April 17, 2024

Purchase books by Catherine L'Ecuyer

Our guest speaker for Great Conversations is Catherine L'Ecuyer, Ph.D., bestselling author of The Wonder Approach: Rescuing Children’s Innate Desire to Learn, as well as other titles focused on education and childhood development.

Before she joins us at Saturday's event, use this link to purchase her books and support St. Catherine's Montessori.

Help us give the playground some much-needed love by supporting Great Conversations.

Those who are unable to join us on April 20th can contribute to the event’s success by making a donation.

Many thanks to the generous donors who have already supported the event. There is still time to join them; click below!

“…play time is never wasted. So long as the children are busily absorbed, they are working at their own development – for children would rather work than play.” — Maria Montessori, Maria Montessori Speaks to Parents

Lower School Conferences April 25 and 26

2023-2024 Yearbook Update

We're excited to announce that the yearbook has been submitted and is scheduled to arrive in mid-May. It will be distributed before the end of the school year.

Thank you to all parents, faculty, and staff members who shared photos to make this yearbook special. Your contributions have truly enhanced the book.

As we approach the end of the school year, we encourage you to continue capturing moments at events happening now through May. Please share any photos you take so that we can include them in the supplement that will be mailed out this summer. Send your photos or album links to Jocelyn Ochoa at jochoa@stcathmont.org.

AC Babysitting Movie Night

The Adolescent Community 9th graders are taking a trip to Costa Rica May 5-12, 2024. In order to raise money for the trip, we are offering an AC Babysitting Movie Night on Saturday, April 20 from 5:30-11:30 PM in the SCM gym – a great option for parents attending our school’s Great Conversations event or who just want a night out.

Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary children will enjoy a PG-rated animated movie and Domino’s pizza. Feel free to bring your own food if you want, and please use the sign-up form to let us know if your child has any food allergies. We will have two adults present throughout the whole evening.

The base rate is $35 with a $5 discount for siblings regardless of how long your child stays. Payment is due in cash when you drop off your child. Please sign up here by tomorrow, April 18.

Paney Family Meal Train

Lydia (LE) and Elise (Primary) have a younger sister, Kit (now 18 months), who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia type B late last year. Her prognosis is good. Treatment will be over 2.5-3 years at Texas Children's. Please consider signing up to provide a meal or restaurant gift card during the month of April, which can be brought to school on the date of sign-up. Prayers or good wishes are also very much appreciated. 

This summer St. Catherine's is hosting camps for our current Elementary-High School students. Online registration is open. Space, age groups and enrollment fees vary by camp, and enrollment fees are due at the time of registration.

• WITS Summer Camp for current 4th-12th grade students | June 3-7 & July 22-26 | 9:00 AM-12:00 PM Register by May 13

• Garden Summer Camp for current 1st-3rd grade students | June 10-14 | 9:00-11:30 AM Register by April 30

• Volleyball Summer Camp for current 4th-12th grade students | June 10-14 & July 15-19 | 9:00-11:30 AM Register by April 30

• Soccer Summer Camp for current 4th-12th grade students | June 24-28 & July 22-26 | 9:00-11:30 AM Register by April 30

If you would like to arrange for registration payment to be made via FACTS billing, please contact Holly Copeland at hcopeland@stcathmont.org.

AC Literary Arts Magazine Reading on Wednesday, May 1

In our bustling community, every student has been hard at work selecting pieces to go into the 2024 edition of the Adolescent Community’s Literary Arts Magazine, The Deep Blue. Every student’s piece has been through multiple stages of revision, including Writer’s Workshop, where other students give feedforward suggestions on others’ pieces of writing. Each piece of writing is a representation of the student’s best work, and we can’t wait to share all of it with you! Please join us for our annual LAM reading on May 1 at 6:00 PM in the SCM Gym, where all AC students will read an excerpt from one of their pieces. It will be your first opportunity to purchase copies of The Deep Blue. We hope to see you then!

Senior Capstone on Thursday, May 2

Join us for a presentation by our current seniors:

Jasmin Cabecera and Caleb Mariano Trejo Miramon

The senior capstone is an opportunity for young adults to immerse themselves in a self-designed project and to exercise adult-level independence as they transition out of St. Catherine’s High School and into the next chapter of their lives. 

The evening will include TED Talk-style presentations by Jasmin and Mariano, and conclude with light refreshments. 

Kindly RSVP here by Monday, April 30, 2024.

OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Infant Community and High School Attend Prelude's My First Orchestral Concert

Yesterday our youngest and oldest students spent the morning at Miller Outdoor Theatre for Prelude Music Foundations music event, My First Orchestra Concert. For our Infant Community children, their parents and caregivers, and Ms. Renee and Ms. Ely, this was a wonderful opportunity to connect joyfully through music and dance and to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Our High School students and guides served as event volunteers – greeting schools and families as they arrived and passing out colorful scarves – before joining the infants on the hill to enjoy the concert. Our hearts are still singing! 

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Upper Elementary Travels to Crow Canyon

On April 6th, our Upper Elementary students began their week-long trip to the Crow Canyon Archeological Center in Colorado. They had been eagerly anticipating this trip all year, researching the Ancestral Pueblo people who once lived in the Mesa Verde region.

