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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
BEARING As the 2021-2022 academic year comes to an end, St. Philip’s School and Community Center has much to celebrate. This moment brought FRUIT IN growth and blessings and we are now in a season of bearing the fruits of our labors. This was our first full year back for “in person” school since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic NEW SEASONS in 2020. Teachers and over 240 students returned to campus in August with high hopes and great expectancy of an exciting period of learning ahead of them. It has not been without challenges but being able to interact with students and families after such a long wait has made this year and all its accomplishments worthwhile. St. Philip’s experienced monumental growth and our students blossomed in all areas, experiencing little learning loss, even after an extended period of distance and hybrid learning. However, for those students needing extra support or even academic enrichment, we were able to provide tutoring and more through our expanded Reading and Academic Support program, and key partnerships with organizations like SMU.
As summer approaches, it is with boundless joy we look back on this year and what all our students, faculty, and staff have accomplished. Through art, STEM, events, and community volunteerism, the 2021-2022 academic year paves the way for a dynamic year ahead.
6TH GRADE STUDENTS ARE EXCITED ABOUT WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON – 7TH GRADE!
St. Philip’s Student Council President, Jonathan Lax, and Vice President, Eden Murrell, have attended the school since they were in Early Childhood. As 6th graders, they were prepared to begin embarking on new beginnings away from St. Philip’s for 7th grade, however, both were thrilled to learn earlier this school year that St. Philip’s would be launching a full middle school program, with the addition of 7th and 8th grade over the next two years. With this exciting development, Lax and Murrell will continue to be Saints until they go off to high school.
“I’m looking forward to more opportunities outside of school, such as excursions that come with a new grade,” said Eden. “Nobody else has experience with seventh grade. We will be the ones to tell the younger kids what it is like.”
The last two years have been unpredictable due to the pandemic. Still, as things start to return to normal, Eden and Jonathan feel a sense of relief, especially since they both have a whole new St. Philip’s experience to look forward to.
The addition of seventh grade has given Jonathan a sense of comfort. “I did not know where I wanted to go after St. Philip’s,” he shared. “It will be sad leaving St. Philip’s when I do, but for now, I’m going to enjoy the upcoming year and eighth grade too.”
Jonathan is already considered a “St. Philip’s Lifer” since he has attended the school since PK2. “St. Philip’s has helped me in not just gaining knowledge but also gaining good social skills that I can take with me beyond St. Philip’s,” he said.
A NEW BEECON AT ST. PHILIP’S CONTINUES
This past fall, St. Philip’s received its first beehive as an expansion of our comprehensive STEM program due to a generous grant from Capital One. With the new “Saints” addition of friendly bees, our lead science teacher, Tia Stevens, has incorporated bee lessons into her curriculum.
“Due to the recent harsh winters and weather freezes, we had another hive of buzzing bees installed that were ready to work on St. Philip’s campus,” explains Ms. Stevens. This proved to be a great decision, as this spring St. Philip’s was able to yield its first bee-tastic harvest of honey! With our new beehive, 100 jars of honey in partnership with Alveole, have been prepped for distribution, with more to come later this summer. These jars will find a home on the shelves of Aunt Bette’s Community Pantry just in time for our return to in-person “shopping” for our pantry clients, after our pivot to drive-thru services during the pandemic.
St. Philip’s is blessed to be a BEEcon for both educational and social service opportunities for its students. “They are both learning to improve themselves and giving back to improve our community,” says Stevens.
HIGHLIGHTING ST. PHILIP’S “LIFERS”
A “St. Philip’s Lifer” is a student who has attended the school since Early Childhood. Many thanks to the parents of the following 6th grade students who wholeheartedly believed in the mission and vision of St. Philip’s. The legacy of St. Philip’s continues with each of you!
Returning Lifers for the first incoming 7th grade class are: Jonathan Lax, Eden Murrell, Kaeden Walker, & Jeremiah Grant.
Although all “Lifers” will not continue with St. Philip’s, we are grateful to call Trinity Musco, Korbin Harris, Ryan Cook, and Myles Branch treasured alumni and members of the Saints family! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
ROAD TRIPPIN’ THROUGH HISTORY
Our 5th and 6th grade students were able to experience the milestone annual “Civil Rights Trip” together this year, after a two-year hiatus from major field trips due to the pandemic. This week-long road trip to visit museums, monuments, universities, and cities such as Selma, AL, Montgomery, AL, Memphis, TN, and Atlanta, GA, that defined this transformative era in our country, has been unique to St. Philip’s for well over two decades.
This excursion always proves to be an unforgettable and impactful way to bring the Black experience and American history to life for our scholars and their teachers.
