 2nd Place Abigail Oguche; 1st Place Nicholas Harston

3 - 5: 2nd Place Matthew King; 1st Place Silvia Philips

6 - 8: 2nd Place Kiersten Hurley; 1st Place Laurel Reindel-Swan

All participants received certificates for their hard work and creativity.

It’s showtime! The time is finally here for the annual St. Dominic Show. We are so excited to see what the kids have been working on! Thank you to all the parents that volunteered to make the night a huge success. We couldn’t do it without your help.

Please keep an eye out for a survey coming to your inbox soon. We value your opinion and would really like to see 100% participation. The feedback will help guide us in making the FEA a huge success next year while getting the maximum benefit for our kids and school families.

Join us for our last FEA meeting of the year on Monday, May 15th at 7pm. At that meeting, we need to approve next year's budget and the slate of board members. We look forward to seeing you there!

Happy May! I hope that everyone is doing well as the end of the school year approaches. Please take a moment to read the important Bulldog Club updates below:

Spring Sports Update

Good luck to all spring sports athletes as track and field season kicks into full gear. For remaining meet schedules, please check the Bulldog Club website.

Fall Sports Registration

I know this season has seen many changes, and there will be at least one more -- we will be opening registration for Fall Sports on May 18, and it will run through June 9. While this may seem incredibly early, moving registration up will allow us to more effectively plan for the Fall sports season -- including securing practice locations, ordering new uniforms & equipment, and ensuring we have enough coaches for our teams. Additionally, it also avoids the situation of families missing registration deadlines due to summer vacations.

St. Dominic Athletics Surveys

Last summer, we mailed out a survey to families asking about their experience with the Bulldog Club and St. Dominic's sports teams. We will once again be asking parents to provide us with feedback (positive and negative) so that we can improve our athletic program. I hope you'll take time to take the survey.

As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have about St. Dominic athletics (st.dominic.bulldogs@gmail.com).

For the Holy Thursday Retreat a couple weeks ago, I was asked to help with the final session of the day, which was about the joy of Easter. The ask: lead the whole school in fun activities that would get them up and moving and thinking about what brings them joy, and how they can spread joy to others. When the time came, all students gathered in the gym. One of the games we played was Four Corners. I projected a series of questions such as, “which candy brings you the most joy: chocolate, skittles, caramel, or sour patch kids?” and “which of the following brings you the most joy: Prayer Partners, Field Trips, Recess, Snow Days?” Question after question, almost 200 kids ran about the gym from corner to corner in frenzied bliss, shrieking with joy and excitement. There was even a visit by the Easter Bunny at the very end. Joy all around!

When I asked my own kids after school what they liked best about the Retreat Day, I thought their answers would be unanimous: it had to be the super fun, high-energy, recess-like mayhem of the Four Corners game combined with the Easter Bunny that their own mother helped to lead! After taking a quick moment to think, here is what they actually said:

“I really liked when we went to the Grotto and prayed a decade of the rosary.”

“My favorite part was the station about Jesus in the garden.” (A guided meditation led by Ms. Woconish.)

Did my 8 and 9 year old kids just say that the highlight of their day was prayer and silent meditation??

The value and impact of the faith-based education that St. Dominic School is providing never felt so tangible to me as it did in that moment, both as a parent, and as a teacher at the school.

It got me thinking about the core values that make SDS such a remarkable place:

1. Faith-Filled

2. Beautifully Diverse

3. Academically Rigorous

4. Purposely Small

As evidenced by the story I just shared, the way that faith is infused in the very fabric of the school, the way that prayer and spirituality are presented in a meaningful, approachable manner, has been a keystone of our children’s experience at St. Dominic School.

I asked other SDS families which of the core values is top of mind to them. Here’s what some of them had to say:

Faith-Filled

“I love the way St. Dominic includes faith in all aspects of the students’ day. From what is posted on the walls to the actions of the teachers, staff and students. Coming from a public school I didn’t realize how important faith is in education until we joined St. Dominic. It really makes such a difference in the growth of a child and family.” Julia Zumpano (Zeno – 5th grade, Zaiya – 2nd grade, Zoe – K).

Academically Rigorous

“Not only has St. Dominic School blessed our children with an education in the faith and developed their personal spirituality, they are building a strong academic foundation that will follow my children throughout their educational experience. This is evident in their mastery of learning standards and their achievement and growth scores. We are impressed with how they demonstrate their knowledge at home and their communication skills.” Dené Hummon (Jude – 2nd grade, Stephen – K)

Beautifully Diverse

“As a multicultural family, we appreciate that our children can go to a school where they will see other children that look like them, as well as be exposed to children that do not! Diversity is celebrated at Saint Dominic school, and for that we are grateful!” Erin Hillmon (Noah – 7th grade, Maya – 5th grade, Violet – 1st grade)

Purposely Small

“Our family moved to Cleveland about 3 years ago, but having Rosie start at St. Dominic this year was the thing that made our new community really feel like home. St. Dominic School is such a warm and welcoming place. The small size is less overwhelming for a new student and it helped our family to quickly feel like we belong.” Emma Hudepohl (Rosie – 1st grade)

"While all schools faced the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of Catholic schools -- which were first to reopen and more likely to provide in-person options -- also nationally outperformed their public and charter school counterparts when compared to past results."

Download and use the Boxtops for Education app. Scan your purchases and a portion of your purchases will go toward St. Dominic School. Read more here: https://www.boxtops4education.com/s/get-the-app

Thank you so much!

We have a digital calendar for school families, which you can synch to your devices. Here is the link for Google calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=info%40stdominicschool.net&ctz=America%2FNew_York

Here is the link for ical: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/info%40stdominicschool.net/public/basic.ics

Tomorrow's Leaders Start Here

Email: info@stdominicschool.net
Website: www.stdominicschool.net
Location: 3455 Norwood Road, Shaker Heights, OH, USA
Phone: (216)561-4400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stdominicschool/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @StDomShaker