This Week at St. Patrick – Week of August 15

Hi Team,

Thank you for an exceptional start of the 2022-23 school year. Our students, faculty, and staff continue to impress me each day, and I look forward to us making this is the best school year.

This weekend, I had the honor to spend some time with our Campus Ministry Team for their spiritual retreat. Thank you to Mrs. Cloud, Mr. Creel, Mrs. Cole, Mr. Rivera, Ms. Drake, and our retreat team for planning this faith-filled time for our Campus Ministry Team. I ask that you hold these students in prayer as they answer the call become the spiritual leaders of our student body. My prayer for each of these fine men and women is that they come to know God’s call for them to love and serve those whom they are entrusted with leading.

Our faculty and staff at St. Patrick Catholic High School are among the best in the world! We look forward to introducing you to our team at Meet the Teacher Night on Wednesday, August 17, at 6:00 p.m. Parents are invited to meet each of their child’s teachers. At 6:00 p.m., we will all meet in the gym for opening remarks and a brief informational meeting. Following the opening remarks and informational meeting, parents will have the opportunity to visit each of their child’s classes and meet each teacher. Copies of students’ schedules will be available for parents if needed. We will ring bells and allow for five to ten minutes per class period. For parents with multiple children attending St. Patrick, we will have time after the first seven classes for you to meet the other teachers.

We have put together some step-by-step instructions for creating and accessing your Canvas and FACTS accounts.

Our FACTS Family Portal is our private and secure online platform that is what you use to access grades, attendance, class schedule, behavior, medical information, financial information and much more. If you already have a FACTS Family Portal account (created to submit your enrollment packet), you may login at stpatrickhighschool.net/facts. If you have not yet created your FACTS Family Portal account yet, click here for instructions.

Canvas is our digital learning management system. Students will submit assignments, access teacher lesson plans, download course documents, and more all through Canvas. Students login to Canvas with their school email account – Canvas may be accessed at stpatrickhighschool.net/canvas. Click here for instructions to access your parent Canvas account.

Coming soon – we will be launching our Luck of the Irish Raffle fundraiser, our big school-wide fall fundraiser! The Irish Raffle supports our athletic teams and student activities here at St. Patrick Catholic High School. This fundraiser takes the place of all individual sport and club fundraising – so, we are asking each student to sell at least one book of tickets. Look for details in the mail in the coming days!

Know that our team is always here for you. Let us know anything you need. Thank you for choosing St. Patrick – let’s make it a great week!

Go Irish!
Dr. Matt Buckley
Principal

Ephesians 2:10: We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The Psalmist reminds us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and God has something definite planned for us to do while we are here. We display his craftsmanship and skill when we intentionally live for him and not like the rest of the world.

Master, teach me to recognize your opportunities and your will when they come into my life. I want to live for you without reservation. I pray for boldness to not be shy in sharing my faith. I pray for patience as I wait for folks to respond. I pray for protection on those close to coming to Christ. I pray not for me but for your Kingdom to be displayed in my life. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Baldwin, Adam
Descher, Breton
Gilman, Noah
Gordon, Natalie
Lafferty, London
Lowery, Alyssa Kate
McCartney, Alexis
Mercier, Cooper
Milligan, Grace
Oehms, Sophia
Poole, JT
Rimes, Ben
Mrs. Alexandria LopezMonday, August 15
Mostly Sunny | 94° | 75° | 24%

• 7:30am Holy Half – Eucharistic Adoration
• 7:45am French Honor Society/French Club Meeting
• 7:45am Spanish Honor Society/Spanish Club Meeting
• 8:15am Seventh Grade Class Officer Applications Available
• 8:30am Logistics Team Meeting
• 2pm Women’s Soccer Photo Session
• 2:15pm Leadership Team Meeting – Advancement
• 5pm JH Volleyball vs. Bayou View (Away)

Tuesday, August 16
PM Thunderstorms | 95° | 74° | 44%

• 7:45am Students for Life Meeting
• 10:15am Fire Drill
• 11am Student Council – Club Showcase
• 3:15pm JH Cheer Practice
• 5:45pm Band Parent Meeting

Wednesday, August 17
PM Thunderstorms | 93° | 74° | 44%

• 7:45am National Honor Society Meeting
• 5pm Swim Meet at Biloxi
• 6pm Meet the Teacher Night

