Fine Arts Festival

This week, St. Edmund’s Academy students in Kindergarten through 8th Grade performed in our annual Fine Arts Festival. The Lower School Spring Concert included performances by each grade level as well as the 3rd & 4th Grade Glee Club. Lower School students sang beautiful renditions of songs including Brontosaurus Boogie, Amazing Grace, Green Eggs & Ham, Dona Nobis Pacem and The Monkees I'm a Believer. The evening concluded with individual students displaying their talents in piano, guitar, vocals, ballet, Irish dance and more.

The Upper School Spring Concert gives 5-8th Grade members of the Chorus, Band and String Ensemble an opportunity to perform on stage.  Instruments include strings: acoustic, electric & bass guitar, violin & cello; wind instruments: flute, clarinet, trumpet & saxophone; piano; and percussion. The Upper School Concert program included the Chorus singing Yonder Come Day and Some Nights; selections by the Concert Band included Royal Processional and Choo-Choo Blues; the Strings Ensemble played Bob Marley's Three Little Birds and invited the audience to join in The Beatles Twist & Shout which rocked the house!

An Art Show of works by students in all grades was on display during the Fine Arts Festival. Students selected 2 pieces from their art classes to include in the Art Show. In addition to drawings, paintings, and sculptures, student artwork included printmaking, collage, as well as self-portraits. This year, instead of arranging artwork by grade, works were organized by theme or material, in order to encourage parents and students to take a look at artwork from all of our wonderful students. Students in Kindergarten worked together in teams to do weaving that turned into an installation that hung from the ceiling. This was a fun way to see the artwork displayed and gave us ideas for hanging works in the future.

Special thanks goes out to our Arts faculty at St. Edmund’s Academy – Erin McCoy, Peter Bucci, Kate Mason and Holly Adams.

May 2013

Upper School Science Olympiad

Students in 5th-8th Grade participated in St. Edmund's Academy’s first annual Science Olympiad. The Science Olympiad was a science competition designed to increase students' interest in science and to provide recognition for outstanding achievement across several science disciplines. The Science Olympiad created opportunities for learning science with an emphasis on teamwork. Students worked together using hands-on activities to explore multiple areas of science. The 13 different events spanned the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and addressed objectives taught throughout the students' curriculum at St. Edmund’s Academy. Events at the day-long Science Olympiad included:

Bottle Music: teams tuned a set of bottles by filling them to different levels with water and used the bottles to play different tunes

Straw Tower: teams attempted to build the strongest straw tower

Gunk: teams made “gunk” that met specific criteria for bounce and elasticity

Volcanic Eruptions: teams constructed volcanoes that met criteria for lava flow and duration

Pentathlon: students answered health and life science questions during a relay race-style obstacle course

On-Line Scavenger Hunt: students answered science questions using designated on-line resources

Manipulations: Groups used tangram pieces to match a pattern cards

Life Science Stations: Students used microscopes to identify various specimen and biological processes

Circuit Wizardry: students were given a set of circuit drawings and asked to answer questions about the circuits

Bubble Blowout: students had to successfully follow directions to create their own bubble gum

Jeopardy: students worked together to answer quiz bowl-style questions about a wide range of science domains

Aerodynamics: students constructed paper airplanes, using only the materials provided

Which Way is North: students read a set of instructions guiding them around a map of Pittsburgh and answered questions as they navigated an imaginary journey

April 2013

St. Edmund's Academy Poetry Night

On Thursday, April 25th, St. Edmund’s Academy hosted its 7th Annual Poetry Night to celebrate rhythm and rhyme. Guests were delighted by poetry recited by our students, parents, teachers and also by our local guest poet, Mr. Timons Esaias. Guests were challenged to compose a self-authored poem during the 10-minute intermission, and then, had the opportunity to share their poems on stage. The poetic results were amazing in their simplicity and passion.

Timons Esaias is a satirist, poet and writer of short fiction, living in Pittsburgh. His work, ranging from literary to genre, has appeared in fifteen languages. He is Adjunct Faculty at Seton Hill University, in the Writing Popular Fiction M.F.A. Program.

