THANK YOU TO KPMG-ST. LOUIS! St. Cecilia has been chosen to participate in the KPMG’s Family for Literacy program, a national, literacy program. We sat down recently with Anthony Bustillo, an Advisory Director in KPMG’s St. Louis office to discuss the program. KPMG is focused on supporting the communities in which we live and work. Knowing that strong reading skills are the basis for future success, and understanding that the toughest roadblock to children’s literacy in low-income communities is a lack of books, in 2008 we established KPMG’s Family for Literacy (KFFL) to combat childhood illiteracy. Managed in collaboration with First Book, KFFL provides new books to children from low income families. Through KFFL-KPMG partners and professionals, their spouses, interns, and alumni-raise money, visit classrooms and other organizations, read to children, and personally put new books into the hands of children who most need them. For many children, the books they receive are the first they have ever owned. Since the program began over six years ago, more than 2.3 million new books have been distributed to children in need.

For the past six years, through KFFL, over 100 professionals from KPMG’s family in St. Louis have come to St. Cecilia providing over 1,000 books to children. The partnership with St. Cecilia’s was started from the recognition that the school has deep roots within the St. Louis community in providing quality education to inner city children. We found this to be a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with an exceptional institution in fighting childhood illiteracy. Thank you KPMG for keeping our students reading!

2015 SPRING EDITION

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School Happenings

School Happenings 1Student Spotlight 1 Principal’s Corner 2Faculty Spotlight 2Virtue-Based Restorative Discipline (VBRD) 3 St. Cecilia’s 8th Graders 3Calendar of Events 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Rafael Marzo, 7th Grade Future EntrepreneurHow did you end up at St. Cecilia School and Academy? My family moved here from Argentina. I attended a public school for a short time and came to St. Cecilia in the 4th grade. My parents wanted me to be in a private, Catholic school to have a better education.

What is your favorite part about St. Cecilia? It’s like family. Everyone knows each other. The teachers really try to get to know who you are.

Do you have any siblings? Yes, I have a brother in 8th grade at St. Cecilia. He just got accepted into SLUH. I want to go to SLUH too and follow in his footsteps.

What do you like to do in your free time? I like to play soccer and video games. Also during my enrichment time after school, I am involved in a computer science program called Scratch, EDX which was founded by MIT. It’s online coursework.

What is your favorite subject? My favorite subject is social studies because Mr. Cox makes it fun. We are currently studying Greek Civilization. Mr. Cox is my favorite teacher. My hardest subject is writing. Writing is really hard.

What do you want to do when you grow up? Maybe I will be a stockbroker. I think I will be an entrepreneur.

The Principal’s CornerA Message from Principal Joe Kilmade

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Faculty Spotlight: Abby Knoedelseder (2nd grade)

Where did you grow up? St. Louis. I attended Ladue Horton Watkins High School.

What is your degree in and when did you graduate? BA in Elementary Education, December 2010

What was your favorite subject in school and why? My favorite subject in school was art. I always enjoyed going to art class and making something. In high school I took as many art classes as I could.

Who was your favorite teacher in school and why? My favorite teacher is Wendy Guhr because she was the first teacher who made learning enjoyable and something that I wanted to do. She was also warm and approachable for the students. She was just the best!

What is your favorite subject to teach and why? I love teaching writing. Teaching writing is very challenging but I enjoy watching the students grow in their writing and express themselves and their amazing ideas.

What makes teaching at St. Cecilia so great? I love working with the student’s at our school. They challenge me every day and give me the opportunity to think outside the box and produce creative teaching methods to help them learn. They are a joy to work with and I love seeing them grow and progress not only as students but as individuals.

What is one of your favorite mission moments at St. Cecilia from this year? This winter my students worked on a project where they created their own snow globes and wrote with a writing prompt of “If I was trapped in a snow globe... “ This project was a lengthy process and the students showed perseverance and work ethic while completing it. Once the projects were completed, they were hung in the hallways. Seeing the students’ reaction when they walked down the hall and saw all of their work was priceless. They were so proud of themselves and their classmates. This project is

something that the students still talk about quite often.

What would you like everyone to know about St. Cecilia? It’s like no other school; it has that intangible quality that is hard to define but makes it feel like a second home for the students.

What do you do for fun? Well I love exercising and doing anything outdoors like hiking or riding my bike. I also attend Bar Method classes on a regular basis. I also enjoy baking!

Tell us something that others may not know about you. I climbed the mountain Wayna Pichu up to the ancient city Machu Picchu.

