2005 Alumni Newsletter

Best Wishes

By Susan Zybert, Teacher

So many times in the past, I have heard parishioners say, ”We are so blessed to have Fr. Paul and Fr. Dennis at our parish.” This has been true for the past 13 years for Fr. Paul O’Connell and for the last 5 years for Fr. Dennis O’Brien. Personally, I sincerely believe that we have most certainly been blessed by having these two exceptional priests in our midst.

Pastoral care and dedication to the St. Mary family has been a definite priority for both of them. They truly exhibited the love, care, and hospitality of Jesus to all parishioners. Their presence at liturgies and at parish activities and events has been a true example of priestly ministry.

As pastor, Fr. Paul has worked with and supported three school principals… Sr. Ranah Phelan, Ms. Jeanne Marie Gocha, and presently Mrs. Joanne Gannon. The ministry of education has most certainly been a priority for Fr. Paul. In fact, the Forward in Faith diocesan monies that will be returned to the parish, have been allocated for the education of all members of the parish. The recipients include the school, youth religious education, sacramental programs, as well as adult education. We are grateful for Fr. Paul’s continual support of the educational ministry at St. Mary’s.

In addition, the presence of Fr. Paul and Fr. Dennis in the school has been evident and appreciated. They have both presided at wonderful school liturgies and prayer services, always delivering meaningful and interactive homilies. They have consistently visited classrooms and participated in school activities. They have even performed in our annual Christmas plays!

These wonderful priests have been respected and loved by teachers, students, and parents. However, it is now time for them to bring their charisma to other places. Fr. Paul has become a senior priest at St. Anne’s Parish in Shrewsbury. Fr. Dennis has become pastor at St. Therese’s Parish in Harvard.

There was an extremely well attended Farewell Party at Cyprian Keyes on Sunday, June 12th. Parishioners waited in long lines for the chance to say “Thank you, Good-bye, and Best Wishes.”

With their departure from St. Mary’s, there has been much sadness and anxiety specifically because we have been so very blessed to have these priests at our parish. I know I will forever be grateful for having had the experience of knowing these two special priests.

The Need for a Media Center

By Cecile Coté, Library Media Specialist

Please, for a moment, think back on your days at St. Mary School, and picture your visits to the school library. What comes to mind? Probably shelves of books -- books of all nature. There were encyclopedias, atlases, anthologies, biographies, field guides, books about bugs, plant, dinosaurs, the planets, and poetry. You needed information, and the books had it.

Now think of how we get information today. Certainly still through books, but increasingly more so through a vast array of sources, for we are living and learning in the age of technology. Students today need to learn a new literacy – information literacy. They are required to effectively use ideas and information from a full range of communications media and technology. To help students achieve this new fluency, libraries are evolving into media centers.

This nationwide movement in media and technology education is a perfect fit with our own school’s mission statement, which states in part that we prepare our students to fully participate in a technological society. Students no longer just pull a book off the shelf to find an answer. They must skillfully comb through a web of information. A school must provide the instruction, learning experiences, and resources that allow students to develop effective strategies for selecting, retrieving, analyzing, evaluating, integrating, and combining information in meaningful patterns in all content areas of the curriculum. This process of searching out answers will serve students for a lifetime.

A school media center will provide the space and resources for developing this skill. The new space will function not only as the information center of the school, but also as a learning laboratory. This multimedia environment will give students, teachers, and administrators ready access to print, audio, video, and digitized resources. Collaboration of the library media specialist, technology specialist, computer teacher, and classroom teacher will support our goal of presenting media and technology enriched lessons.

Underlying the obvious educational benefits of moving from a library to a media center, is the 2001 major recommendation by the NEASC Accreditation Visiting Team that St. Mary School address the inadequate physical and space problems of the current library. And so, our major initiative is to build a new media center. We are trying to achieve this goal by fund-raising, pledge donations, and seeking grant programs that may in any way assist us. To date we have received the following grant awards: $5,000 grant from Millipore Foundation -- $4,500 Forward in Faith Technology grant -- $945 SMARTer Kids Foundation grant (for 30% of the cost of an Interactive White Board and 25% of the cost of a NEC multimedia projector)

Finally, rest assured that while a 21st century media center may look quite different from the library you visited when you walked the halls of this great school, some things will not have changed. The school media center will promote a love of reading and appreciation of fine literature, story time will still take place, book talks will continue to stimulate and challenge, and floor puzzles will never go out of style.

