Dear Parents,
This Tuesday we began our Lenten Journey with our Palm Burning Prayer Service and our Lenten Almsgiving Project. Many of you will recall the past two Lenten missions where St. Paul of the Cross Parish and School was able to help rebuild Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Puerto Rico after the hurricane and help build St. Luke’s Parish a new church in Warren Arkansas. This year we will be helping a Catholic community in Mecca, California to build a church. At the moment the community meets outside to celebrate Mass. On Tuesday we talked with students to discuss ways they could make sacrifices to put some money in their Lenten almsgiving envelope.
Lenten Confession Schedule:
- Mon, March 2nd, 12:45 pm to 2:45 pm (Grades 2 and 3)
- Tue, March 3rd, 12:30 to 1:30 pm (Grade 4)
- Mon, March 9th, 10:30 am to 11:30 am; (Grade 5)
- Mon, March 9th 1 to 2 pm (Grade 6)
- Tue, March 10th, 9:30 am to 11:30 am. (Grade 7 & 8)
St. Baldrick's Save the Date and Sign Up!
Last Year SPC raised over $33,000 to fight childhood cancer. We participated in honor of Dominic Vecchio, who sadly lost his courageous battle this December. This year let us honor the memory and fight of Dominic and so many children who face cancer. Please consider joining the team and raising money. Last year we also had a great time at the event while fighting for a great cause!
https://www.stbaldricks.org/teams/mypage/129638/20
5Essentials Survey: Please, please complete--we only have a 17% completion rate. SPC parents can do better!
Beginning February 18, teachers, parents, and students across the Archdiocese of Chicago will have an opportunity to participate in the Climate, Culture, and Catholic Identity Survey utilizing the 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of St. Paul of the Cross School. As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school.
The 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:
- Effective Leaders
- Collaborative Teachers
- Involved Families
- Supportive Environments
- Ambitious Instruction
Prior research has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of these “5Essential” indicators were ten times more likely to improve student learning gains in math and reading than those that were weak on three or more Essentials.
All teachers and 4th through 8th-grade students will be responding to this survey. 5Essentials Reports will be generated for schools if their teachers and/or students meet the response rate threshold of 50 percent. These reports will be sent to schools and the Archdiocese in May 2020. Additionally, the Archdiocese has chosen to provide the 5Essential parent survey. If at least 20 percent of St. Paul of the Cross parents complete this survey, a parent supplement report will also be generated.
Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.
The 5Essentials Survey will be conducted February 18 – March 20, 2020. To take the survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/archchicago/survey/parent/.
Thank you in advance for completing the survey.
Peace,
Dr. Erika Mickelburgh
Principal
SPC Home & School Association
Mother Son Dinner Friday, March 13th!
We are looking forward to our 2nd Annual Mother Son Dinner on Friday, March 13th at 6:00 pm at the Park Ridge Country Club.
For those of you who missed the online signup and still plan to attend, please download the invitation form below. Please make your plans to join us as we celebrate YOU, the amazing mothers and sons of St. Paul of the Cross School. Please send the form along with cash/check to either school office no later than next Friday, March 6th.
Click here to download the invitation form. 
For those who missed signing up for the Father Daughter Dance, the form will be in the Thursday Mailing in late March.
BOX TOPS DUE TOMORROW...Friday, February 28th!
Send in those Box Tops clips to the EGC or UGC offices ASAP! Our deadline is TOMORROW, February 28th in order for SPC to get credit for all of your box tops!
Attention Parents and Students - Endowment Scholarships Five Merit Based Scholarships
The Endowment Committee is excited to announce the merit-based scholarships available to current SPC students for the 2020-2021 school year. Each year the Endowment administers five merit-based, named scholarships totaling $3,750:
- Pastoral Leadership Award- We are pleased to invite current 5th and 6th grade students to Three monetary awards of $750 will be given to students who most demonstrate the qualities of leadership and service to others.
