For the past 10 weeks each classroom 3rd-5th competed in the Battle of the Books.  Each classroom advanced one team to the final competition. Connor Elenteny represented 3rd grade,  Erin Connolly 4th grade and Howard Ludwig represented 5th grade. The final Battle of the Books title was awarded to Howard Ludwig. We congratulate all of these children in their love of books and making it to the very end. 

 Congratulations to the Little Einstein Competitors who represented their classrooms for Kindergarten thru Third Grade. Third Grader, Mick O'Malley took home the title this year of Little Einstein. 
 

 

St. Cajetan was recently well represented at the All American Girl and Boy ceremony held at the end of March.  For the past 11 years Congressman Daniel Lipinski has sponsored the All American Girl and Boy contest.  This contest is designed to honor and congratulate young men and women in the Third Congressional District of Illinois who are involved in their community while excelling in the classroom as well as participating in extracurricular activities. The process for being named an All American is two-fold. The first step is to be named a finalist from the list of applicants.  St. Cajetan had six finalists that included 7^th graders Evelyn Rowan, Bennet Weber, and Brian Winstead.  8^th Grade finalists included Seamus Kelly and Rebecca Biros. Congratulations to all the students and thank  you for representing St. Cajetan so well!!

Every year, the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders at St. Cajetan School gear up for our Battle of the Books. It begins with a summer reading list of 15-20 book titles. This summer incentive is to get a head start on reading for the fall trimester. The teachers also read the books and write a ten question test for each book. Once school begins, the students in each homeroom divide into teams of three or four, and begin to tackle the books they did not get to over the summer. Come October the competition begins. Once a week the teachers ask ten questions about some of the books. The students then have to name the title and author. Each correct response is equal to one point, so the highest any team can get per week is 20 points. Scores are posted for the next ten weeks.  After the ten weeks, the highest team from each grade has a face-off for the grade winning team.  In the final round of competition, the grade winners then face each other for the individual grade title, and those three winners compete for the final prize, the all-around BOB Champion! The 2017 6th grade team winners were Claudia Linane, Owen Schickel, Charlie Walsh, and Mary Hannon. The 7th Grade team winners were Matt McLean, Molly Reese, and Brian Winstead.  Eighth Grade winners were Sean Mahanes, Seamus Kelly, Marty Doyle and Abby Sarich.  In the Championship round Claudia, Brian, and Sean faced each other. After an exciting 15 question final round, Sean claimed the winning spot! Winners in the Championship Round received a goody bag!
 
 

 

Every year, the Southside Catholic Conference Executive Board invites eighth graders in  Conference schools to write an essay about a person they feel is an example of an outstanding Christian leader. Each school represented in the Conference chooses one girl’s and one boy’s essay to represent their school. The Executive Board then reads all essays, and chooses one girl and one boy as the overall winner.

Students of all winning essays are recognized at the Christian Leadership Awards Ceremony. This year’s ceremony was held on February 16, at St. Linus Church. We congratulate Eighth Graders Sean Hollander and Grace Rowan who are the St. Cajetan winners.

Sean wrote his essay about his older brother Patrick, a graduate of St. Cajetan, who is Sean’s biggest role model in his life. Patrick is a good student and a terrific athlete who helps Sean in many ways through sports, education, and faith..

Grace’s essay was a tribute to her Seventh Grade Teacher Mrs. Terry Lonergan. Grace noticed that Mrs. Lonergan always recognized the good in people. Even though Grace hasn’t seen Mrs. Lonergan since 7^th Grade, she wanted to thank her for changing her life simply because she took the time to recognize the things that made her special. She will remember Mrs. Lonergan’s lesson that taught her that integrity is choosing what you know is right when other people are not, and doing the right thing even when the world is not watching.

 

Throughout the season the kids learn that the team working together is more important than any one individual player on the basketball court; likewise they learn through service to others that the community working together can overcome challenges. 

After cleaning up from serving the evening meal at St. Blase, the team grabbed a quick dinner of their own on the way back to St. Cajetan for their regularly-scheduled Wednesday night practice, in preparation for weekend Southside Catholic Conference basketball action. 

Pictured are: The Albertine Sisters, Padraig Flannery, Charlie Flynn, Connor Leyden, Jack McCall, Ian Morris, Danny O'Brien, Patrick Swanson, Brian Winstead, along with Mary Morris, St. Rita freshman Michael Morris and coaches Rob Morris & Mike Swanson.