Summit Cops Are "Tops" For Special Olympics

Summit Police Lieutenant John Bragassi and Detective Robert Mase wave to passersby from the roof of the Dunkin' Donuts at 6144 South Harlem last Friday. Along with officers from Bridgeview (who worked the drive-thru), Bragassi and Mase helped raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics Illinois. Held from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m., the event was one of dozens of similar "Cop on Top" events held at Dunkin' Donuts across the state. Those who missed the event but want to make a donation are advised to go online to soill.org and click on "Donate Now." The Summit PD has always been and continues to be a loyal and valued friend of St. Joseph School. Our congratulations and thanks to Lieutenant Bragassi and Detective Mase!

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Win $10,000 at This Year's Parish Fest!

A drawing with a $10,000 grand prize is part of this year's St. Joseph Parish Fest.

The Grand Raffle also boasts a second prize of $5,000 and a third

Someone will win. How about you?

 prize of $1,000.

Tickets are $20 each and may be purchased this week through the rectory, 7240 W. 57th St., Summit.

Winning tickets will be drawn at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, June 9 at the carnival. Winners need not be present.

Only 2,000 tickets will be sold. If less than that are sold, prizes will be pro-rated accordingly.

The St. Joseph Parish Fest starts Thursday, June 6 and runs

through Sunday, June 9. In addition to great live entertainment, event features thrilling carnival rides, fun games of skill and chance, and a food tent will offering such traditional carnival treats as hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, pizza, Italian beef, tacos, tamales and corn-on-the-cob. Cotton candy, ice cream, soda and water also will be available. The beer tent will be open as well.

During the carnival run there will be special ride offers, including a four-day “unlimited rides” wristband.

All St. Joseph parishioners are welcome to attend, as well as everyone in the larger community.

For more information on the Grand Raffle or the event in general, call St. Joseph Church at (708) 458-0501.

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Popular Entertainment Acts to Take the Stage at St. Joseph Carnival, June 6-9th; Bring Family, Friends!

Old favorites and hot new entertainment acts can be found on the main stage lineup for this year's carnival at St. Joseph Parish.

Taking the stage from 8 to 11 p.m. Thursday, June 6 will be

Rockstar Rodeo, which bills itself as "the Midwest's Number 1 Party Country Tribute Show." Band members boast "This isn’t your daddy’s band. Covering artists like Montgomery Gentry, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, (and many more) RockStar Rodeo brings country to life in a dancing, drinking, sing along, having the time of your life event, with a high energy delivery you’ve never seen before."

Two bands will get the weekend off to a rocking start on

Friday, June 7. Classic rock cover band Decades (everything from Van Halen to Pink Floyd to Ozzy Osbourne) will play from 6 to 8 p.m., and Maggie Speaks--one of the most popular and eclectic cover bands in Chicago history--will own the stage from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Saturday, June 8 starts off with a smile, as the World's Honkiest Polka Band plays from 3 to 5 p.m. Wide-ranging

cover band Audiomatic (everything from Lady Gaga to Maroon 5 to the Beatles) will shake the stage from 6 to 8 p.m., and cover band Rendition (everything from the Rolling Stones to Pearl Jam to the Dave Matthews Band) plays from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Sunday, June 9 starts with Gypsy Influence, an internationally acclaimed rumba flamenco group, performing from 4 to 6 p.m. Then from 7 p.m. to midnight, the New Invaders ("the ultimate '60s flashback show") will blow the roof off the tent and close out the carnival.

In addition to great live entertainment, the four-day event features thrilling carnival rides, fun games of skill and chance, and a food tent will offering such traditional carnival treats as

hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, pizza, Italian beef, tacos, tamales and corn-on-the-cob. Cotton candy, ice cream, soda and water also will be available. The beer tent will be open as well. A specific food vendor lineup will be announced next week.

During the carnival run there will be special ride offers, including a four-day “unlimited rides” wristband.

All St. Joseph School families are strongly encouraged to attend. Also invited and most welcome are all parishioners, alumni, friends of the school and parish, as well as everyone in the larger community.

So bring your entire family, your friends, neighbors to this four-day celebration! And please spread the word far and wide.

For more information, call the rectory at (708) 458-0501.

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Spaghetti Dinner Set for Saturday, January 26

A spaghetti dinner fundraiser is set for 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. Saturday, January 26 in St. Joseph School's Centennial Hall, 5641 South 73rd Avenue, Summit (one block west of 57th and Harlem).

Tickets are $10 each, $7 if purchased in advance at the school office or at the rectory, 7240 West 57th Street.

Proceeds from dinner ticket sales will benefit the school, which for nearly a century has provided a Catholic elementary education for boys and girls in Summit, Chicago's Garfield Ridge neighborhood and other fine communities in the city and suburbs.

During dinner, members of the St. Joseph School Chess Club will hold a bake sale to help raise funds for a trip to compete in Nashville, Tennessee.

For details, call the school at (708) 458-2927.

