THE SCEPTRE Volume 24, Number 3
Summer 2015
A Publication of Christ the King School, Nashville, TN • A Primary Education Ministry of Christ the King Parish
• Mrs. Hassell’s Retirement Celebration • End of the Year Events • Alumni News
A MESSAGE FROM MRS. WOODMAN Dear Families and Friends, Spring is a time of many celebrations at Christ the King School. Living out our motto of Community of Christ, Knowledge of God’s World, and Spirit of Service is cause for celebration at any time of year, but it is at this juncture of endings and new beginnings that I often reflect on the value of time spent. The three components of this motto are modeled for our children by faculty, clergy, parents, and volunteers. Gradually through the year we see evidence that students are flourishing as a community, growing in knowledge and faith, and contributing through service to others. That brings us to our time of celebration in May. Many of our students received scholarships and awards at the Academic Banquet, Final Assembly, and Graduation. We honored achievements in character, service to the community, the arts, mathematics, science, reading, athletics, handwriting, technology, chess and more. Recognizing these many, varied student achievements pays tribute to our motto. Mrs. Marilyn Hassell, our beloved kindergarten teacher, retired after forty years as a dedicated educator, thirty-six spent at CKS. She was honored by families, friends, and staff at an elegant reception following our final school Mass. After enjoying cupcakes, M&M’s and fruit, young and old joined Mrs. Hassell in a flash mob version of the Tooty Tah. Even Father Dexter got in on the act and learned the motions and steps to this silly song. Marilyn will remain in our hearts and her legacy will live on in the culture of our school. Members of our parish community have blessed us with offers to enhance our campus this summer. Alumnus Quentin Deckbar will survey needs, repair, and paint our playground equipment as part of his Eagle Scout requirements. This generous project will ensure safety at recess next year. The Knights of Columbus have offered to replace our school flag with an all-weather version and install lighting for round-the-clock display of our national symbol. Both of these projects, done in the spirit of community and service, will beautify our grounds for the enjoyment of all. We celebrate our students for their spiritual growth and excellence in scholastics, sports, and extracurricular activities. We celebrate our faculty and staff for their dedication throughout the year. We celebrate the many blessings we receive from our parish and volunteers. Community, Knowledge, and Service are alive and well at CKS. Sincerely, Mrs. Sherry Woodman Principal
On the cover: Mrs. Hassell received plenty of warm hugs at her retirement party on May 26th.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from Mrs. Woodman.................2 CKS Happenings.................................3 Alumni News......................................4 Mrs. Hassell’s Retirement Party..........5 Sacraments 2015.................................6 Spring Events ......................................7 Dates to Remember .............................8
We are currently putting together a Corporate Sponsorship Program for the 2015-2016 school year. Becoming a CKS sponsor is a great way to support the school while showcasing your family or business. Via various marketing and advertising platforms your company or name will be visible at Christ the King Church and School events, our online auction, other fundraiser and printed and online communications. Additionally, Christ the King is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. For more information on various CKS sponsorship packages, or how you can support this program, please contact our Director of Development, Kate Evertsen at kate.evertsen@cks-nashville.org or (615) 7778975. Any help or support you can provide is greatly appreciated and will make a difference.
CKS HAPPENINGS
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Awards: Out of the eight School-Level Winners of the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Contest, Christ the King School once again had State-Level Winners whose entries are being sent to compete at the National level. Congratulations to all of our winners, and to the StateLevel winners: Allen Bryan (2nd grade), Faith Geshwiler (4th grade), Ellie Bryan (5th grade) and Aidan Jordan (7th grade) pictured at left. Our School-Level Winners were: Emerson Darr (Kdg), Emma Weisel (1st grade), Allen Bryan (2nd grade), Micho Azar (3rd grade), Faith Geshwiler (4th grade), Ellie Bryan (5th grade), Madison Schletzer (6th grade), Aidan Jordan (7th grade), Taylor Thurman (8th grade).
2015 History Bee: The five students above participated in the Regional Finals of the National History Bee - Benjamin Sutton (6th grade), T.J. Nicholson, Owen Chamness, Sebastian Jones and Zack Sutton (8th grade). Owen made the top 10 finalists for 7th/8th grade and participated in the live bee. Sebastian and Owen qualified to proceed to National History Bee Championship.
The Teacher Award of Excellence was awarded this year to Language Arts and Enrichment Teacher, Gerrilu Linton. The award is given based on votes of fellow teachers for excellence in teaching. Mrs. Linton has been on the faculty of Christ the King School since 2007.
