CNA-SS-02-01-2016

Catholic Schools Week: Jan. 31 - Feb. 5, 2016

Creston St. Malachy 403 W. Clark 641-782-7125 www.crestonstmalachy.org

Catholic Schools Week

The National Catholic Educational Association and The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

www.ncea.org/catholicschoolsweek ©2013 NCEA/USCCB • catholicschoolsweek.ncea. org

Page 2c— Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016

From Principal Simmons

From Father Halbur What is the primary mission of a Catholic school?

This is a good question to ponder. Fr. Halbur If you ask everyone this question, you will get a variety of answers and I would be willing to bet that most would be wrong.

A majority of people would probably state the primary mission is either to prepare children for college or to prepare children to be good citizens.

While both of these answers are a good mission, and something we strive for, they are secondary and tertiary missions of a Catholic school. The primary mission of a Catholic school is to prepare children for heaven!

As Christians, that should

be our primary goal for everything we do in our lives, to prepare ourselves and those around us for that great kingdom of heaven. Yes, we at St. Malachy School do a great job at giving our children the education to prepare them for high school and college, but that is only for 4, 8 or maybe a few more years.

Yes, I feel that we do a good job at preparing our children for being a part of the world around us, but that will be for up to 100 years or so, depending. But, as Christians, our ultimate goal in this life is, eventually, after our years on earth have been completed, eternal life with a Triune God. As pastor of Holy Spirit Church and St. Malachy School it is an honor to be a part of this 145-year tradition of preparing children for the world here and the world to come.

Welcome and Happy Catholic Schools Week!

6,568 Catholic Schools will be participating in the exciting activities that Catholic School Week brings. Some of the ways we will be celebrating this week at St. Malachy School will be Grandparents’ Day Mass, The Living Rosary, making Valentine’s Day cards for nursing homes and our service men and women and a teacher vs. student day.

We are so excited to be part of the 145-year tradition at St. Malachy School. Another way we plan to share our excitement is by sharing our annual report about how we are doing here at St. Malachy School.

What is an Annual Report?

Every fall, St. Malachy School and all schools in the state of Iowa are required to report to the Department of Education about the prog-

ress of our students.

Throughout this St. Malachy Catholic School insert in the Creston News Advertiser you will find our Annual Report to the public. As you will see in this year’s report, we are continuing to grow and learn, but we also know that more will need to be done.

Simmons We will be implementing new professional development for our teachers, aligning our curriculum to the Diocesan core curriculum and continuing to make sure Christ is the “principle.”

As the new administrator this year I have spent my time learning and observing. I have made note of our strengths as well as some ar-

eas that will need to be addressed.

The biggest strength of St. Malachy School is the people within it. St. Malachy has been blessed with wonderful teachers and students. The teachers and staff here are dedicated, faith-filled individuals, eager to grow and learn.

Our students are intelligent and caring. Our students seek to help one another as well as grow in their own faith and learning.

When I arrived at St. Malachy School in July certain items were put on the agenda for this year. The following items have been a focus for our school and I am proud to say we have made strides in all areas. *Technology (increased functionality and infrastructure with plans to increase use/hardware for students) *School lunch (providing

new equipment for kitchen, offering ala carte and changing serving procedures) *Teacher professional development (providing teachers with licensure credit for effective teaching strategies training and sending teachers to different professional development opportunities in Des Moines and surrounding areas) *Meeting the needs of all learners (providing Title I services at St. Malachy School, providing schedules that support transport of students with special needs to Creston public schools and providing additional testing for students with above level proficiency) I look forward to all the things we have yet to accomplish at St. Malachy School.

I am so blessed to be part of this great school and community.

God Bless.

New kids on the block

By SPENCER LANE St. Malachy eighth-grader

This school year we have many new students that have joined our student body. These children have already realized that there are many different things about St. Malachy. Overall they enjoy the small classes and the ability to talk about God freely in the classroom.

Public schools do not allow the students to talk freely about their religion; however, St. Malachy encourages their students to speak openly about God. Tucker Sloth, a fourth grader, said that his faith has strengthened because he can now talk with his classmates about God. The teachers also talk about how the Lord helps us, saved us, and teaches us about Him in their lessons. Many parents think that this reinforces what they talk about at home and in church.

Not only do students have more one-on-one time with God, they also

have more one-on-one time with the teachers because of the smaller class sizes. Here at St. Malachy, the average class size is about 14 students.

This leaves more personal attention for each student.

