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There is always a waiting list for students to enroll at St. Patrick’s, especially in grade eight. Students must register in March and have all their paperwork submitted by that time. Then it’s a wait and see to learn if there will be room or as they say “make the cut.” St. Patrick’s is noted for its sports program. All teams are called “The Celtics,” and they have a double A for volleyball and a single A for basketball and there is also soccer. The school also has a strong commitment to charitable work. That was the focus of my recent visit to the school when I met some of the students along with English teacher Ann Marie McGrath who is also the grade eight academic advisor and religious aid teacher. Student Carmela Mendoza said, “we help with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Project Outreach and by making sandwiches each Wednesday and Friday that the St. Vincent de Paul volunteers take downtown to help feed the homeless. “ Student Sarah Benetti is with Pro-Life and she spoke about the voluntary work that they do, “we sell chocolates, have pancake breakfasts and sell Christmas cards, and give the money to single mothers who needs support in raising their children. “We also have Project Shoe Box, where we collect essential items from each classroom, such as toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, and undershirts...just basic items that we put into shoe boxes. At Christmas we wrap these in gift wrap and take them down to the Sisters of Atonement in the Downtown Eastside and they distribute them to the needy.” The students also collect money for the Union Gospel Mission’s thanksgiving turkey dinner and help serve the dinners. They also donate and collect clothing for Covenant House to help clothe street kids. In the school hallways there are bins for anyone wishing to donate used clothing to Covenant House. Students at St. Patrick’s High School also recently raised $1,000 for the Make Poverty History campaign. Teacher Ann Marie McGrath said, “another project that we are involved in is called Dressed for Success. This is for women who don’t have suitable clothes to wear to a job interview. We collect appropriate clothing and take it to the Dress for Success organization.” Anyone wishing to support this project can also drop off clothing at Plum Clothing stores which is also involved in this project. Ann Marie spoke about her Celtic roots saying that her grandmother was from Ballybunnion in the North of Ireland. “I was born in Toronto and when I was 18 my family moved to Glasgow so that my dad could start up a central heating business. My whole family, eight kids, moved to Scotland except my older sister who was in nursing school. So, she stayed in Toronto. “I finished high school in Glasgow and did my degrees at Stirling University and my teacher’s training at Notre Dame College of Education. I taught at Trinity High for four years until I married a Scot and moved back to Canada and came to live here in British Columbia. I’ve been teaching at St. Pat’s for 17 years and it’s a wonderful school. It’s like family here.” Ann Marie said there are three components to the religious curriculum at St. Pat’s: prayer, service and academic. “We open classes with prayer everyday,” she said, “we attend mass every week with special monthly masses throughout the year for certain feast days.” Then there is the academic or factual side of religion where the different class levels study the old and new testament and the life of Jesus. “Prayer life is really important,” said Ann Marie, “and there is no point in prayer life if you don’t put it into action or service.” With the recent killer Hurricane Katrina and the terrible destruction and loss of life in the Southern United States, students and teachers at St. Patrick’s School are once again looking at ways to raise funds to help the victims of this terrible disaster.
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