After-school and extracurricular activities at St. Patrick School have generally included the following:
Athletics through GRACEAC
Open gym
Middle school youth group
FFA
Science Olympiad
Athletic options at St. Pats are through our membership in the Grand Rapids Area Catholic Elementary Athletic Council ( GRACEAC). Through this league, two types of sports teams are offered: School-based and Catholic United. School-based sports are hosted at individual schools and coached by volunteers. Catholic United teams combine all the Catholic schools in our league and create at least one (sometimes more) team to compete in outside leagues or amongst ourselves, depending on the sport and number of participants. If one school does not have enough athletes to make a team, it can merge with a nearby school within the league to create a combined team.
The school year is split into four seasons: Fall, Winter 1, Winter 2, and Spring. In Fall, we offer Boys football (flag grades 3-4, tackle grades 5-8), Girls sideline cheer (grade 3-8), girls volleyball (5-8), and cross country(5-8). Winter 1 is…
Uniforms have long been a part of Catholic schooling tradition, and many public schools have also adopted school uniform policies in recent years.
There is some evidence to suggest that uniforms can reduce behavioral issues in the classroom and may be associated with increased academic achievement, but we find there are also convenient reasons to require student uniforms. Specifically, uniforms:
Eliminate the need for teachers and staff to make judgment calls about what clothing is appropriate.
Streamline mornings for students and families.
Save families money on clothing costs.
St. Patrick School discontinued its hot lunch program more than a decade ago. As with the school bus route, a relatively small number of students purchased hot lunches, and it was decided school resources could be put to better use elsewhere rather than subsidizing a lunch program.
Since then, a hot lunch program has been explored many times, and it remains a possibility in the future. To make a hot lunch program a part of St. Patrick School, we need a willing person to start and run the program. It would also be necessary to ensure the program is financially viable.
In the meantime, we do have “Pizza Fridays” each week. All proceeds go to our athletic department and 8th-grade graduation funds.
_edited_pn.png){kind=logo}