With more individual time for each student, they get a better learning experience because they have more Lane time for questions.

Heidi Rohrig, a parent of a new student, said “I love the small class sizes! This way I know my kids get personal attention from each teacher!”

Heidi also commented that the teachers are encouraging and very supportive. Most of the new students could agree to this. Ashlyn Lund, a first grader, said that her favorite part of St. Malachy is the teachers. Many other new students around Lund’s age

New St. Malachy students from front left are: Caden Simmons, Adyson Evans, Taylor Sloth, Ashlyn Lund and Matthew Rudolf. Middle: Zoey Ralston, Anthony Eblen, Tristan Evans, Javin Fowler and Charles Rudolf. Back: Cassie Ralston, Haley Simmons, Aiden Evans, Gavin Evans and Tucker Sloth.

said the teachers are one of the things that make St. Malachy stand out. The teachers here make sure the students completely understand everything they teach. Which the new kids agreed that this really makes a difference in their learning experience. In addition, it makes a difference when they get support from their classmates.

With the small class sizes, the students get to know their classmates very

well. This makes it more comfortable to ask questions about the material.

Most new students agreed that knowing their classmates well is one of the things that they are benefiting from St. Malachy.

Overall the students think they are benefiting from the ability to talk about God, the smaller classes, the wonderful teachers and knowing their classmates well.

Steinkamp

St. Malachy School wishes to thank Ms. Breanna Steinkamp for her work with the students as they wrote articles for this publication. This is the second edition of the insert in which Ms. Steinkamp has helped the students. Thank you Ms. Steinkamp.

Changes to come

By AYDEN FILER

St. Malachy eighth-grader

In addition with the new kids and teachers, we have a new principal, Jennifer Simmons.

St. Malachy has changes coming to us, in the present and future.

Mrs. Simmons is creating a new start at St. Malachy. She was a middle school algebra and science teacher at St. Joseph’s Catholic in Des Moines. Chad Simmons, her husband, has moved to Creston with her and their two children, Haley and Caden. Moving to Creston has allowed the Simmons family to be closer to their grandparents, who live in Bedford.

Mrs. Simmons felt called to come to St. Malachy. Maybe it was the school’s big,open heart. Her kids attend St. Malachy and she feels that her kids and herself have met wonderful students and adults.

She would like to continue building quality relationships with the students, parents and teachers. In 5 years, her goal is to help the St. Malachy teachers and students be the most successful they can be with new cutting edge technology, hire art teachers and a TAG program instructor.

Some of the positive things Sim-

mons sees in St. Malachy is the school members have a close relationship with one another. When asked, Mrs.Simmons said: “The school’s community is outstanding and so supportive.”

She has adapted to our St. Malachy family and loving community, even in the short time she has been here.

An example of change that Mrs. Filer Simmons is working on along with St. Malachy’s cooks is an updated lunch program, which will be changing quickly. In January, a master chef came in to mentor the cooks.

Erin Dodge, head cook for the school, told me the master chef is a Foodservice Equipment Specialist who visited the school, discussed and gave guidance to her and the committee working with Erin to build a better hot lunch program.

In addition, there will be a new line system, consisting of children getting their trays in a single file line; they will continue to pick up their napkin, silverware and their milk choice.

Report: Faith Formation Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Des Moines give the Information for Growth- Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (IFG-Acre) assessment as a progress monitoring tool for our Religion classes in grades five and eight.

This assessment lets us know how well our students are progressing in their understanding of Catholic doctrine as well as their own beliefs and attitudes.

This assessment does not report to us individual scores.

Instead, at St. Malachy School, we receive a total class score of

our 5th graders and 8th graders in an overall score, a score in each domain, and a total affective score.

These scores allow us to review the work of Religion instruction in the whole school as this instruction builds across grade levels and over the years both at home and at school.

Student scores below the 64th percentile suggest improvement is needed, scores between the 64th and 86th percentile reflect proficiency, and scores above 86th percentile indicate advanced knowledge.

Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016 — Page 3c

Kindergarten through second grade will get their items and go to the cooks for their food. Third grade through eighth grade will be able to get their items and serve themselves.

The hope is the new line system will be quicker, allowing the students to have more time to eat their meal.

An A La Carte will be available to buy items such as granola bars, baked and reduced fat chips, string cheese and 100 percent fruit juices, to start off. Each item will be 50 cents.