April 2013

Earth Day at St. Edmund's Academy

To celebrate Earth Day every day, St. Edmund’s Academy 1st graders planted flowers on campus in Colella Park. Our 8th grade students planted a WWI victory garden of winter squash, pumpkins, peppers, radishes, swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes. Students will harvest their ripe crops in June. Then, campers at St. Edmund’s Academy Summer Camp will help tend the garden along with a few green-thumb families who volunteer to “adopt-the-garden” during the summer months. All plants except lettuce will produce all summer long. Happy Spring!

April 2013

7th Grade RiverQuest Field Trip

St. Edmund’s Academy 7th graders travelled to the Carnegie Science Center to spend the day aboard the “Explorer” voyaging on Pittsburgh’s three rivers with RiverQuest. The program focused on environmental science and local fresh water ecology. Students worked together to identify point and non-point pollution sources, and tested water samples for indications of pollution. They also collected and classified plankton and macro-invertebrates, and correlated form to function in identifying local birds and fish. Students explored concepts of sustainability and design by discussing how they fit into the river ecosystem.

April 2013

5th Grade Travel Fair

Travel Fair is an annual Social Studies project for 5th grade students at St. Edmund’s Academy. Students select any country in the world and spend several months gathering research about that country. They dress up as a famous inhabitant, prepare a food, make souvenirs, give a presentation and create a display of interesting facts and photos of their selected country. This year, the 5th graders also gave a musical performance about Peace on Earth. Students, parents and friends traveled the world in one day by visiting these amazing displays!

April 2013

Hats!

This April, first graders at St. Edmund’s Academy presented a performance titled “HATS!” HATS is a musical that starts at the top of your head and makes its way to the bottom of your heart as student performers tried on many different hats to find out more about themselves and others. Hopefully everybody involved had this kind of experience and came away feeling good about the Core Values lessons we review together regarding what matters most in life. Remember, “it’s not the hat that makes the kid, but what lies underneath the lid.”

April 2013

4th Grade Invention Convention

Willy Wonka once said, “Invention is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple.”  Even without the butterscotch, the St. Edmund’s Academy 4th Grade inventions displayed at this year’s “Invention Convention” were definitely, SWEET! After studying a unit about inventions and their inventors, students spent six weeks working through the same process that many famous inventors have done in the past. Students identified a problem or need, developed a plan for creating their invention, drew a blueprint, built their invention, and developed an advertisement to market their product. There were inventions for everything and everyone: cleaning products, safety products, products to protect your mobile devices, products to keep warm, solutions for feeding your dog or cat, entertaining your guinea pig, and 2 clever inventions for students: the “Magnetic Locker Stocker” and the “One-Piece Chapel Uniform” which combined 4 required Chapel-day uniform items into one easy to zip-on outfit!

March 2013

3rd Grade Seder Celebration

In 3rd Grade at St. Edmund’s Academy, we are happy to take part in an inter-generational community service project that is carried throughout the entire school year. This year marks our 8th year in partnership with The Commons of Squirrel Hill, a rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility. This week, the St. Edmund’s Academy 3rd graders spent an afternoon with their friends at The Commons celebrating a Seder meal. Led by our St. Edmund’s computer teacher, Mindi Feldstein, the children created a Seder craft and partook in an actual Seder meal. Part of the Seder tradition is the recitation of the Four Questions. Two of our students joined with resident Harvey M. and Ms. Feldstein to recite the Four Questions in Hebrew. It was a wonderful afternoon of learning, seeped in Jewish tradition, and the children were excited to take part in such a wonderful activity with their friends. Teachers talk with the students a lot about how they are living the Core Values of ‘worthiness of service’ and ‘appreciating the differences among people’ which makes them feel great. But in reality the children don’t need us to tell them what they are doing is wonderful, because the smiles and excitement they display indicates that they already know!

Into the Woods • 7th & 8th Grade Musical Production

Our St. Edmund’s Academy 7th and 8th grade actors, actresses and stage crew have been working tirelessly rehearsing for “Into the Woods, Jr.,” a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several fairy tales including Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella. These tales are linked together by the story of a baker and his wife longing to start a family, but cursed by a Witch. During their quest, they must go “into the woods” in order to get “out of the woods” and live "happily ever after". We are very fortunate to have such talented and dedicated performers and teachers at St. Edmund’s Academy. Enjoy the show!

March 2013

Smells Like Team Spirit

St. Edmund's Academy Upper School teams* joined forces with Lower School students this week for an afternoon of collaborative, challenging, learning-based fun and games.