The Alice Valiquette Citizenship Award: An award created in honor of CKS former principal Mrs. Valiquette, is given annually to one student who displays qualities of good citizenship throughout the year and their name is placed on a plaque which hangs in the hall of the school. This year’s winner is Abbey Hicks, 3rd grade. Abbey’s mother, Heather Isom Hicks, was a student when Mrs. Valiquette was principal. Mrs. Valiquette came to the end-of-the-year ceremony to present the award. Class level recipients: PreK-Hank Long; K-Morgan Bryan; 1st-Ava Francescon; 2nd-Colleen Alvis; 3rd-Abbey Hicks; 4th-Kylie Armstrong; 5th-Bailey Meacham; 6th-Ian Jones; 7th-Audrey Elmerick; 8th-T.J. Nicholson. www.cksraiders.org
ALUMNI NEWS (At left) the Pyburn children in the Grotto; (below) Mark and the kids at Pastries with Parents; (at right) the Pyburn family at Mary Catherine’s 8th grade graduation from CKS
Family Focus with the Pyburns There is something special about Christ the King, and this year, there has been something especially “Pyburn” about this place. The last time there was a family with five children at CKS at the same time was the Camarata family in 1993-1994. There’s something special about big families, as witnessed by the crowds that show up for every event, whether it be a game, play or just for lunch. The Pyburn family for the 2014-2015 school year consisted of Mary Catherine-8th grade, Mark-6th grade, Amelia-4th grade, Helen-1st grade, and Mimi-PreK. Because of the age span in the family, it was the only year all five children were in the same school. Mary Catherine will be attending St. Cecilia Academy in the fall, and Mark will be attending MBA. For the Pyburn family, this past school year was unique and historic. They cherished and embraced their time all together. As mother Margaret Strobel Pyburn (CKS Class of ‘89) said, “This past school year was memorable for our family, having all five children under one roof was very special and extremely convenient!” We will be a little less Pyburn next year, but there’s still something special about the CKS community as it continues to grow and change. Alumni Accomplishments
Our alumni have been busy this year accomplishing great things: (pictured at left) Rachel Moss ‘11 graduated from St. Cecilia Academy as the Class of 2015 Valedictorian with a GPA of 98.98 and a long list of honors and awards. Gina Schmid ‘12 and Mary Caitlin Spining ‘11 were inducted into the Father Ryan St. Vincent de Paul Service Society. Typically, this invitation is extended only to seniors. Special congratulations to Gina on achieving this as only the 3rd junior in the society’s history to be inducted. Sam Wigger and Michael Canonico ‘11, were named as FRHS Senior Superlatives, Best All Around and Most Intelligent, respectively. Regan Rosinski ‘13 was inducted into the Math Honor Society and Chinese Honor Society at FRHS Jessica Holmes ‘13 was inducted into the FRHS Spanish Honor Society Hope Long and Abigail Wehby ‘13 were inducted into the FRHS Latin Honor Society Jenny Morgan ‘12 was inducted into the FRHS French Honor Society Michael Canonico ‘11 was named as a FRHS National Merit Scholar Finalist
Do you have news to share? Let us know! Email Jeanette Neuhoff Vogt, Class of 1976, at jeanette.vogt@ctk.org with any news or events. We would love to hear what our alumni are doing! www.cksraiders.org
SAYING FAREWELL TO MRS. HASSELL
40 Years of Teaching Excellence
Our beloved Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Marilyn Hassell, has retired after 40 years of teaching, 36 of those at Christ the King School. After a beautiful Mass in her honor, current and former students, as well as family, friends and faculty came together to celebrate in the Parish Hall, watch a slideshow and dance the “Tooty Tah� one last time.
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Mrs. Hassell received a platter with the fingerprints of all of current students and faculty and hug books made by each class.
SACRAMENTS 2015
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SPRING EVENTS
(At left and above) the Spring Concert; (At right) A production of Hamlet by the Drama Club
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DATES TO REMEMBER July 20-24 Vacation Bible School August 6 5:00p New PreK Student Party 10 9:00a-12:00p Registration Day/ Open House 11 5:00p New K Student Picnic 12 First Day of School - Full Day 19 First Full Day for Pre-K and K 26 6:00p H&S Back to School Night 29 CKS Garage Sale
September 4 12:00p Dismissal 7 Labor Day - NO SCHOOL 12 CTK Community Festival 18 CKS Professional Dev. - NO SCHOOL
21 Diocesan Professional Dev. - NO SCHOOL
October 5-9 Fall Break - NO SCHOOL 12 Columbus Day - SCHOOL IN SESSION 18 Parent/Teacher Conferences 19 NO SCHOOL
The students lined the halls to bid farewell to the CKS Class of 2015.