ST. PHILIP’S BELOVED ACADEMIC EXCURSIONS RESUME
6TH GRADERS EXPLORE THE GRAND CANYON!
Just a couple days after returning to Dallas from the Civil Rights Trip, our 6th graders joined Dr. Flowers and their teachers on the coveted “rites of passage” excursion to the Grand Canyon. This trip has traditionally served as a grand finale to the St. Philip’s experience and a culmination of 6th grade’s Social Studies curriculum exploring indigenous culture in the Americas. A visit to the Grand Canyon is both a humbling and inspiring experience for our students, as there is nothing grander than viewing one of God’s most majestic creations and hiking into its very depths to experience nature’s glory firsthand.
It is with great joy and excitement to be able to celebrate the longevity and commitment of the families who choose a St. Philip’s education for their child(ren). What used to serve as a farewell trip is now a cause for celebration as we welcome our very first 7th grade class at St. Philip’s School and Community Center in August.
HATS OFF TO OUR PARENT PARTNERS!
We would like to tip our hats to all of our parents for their tremendous support throughout this school year. We also offer our sincerest gratitude to the following homeroom parents who have been so gracious with their time, talent, and gifts. The faculty and staff have been showered with breakfast tacos, personalized favorite treats, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Steel City Pops, Frios Pop, among other items throughout the year. We are appreciative of these thoughtful and intentional gestures of love and encouragement, especially in these unprecedented times.
PK2A - Duanna Reagler, Victoria Stevenson, and Stacey Lotten PK3 A – Nichelle Bennet and Taryn Love PK3 B – Natasha Colter, Ashlyn Fisher, and Crystal Stinson PK3 C – Candis Lavallais PK4 A – Phallon Tillis and Heather West PK4 B – Bria Manning Kinder A – Camilla Johnson Kinder B – Melanie Mitchell 1A/1B – Branisha Smith and Tominique White 2nd A/B – Shonna Cooks and Angela Owens 3rd – Detitria Woodard, Wendelin Donahue, Telesa Blackwell, and DeAnn Lax 4th – Katrina Keyes, Sherilyn Smith-Rudolph, and Emoni Wicks 5th – Kay Honeyman and Kira McCoy 6A/6B – Sharon Hills and Donna Elder
ST. PHILIP’S WELCOMES NEW FACULTY AND STAFF
Cassie Munoz, Digital Content Specialist Nina Sanni-Thomas, Community Programs Specialist-Children Joston Collins, Community Programs Specialist- Youth
Shonna Cooks, Administrative Assistant
RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Farewells are never easy, but we’d like to bid one of our beloved faculty members a wonderful retirement. Our very own Ramona Thomas has embarked on a new journey. Ms. Thomas has been a significant fixture at St. Philip's for more than 29 years. To say that she will be missed is an understatement. Ms. Thomas is an extraordinary educator, dynamic leader, and friend to all.
We thank you, Ms. Thomas, for every exceptional lesson you wrote to make learning engaging, for every program you created for our kids to shine, for every hour spent encouraging a parent, for every hug you gave a child in need, and for each year you spent devoted to this ministry. You will truly be missed here at St. Philip’s, but we hope this next phase of your life is filled with God’s abundant blessings. You made a mark on our hearts and for that we will be forever grateful.
2021-2022 ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS
St. Philip’s values not only our students but our parents as well! This year has been full of engaging and new special events and opportunities to get to know the families we serve better. Parent Liaison, Ametria Maryland, spearheaded four dynamic in-person events for our students and families. The series of special events included Family Game Night, Family Art Night, Family Fit Night, and Family Bingo Night.
Family Game Night kicked off the series and was a terrific way to initiate communication and camaraderie between faculty and parents. Our Art Teacher, Jennifer Kindert, hosted a fun night of arts and crafts, allowing families to flex their creative muscles as a team. Family Fit night took place on the Athletic Field and under the leadership of our P.E. Teacher, Dr. Marcus Johnson. It offered a delightful night of fun, fitness, and play. Finally, thanks to the Friends of St. Philip’s auxiliary, our faculty and staff, many of whom are also parents, enjoyed an evening of laughter, fun, and prizes with their students for Bingo Night. It proved to be the perfect jumpstart for Employee Appreciation Week.
As our campus continues to open back up for full operations, St. Philip’s looks forward to implementing more offerings and opportunities to strengthen and deepen its relationship with the families and students we serve.
St. Philip's was honored to welcome The Most Rev.
Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop, and Primate of
The Episcopal Church. During this visit, Bishop Curry toured the St. Philip’s campus and gave our students, faculty, and staff a dynamic and engaging chapel talk and homily.