Each Upper School team visited a Lower School Homeroom to share some of the following activities with Kindergarten through Grade 4 students:

• Team Trahan – “For Lack of a Better Name” – While Kindergarten friends decorated paper bags with colorful egg-shaped finger prints, Science teacher Ms. Trahan’s team filled and hid dozens of plastic eggs on the playdeck for a great egg hunt!
• Team Coyne – “Bamboo Bunch” – English teacher Ms. Coyne’s team played “Musical Spots,” a “Name that Tune”-style game with Kindergarten students and teachers, Ms. Moore and Mr Filosemi, also lead singer/guitarist in the band, 8th Street Rox.
• Team Hillegass – “Victorious Secret” – Science teacher Mr. Hillegass’ team played Catch Phrase, a charade-style word game, with Ms. Haz’s 4th graders.
• Team Mason – “ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ” – Art teacher Ms. Mason’s team painted the alphabet on large banners with 2nd grade students.
• Team Patton – “Go Ask Mrs. Patton” – English and History teacher Ms Patton's team paired up with Mrs Zapf's 3rd grade homeroom for balloon volleyball.
• Team Jenkins – “Swagtastics” – French teacher Mr Jenkins’ team played board games with 2nd Grade.
• Team Conte – “Conte Crazies” – Math teacher Ms. Conte’s team decorated cookies with Ms. Shaunessy’s first graders.
• Team Gregory – “The Golden Goats” – Social Studies teacher Ms. Gregory’s team played “Upper School Bingo” with the 4th Grade. Each Bingo card had Upper School-themed squares including Upper School teacher names and extracurricular activities such as Lacrosse Team, MathCounts, and SEA Wolf, the school newspaper.
• Team Tucek – “The Team that Eats Lunch Together and Hangs Out on Fridays, so Ha!” – An 8th Grade student dressed up as a time man for Math teacher Mr. Tucek’s team. Mrs Helfrick's 1st graders used their bodies to be hour and minute hands on large paper clocks. Then, students used icing to make time on cookies before eating up their time. A sweet activity!  

*Upper School teams consist of an Upper School teacher leader and 2 or 3 students each from grades 5-8. Team members are selected to ensure equal representation of athletes, scholars, musicians and artists. Students enjoy team building games and opportunities to have fun and socialize with each other.

March 2013

How’s the Weather across the Pond?

In conjunction with a math unit, third graders at St. Edmund’s Academy are creating graphs to chart weather from Pittsburgh as well as other places around the world. Students are sending and receiving short videos through Skype Education with elementary school students in England and Sweden describing the weather and exchanging information regarding temperature. Then they create bar graphs, line graphs, pictographs and tally charts about their results.

March 2013

SEA & Ski Community Event

St. Edmund’s Academy’s annual fundraiser on Friday, February 22nd embraced winter with the imaginative theme, “S.E.A. & Ski”. The school’s gymnasium was transformed into a cozy lodge atmosphere, complete with an enormous faux fireplace, thanks to the talents of Clear Story lighting and Shea & Simone Architects. Guests were treated to comfort foods from 11 different purveyors, all with a St. Edmund’s Academy connection. Ice sculpture demonstrations, an ice luge, shot skis, a human snowglobe, photobooth, and winter playlist and dancing (courtesy of Brooklyn DJ, Sounds of New York) further enhanced the experience. All proceeds benefit the school’s scholarship fund.

SEA hosts Green Schools Academy

On Friday, February 15th, the Green Schools Academy, operated under the auspices of the Green Building Alliance, held its monthly day-long workshop at St. Edmund’s Academy. St. Edmund’s is one of eight area schools participating in GSA’s “freshman” class, and the only private, independent school to do so. The subject was indoor air quality and healthy learning environments, for which St. Edmund’s received high marks.  A highlight of the event was a presentation by Upper School teacher Alicia Patton on the school’s organic garden and its integration into the history curriculum, along with a complementary presentation by an 8th grade student about her term paper topic, civilian Victory Gardens in WWI and WWII.  Student ambassadors greeted GSA visitors, guided them to the cafeteria, and chatted with them over lunch about environmental issues.