There are many more changes to come and Monte Neitzel, vice-president of the Board of Education for St. Malachy, sees the start of these changes already. He stated the renewed energy within St. Malachy was a major change this new school year. Positive things Mr. Neitzel would like to see are more accessibility and reliability with technology for students and teachers, increased involvement and input from all stakeholders, including parents, alumni, staff, administration, parishioners and the board, an increase in our preschool students, and address facility challenges.

In 5 years, Neitzel believes we will be further in advancements.

When asked about Mrs. Simmons

Principal Jennifer Simmons shown here teaching new teachers about our technology at St. Malachy School.

and her positive aspects, Mr. Neitzel replied: “Mrs. Simmon’s has taken on the role of principal at St. Malachy School with due diligence and grace. Mrs. Simmon’s has brought experience from a different Catholic school as both a teacher and administrator to St. Malachy, which is beneficial for our school. Her vision for what St. Malachy can and will be in the future is inspiring and has served as a catalyst for positive change. I value the knowledge and skill that she has brought to our school. Mrs. Simmons has established some clear goals for St. Malachy as establish

relationships with faculty and staff, establish relationships with students, understand the strengths, challenges and goals of the school, establish relationships with stakeholders and understand their needs and goals for the school, get to know the building on a structural and functional level and conduct a records review to gain an understanding and background on the previous work of the school.”

The changes coming sound great for St. Malachy.

“The school’s community is outstanding and so supportive.”- Mrs. Simmons

Page 4c— Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016

New teachers on the block

By ELLIE STARLIN

St. Malachy eighth-grader

St. Malachy has had many changes this year. Along with a new principal, we gained many new students and a few new teachers. With new teachers come many changes in the classrooms.

In kindergarten, Sarah Dinham is taking a new approach with her class.

Dinham went to Mt. Ayr High School and has a bachelor of science degree from Drake University. This is her first year teaching, apart Starlin from being a para for three years at Murray Community School.

When asked about why she came to St. Malachy, Dinham says: “I had heard great things about this school for years. When I saw that they had an opening I was excited at the opportunity to possibly be employed there.”

She says the staff and students are great.

“This is one of the friendliest staff that I have ever met and had the opportunity to work with,” she said.

She manages her classroom in a different way than most.

“I manage my class by using Whole Brain Teaching, (a technique designed to maximize student engagement and focus on the way the brain is really designed to learn.) love and logic, and small group interaction and lots of positive smiles and comments,” she says. She also adds, “I love that I can say God is great and share that with anyone.”

Dinham says that she feels like St. Malachy has a very close community atmosphere. She also says that the interaction that takes place between the upper and lower grades is great.

As for her goals, she says that she would like to incorporate and implement more technology usage. She would also like to work more with the kindergarteners and implement her teaching strategies.

Robert Willey is the new Physical Education (P.E.) teacher. He has made many changes in his classroom over the year. This is his first teaching job apart from substitute teaching. He went to Creston High School and college at Southwestern Community College and Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.

He has a degree in elementary education. Willey never planned to become a PE teacher.

“It was an opportunity that arose in a town that I had lived in previously and teaching a subject that I love,” said Willey.

With St. Mal- Willey achy being a very faith-filled school, it has a very different environment.

“The amount that the staff and community supports each other at this school is great, and I think that’s both a combination of just general goodwill of the people involved, but also in some part influenced by their faith compelling them, too,” Willey says.

Although he was never a practitioner of faith, he says that the St.

Sarah Dinham, kindergarten teacher at St. Malachy

Malachy environment has made him think of changing that.

Willey has made many changes in his classroom this year. He says: “My goal is to have as much of the class period as possible spent moving around in some fashion.”

Even though his training is in an actual classroom, he says that it has been a bit of a challenge to balance learning sports and making sure ev-

eryone is playing fair and having fun.

As for the positives at St. Malachy he says that the teacher, staff and students are great. ”At bigger schools, when you’re dealing with hundreds of kids for every grade level, it can be really tough to actually form a connection with students, which is something that isn’t a problem at St. Malachy and I appreciate,” said Willey.

He also enjoys being able to have control of how he teaches and the curriculum.

His goals for the future are fairly simple. He just got married and is hoping to settle down with his wife in Creston. He also hopes to find a full time job, hopefully at St. Malachy. Although St. Malachy has made many changes this year and will continue to in the future, we will continue to get better and provide the best education possible.