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Student Council Raises Awareness and Cash for Hurricane Victims; Need is Ongoing, Aid Encouraged

St. Joseph Student Council officers (from left) Secretary Courtney Hughes, President Julie Diaz, Treasurer Peter Zaja, Vice President Vincent Dinon and School Spirit Officer Gabriel Rocha are all smiles with Principal Lawrence Manetti after hosting a Jean Day last month to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Children and staff donated a minimum of a dollar each to come to school dressed in jeans and a casual top. Some $300 was raised and sent to Catholic Charities in Trenton, New Jersey. While the hurricane is long gone, the devastation and the need remain, exacerbated by the approach of winter. St. Joseph School encourages everyone to visit CatholicCharitiesTrenton.org to see examples of the ongoing need and make a donation.

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Trick-or-Trunk Halloween Fun at St. Joe's

Here are a few photos from St. Joseph School's annual "Trick or Trunk" event, a safer and fun alternative to door-to-door trick or treating.

Parents (and a few other parishioners) park their cars close together in the parking lot, then open their trunks/hatchbacks to reveal Halloween decorations.

Immediately after school, SJS students in costume go from car to car, trick or treating with their classmates.

This event is lots of fun. A number of parents and teachers dress up, too.

Mr. Porod, Vice Principal, who every year finds a unique costume to wear and persona to adopt, this year chose to come dressed as Mr. Manetti, SJS Principal.  Priceless!

  

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Varsity Girls Basketball Team Wins Big Against UNO Charter School in Wednesday Game at Hale Park

In girls varsity basketball action on Wednesday night at Hale Park, the Knights scored a convincing victory over the girls from the UNO Charter School.

Both teams started slowly, and the Knights led by only a 4-0 margin at halftime. But they maintained their defensive intensity in the second half and added an offense marked by good ball handling, smart passing, aggressive rebounding and consistent scoring. By the final buzzer, the Knights had pulled away for a one-sided 16-2 triumph.

The varsity Knights are a young squad this year---most are fifth and sixth graders---but are determined, well coached and learning quickly.

The Knights' next game at Hale (the last game of the regular season) is Wednesday, November 7 against the Kinzie Cougars. Tip off is set for 8:45 p.m. Please come out and cheer on our girls!

Knights Battle Bulldogs in Varsity Hoops at Hale

In girls varsity basketball action on Wednesday night at Hale Park, the Knights gave it their best but were over-matched by the Sutherland seventh grade squad.

The Bulldogs led 10-5 at the break; and then came out firing, starting the second half by hitting a series of outside shots and maintaining their intensity on the boards. At the final buzzer, Sutherland won 24-9.

The varsity Knights are a young squad this year---most are fifth and sixth graders---but are determined, well coached and learning quickly.

The Knights' next game at Hale is Saturday, October 20 against the Sutherland eighth graders. Tip off is set for 11:00 a.m. Please come out and cheer on our girls!

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Great News About One of Our Alumni

By Lawrence Manetti, St. Joseph School Principal

I always enjoy sharing good news about the achievements of St. Joseph School alumni.

Today I offer congratulations to Brandon Mata (class of 2008) who won second place in the highly competitive annual essay contest sponsored by Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools of Cook and Lake Counties, in partnership with Catholic New World, the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Open to high school seniors enrolled in a Catholic high school, the essay contest required entrants to focus on two questions:

• What do you think it means to be a faithful citizen? and
• How has your Catholic education helped you to become a faithful citizen?

The topic reflects the fact that we are in a Presidential election year. The Catholic Church encourages its members to inform their consciences to become faithful citizens and participate in the electoral process. To that end, the U.S. bishops offer for reflection the statement "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility."

Brandon's outstanding essay is posted on the Catholic New World website.

A recent graduate of St. Laurence High School, Brandon plans to attend Eastern Illinois University this fall. He has ambitious plans to work towards two degrees: one in Early Education and a second in Special Education, with a minor in French.

Truly impressive. Congratulations, Brandon!

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Our 4th/5th Graders Use Their Math Skills to Help St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Fight Cancer



Our top 20 fundraisers, who earned St. Jude t-shirts.

 Using their academic prowess to put Gospel-based values into action and make the world a better place, St. Joseph School's fourth and fifth graders recently participated in Math-A-Thon, which is America's largest education-based fundraiser.

Math-A-Thon is a supplemental math education program for grades K-8 that also serves as a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®. Each year thousands of schools participate in Math-A-Thon, helping to raise millions of dollars for the patients of St. Jude.


The funds raised by the students benefit St. Jude, where doctors and scientists work to eradicate childhood cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases.

The benefits of Math-A-Thon add up to help a good cause. Students who participate have the opportunity to:

• improve math and comprehension skills
• solve age-appropriate math problems
• understand the importance of helping others

In all, 30 SJS students participated in this year's Math-A-Thon, raising $1,930. Since 2005, St. Joe's students have raised more than $13,000 for St. Jude's.