February 2013

On Tuesday, February 19th, the first graders at St. Edmund's Academy celebrated the 100th day of school. Students were invited to dress as a 100-year-old man or woman for the day’s activities. Throughout the day children completed self-portraits of what they will look like at 100 and wrote a few sentences about what they will be doing at that age. To quote one child, “I will have lots of grandbabies, live in Florida and have fragile bones!” The 1st graders worked together to sort, count and line-up 100 Hershey kisses. The day concluded with children writing stories about what they would do with $100! Stop in the main entrance to St. Edmund’s Academy to see their at home projects in which they created works of art using 100 items of their choice. You will be amazed at what you can create with 100 of something!

February 2013

3rd Grade is Jumping through Hoops to Compare & Contrast

Children in 3rd grade at St. Edmund’s Academy work hard all year to learn and understand the comprehension skill of comparing and contrasting. One tool that they use is the Venn Diagram, which is a graphic tool comprised of overlapping circles. In this activity, we brought the Venn Diagram to life by using hula hoops and post it notes to compare two characters in our novel, The Hundred Dresses. The students were put into pairs, found a place on the floor, and were off to a fun, hands-on comprehension activity. Each Venn Diagram was then shared and discussed with the class a whole.

February 2013

8th Grade Term Papers

As a culmination of their studies in U.S. History, St. Edmund’s Academy 8th graders write research papers on topics they choose from American history from the pre-colonial era to the Great Depression.  Students follow the MLA style of research and composition, identifying their general topics in October, to narrowing their research questions by November, and submitting their thesis statements for approval in December. The entire process covers nearly four months during which students balance the demands of their regular coursework with the added challenges of researching and organizing a 10-15 page term paper. Some of this year’s topics include America’s influence on the end of the Samurai era in Japan, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s motivations behind the writing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and the homefront efforts of the Allies and the Central Powers during World War I. When the rough drafts were returned for revision this year, some students received their papers with an apology from Upper School teacher, Alicia Patton, whose new puppy, Mosley, loved the sound of the rustling paper and the movement of her green pen a little too much. A few papers had to be returned with puppy-sized bites out of them, more than a little worse for the wear! Patton vows the grading operations will move to the dining room table for the final drafts, well out of puppy’s reach!

February 2013

Spelling Bee

A 7th grade student at St. Edmund’s Academy outlasted an 8th grader to earn top honors as the 2013 Annual Spelling Bee school champion. Fifteen students from Grades 6-8 qualified for the right to participate in the school championship held in the Hillman Auditorium on Friday, February 8th. Mr. Sciulli, retired SEA teacher, acted as moderator with Upper School teachers, Ms. Coyne, Ms. Patton and Mr. Tucek, assisting in the process as judges. The spelling bee included a total of 221 correctly (and incorrectly!) spelled words. Our winner correctly spelled "galvanize" to seal the victory after the runner-up misspelled "apotheosis" in the final round. The school champion will represent St. Edmund’s Academy in the local finals to be held in March at Children's Hospital. We all wish her the best of luck in March, and congratulate all those who showed great spelling skills to gain spots in the school finals.

February 2013

MathCounts

The St. Edmund’s Academy MathCounts team, made up of 6th, 7th & 8th grade students, will compete against other local schools on February 16 at Robert Morris University in Moon Township. MathCounts is a middle school based math competition in which students use their problem-solving skills to compete against their peers. There are three parts to the competition and a game show style competition at the end of the day.  SEA MathCounts members practice every Friday afternoon during their lunch period. Many MathCounts students also spend their early mornings before school working on math problems with MathCounts Coach and SEA faculty member, Bob Tucek.

February 2013

5th Grade Pen Pals

St. Edmund's Academy 5th Grade students wrote cards and letters to cheer the retired Sisters of St. Joseph in Baden, PA.  The fifth graders were part of a three group effort to bring a bit of cheer to the 45 retired nuns – all former teachers – who now live at the Villa St. Joseph in Baden, PA (Beaver County).  For the most part, the sisters are restricted to the Villa due to health reasons.  They range in age from late 60s to 102 years old!  Boy Scout Troup 1396 along with members of the Greek Catholic Union (GCU) District 15 were on hand Saturday, January 19 to play bingo and enjoy cake & ice-cream with the sisters.  This is an annual event and the first year that St. Edmund’s students were involved.  The GCU provides a holiday gift to each sister.  This year the sisters received a box of note cards, a book of stamps, a bottle of hand-cream, $5 of scratch off lottery tickets, and a card from a St. Edmund’s Academy fifth grade student.