The trip was filled with exciting experiences. The bus made stops at Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo, TX and Santa Fe, NM before reaching Colorado. At Crow Canyon students enjoyed visiting replicated Ancestral Pueblo homes and conducting hands-on analysis of artifacts from different cultural periods in Pueblo history. They learned about the field of archeology from experts and grappled with some of the ethical dilemmas that arise in archeological work.

On their final day, they toured Mesa Verde National Park where they saw the pit houses, kivas, and cliff dwellings they had studied. This trip immersed our students in history, culture, science, and archeology, offering insights into Ancestral Pueblo life. It was an unforgettable educational experience which deepened their understanding of and appreciation for ancient civilizations.

Click here to view the photo gallery.

PARENT SERVICE ORGANIZATION (PSO)

Spring Garden Work Day is Saturday, April 27

The arrival of the new season and coming of Spring Fling mean that it’s also time for Spring Garden Day at St. Catherine’s! Naturalist Kelley Bruso and the PSO Friends of the Garden are asking for families to join them on Saturday, April 27 from 9:00-11:00 AM to help care for our beautiful campus grounds.

Volunteers of all ages and gardening experience will help with the following projects:

• Soil remediation in the Elementary Playground (i.e. - spreading mulch under the cottonwoods)
• Removing invasive plants from the Prairie Marsh
• Planting native plants in the marsh
• Spreading native seeds in the marsh
• Making nature education and composting signs for display at Spring Fling

Supplies, tools, water, and snacks will be provided. We encourage you to bring your own reusable water bottles.

Click here to sign up to volunteer. We look forward to getting our hands into the earth with you on April 27th!

“When children come into contact with nature, they reveal their strength.”

— Maria Montessori, From Childhood to Adolescence

PSO Spring Fling, Saturday, May 4 at 4:00 PM

Spring has come again. Spring Fling is almost here.

Enjoy our community's wonderful potluck offerings.

Enjoy Nuri Nuri's fantastic music.

Enjoy a beautiful spring evening with friends old and new.

We'll relax, laugh, and play together. What better reasons for a fling?

Like all great SCM events, we need volunteers to help the event run smoothly.

Please click here to sign up for a shift. 

We look forward to seeing you all there,

Kathleen and Adam

Spring Fling Chairs

OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Community service is something that is of extreme importance to the High School at St. Catherine’s. In our community, we believe there is nothing more important than giving back to the community around us, in many different ways. In the past, we have volunteered at places such as the Houston Food Bank, where we have participated in different food packaging activities. Additionally, we have gone to places like Casa de Esperanza, where we have created activity boxes and packaged birthday bins for children who live there. While we enjoy these activities and consider them very important, one thing we love is when we get to see the direct impacts of our work. One of the ways we do this is by volunteering each year at the Miller Outdoor Prelude Music Foundation concert, which invites almost 2,000 children from different schools around Houston and beyond to celebrate and enjoy music together. This year the High School volunteered to greet buses of children as they arrived, waving signs, and giving out high fives, as well as passing out scarves for the children to use to express themselves during the concert, and to take home with them. It was incredible to see the happy and joyful faces of the children as they sang and danced with their friends and with us.

Each year the concert is led by the Prelude Music Foundation, a school of music in Houston that is led by Ana and Jonathan Godfrey, who are parents of a St. Catherine Alum, as well as a current AC student. The Godfrey family has devoted their lives to bringing music into the lives of children in Houston, and especially to children who come from families in need. Their work is extremely admirable and important which is why it is so important to the High School to volunteer with them each year. We are so happy and grateful that we have this opportunity, and we hope to continue volunteering and spreading joy to the children of Houston each year! 

Thursday, April 18

• New Parent Welcome (2024-2025 school year)

Friday, April 19

• Garden Work Day, 8:00 AM 

Saturday, April 20

• Great Conversations, 6:00-11:00 PM (Tasting Room at Giant Texas Distillers; 5610 Clinton Dr, Houston, TX 77020) 

Tuesday, April 23

• Friends of the Library Workday, 8:00-9:00 AM 

Wednesday, April 24

• Parent Meditation Group, 8:15-8:35 AM 

Thursday, April 25

• Lower School Conferences - No school for IC-AC students. After-School Program closed.

Friday, April 26

• Lower School Conferences - No school for IC-AC students. After-School Program closed.

Saturday, April 27

• Garden Work Day: Spring Fling Preparation, 9:00-11:00 AM (SCM Grounds) 

Monday, April 29

• Mass: Saint Catherine of Siena Feast Day & Juniors Ring Ceremony, 8:45-10:15 AM (SCM Gym) 

Tuesday, April 30

• SCM Annual Fund: Pledge Payment Deadline
• Friends of the Library Workday, 8:00-9:00 AM 

Wednesday, May 1

• Parent Meditation Group, 8:15-8:35 AM 
• AC Literary Arts Magazine Reading, 6:00-7:00 PM 

Thursday, May 2

• Senior Capstone Night, 6:00-7:00 PM 

Friday, May 3

• Garden Work Day, 8:00 AM 
• Library Maintenance Day, 8:15-9:30 AM & 1:00-2:00 PM

Saturday, May 4

• PSO Spring Fling, 4:00-6:00 PM (SCM Elementary Playground) 

For more calendar events please check our website.