Parish & School - Mansfield, Ohio
French I and French III-IV students had a petit-déjeuner with croissants, tea and coffee today to celebrate the first day of autumn. Introduction to French students put on costumes to portray different family members and are researching different French-speaking countries.
Thank you to Mrs. Sarah Russell for sending this info and photos.
Students from both the elementary and junior high/high school buildings took time to celebrate the International Day of Peace on Wednesday. As part of the celebration, Montessori schools across the globe participate by singing.
The elementary school also took part by inviting members of the local police department and sheriff department to the school so students could sing and show their appreciation by presenting each officer with a St. Michael medal. Everyone there also had the honor of watching three students present the medal to their fathers who are law enforcement officers. St. Michael is the patron saint of law enforcement and the military.
In the junior high/high school, the student body observed the Day of Peace with a prayer led by principal, Mr. Mike Wasiniak, followed by a moment of silence and prayer for peace as the bells rang at noon. Marching band/pep band director, Mr. Lew Friend, then played taps in honor of all men and women who have fought for freedom.
The HS/JrHi will also be hosting the annual “See You at the Pole” event on the high school front steps next Wednesday, September 28, at 7:20 a.m. This global day of prayer started in 1990 and with just ten students, and now millions pray together on the fourth Wednesday of September.
Thank you, also, to our media friends at Richland Source and Mansfield News Journal who joined us. Read their stories at richlandsource.com and mansfieldnewsjournal.com
The Annual Magazine Sale is coming to a close! We do need a BIG PUSH to close the gap in our sales as the initial numbers are down from last year.
Please pass the word to friends and family to renew those magazine subscriptions with St. Peter’s. In most cases, they will save money on their renewal and St. Peter’s also will keep 40% of the cost of the magazine.
In the high school, our students will be selling a 24 oz. Spartan letter tumbler at a cost of $20. This tumbler is virtually indestructible, double insulated — keeps drinks hot or cold and comes with a drink-thru lid. ST. PETER’S TUMBLERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE. If you would like to purchase one, please call the high school office at 419-524-2572.
Magazines and other items can be purchased online. Each student can build their own page and share links to your social media channels. Get started at www.gaschoolstore.com.
Elementary School ID: 2626687
Junior High/High School ID: 4564639
Dear Friends in Christ,
I’d like to write to you about another aspect of the life of faith and one which is often overlooked at that. Of course we all know that the ministry of the Church flows from having been fed at the Table of the Lord. Our faith teaches us that our participation in Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives.
Everything we do as a community of followers of Jesus proceeds from and is shaped by our sharing in the Memorial of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. From that sharing comes our service to the poor, our outreach to the sick and dying, our energetic defense of life in all stages, as well as our commitment to Catholic education and our vital ministry of presence in the midst of our larger community. It is in this vein of thought that I’d like to talk to about the St. Peter’s Music Series.
I suppose it is possible some people think of our music series as merely an outcropping of the music ministry here and, in a way, I suppose that may be partially correct. However, I had a history professor in college who taught me a lot about the critical role which the Church played in the preservation of Western culture and society. You may not be aware of this, but the Church, especially in monastic communities and in the principal cities of Western Europe, was the only bulwark standing against the chaos of the Dark Ages and the collapse of Western civilization. Among the things saved by the Church was our cultural heritage, including our music.
From that time forward, the Church’s active ministry has included the preservation of culture and of music and the arts. Many of the greatest works of classical music over the period of the last six or seven centuries were only made possible by the support and patronage of the Church. In addition, the writings and thought of Pope Saint Pius X, venerable Pope Pius XII, Pope Saint John Paul II, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, have done much to point the way toward music and the arts (when properly used) serving as a deeply authentic expression of human worth and dignity.
At its core, this is the vital purpose of the St. Peter’s Music Series. In an era when support for music and the arts is becoming more and more the purview of the private sector, that central purpose is more important than ever. For the last 12 years we’ve sought to fill an ever expanding gap in the preservation of music and the arts in our community. The coming year is no different.
All of our programming is made available to the greater Mansfield and North Central Ohio community at little or no cost to the community. This year we have instituted a program whereby Saint Peter’s students wishing to attend the concerts need only present their student ID and they will be admitted to any program absolutely free of charge. We continue to provide low cost or free tickets to anyone in the community for whom purchasing a ticket would be impossible without creating a financial hardship.
This year’s program begins with an amazing performance by the Renaissance orchestra Apollo’s Fire. Each concert in the coming season will be extraordinarily dynamic. But none of this comes without a cost. Each of us is undoubtedly facing some level of demand on our resources and our resources don’t stretch as far as they used to. So I know the effort to support the Music Series won’t be easily achieved. I only ask that each of us recognize the importance of this ministry and do what we can through prayer and financial support to keep it going.
As our Pastor, Fr. Hite, has often said, “A community without the arts is a community in decline.” He’s absolutely right. Please look for the Music Series flyer in your mail or Sunday bulletin in the next couple of weeks. Your support is vital and will help secure our ministry of presence in the community for years to come. Thank you!
Bill Johnson
Director of Music and Liturgy
St. Peter’s Catholic Church
104 West First Street
Mansfield, Ohio 44902
419-524-2572, ext. 2113
419-522-2553, fax
This week begins a new year for the values program entitled Virtues in Practice. This program is in place at St. Peter’s Elementary School to promote character development in our students. The program was written in 1995 by four members of the St. Peter’s School staff. First implemented during the 1995-1996 school year, it has undergone a number of additions and refinements, including expansion of the original one-year program to a two-year program. St. Peter’s has copyrighted the material.
The Virtues in Practice (VIP) program is comprised of 18 virtues which are presented to students in a monthly fashion during a two-year cycle. Each month’s virtue includes weekly tips or suggestions for students to follow at school and at home as a concrete way to “practice” the virtue being emphasized. Students are reminded of the virtue and weekly tip during morning announcements and teachers emphasize the virtues when possible during classroom discussions and activities.
“Student of the Month” awards at St. Peter’s Elementary School are given based on teacher selection of the student who best displays the month’s virtue.
This year’s virtues are cooperation, empathy, citizenship, generosity, idealism, charity, mercy, humility and perseverance.
For September, the virtue is “cooperation” and this first week’s tip is Work together to solve problems. Many heads are better than one.
We will continue to update the website each week with the week’s tip for the current month’s virtue.
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