Thursday, August 18
PM Thunderstorms | 89° | 73° | 48%

• We will follow the liturgy bell schedule today, and students should dress in their liturgy uniform including blazers and ties.
• 7:45am Mu Alpha Theta Meeting
• 9:40am Mass
• 3:30pm Seventh Grade Class Officer Applications Due
• 5pm JH Volleyball vs. North Woolmarket (Home)
• 5:30pm JV Volleyball vs. West Harrison (Away)
• 6:30pm Varsity Volleyball vs. West Harrison (Away)

Friday, August 19
Scattered Thunderstorms | 84° | 73° | 58%

• 7:45am English Honor Society Meeting
• 9am Leadership Team Meeting – Operations
• 7:30pm Varsity Football vs. Richton (Away – Jamboree)

Saturday, August 20
Scattered Thunderstorms | 85° | 72° | 55%

• 8am Varsity Volleyball vs. Bay (Away – Pass Christian Tournament)
• 10am Varsity Volleyball vs. Pascagoula (Away – Pass Christian Tournament)
• 1pm Varsity Volleyball vs. West Harrison (Away – Pass Christian Tournament)

Sunday, August 21
PM Thunderstorms | 86° | 72° | 47%

• 1pm Varsity Volleyball vs. West Harrison (Away – Pass Christian Tournament)

Monday | Hot Lunch: hamburger steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, peas, roll; Fresh salad bar; Loaded baked potato; Fresh ham, turkey, and cheese sub sandwich with chips; Grill Items: pizza, french fries, hamburger, spicy chicken sandwich

Tuesday | Hot Lunch: chicken parmesan, green beans, garlic toast; Fresh salad bar; Loaded baked potato; Fresh ham, turkey, and cheese sub sandwich with chips; Grill Items: pizza, french fries, hamburger, spicy chicken sandwich

Wednesday | Hot Lunch: southwest tornadoes, Santa Fe rice, fiesta corn; Fresh salad bar; Loaded baked potato; Fresh ham, turkey, and cheese sub sandwich with chips; Grill Items: pizza, tater tots, hamburger, spicy chicken sandwich

Thursday | Hot Lunch: chicken teriyaki with egg roll, steamed rice, stir fry vegetables; Fresh salad bar; Loaded baked potato; Fresh ham, turkey, and cheese sub sandwich with chips; Grill Items: pizza, french fries, hamburger, spicy chicken sandwich

Friday | Hot Lunch: meatball sub, macaroni and cheese, broccoli; Fresh salad bar; Loaded baked potato; Fresh ham, turkey, and cheese sub sandwich with chips; Grill Items: pizza, french fries, hamburger, spicy chicken sandwich

We are excited to begin our second full week of school for the 2022-23 school year!

We have already completed various firsts for the year…

We celebrated our first school mass last Thursday – what a blessing!

We conducted all six class talks for each grade level discussing policies and procedures with all students. All students should be familiar with “the St. Patrick way” and our high expectations for our students, faculty, and staff.

Everyone seems to be enjoying their lunches within the allotted schedule time.

And we have all taken our school pictures for the new school year.

If not already done so, all students should be checking out their textbooks from the library media center. All textbooks should be checked out by Friday, August 19. These are the books students will keep at home for homework and studying. Students will use a classroom set of books in class so that they do not have to bring their books to and from school.

All homework, lesson plans, and test dates may be found in Canvas. Click here for instructions for creating a parent Canvas account.

All ninth through twelfth grade students are reminded to bring their Chromebook, fully charged, to school each day. Students’ laptops are required for use in and out of each of their classes.

Congratulations to the Fighting Irish Junior Varsity and Varsity Volleyball Teams and Coach Blakeney on their season opening victories over Resurrection! The Student Body turnout was electric for the home opener! Both squads will be on the road next week – first at West Harrison on Thursday night, and then at Pass Christian for their tournament on the weekend.

This week, our Junior High Volleyball season begins on Monday at Bayou View, and will then be at home next Thursday against North Woolmarket. Good luck to Coach Parrish and our Junior High Volleyball Team – come support our young ladies!

Our Swim team also has their first meet on Wednesday at the Biloxi Natatorium. Good luck to Coach Copeland and the Fighting Irish Swimmers!

