I am so excited about our Summer Camp. Now that summer is approaching, enrollment is really picking up. After a lot of reflection, it was decided that this first year we are going to keep the enrollment relatively small and really work on getting the programming perfect. We were happy that we were able to hire some of our High School and College Students to work at the camp. I hope to include some pictures in the summer bulletin. If you are interested in St. Paul Summer Camp for your child or grandchild, call the School Office 860-828-4343 for more information or check out the website at [email protected].
They told me that the end of the school year is always fun and they were right. There was the School Carnival, and Field Day at Camp Sloper and class night, which consists of a dance, a dinner, and an awards ceremony. The 8thGrade even went to New York for their class trip. At the Carnival, I put my head through a piece of plywood with a Yankee uniform painted on the other side.
It seemed like half of the school came to throw wet sponges at me. Those kids in Kindergarten were vicious. I was soaking wet when the last sponge was thrown. I know that all of the area schools have similar events and it’s important for everyone to celebrate the year and all of the good things that were accomplished. One of the great things accomplished here at St. Paul's was an incredible Science score...
I want to thank everyone from the parish who attended “Meet the Principal Night” last week. Laurie was touched both by the number of parents and parishioners without children in our school who came by to welcome her. One woman from a family of educators and from the parish with no children in our school volunteered to help us out in St. Paul School. I can't seem to find the piece of paper where I wrote down your name. I hope you read this and please give the parish office a call.
We continue to explore new technology for our school and religious education program. A committee of very dedicated parishioners are very excited about this project and will be meeting in the near future with the new Principal to begin to firm up plans for next year. Enhancing the technology in our school will benefit both the students in St. Paul School and our huge Religious Education program. The technology will be available to everyone.
As you might have noticed, our maintenance staff has been busy fixing up our grounds. Slowly but surely the gardens are being planted and the sidewalks are getting edged.
If you ever notice something that needs repair or anything you think might present a hazard, please call the Parish Office at 860-828-0331. If you think it might be an emergency, please contact our Facilities Manager, Bill DiCicco. His parish cell phone number is (860)839-7844.
The search for our Youth Minister continues. There are now 35 people who have applied for the position from all over the country. We have already narrowed the search down to 20 candidates. The search committee members are: Robert Fischer (Local Scout Master and member of the Life-Teen Committee), Diane Funk (Parish Business Manager), Annie Molleda (Our Director of Religious Education), Jim Newman (The President of the Parish Council), Robin Veronesi (A Religious Education Volunteer and concerned parent), Sarah Damato (Attends BHS and represents the youth of our parish ), Jeff Sylvester (Attends BHS and represents the youth of our parish) and myself. Laurie Piecewicz, our new Principal, will also be joining the search committee in the future. Please feel free to approach anyone on the search committee with ideas you might have for a vibrant youth ministry program here at St. Paul.
Here is a list of the projects we are working on.
A beautiful design for our new Church doors was just submittted and we are in the final stages of seeking Archdiocesan approval for the project.
We are getting a lot closer to an affordable price for the bathroom remodeling we need in the friary. As I stated before, the initial bids were just too high. I have been assured that a redesigned scope for the project and some cost cutting measures should give us the improvements we need without sacrificing quality.
The final revision of our asbestos report and the plan for this year's asbestos abatement project in the school boiler room is coming along.
The new Friary garage doors and safety enhancements have been ordered. A local company had the best bid. I really like it when we can purchase goods and services locally.
An insurance inspection showed some problems with the electrical system in the Parish Center and it has been STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that we replace the old fashion fused-based electrical panels in the Parish Center with circuit breakers.
With school coming to an end, the wedding season is starting up. It is a big task to prepare couples for the Sacrament of Marriage; but it is all very important because, as many of us know, it is not easy being and staying married these days. If you want to get married at St. Paul Church, the first thing to do is to go to our website and click on “about” then “weddings.” The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) should help you understand the process. Speaking of weddings, I will not be here next weekend, as I am presiding at a Wedding in New Jersey for two Catholic University graduates.
We have 8 more families coming to our church hall Monday at 7pm to join our Church. Where are they coming from? We are so blest to have people join our parish.