This worthwhile effort is led by SJS fifth grade teacher Mrs. Nieminski. Twenty students raised enough funds to receive a special St. Jude t-shirt. They are Adam Kus, Christopher Hervieux, Maggie Gamboa, Francesca Beggs, Stephanie Saenz, Emily McGowan, Justin Davis, Javier Castillo, Juan Santiago, Michael McGowan, Cassandra Dudlo, Andrea Boguslawski, Emma Lambert, Crysalis Ruiz, Nina Dinon, Isabella Davila, Aidan Patino, Olivia Garcia, Bethany Garza, and Gabriella Beggs.

Since its inception, St. Jude has developed protocols that have helped bring overall survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent when the hospital opened in 1962 to more than 80 percent today. Participation in the Math-A-Thon program helps make it possible for St. Jude to treat all patients, regardless of a family's ability to pay.

Congratulations to everyone!

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Our Best, Brightest Students Win 5 of 6 Awards at Argo-Summit Bedford Park Annual Essay Contest

Some of the best and brightest students at St. Joseph School recently maintained and strengthened the SJS tradition of academic excellence in the annual essay contest sponsored by the Argo-Summit Bedford Park Woman’s Club.



Our winners at the ceremony in Bedford Park.

In a crowded field---630 students competed---five of the six "medal" awards were earned by St. Joseph students.


The stunning triumph was announced at a recent ceremony at the Bedford Park Community Building.

St. Joseph made a clean sweep of all three medals in the top tier (sixth, seventh and eighth grades) of the competition. Heading home with medals around their necks were first place winner and eighth grader Shawn Davis; second place winner and eighth grader Eddie Dornbos; and third place winner and sixth grader Christian Dudlo.



Our winners pose for a victory shot back at school.

 In the younger tier (fourth and fifth grades) of the competition, St. Joseph students Brianna Camacho (fifth grade) won second place, and Olivia Garcia (fourth grade) won third place.

First place in the younger tier was won by Salvador Macias of Wharton School.

Making St. Joe's victory even sweeter was the news that Shawn Davis was declared the overall winner of the entire contest, capping off a great evening.


Appropriately, Shawn's name will be engraved on the contest's traveling award plaque, which will be on display at St. Joseph School for an entire year.

This will be the third year in a row that the plaque is on display at St. Joseph School---which is said to be a record for any school in the competition.

Additionally, the Club also presented both Shawn and the St. Joseph School Library with a monetary award.

Right behind our five medal winners were nine St. Joe's students who earned "honorable mention" certificates: Maggie Gamboa, Courtney Hughes, Samantha Prado, Vincent Dinon, Gabriella Beggs, Adam Kus, Aidan Patino, Breeana Valdez,  and Christopher Grab.

The theme of this year's essay contest is "When I grow up, I want to be.....because..."  (Text of the winning essay is posted below.)

Congratulations to all our winners---as well as their parents, teachers and everyone else who guides and supports them in the development of their talents!



Our medalists.





Our "honorable mention" winners.

When I Grow Up I Want To Be …. Because....

By Shawn Davis

St. Joseph School

            When I was in first grade, I saw a picture of an astronaut floating in outer space, I was hooked! From that moment, I was interested in all things space. The planets, the stars, the moon, the sun, they all fascinated me. I wanted to be an astronaut. 

           Then, when I was in fourth grade, I saw a television program about the 2002 space shuttle Columbia exploding on re-entry. I felt sorry for the astronauts and their families, I was numb.  At that point I realized that I wanted to do something about it.  I wanted to help. I wanted to find a way to help make space travel safer for astronauts.  When I grow up, I want to be an aerospace engineer.  An aerospace engineer designs, constructs, and studies the science of aircraft and spacecraft.

            To achieve this goal, there are some things I plan to do and some things I am already doing.  An engineer must have a love for science and math, both which I have.  An engineer must also ask many questions. To the aggravation of my teachers, I have this trait as well.  For my freshman year of high school, I have enrolled in a drafting class to begin learning design. Throughout high school I plan to take as many science and math classes that I can.  I plan to attend a college known for its engineering programs, such as the University of Illinois-Champaign or M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

            Aerospace engineering is important to space travel and air travel because an engineer is involved in almost every single aspect of spaceflight.  Engineers not only design the spacecraft, they over see the construction and testing of each part of the craft. Engineers are so important to a space flight, that there is at least one on every space flight. If something goes wrong on a flight, the engineers on the “ground” figure out what to do and the engineer in the “air” does it. 

            Sadly, though, I may be out of a job before I apply.  NASA recently announced budget cuts in 2010, and launched their last space shuttle mission in 2011.  I believe our space program will return, but even if I can not work for NASA, there is still a market for aerospace engineers.  They also design airplanes and cars.   Truly, it is my dream to fly as high as I can.  My first grade teacher always said I had my head in the clouds!

            My dream to be an aerospace engineer is a big goal, one that will take hard work and perseverance to achieve.  I believe in my dream.  I believe that if I make the right choices, continue studying hard, and follow my heart, my dream can take to the skies.  As Walt Disney said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

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