The cards were so well received by the sisters who commented on the wonderful messages and stories that the students wrote.  Of course, the sisters have never met the students and the students have never met the sisters.  The sisters were very impressed with the quality of writing from our students.
January 2013

PreK Occupations

This week the PreK class explored occupations and community helpers. The children learned from our special visitor about what a doctor does. The children enjoyed experimenting with their very own stethoscopes and learned how to keep our bodies healthy. The class discussed how to keep our teeth clean and enjoyed playing with the dentist equipment at center time. The PreK group also focused on what an architect and engineer does as they built their own buildings using blocks and sequenced building a house. They also learned about being a chef and enjoyed a cooking show with Chef Boyle and Chef Evangeliste! The children loved the delicious granola that they helped to bake. We look forward to discussing occupations as we continue our learning about community helpers in the coming weeks.
January 2013

2nd Grade Animal Reports

Each 2nd Grade student at St. Edmund's Academy chose an animal to research. They researched, wrote about and published their individual reports and created dioramas displaying their animal, it's habitat and food sources. The students learned about leathery hammerhead sharks, lowland gorillas, furry pet guinea pigs, and everything in between. The project culminated with presentations to parents & friends followed by animal-themed games and snacks.

January 2013

The Hundred Dresses

The St. Edmund’s Academy 3rd Grade is reading the story, The Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes.  During this unit, the students focus greatly on character development.  They first look closely at the physical attributes and personality traits.  They also explore each character's role in the story and how each is important to the plot.  In this activity, students worked in pairs where one was traced and both then worked together to make their character come to life using paints.  Around the body tracing, the students were asked to describe the character with three physical attributes and three personality traits.  It was a wonderful morning of fun, where art and literature came together to allow teachers to assess the students understanding of character development.

January 2013

Civil Rights March
4th graders at St. Edmund's Academy are learning about the Civil Rights Movement and the Civil War as they study the history of the Southeast region of the U.S.  Students learned that the Civil Rights Movement was the effort made by black people and their supporters to abolish segregation and gain equal rights for African Americans. They read about and watched videos of the Civil Rights Movement and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a dream" speech.

The students created protest signs against one of the examples of prejudice that African Americans faced in the early 1950s. They also simulated a nonviolent Civil Rights Movement protest march. With the song “We Shall Overcome” playing in the background, the students chanted their slogans as they marched. Their slogans were:

Vote for whoever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want

Two schools—Make ‘em one!

The beach is for each!

Give us an amusement park—the park is for all!

We’ll be on the streets if you don’t give us a seat!

These projects led to the students’ understanding of empathy and what it’s like to “put yourself in somebody else’s shoes.”
January 2013

Congratulations SEAbots! - Dec. 2012

The St. Edmund’s Academy SEAbots robotics team has earned a spot at the Western PA First Lego League (FLL) Robotics Grand Championship because of their hard work and performance in the Western PA (FLL) Robotics Tournament. The Grand Championship brings together the highest performing teams of the season for one final burst of fun at the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) in Pittsburgh in January 2013. Our biggest and final FLL event of the season will be a great celebration and culmination to our robotics season!

NREC is the home of the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy and is the heart of applied robotics in Western PA - where engineers, scientists and technicians work together to develop robotic technologies and take them from concept to commercialization for Defense, Mining, Agriculture, Education and other industries. 

December 2012 

SEAbots Win 3rd Place - Oct. 2012

A team of 6th graders, the SEAbots, will represent St. Edmund’s Academy at the First Lego League Robotics Tournament in December. The theme of this year’s competition is “Senior Solutions.” Students will research and learn ways scientists may improve the quality of life for seniors by helping them continue to be independent, engaged, and connected in their communities. This project encourages students to research and innovate ways technology and engineering may help seniors. The Robot Challenge involves missions to navigate, transport, activate, or deliver objects precisely on a specialized platform. First Lego League also emphasizes a set of Core Values that promote successful collaboration and gracious professionalism. In October, the SEAbots received 3rd place in a Robotics Scrimmage held at the Ellis School. The scrimmage was an opportunity for students to learn, have fun demonstrating their accomplishments, and test out their hard work and strategy.

October 2012