FROM THE DESK OF . . .
Matthew Gilbert
Student Council President, School of St. Elizabeth
Dear
Parishioners,
As the
School of Saint Elizabeth Student Council President of the 2011-
2012 school year, I have felt blessed and honored for various
reasons. I was delighted to have the courage to run for Student
Council President and was even more delighted when I was elected. I
am honored and blessed to work alongside our Principal, Mr. Venezia,
faculty and staff, and students of the School of St. Elizabeth. The
decisions the Student Council has made since October have already
benefited the school greatly, and we hope to continue to better our
school throughout the rest of the year.
I have been
attending the School of Saint Elizabeth for nine years now, and my
experience has been filled with great friends, a strong education,
and many fun memories, all rooted by faith. Faith has been a huge
part of my journey at Saint Elizabeth’s. Every day begins with a
prayer as the whole school gathers in the cafeteria, and every month
we celebrate a special mass together hosted by a different grade.
As everyone in my class returned from a long, fun summer vacation we
knew we were ready for eighth grade. Since I have been at St.
Elizabeth’s, I have always admired the eighth grade. Your final year
at St. E’s is one of the best! It is filled with so much opportunity
and excitement as students apply to high school, plan long awaited
trips, and look forward to making many memories together before
going our separate ways. As an eighth grader and Student Council
President, I will help with some of these fun activities and
events. The first thing the eighth grade is in charge of is Safety
Patrol. The Safety Patrol greets all students as they arrive for
school on car line. This is a great group to be a part of because
it helps the eighth graders to keep in touch with the younger
students as we walk them into the school. It starts off the day
perfectly with a smile on everyone’s face. Another tradition we
have at St. E’s is our “Buddy” system. Buddies are another way that
older students can interact with the younger students, as each upper
classman is paired with a younger student for the whole year and
referred to as their “Buddy.” Buddies meet frequently throughout
the year to celebrate holidays together, make crafts and visit each
other in the classroom. This is another way our school comes
together to make everyone feel special and comfortable, like family.
The next
thing eighth grade prepares for is the first mass of the school
year. This is a great way to bring the whole school together, and
still celebrate the eighth grade and the beginning of their final
year at St. E’s. We all come together to dress the altar with
symbols that represent our memories as we sing the hymn “We Come to
Your Feast.” This mass is a very special way we welcome back the
faculty, students, and families of our school community.
As the
school year carries on we prepare for sports and activities. Our
school has been very successful in past years with our sports teams
and programs. We owe that success to the hard work of our athletic
director, Ms. Denise Killeen, as well as to our coaches and parent
volunteers. Some of these sports include: field hockey,
cross-country, basketball, volleyball, track and softball. Our
cross-country team has just finished an undefeated season, which we
are all so proud of, and our basketball season is in full swing with
the bleachers packed at every game, home and away!
During the
Christmas season our eighth grade took the annual New York City trip
that we were looking forward to since September. We started the
day at Rockefeller Center taking pictures by the tree, than we went
to NBC Studios for a great tour, followed by a delicious Italian
feast for lunch. We concluded with a visit and tour of St. Patrick’s
Cathedral where we learned historic facts about the cathedral and
admired its beauty. This trip was such a great way to bring the
eighth grade students and parents together along with our teacher,
Mrs. de Leon.
As 2012
begins we look forward to high school acceptance letters, sports
banquets, dances, end of the year trip, graduation and confirmation
and many more special events.
In closing,
I would like to thank everyone who supports our wonderful school and
our parish. Our community is so special and warm because of all of
you. Being apart of the School of St. Elizabeth and Our Lady of
Perpetual Help parish has been such an important part of my life,
and it’s a journey that I will never forget.
Sincerely,
Matthew J. Gilbert
© 2008-2013 Our Lady of Perpetual
Help Church. All rights reserved.