- Maureen Kelly McCambridge Scholarship- We are pleased to invite current 7th grade students to apply for this $1000 scholarship established in Maureen’s honor and
- Roseann McHugh New Family Welcome Award- This $500 award is available to families who, for the first time during the 2019-2020 school year, have students in K-7th grades and are returning to SPC for a second year. It will be granted to welcome a new family to the SPC community.
The Six Flags® Read to Succeed Six Hour Reading Club
A few weeks ago all kindergarten through sixth grade students received the Six Flags Read to Succeed Six Hour Reading Club information. The Six Flags® Read to Succeed Six Hour Reading Club is due by Wednesday. April 8th. Teachers will not be accepting reading logs after that date. Every student in kindergarten through sixth grade who completes six hours of recreational reading and enters the information online by Friday, Wednesday, April 8th is eligible for a free admission ticket valid at Six Flags Great America. Tickets will arrive in May, and will be distributed to those students that participated.
This year all reading logs need to be completed online. You can register your child/ren by going to http://www.sixflags.com/books . Please see all homeroom teacher’s codes below.
Homeroom Teacher Codes:
Mrs. Kusinski- XW4QZ
Mrs. Murphy- PADTH
Mrs. Rinaldi- A9TU3
Mrs. Hader-HFETT
Ms. Kraft-MDWRX
Mrs. Chaparro- D9EAH
Mrs. McCallister-S5E6V
Ms. Chambers- PZZHU
Mrs. Johnson- A5CY6
Mrs. Galvin- EKCVJ
Mrs. Golden-YWR2H
Ms. Lewandowski-4RMSZ
Mrs. Valdez- JPDBZ
Ms. FaQuin- ZQNPZ
Mrs. Zimmerman-Q9K7V
Mr. Okimoto-EKVBE
Mrs. Pecoraro-CGW7S
If you have any questions, please email Mrs. McCallister at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SPC Yearbooks - Ordering Deadline is Friday, April 3rd
The deadline to order a St. Paul of the Cross yearbook is Friday, April 3rd. If you are not sure if you already ordered a yearbook, please contact Mrs. McCallister at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before ordering.
Here are three reasons we chose TreeRing:
- Custom Yearbooks: Every student gets a one of a kind printed copy containing two free pages to customize with personal photos. (This is optional; don’t feel obligated to complete this)
- Green Yearbooks: TreeRing plants a tree in our school’s name when you purchase a book and it prints on recycled paper. In the past four years TreeRing planted almost 1,800 trees on behalf of St. Paul of the Cross.
- Beautiful Yearbooks: All yearbooks are gorgeously printed in full color using the highest end print production available.
YOU CAN PURCHASE AND PERSONALIZE YOUR St. Paul of the Cross YEARBOOK BY CLICKING HERE https://treering.com/
Yearbook password: 101414618165482
A few important facts:
o Your personalized yearbook only costs $26.00 for a soft cover. You may order a hardcover yearbook for an additional charge.
o You’ll need to purchase your copy and complete your free personal pages by April 3rd.
o Your 2 free custom pages are optional, if you don’t customize you’ll receive a standard yearbook.
Regards,
Mrs. Melissa McCallister
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
P.S. If you need help, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. TreeRing has a wonderful customer service. I have found that calling them at 877-755-8733 works well too.
Spring Session begins Wednesday, March 18th!
Please click here to download the flyer.
Sticky Fingers Spring Session begins Thursday, March 19th!
Please click here to download the flyer.
St. Paul of the Cross Parish
We have an active and vibrant parish and encourage everyone to read the weekly bulletins for Fr. Britto's weekly letter and to stay informed about all of the upcoming events and programs. Parish Bulletin for March 1, 2020
From The Community
Resurrection College Prep Parent Session on Teen Vaping and Teen Drug Use Tuesday, March 10th at 6:30 pm
Please click here to download the flyer and more information.
Loyola Academy Dance Team clinics on March 3rd and April 2nd for 6th through 8th grade students.
Please click here for the flyer and information.
St. Viator Future Lion Newsletter
Edison Park Youth Soccer
Regina Dominican High School Panther Book Club!
Summer Camps