Our Varsity Football team will be featured this week on WXXV 25 for their 25 Teams in 25 Days, and will play on the road Friday night at Richton in the 2022 Fall Jamboree. Good Luck to our Fighting Irish!

Please check the school calendar for our listing of club meetings next week, such as Spanish and French Honor Societies, Students for Life, National Honor Society, Interact Club, Mu Alpha Theta, and English Honor Society are on deck.

Students and staff, please work to keep our campus beautiful – if you see trash lying around, pick it up! We are counting on everyone to do their part!

Lastly, please understand that participation is a privilege. Cheering at games, riding the bus, being in a club – these are all available as long as we continue to act accordingly to the Catholic values we hold so dearly at St. Patrick. Please refrain from measures that would be contrary to that.

If you need anything, please do not hesitate to contact me at tbailey@stpatrickhighschool.net.

Thank you to WLOX for visiting us on our first day of school. You can watch Dr. Buckley’s interview here.

We are now the official sponsor for WXXV’s School Bus stop forecast. You can watch a preview of it here.

The St. Patrick Fighting Irish Varsity Football team now has an official Facebook page. Here you will find photos from games along with scores each week. Make sure to Like and Follow us.

Join us every morning for our morning announcements! We stream live every morning starting at 8:15 a.m. You can join us using this link.

Students who took a school photo can order picture packages here. Students who missed school photos will take them on Thursday, August 25.

Congratulations to Sabree Puzz ‘25 for receiving the Karen Herbert Memorial Scholarship.

Congratulations to Colin Cloud ‘26 for receiving the Thomas Patrick LeTard, Sr., MD Scholarship.

The last day for late registration for the September Saturday ACT is Friday, August 19. Students should register through their act.org accounts online.

For students looking to become more involved on campus, Student Council will host the annual Back to School Club Showcase during all lunches on Tuesday, August 16. The Club Showcase will feature information from each of St. Patrick’s extracurricular clubs, sports, and activities.

College admissions research should begin during a student’s freshman or sophomore year. Students should create an active list of all colleges and universities they are interested in attending, as well as a list of academic majors offered by those colleges and universities that pique a student’s interest.

Students may research their chances of admission to specific schools by searching online for a school’s common data set. The common data set provides an overview of a college or university’s admitted students’ statistics. Several apps are also helpful in this research. For example, Cappex and College Data can provide a student with a realistic point of view based on a student’s GPA and ACT scores. Cappex and College Data, likewise, can match students with reach, target, or likely schools based on the student’s specific information, or the apps can categorize a student’s list of colleges and universities as reach, target, or likely schools for admission. It is important for parents and students to have a realistic but optimistic outlook during the college admissions process. By beginning college research early in high school, students can set goals, improve ACT scores, and increase their GPA to gain admission to their top choice college or university.

It was a great first week of school! Thank you to our St. Patrick families, alumni, and strategic partners who continue to contribute in many ways to advance our Catholic mission. We ask that you kindly place your program ad order by Friday, August 19. This will allow us ample time to prepare the athletic program before the first home football game. You can make your Irish Fund Gold Club donation or purchase a stadium sign at anytime throughout the school year.

Together, the St. Patrick community raised approximately $700,000 for our students, teachers, and coaches last year (an increase of nearly 50% from the prior year). Enrollment is at capacity, and more than 625 students are becoming tomorrow’s leaders and disciples of Christ on campus. The philosophy that we all play a role in the advancement of St. Patrick is working. Please know that your gift, however you feel called to give, is making an immediate impact. We are grateful!

Have you joined the St. Patrick Gold Club yet? Members of the Gold Club are some of our biggest fans and supporters of the Irish Fund. When you join the Gold Club, you give to ensure students at St. Patrick Catholic High School have all they need to be successful in our athletic programs and extracurricular activities. As we continue to support champions, we know you’ll be at the tailgate and in the bleachers cheering on our student-athletes! You may find the link to the Gold Club membership form here: Join the Irish Fund’s Gold Club.

Become a strategic partner – we are still taking orders for ads in the fall athletic program and stadium signs! Our annual sports and activities program and stadium sign advertisements offer a great opportunity to advertise businesses, spotlight family and alumni legacies, or honor a student-athlete with a special message. The money raised from these ads and signage benefit all of our student-athletes at St. Patrick. Student-athletes and parents may find the link to the athletic ads and stadium signage form here: Athletic Program and Stadium Signage Form.