St. Vincent - St. Mary High School

The grade point average necessary to achieve honor roll status is a minimum of 3.50. Merit roll students must achieve a minimum of 3.00 grade point average. We congratulate the following students for achieving this goal for the fourth quarter.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Whitney Porter, a junior, has been selected as a winning finalist in the “Kids Speak Out” essay contest hosted by WVIZ/PBS ideastream and Time Warner Cable. She has been invited to a luncheon at the Idea Center in Cleveland where she will be presented with a $1,000 scholarship she can use toward her education. Students in the Advanced Placement American Studies class entered their argument essays related to the prompt: If you had 30 minutes with the next president of the United States, what issues affecting Ohioans would you want to discuss and why? Whitney’s topic was Arctic drilling and its environmental impact. Whitney will also be involved in a WVIZ taped panel discussion to be aired later on Time Warner Cable this summer. Junior Alexandra Horning also earned recognition in the contest with an Honorable Mention for her essay about the importance of federal funding of the Arts.

Now that we are beginning 4th quarter, this is a reminder to all 9th, 10th, and 11th graders who plan to play a fall sport. Eligibility for fall sports is based on 4th quarter grades. Summer school grades may NOT be used to substitute for failing grades received in the final grading period of the previous year.

STVM students won ALL the awards at the Bridge Building contest that was held Saturday, February 17 at the University of Akron. The contest is organized by the local chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. 84 high school students participated from schools including Hoban, Hudson, Woodridge, Marlington, etc. Last year our students won the strength competition, this year we won strength and aesthetics. Matt Gaydos won $75 for the best looking bridge. It was said that it was rare for a truss bridge to win for aesthetics. Nat Simonetti won the strength contest and received $100. Matt Schwenning took second and received $75, Kyle Sickels came in third. The following students placed among the first 15 – Matt Gaydos, Michael Kovarik, Isaac Cabe, Joey Miller, Ryan Porcellato and John Roth. Our bridges did a lot better than last year but the competition was a lot harder, too. Some people actually copied our designs from last year. These students have worked on their projects since December. Congratulations to all! Click here for photos.

Again this year, the OHIO MAGAZINE will publish their April issue featuring Private High Schools. Also again this year they have selected five of our teachers for special recognition in that issue. So, please join in congratulating Gerard Neary, Joanna Beyeler, Jen McElhaney, Anne Bickett and Brian Campbell "who are making a difference and contributing to Ohio's commitment in achieving Excellence in Education."

ARABIC AND CHINESE

St. Vincent-St. Mary High School sophomores, juniors, or seniors have the opportunity to earn honors weighted high school credit as well as college semester hours by participating in a grant funded program sponsored by the University of Akron.

Classes in Beginning Arabic or Chinese will be on-campus offerings that will be grant funded though 2009 and therefore be offered at no cost (including books) to participating students.

Beginning classes in each language are worth 4 credit hours. Therefore, participating students will attend the University of Akron, 4 days per week and complete all University assignments and requirements in order to earn high school/college credit for the course. Each succeeding level of the course will be offered on a semester basis.

To be eligible: St. Vincent-St. Mary students will have a 3.2 GPA or higher, will have excellent grades in their current foreign language, and will have a recommendation from their current teacher to participate in the program.

STVM is pleased to present the 5 students participating in this program for 2007-2008:

Arwa Alniemi Beginning Arabic
Samuel Sawan Beginning Arabic
Olivia Walter Beginning Arabic

Madeline Esker Beginning Chinese
Sean Jahant Beginning Chinese

>Make an influence in a student's life--be a MENTOR. Emily Knapp, our new school counselor, and Joanne Zaratsian, Director of Fiscal Resources, are working together to make the Mentoring Program better than ever. What is the Mentor Program? It is a chance for Alumni and Friends of our school to pass on their wisdom to future generations. Our students will get a chance to meet with someone who has experience in the career they have been considering. We are currently looking for Junior and Senior students who want to learn more about their future career, and professionals who want to pay their knowledge forward. If you would like to be a mentor please fill out the following form and return it to: The Guidance Office, ATTN: Mrs. Knapp15 N. Maple St., Akron, Ohio 44303 or Fax it to: 330-996-0022 Click here for information that could change your life and the life of a STVM student!

>Earth Day
Earth and Physical Science classes planted over flowers in beds around the school, spread 25 bags of mulch and collected over 8 garbage bags full of trash for Earth Day. Snapdragons were potted and given to all staff member as gifts.

>Science Inquiry State Competition
Congratulations to the following students who qualified for the state competition for their Science Inquiry: Tyler Chopko, Kelsey Lecerf, Jill Brownfield, Colleen Demboski, Jessie Bridenthal, James Lloyd, Joe Askew and Allison Oborn.

>Congratulations to our STVM Art Students
Saturday, March 2nd was the Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibit. STVM Artists had 11 winners and 7 of them will be moving on to the "State" level of competition. The winners will be recognized at a brunch and their work will hang in the Governor's gallery in Columbus. For more details please click here.

>Please join us in congratulating 5 of our many teachers of excellence
Once again this year 5 of our teachers received special recognition in Ohio Magazine as teachers of excellence in a private high school. The March 2007 issue recognized: Grace Gorman, Lorrie Haddox, Maureen Harrigal, Marcia Korllos, and Rita Lancianese.

These 5 honorees join Pam Godshalk, Mary Howard, Shawn Allison, Merrylou Windhorst, and Luanne Richardson who were recipients in 2006. The magazine is pleased to honor "those who are making a difference and contributing to Ohio's commitment in achieving Excellence in Education."

>National Merit Scholars
Congratulations to our STVM seniors Steven Herron (St.s Peter and Paul) and Elizabeth Hoffman (Holy Family) who have been named National Merit Semifinalists; and to Meghan Miloscia (Holy Family), Sarah Piatt (Our Llady of Grace), and Gabe Pirie (St. Mary) who have been selected as National Merit Scholarship Commended Students.

>Books for the Bahamas
In October the National Honor Society sponsored a “Books for the Bahamas” project throughout the school. Working in collaboration with a few other high schools and groups in Ohio, NHS members asked students and staff to donate new or gently used children's books to be sent to Andros Island in the Bahamas. Elementary schools on this impoverished island do not have libraries, so these books will help the schools to build library collections. Telisha Galizio, NHS vice-president, was in charge of the project, assisted by fellow officers Anna Wilson, Nora Bryan, and Kristen Lecerf and advisor Ms. Pam Godshalk. NHS members promoted the book drive through a homeroom competition, and during the three-week drive, STVM students and staff donated over 1600 books. NHS members sorted and boxed the books for shipping and then delivered them to Mr. Paul Wagner, STVM math tutor. He is a member of a group that organizes the Andros Island Library Project; his group will see that the books are delivered to the Bahamas. The National Honor Society is very grateful to the STVM community for their generosity.