Catholic Schools Week Celebrated at St. Patrick

Chatham school prepares for Catholic Schools Week.

Every January, Catholic schools around the country take a week to celebrate the accomplishments of their students, faculty and community during Catholic Schools Week. St. Patrick School is no different. The school released their plans for Catholic Schools Week, which begins Sunday and promotes the faith-based education private Catholic schools provide to students, one that rigorous and supportive. The week begins with a Mass, an Open House and tours Sunday for parents and prospective students. The Open House will also feature student work in academics, art, music, leadership and charitable service. Students will also participate in "Jump Rope for Heart," a fundraising activity for children with heart disease organized through the American …

• Photos (1)

St. Pat's Students Raise $300 to Feed Hungry

First- and seventh-graders raised the money to make lunches for Bridges Outreach, Inc.

Students at St. Patrick School got behind the efforts of one seventh-grade student to feed the hungry. Mac Vivona coordinated his fellow classmates and the first grade students at St. Patrick to donate 150 bag lunches to Bridges Outreach, Inc. The administration and middle school teachers scheduled a school-wide Dress Down day on June 8 to help Vivona raise money to pay for the lunches. The Dress Down day raised most of the $300 Vivona needed for the lunches. First grade students decorated the bags, while several seventh grade students stayed after school to make sandwiches and pack the lunches. They used an assembly line to prepare the lunches. Vivona, Jack Chambers, Mark Kinol, Michael Moran and Matthew Tubbs delivered the 150 lunches to…

• Photos (3)

Meet Your Neighbor

St. Pat's Teacher Celebrates 40 Years of Hugs

And Rose Iadanza does not intend to stop anytime soon.

As the end of classes neared at St. Patrick School, Rosalie Iadanza wore a special T-shirt and necklace into her first-grade classroom. "They were given to me by parents," Iadanza, a Berkeley Heights resident, said. The T-shirt reads, "40 Years of A Million Hugs. Thank You Mrs. I!" The necklace, a silver chain with a matching medallion, is also inscribed with the words "A Million Hugs." "I always write 'A million hugs' on their homework passes," Iadanza said. "This is my life here. These are my babies." When they come into her classroom from kindergarten, not all of her "babies" can correctly pronounce her last name (I-uh-DANZ-uh.) Instead, they call her "Mrs. I." When Chatham Patch asked residents to tell us their favorite Chatham …

•  6 Comments
• Photos (8)

Meet Your Neighbor

Teaching a Saving Grace for St. Pat's Cadavid

Victoria Cadavid moved from Colombia to create a safe life for her children, and found her calling in teaching Spanish.

When Chatham Patch asked residents to tell us about your favorite Chatham teachers, we were overwhelmed with the responses. Those who wrote in used glowing terms to describe how teachers in your childrens' schools changed their lives and earned your trust and a special place in your hearts. One teacher who got an especially noticeable recommendation was Victoria Cadavid, a Spanish teacher at St. Patrick School. Antoinette Walsh wrote of Signora Cadavid, "she truly imparts on each child a love of the language, fun learning activities and great Spanish art projects." Cadavid, a New Providence resident, was born in Colombia. She attended a boarding school in Pennsylvania for high school, married and started a family in Colombia, and moved to …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (8)

VIDEO: 8th Graders Mark a Milestone

St. Patrick School graduated their eighth graders to high school Friday.

St. Patrick School held a commencement ceremony for their eighth grade class Friday. The graduating class consisted of 21 students who had amassed "thousands [of dollars] in scholarships" and will attend some of the top high schools in the area, according to commencement speaker, Mrs. Mary Hupcey, who has taught the class of 2012 for the past three years. Hupcey was invited by the graduating class to give the commencement address. Students Patrick Agnew, Renee Perret and Sean Conlan said she was their dear teacher who had guided them through their middle school years. "We even got her onto the floor at our dinner dance," they said. The graduates of St. Patrick's class of 2012 are: Congratulations from Chatham Patch!

• Photos (58)
• Videos (2)
• Documents (1)

St. Pat Kindergarteners Graduate to First Grade

They want to be a part of it—and if you don't believe it, just listen to the song.

The kindergarteners from St. Patrick School took a lot of time preparing for their commencement ceremony Friday, and the adulation from their parents made it well worth it. The children recited the school pledge and sang songs for their parents before receiving their diplomas Friday. Principal Dr. Marian Hobbie and St. Patrick rector Rev. Robert Mitchell gave speeches to commemorate the event, as did the kindergarten teachers. Share your photos and videos of St. Patrick School's kindergarten graduation by uploading them directly to this article

• Photos (16)
• Videos (3)
• Documents (1)

Add Your Photos to St. Pat's Field Day Gallery

Students visit Cougar Field for annual field trip.

Every student at St. Patrick School walked to Cougar Field Thursday for the school's Field Day. Students from kindergarten through the eighth grade compete to earn points for the Green Team or the White Team, according to Principal Dr. Marian Hobbie. Add your photos of Field Day to this photo gallery!

• Photos (3)

Readers' Choice: St. Patrick for Private School

Readers picked the K-8 Catholic school on Chatham Street in this week's contest.

St. Patrick School is the winner of Chatham Patch and Madison Patch's Readers' Choice contest this week for favorite private school. Here's what Lee Giblin had to say about the school in a 5-star review on the school's directory listing: The school is excellent—top notch in academics and has a wide variety of extracurricular activities. My son absolutely loves it and enjoys going here. Children who graduate from here tend to get accepted to very competitive and highly selective schools. Winners are chosen based on the number of votes they received in our poll, plus the number of favorable comments on the article and reviews on their directory page. You can continue to review your favorite businesses by searching for the business of your …

• Photos (1)

St. Patrick Celebrates Catholic Schools Week

Chatham's Catholic school holds open houses, family fun nights and a No Homework Day.

St. Patrick School doesn't celebrate anything with half-measures, and Catholic Schools Week is no exception. Catholic Schools Week is celebrated annually in recognition of Catholic elementary and secondary schools throughout the country and always begins on the last Sunday in January. The theme for Catholic Schools Week 2012 is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Academics. Service." At St. Patrick, students, teachers, parents and staff will help raise awareness with the a week-long food drive, a daily Open House from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. through Thursday, a book fair, a 140th birthday party for the school, a school Mass on Friday and a school-sanctioned "No Homework Day" Thursday. The school will also hold several school spirit events, including Class…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)