Media Center/Development Fund Update

Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends

St. Mary School continues its fund-raising campaign for the development of a new Media Center. To date the Development Committee has raised approximately $16,000. Yes this campaign is off to a good start, though it still has a long way to go in reaching its financial goal to raise $100,000+.

At this time, we would like to take a moment to thank all who sponsored or attended the Anthony Kearns Concert and those who made direct cash donations. Your participation and contributions will create new opportunities for current and future students of St. Mary School.

We hope more Alumni, Parents, and Friends will join us in our drive for the Media Center Development Fund. A St. Mary School pledge form is located on the adjacent page. Every gift to the Development Fund, regardless of size, directly benefits the students.

With Warm Regard,

Wendy King and Christina Nathan
Development Committee Members

St. Mary's Welcomes the New Pastoral Team

Fr. Michael F. Rose, former pastor of St. James in So. Grafton is the new pastor of St. Mary’s Parish.

Newly ordained Fr. Maneul A. Clavijo is associate pastor of St. Mary’s Parish.

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Acknowledgement Information:

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Make checks payable to St. Mary School - Development Fund. Please detach this form and return with your contribution. And, remember if you work for a company that matches donations, please enclose your matching gift form. In many cases, employer matching gifts can double or triple your gift, and provide you with the credit.

Returning to St. Mary School

By Erin McLoughlin, Teacher

As I finished my first year teaching at St. Mary School, I was amazed at how much had changed since I was a student here, and how much has remained the same after all these years. The people have changed, yet the goal of the staff and teachers remain the same. Everyone here is working to make the world a better place by creating better people. Each student is taught to value education, always do his or her best, and to be a good person.

As a former student, I always looked back at St. Mary’s as a place where I learned the basics. I learned how to read, write, and be a better human being. The faculty and staff were adamant about sending us off to high school and life as well rounded individuals. I have always felt as though I was a stronger student and woman because of the foundation that my time at St. Mary’s and the love of my parents provided for me so many years ago. My parents felt so strongly that St. Mary’s was such a positive influence in my life that they wanted to show their appreciation by donating a statue of Mary to the school. I see this statue whenever I go upstairs and I remember how St. Mary School has made me the person I am today.

I am teaching at St. Mary School as a Kindergarten teacher and feel blessed everyday as I go to work. It is now my turn to care for and nurture students and to encourage them to become loving, intelligent, and kind. At times, it feels a bit strange to be back at my elementary school as a teacher and to be teaching in the building I remember as the convent, but it feels great to be back. This school was an incredible place to learn and is an even more fabulous place to teach.

Up Coming Events

Dec 3rd and 4th Parish/School Holly Fair

Jan 29, 2006 St. Mary School will be holding an Open House from 1:00 to 3:00 pm

Jan 28, 2006 St. Mary’s Ball

May 2006 St. Mary’s Annual Golf Outing

2005 Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament

By John Ruggieri, School Board Member

This year the sun came out in full force on tournament day. Unfortunately that didn't happen until "after" the 18th hole was played. The 11th annual St. Mary Golf Tournament was held again this year at Cyprian Keyes Golf Course in Boylston, Massachusetts on May 16th. The tournament helped raise money for the St. Mary Scholarship fund which is used for tuition assistance, school supplies, and teaching aids for the students and faculty of the school. The proceeds from the tournament will not only help some children receive a quality elementary education, but continue to provide all children with the necessary tools to meet today’s challenges in education.

Event prizes included the potential to win $1,000s in cash, a new 2005 Buick Lacrosse, a cruise vacation, and lots of other great items. We had a close call on a 40 foot putt that would have netted $5000. Fr Paul O'Connell sponsored the $5000 putting event for the lucky contestant and, if not for the last 2 inches, it nearly rolled in. The golfers and event volunteers shared lots of fun and laughter which made the cold and rainy morning weather barely noticeable.

The golf committee (Warren Haden, Steve Musgrove, Jeff Forts, Mike Curran, Jim O'Donnell, Brian Postale, Brian Cristy, Kieran McCabe, and John Ruggieri) would like to thank all the golfers, volunteers, and sponsors for another successful tournament. We look forward to next year's 12th annual, where the long-range forecast predicts a full day of SUNSHINE!