1st

St. Malachy School Administration - Faculty - Staff 2015-2016 Name Position Years at St.M Years in Education Fr. Ken Halbur Pastor 4 7 Jennifer Simmons Principal 1 17 Kim Coen Business Mgr 3 3 Abbie McKasson Preschool 1 1 Sarah Dinham Kindergarten 1 1 Ann Levine 1st Grade 38 38 Janet Meisenheimer 2nd Grade 25 25 Nicole Burg 3rd Grade 10 17 Melissa Sickels 4th Grade 18 18 Amy Surma 5th Grade 20 20 Kim Cline 6-8th Math and Social Studies 10 19 Linda Root 6--8th Science and 10 14 Religions

Name Position

Years at St.M Years in Education Breanna Steinkamp 6-8th Language Arts 2 2 Carla Roghair Library/Media 2 31 Robert Willey Physical Education 1 1 Dawna Mitchell Support Teacher 7 7 Julia Weisshaar-Mullin Band and Music 2 19 Staff Name: Position Years at St.M Sarah Lane Secretary 9 Marjie Skarda Nurse 3 Sarah Kendrick K-2 Teacher Aide 2 Ashton Thomas Teacher Aide 3-5th Grade 1 Erin Dodge Head cook 8 Karla Young Assistant Cook 3 Adolfo Saturno Custodian 5 Jenno Saturno Custodian 4

Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016 — Page 5c

8th grade reflections

By BEAU THOMPSON former classmate, would St. Malachy eighth-grader

Being in the 8th grade class is one of the best things about St. Malachy. As an 8th grader, we have many responsibilities, because we are the leaders of the school. We the 8th grade class have reflected on our favorites memories about St. Malachy.

Payton Burg When asked about how St. Malachy has helped her prepare for her future, Payton commented: ”St. Malachy has helped my future, because I was taught to be responsible and have work done on time, and it was enforced.”

After St. Malachy she wants to go to high school and be involved in a lot of activities and then go to a good college.

Ayden Filer Filer was asked what his favorite memories were and he responded: “I couldn’t stop laughing at lunch. Sam Chapman, a

make me laugh and everyone would carry on.”

He also said that one of his favorite memories about the 8th grade year is when we ate the Masa. (A Masa is a Moldovan celebration we did as a Christmas activity.)

Sydney Hartsock When asked about how St. Malachy shaped her faith, Sydney commented faith has helped her by showing and telling her about God and everything He did for us. Faith is all around us at school when we do activities or just in class almost everyday.

“I feel like we are better behaved because we are well disciplined by the teachers to always act our best.”

Kara Kinsella Kara says that one of her favorite memories about St. Malachy is going on fun field trips with her class, such as when the 8th grade went to CYC, Catholic Youth Camp, for a leadership retreat.

Report: School Enrollment For the 2014-2015 school year, 150 preschool-8th grade students were enrolled at St. Malachy Catholic School.

Students are members of Holy Spirit Parish and surrounding Catholic communities. We also have students who bring other Christian denominations to our family.

The school employed 15 teachers and nine support staff for the 2014-2015 school year. Our 4-year-

old Preschool program received the state-wide Voluntary Preschool Grant for the eighth year. Through the grant, students enrolled in our 4-year-old preschool program received free tuition. The Catholic Tuition Organization (CTO) provided tuition assistance to many families within the Diocese of Des Moines.

In the 2014-2015 school year, CTO distributed $36,964 to 32 St. Malachy families.

Spencer Lane Spencer said that after he leaves St. Malachy he wants to go to high school and then college. After asking him about what St. Malachy has done for his future he said: “It has strengthened my faith and my education.”

Danika Schultes Danika says that one of her favorite memories of St. Malachy is going on fun field trips for Catholic Schools Week and being with her classmates all the time. In addition, she said she enjoyed when we went on our leadership retreat to CYC. Ellie Starlin Ellie said that the faith at St. Malachy has taught her to trust in God. When asked about what St. Malachy has done for her future, she responded it has taught her how to treat people with respect and to be responsible.

Hannah Walsh Hannah says that after leaving St. Malachy she wants to do more science and chemistry.

This year’s 8th-grade class enjoys a Masa.

“So, when I get to college I can major in animal science. I also want to learn more about art, so I can have more of a creative mind.”

When she talked about what St. Malachy has done for her future,she said: “St. Malachy has made me want to be more of an artist or a veterinarian. Science class has really helped me know about the plants

and the animals. In art class, there’s all sorts of things that we learn including how to draw a street corner. So, I do believe St. Malachy has Thompson done a lot for my future.”

