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

 

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