♣ Why Catholic School?

Parents want to send their children to the best school available. Why is a Catholic School special and different? Catholic schools offer parents the opportunity to educate their children in a school which serves as an extended family. The same values taught at home are able to be taught in the school. Moral values are better taught in a Catholic school because there is a common agreement on what is believed and what is vital to the moral decision-making process. Each student is created uniquely and requires individual attention. At the same time he/she is taught to be a contributing member of a group. Therefore, the formation of community is an important part of a Catholic school education. The Catholic school teacher helps each student come to learn his or her own special uniqueness, and how to best express his or her talents and gifts. Discipline continues to be a strength of Catholic schools. Discipline that has self control, harmony, order and a sense of purpose as goals for acceptable behavior describes the code of conduct for a Catholic school. In national comparisons of standardized testing Catholic school students continue to place well above the national average.

Parents Matter!

Permeating the Catholic school is a sense of the spiritual, a recognition that we depend upon God. Students are taught the value of both personal prayer and prayer as a community of believers. As part of religious training, they are also taught the importance of service to others.

St. Pat's has a very active Home School Association. The H.S.A. provides a hot lunch program, financial support for field trips, computers and technology, and upgrades to the facilities. Fund raisers to help support these efforts include a tuition raffle, gift-wrap sale, fruit sale, craft fair, golf outing and penny social.

Catholic school educators welcome parental involvement. Parents are encouraged to keep in close contact with the teachers and to jointly monitor the progress of the student. Parents, by sacrificing to send their children to a Catholic school, show them that education is a high priority. Through the cooperative effort of the parent/student/teacher team children are provided with the best available education, built on a foundation of Christian values and love for each child.