As for myself, Beau

Thompson, I thought it was a lot of fun to go ice skating six years ago for Catholic Schools Week. I also thought is was very fun when we went to Maple Street Memories to decorate windows. As a smaller school, we get the chance to do a lot of fun field trips like that. After high school, I would like to attend college at Iowa State University and major in Ag Studies, and become a farmer.

Page 6c— Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016

FAITH • ACADEMICS • LEADERSHIP

Muffins with Mom! Above left: The 8th grade is assisting the 2nd grade during Back to the Future Day. Above right: Pictured here are teachers who are hitting a teaching milestone at St. Malachy. From left to right: Kim Cline, Linda Root and Nicky Burg are in their 10th year teaching, Amy Surma is in her 20th year and Janet Meisenheimer is celebrating her 25th year at St. Malachy!

The 1st grade posing after the first mass they led.

The 7th grade dressed in their Halloween costumes.

5th Grade Iowa history projects.

The 4th grade serving coffee and donuts to parents The preschoolers getting dressed up for their Thanksgiving feast. after mass.

Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016 — Page 7c

Jumpstart your child’s future at St. Malachy

By PAYTON BURG

St. Malachy eighth-grader

This year St. Malachy School has a new preschool teacher, Abbie McKasson.

She is introducing many exciting and positive changes to the preschool.

She is ready to jumpstart your child’s future with creative lessons and hands-on activities!

McKasson lived in Indianola before she moved to Burg Creston.

She went to DMACC for two years and then transferred to Simpson College where she got her elementary education degree with endorsements in early childhood and reading.

This is McKasson’s first year as a lead teacher. Previously she worked as an associate at Purple and Gold Preschool in Indianola

Abbie McKasson reads a book to her preschool students.

alongside a school teaching mentor.

McKasson starts each preschool day with calendar time. During calendar time,

they go over the date, sing a “days of the week” song and discuss yesterday, today and tomorrow. Also, McKasson focuses on a different letter

every day.

“I introduce the letter of the day. We use a variety of ways to practice writing the letter of the day, examples

being roll-a-dough, magnet boards and writing it on white boards or paper. Next we go over the rhyme, shape and color we are reviewing.

Then we have a counting activity before we finish with singing and spinning the weather wheel,” she replied.

Afterward, the students are able to play in centers.

The sensory table is a popular center!

Each day of the week, McKasson focuses on a different subject; literacy, math, science, and music and movement.

She teaches using Creative Curriculum, which is a popular curriculum for preschool. This gives her set studies to use when she teaches.

However, she supplements with units she plans herself, including Handwriting Without Tears, the program she uses to teach the alphabet and handwriting.

This program helps with pencil grasp and fine motor skills.

Something that McKas-

2015/16

702

St. Malachy Preschool Information Night is 7 p.m.

March 8. Call 641-782-7125 for more information or find St. Malachy on Facebook.

son wants to bring to the St. Malachy is a science program and the use of STEM kits. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education.

She wants STEM in her classroom because it is age appropriate, hands on and meets the needs of young learners. Something else she hopes to see is preschool enrollment numbers to grow over the next few years.

McKasson thinks the smaller class sizes at St. Malachy are beneficial to both teachers and students because it allows more personalized instruction time for each student.

“I really like the family/ community like atmosphere at this school,” McKasson comments. “St. Malachy has been a great place for me to have my first teaching position. The staff, parents and students have helped me have a productive and easy going start to the school year. I’m excited to see what the future holds!”

Page 8c— Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016

Leaping into Faith at St. Malachy

By SYDNEY HARTSOCK

St. Malachy eighth-grader

“For we walk for faith, not by sight.” — 2 Corinthians 5:7 St. Malachy does a very good job of making sure faith is in the students’ lives everyday. Yes, they have religion classes, but that doesn’t just mean that is the only time faith is taught.

Amy Surma has been teaching at St. Malachy for 20 years. Surma is the 5th grade teacher, but she also teaches religion for 3rd through 5th grade. When asked how faith affects the students’ future she stated: “I think as students having faith means that I believe in something I don’t necessarily see, but I know is there. I think having that “blind trust” so to speak, helps create the adults we later become. We learn through our relationships with others and our relationship with God and our

experiences to build that faith.”

In addition she added, “I also know that my faith gives me the knowledge of God. I know through experiences such as the loss of our students T.J. and Nate Frey that God gave me the ability to get through that difficult time with my students and grieve for those Hartsock boys.

I know God was with us when Mrs. Sickels and I had to find the words and the courage to talk to our kids, give them hugs, and remind them that those boys were in heaven, but they would always be a part of us.