Since returning from Christmas break there have been many exciting happenings at St. Cecilia School and Academy.

Catholic Schools’ Week included various activities for students and teachers. All students went on two field trips, including an all-school roller skating party. Our Academy students viewed the film Selma, while our 3rd and 4th graders spent time at the Museum of Westward Expansion. The week rounded off with the teachers reclaiming the title from the 8th grade in our annual faculty-8th grade volleyball game.

February at St. Cecilia means Fish Fry Season and this year is no exception. Preparations for our festive Friday food fest began weeks before the first poblano pepper even hit the oil. Hundreds of service hours from school and parish families prepared the community for its famous Lenten events. On February 20th, the

first 2015 edition went off without a hitch, even though Mother Nature threw some ice and snow our way.

As our school community begins its Lenten journey, we focus on this year’s theme: Look to the Cross. Students, parents, and faculty are challenging themselves to follow Christ’s perfect example of love and sacrifice. Our intra-school families have performed acts of charity and we are collecting money to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Students are acknowledged regularly for their good deed, receiving a Lenten cross to add to the bulletin board in the main office. By giving of our time, talent, and treasure, we are making our world a better place and practicing how to be more Christ-like.

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Lynne Lang, director of school climate at the Catholic Education Center, developed Virtue-Based Restorative Discipline (VBRD) to transform schools, homes, and parishes into places that reflect divine love and forgiveness. It has become recognized nationally as a leading initiative in efforts to promote a positive school climate. St. Cecilia has begun the process of becoming a certified VBRD school. Interestingly, for each school the approach may look and feel slightly different depending on the school’s needs and culture.

What is VBRD? The field of Restorative Practices values relationships as the highest priority. In VBRD schools, when there is harm, three things are established: injustice occurred, equity restored, and a better future guaranteed. The solutions integrate the practice of virtue, resulting in formative rather than punitive outcomes. The lesson is in correcting mistakes, not in the punishment. “When we are too quick to assign punishment, we fail to allow children to experience the virtue of humility, because we are too busy humiliating them for their actions,” Lang says.

What is VBRD in practice? Parents and school staff must be involved for successful implementation of this initiative. Prayer, circle talks at home and at school about teaching and practicing virtue are foundational.

In general, classroom teachers design classroom management plans that are consistent, fair and clear. Teachers work with the principal and the parents to develop students’ ability to be self-disciplined. In practice, consequences for students who

make poor choices seek to restore a broken relationship. The consequence has a logical connection to the behavior that preceded it. Further, discipline issues are ranked or given certain levels of “offense.” For example, gum chewing would be considered the same level of offense in both 5th and 6th grades and the teachers would have a similar approach to how the child is restored or disciplined, while keeping in mind the uniqueness of each child’s situation or circumstance. At St. Cecilia, there are weekly VBRD classroom circle meetings. This offers the students and teachers an opportunity to “check-in” with each other about issues occurring in the classroom or to focus on a certain element such as service at school and at home.

VBRD provides school communities a common language and a constructive approach to handling disruptive behavior – one that can make us better, holier people. Lang says. “It will always be easier to label, `isolate, suspend, or expel students for poor behavior than it will be to improve the quality of relationships between children and adults, at home and at school. Three things we can do to improve school climate are simple: cultivate virtue, commit to being constructive, and pray constantly.”

VIRTUE-BASED RESTORATIVE DISCIPLINE (VBRD)A Catholic Response to Bullying and Other Disruptive Behaviors

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CONGRATULATIONS TO ST. CECILIA 8TH GRADERS!

Christian Brothers College High School (CBC)Cor Jesu Academy

Lutheran High School SouthNerinx Hall

Notre Dame High SchoolSt. John Vianney High School

St. Mary's High SchoolSt. Louis Christian Academy

Saint Louis University High School (SLUH)Ursuline Academy

Villa Duchesne

Next fall you will find our 8th graders at the following high schools:

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Spring Break: March 9-13

Fish Fry: March 20, 27 • 4:30-8 p.m.

Easter Break: April 2-6

8th Grade Graduation: May 28

First Day of School: August 12

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE: www.stc-stl.orgTo learn more about St. Cecilia School and Academy or to schedule a visit

please contact Antonia Ponder at 314.792.7045 or toniponder@archstl.org

5418 Louisiana Ave.St. Louis, MO 63111

ST. CECILIA SCHOOL & ACADEMY

2015 SPRING EDITION

Catholic Schools Week was celebrat-ed in style at St. Cecilia with mixed up clothes day, teacher swap, and an all-school field trip to roller skate.