We relied heavily on our faith at that time. I know God was there every step of the way.”

Linda Root has been teaching at St. Malachy

Report: Content Standards At St. Malachy School, along with all schools in the state of Iowa, we are in the process of adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

This adoption process is preceded by professional development and collaboration with other science teachers in the Des Moines Diocese.

These trainings and conversations will help prepare our teachers for a solid implementation of the new standards.

The final step will be raising the necessary funds to purchase curriculum that is aligned to the NGSS. This curriculum will provide our teachers with the tools needed to provide our students instruction in the three dimensions the NGSS: Practices, Core Ideas and Cross Cutting Concepts. * If there are fewer than 10 students in a class, St. Malachy cannot publish achievement information

for 10 years. Root is the 7th grade teacher, but she also teaches religion for 6th through 8th grade. Root says: “My goal as a religion teacher is for the students at St Malachy to have a deeper understanding of their Catholic faith and a closer relationship with God.” Mallory Tallmon, 6th grader at St. Malachy, was asked how the activities at school help the students get more involved in their faith. She replied: “Advent and Lenten angles at our school help us get involved with our faith by doing activities with younger students, getting to know the students and to encourage them to trust in God. The older angels are showing the younger angels a good role model by believing and respecting God.” Advent is the season before Christmas where we prepare for the coming of Jesus. Lent is a religious observance that begins on

Father Ken Halbur blesses the school’s new Joseph and Mary statues at the first mass of the school year.

Ash Wednesday and continues for 40 days until Easter. The Advent and Lenten Angels are where an older student is paired with a younger student and the two work together on

activities and projects that are based around God. Faith is in our lives each and everyday.

It helps us lead us to God during the hard times and even some of the happiest

times. Our future with God will always be there as long as we allow it to be.

“Faith is seeing light with your heart when all your eyes see is darkness.” — Unknown

Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016 — Page 9c

Running to the Re-Run

By HANNAH WALSH St. Malachy eighth-grader

Taking time to help, having fun, shopping more and saving money.

The new Re-Run has brought more people into the new building and shopping for more things than ever before.

The students at St. Malachy have also been volunteering since the beginning of the school year.

The ladies at the Re-Run missed the students at St. Malachy over their Christmas vacation.

“They cleaned for us, hung hangers up, put clothes out and even unloaded the trucks for us,” Pat Pokorny replied.

Even the students missed working there.

“I feel great about helping the ladies move clothes, toys and jewelry around and also cleaning,” Ayden Filer replied when asked about how he feels working at the Re-Run. “I see now that business-

es have to work together to have a successful outcome,” Danika Schultes stated when asked about how volunteering will help her future.

When you help others it’s more than helping the community, it’s helping you prepare for your future. There are over 30 volunteers, including the students of St. M a l a c h y , Walsh but they’re always looking for more volunteers to help out! The more the merrier and many hands make light work are mottos that always apply for the Re-Run. The expectations, ever since the new building was constructed, are much higher than the volunteers had expected.

“Twice as many people come into the Re-Run since it’s on a one-story

Report: Content Standards In 2013 St. Malachy School purchased the Journeys curriculum by Houghton Mifflin.

Journeys was our school’s first step on a path to implementing a Balanced Literacy program.

Balanced literacy incorporates the elements of a Guided Reading program.

A Guided reading program allows for differentiated curriculum which means instructions is designed for students with

different needs within the classroom. Students spend time on fluency, comprehension, word study and the elements of literature.

As you can see, student scores have showed continual growth since the implementation of the Journeys program. *if there are fewer than 10 students in a class, St. Malachy cannot publish achievement information.

level. Even younger kids come from the school to get things they need,” stated Mary Ann Walsh.

Father Ken Halbur is planning on expanding their collection and hours in the near future.

Currently the times for the Re-Run are from 12-5 on Tuesday and Wednesdays, 9-5 on Fridays and 9-12 on Saturdays. They are also wanting to add a religious goods section and get more organized in their back room.

The most popular items shoppers are after are sheets and bath towels.

For the winter season, winter coats seem to be a hot item.

Now that more people are coming, more items are getting sold. All donations are always welcomed.

Where do all the profits go from the Re-Run? All of the income from the ReRun goes to St. Malachy School, which can pay for the things that the school needs including supplies.

St. Malachy students Jess Eblen, Sophia Patterson and Macy Adamson help sort goods at the Re-Run.

With kids helping out and having fun, and more people shopping, the Re-Run is a huge success. Since the ladies at the Re-Run get so many donations each day, they get more things out

on their shelves and have a supply to meet the people’s needs.

All in all, the success of the Re-Run is a win-win for the community!

People get to buy goods

at a greatly-reduced price and St. Malachy gets supplies that are much needed.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who donate their time for this wonderful business opportunity!

Page 10c— Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016

A step in the right direction

By KARA KINSELLA

“I think St. Malachy prepared me for teaching the fundamentals of loving and accepting one another.”

St. Malachy eighth-grader

St. Malachy gives their students opportunities to be responsible and grow in their faith. It gives students the opportunity to explore new ideas with teachers’ support. The school is smaller, allowing more oneon-one time with teachers.

S t .

Malachy makes the Kinsella students have responsibilities to turn in their homework on time.

Teachers give students a late slip if they don’t get their work done. A late slip is when a student doesn’t turn in their assignment on time or doesn’t get it done.

The teacher gives them a late slip and a parent has to sign it. If the student doesn’t get it turned in by the next day they will have

— Ashton Carter

St. Malachy graduate

Back to the future day with the 8th & Kindergarten class at St. Malachy. In 2045, we get to open the time capsule the school created in honor of the day!

a detention. This starts in 3rd grade and continues to the 8th grade.

St. Malachy has Mass

Report: Content Standards for mathematics In 2014 St. Malachy School purchased the Go Math curriculum by Houghton Mifflin.

Go Math is a comprehensive Grade K-6 mathematics program developed to support the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and the NCTM Curriculum Focal Points. The program emphasizes Essential Ques-

tions and Big Ideas with depth of understanding as the goal.

Student scores have continued to show growth since Go Math first went into practice September 2014. *if there are fewer than 10 students in a class, St. Malachy cannot publish achievement information.

every Wednesday for the Catholic faith. They are trying to grow the students’ faith. The teachers teach

and encourage students to follow God and teach about Him in the Bible.

Faith is another way to ex-

press feelings toward God. Ashton Carter graduated from St. Malachy in 2014.

“I think St. Malachy prepared me for teaching the fundamentals of loving and accepting one another. St. Malachy gave me the power and strength to do what I truly desire in life through God. Along with always having God in my life, I know that He will always be there for me,” she said.

Being faith-filled allows students to participate at Mass.

Mass is a responsibility for every student. Every grade takes turns leading Mass. The students in that

grade have Mass parts. The Mass parts are reading the Gospel, announcing the hymns, and prayers of petition, so they have to speak in front of the whole school and members of the church.

This gives the students opportunities to practice public speaking.

St. Malachy helps prepare students for high school. 8th graders can take Algebra I, this helps them get a head start for high school. Since St. Malachy is a small school, the students get more oneon-one time with teachers.

This helps students understand the material better which also helps them when the go to the high school.

St. Malachy is a good step in the right direction to help their students succeed in the future. Laura Weis, a former student, said: “St. Malachy taught me the importance of community and to take pride in my work, and it gave me many opportunities to do in high school.”

Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016 — Page 11c

Upcoming community events at school, Holy Spirit Parish

By DANIKA SCHULTES St. Malachy eighth-grader

St. Malachy School and Holy Spirit Parish have been hard at work planning, preparing and providing fun activities for the community all year round.

One of the activities planned for this spring is the St. Malachy Foundation Annual Auction. The Schultes set date for the auction is March 5, 2015. Nikki Adamson is a member of the Foundation. ”The auction was very successful last year, so the changes to the event this year will be minimal. We had a great crowd and people really enjoyed the event.”

Last year about 230 people attended.

“We are hoping for a sell out this year so people should plan to purchase their tickets early,” Adamson stated.“ We have worked to truly make it a nice evening by adding live music during the social hour,

improving the silent auction and elevating the quality of our live auction items.”

You can purchase your tickets at the school office and the Foundation hopes to see you March 5th!

In addition to the Auction, the Parish is also starting to prepare for the International Food Fair held on September 11, 2016. Lisa Miller, Holy Spirit Parishioner, has been in charge of the International Food Fair for over 10 years.

“It is pretty easy to plan but, I start talking food fair in May/June; I like to get to people before the State Fair starts, because once it’s over, school starts and then September is here!” When asked how the Food Fair is involved in the community, Miller comments: ”The International Annual Food Fair is a Church Fundraiser, the purpose is to help with the Church

financials as well as our school, but just as important, it brings many community members (Catholics and Non Catholics) together for food, fun, and fellowship!”

If you have ever attended the Food Fair, you know that there’s lots of food from different countries around the world. Each booth is ran by a Parishioner in which they prepare a food item from their assigned country.

Planning for this coming fair has already begun. In addition to all of the booths they have had in the past, this year they are adding a softserve ice cream machine.

Some booths they have had in the past are Greek, Mexican, Italian, Asian and many more!

A couple other events are set to happen in the spring involving the St. Malachy PTO. PTO President Kiki Scarberry comments about what

“It is the aim of the St. Malachy PTO to promote the partnership between parents, teachers and the school community at large in supporting the mission of St. Malachy School.”

— Kiki Scarberry

PTO president

the PTO does for the school.

“It is the aim of the St. Malachy PTO to promote the partnership between parents, teachers and the school community at large in supporting the mission of St. Malachy School.”

Last October the PTO held the annual Spaghetti Supper.

“We had a line out the front door of the school this year and some people left because they didn’t want to wait in line. So next year we will work to make our system more efficient so we can serve more people and we don’t create a line that will turn people away,” Scarberry states.

This year the PTO has tried numerous new events

Civics club members Spencer Lane and Ellie Starlin took first-place in the Christmas Door Decorating Contest put on by the Middle School Civics Club

to help raise money for the school. In December they implemented a new idea for the teachers called Teachers Snowflakes.

At the Christmas concert, the PTO laid out snowflakes with items that teachers are in need of for their classrooms, parents in return go out and buy these things for the teachers.

Another new thing the PTO is bringing to the school is Rock In Prevention, a a kid-friendly band that implements faith into the songs. They are set to come to the school sometime in March.

As well as implementing new things they are still keeping everything the same for the annual Lapa-Thon. The Lap-a-Thon is when students all bring pledges for how many laps they think they can run in 45 minutes. This event happens during the school day. There is no set date for the activity, although it will take place sometime in April.

The PTO is not the only group fundraising. The St. Malachy middle school Civics Club also does a few things to raise money for the school and community. The Civics Club put on the annual School Carnival. This event is held on the same night at the PTO Spaghetti Supper. Last October they had over 250 people attend the carnival. Members of the Civics Club include all St. Malachy middle school students. Most middle school students volunteered to help run the games.

These school students think it is a great opportunity to better themselves.

All members of Civics Club participated in a Christmas door decorating contest this December. The students each were assigned a door in the school and were instructed to turn it into something Christmas themed.

St. Malachy and Holy Spirit Parish hope to see you at some of these events in the near future!

Page 12c— Creston News Advertiser — Monday, February 1, 2016

St. Malachy School — Community of Faith, Knowledge and Service Catholic Schools Week: January 31 – Feb. 5, 2016 Schedule of Events Sunday January 31

Opening of Catholic Schools Week Eucharistic Celebration 9:00 a.m. at Holy Spirit Church Brunch in Parish Hall following Mass

Monday Feb. 1

and local nursing homes Open house: 6 p.m. soup supper for students and families interested in enrolling in our school Family Lenten Activities Night 6:45 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Spirit Week Dress: Class Colors Day

Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. - Lunch for faculty and staff provided by PTO Parent volunteers please arrive by 11:15 Students bring sack lunch and eat with Advent Angel Spirit Week Dress: Blue and Gold Day

Thursday Feb. 4

Tuesday Feb. 2

Grandparents/Special Guest Day Mass begins at 1:30 p.m. at Holy Spirit Church Cookie and punch reception in Parish Hall following Mass Spirit Week Dress: Dress Up Day

School Appreciation Day Living Rosary 8:30 a.m. - 5th Grade Spirit Week Dress: Come As You Are Day

Wednesday Feb. 3

Community Appreciation Day Chamber of Commerce Coffee 10:00 a.m. in gym 1st grade presentations 8th grade presentations Tours Advent Angels - Make Valentine cards for service men and women

Student Appreciation Day Teachers vs. Students Competition Spirit Week Dress: Sports Day

Friday Feb. 5

The publication of this supplement in the Creston News Advertiser are made possible by the support and generosity of the following: Carter Agency, Brian Drey and Michelle Link-Drey, Joel and Merri Emerson, Jason and Tonya Green, Jeff and Ann Marie Kinsella, Brit and Lora Pellman, Pokorny BP & Automotive Service – John Paul & Staci Pokorny, Bill and Joni Taylor and Greg and Leslie Wurster.