14611 S. Keeler Ave.
Midlothian, IL 60445
(directions)

Phone: 708.385.8776
Fax: 708.385.8102
Email: info@stchrisschool.org

Rev. Mark Walter, Pastor
Mr. Mike Johnson, Principal

Our preschool program is back in session! Preschool orientation was held on Tuesday, August 31. Parents/guardians and their preschoolers assembled in the Franciscan Room, where Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Strelczyk and Mrs. Murphy went over the exciting and education things in store for the upcoming year. After the orientation, the preschoolers went up to the preschool classroom with their parents/guardians and had a chance to familiarize themselves with the room. We welcome our preschoolers and look forward to a great year together! (view photos).

A picture of St. Chris was featured on the front page of the August 30th edition of the SouthtownStar newspaper. (view picture)

The first day of school for grades kindergarten through eighth grade was held on Monday, August 23. The school year started with an all-school assembly in the gym, where Fr. Mark and Principal Johnson greeted the students and parents and discussed their exciting plans for the upcoming school year. After the assembly, all parents/guardians enjoyed a continental breakfast and reception in the Franciscan Room, courtesy of our Mother's Club. Our students, faculty and staff are all looking forward to a terrific year together!

Fiesta 2010 is fast arriving. Fiesta will be held from Wednesday, July 14 to Sunday, July 18 on the St. Chris parish grounds. Once again there will be a huge midway with terrific rides for kids of all ages. You can enjoy live entertainment daily in the big tent. So come on out and enjoy games of skill and chance, food, drink, bingo, raffles, and much much more.

Our eighth grade graduating class had their class field trip on Thursday, May 20th. The class left at 7:30am to head downtown for an exciting day of exploring downtown Chicago. The class visited the SkyDeck at Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), and then enjoyed lunch and games at ESPN Zone. After lunch, the class visited the Chicago History Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, and Millenium Park. Dinner was at Buca de Beppo. The students returned to St. Christopher at 10:30pm, tired but happy, with memories that will last a lifetime.

Our preschool class recently celebrated their 100th day of school. They each brought in 100 of a particular item, such as pennies, cereals, or candy, and used these to practice their counting. The 100th day of school was also the last day of preschool! The preschoolers enjoyed a great end-of-the-year picnic. Thanks to the room mothers and to Mrs. Streczyk and Mrs. Murphy for a great time! (view photos)

The third-annual St. Christopher Spring-Fling was held on Saturday, May 1. Over 275 parishioners, school families and alumni packed the gym and cafeteria to enjoy dinner, drinks and dancing. After dinner, people enjoyed bidding on a huge variety of items at the live and silent auctions. Congratulations to the raffle winners who won two Southwest Airline tickets and a pair of diamond earrings. Thanks to all who attended for your support and thanks to all who worked so hard to make this event so successful! (view photos)

The St. Chris Science Fair competition and open house were held on Thursday, April 29. The tension was high in the morning at the science fair competition and judging. Twelve outside judges, including science professionals, educational professionals from other schools, and members of the community listened to presentations from our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students and quizzed them on their understanding of the project and their grasp of the scientific method. (view photos from the judging). In the evening, the school hosted a science fair open house which, in addition to junior high projects, also featured class science fair projects for kindergarten through third grade. Fourth and fifth graders showed their creativity and innovation at an invention fair, where they displayed their projects. Also, the winners from the 6th, 7th and 8th grade competition were awarded their prize medals.(view photos from the open house). Thanks to our teachers and especially Ms. Barry for organizing this wonderful event.

This school year the sixth grade class has been serving as big brothers and sisters to our preschool students. The sixth graders regularly vist the preschool class to help out and learn new things together. Recently both classes have been studying the universe, so afterwards they worked together on an anstronaut art project. Also, the sixth grade class helped to teach the preschoolers about measurement. Just for fun, the classes enjoyed a game day together, where the sixth graders helped to demonstrate the concepts of taking turns, following rules, and fair play. (view photos)

Recently some Master Gardeners from the University of Illinois Extension program visited our 1st and 2nd grade students. The Master Gardeners taught the children many interesting facts about trees. Master Gardeners spend eleven weeks in training learning about horticulture, botany, pest control, and related topics and in return serve 60 hours as volunteers, teaching others the basics of horticulture. (view photos)

Our kindergarten students have been learning about money in math class. They have been learning the different values quarters, dimes, nickles and pennies. Recently the class "went shopping". Various items with price tags on them were on display, and if the students could count out the correct coins for the price, they could buy the item. (view photos)

Preschool recented had a career day. The students talked about what they wanted to be when they grow up. The had a visit from a Speech Therapist, who talked to them about speaking clearly and listening carefully. Thanks to Mrs. Strelczyk and Mrs. Murphy for setting this up. (view photos)

On Sunday, April 18, the kindergarten and first grade students from St. Christopher school and religious education celebrated a Family Mass at the 9:30 a.m. Mass. Fr. Laurent gathered the students around him during the homily as he asked them questions about Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden. The students sang several songs during the Mass, complete with gestures, including "I know that Jesus love me" and "I've got that joy, joy, joy down in my heart." Thanks to all who planned and organized the Mass for making it such a special event.

On Holy Thursday, our kindergarten and first grade students celebrated a re-creation of the Last Supper. The students gathered around the picnic table in the Kindergarten room while Mrs. Cravens read the story of how Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with this disciples and instituted the Eucharist on Holy Thursday.

During Holy Week, our eighth grade St. Christopher School and St. Christopher Religious Education students performed the Living Stations in our church. These students, who are preparing for their confirmation, re-enacted the key events of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At each station, a student gave their perspective of the events from the point of view of a character in the passion, such as Veronica, Simon the Cyrene, Pontus Pilate, or the centurion. The students wore costumes that were obtained from the Lyric Opera House courtesy of our music teacher, Mr. Selle. A big thanks goes out to Fr. Mark and to Mrs. Lassandrello for organizing the event and helping to make this possible. (view photos)

The St. Christopher Fun Fair was held on Friday, March 26th, from 4-9pm. The event was a great time! Students enjoyed jumping on bouncing games, tossing balls to win goldfish, bean-bag toss, pulling suckers for prizes, and more. The students were able to redeem their winning tickets for a variety of fun prizes. Students enjoyed desserts and other food items. Thanks to all of the parents and students who volunteered their time and talents to make the event such a memorable experience!

Mr. Donald O'Keefe, who is a long-time parishioner, came to visit the fourth grade class over a period of six weeks to teach them about Junior Achievement. Junior Achievement is a non profit organization that brings the real world to students through hands-on curriculum delivered by a trained classroom volunteer from the community. Mr. O'Keefe discussed regional resources, business ventures, and agricultural products of our state The children really enjoyed his enthusiasm and involvement in Junior Achievement. Tnks Mr. O'Keefe, hope to see you next year!! (view photos)

Our fourth and fifth grade students recently enjoyed a field trip to downtown Chicago to visit the Chicago History Museum to learn about important events in Chicago history. After visiting the museum, the students had lunch at the famous Rock-and-Roll McDonald. A big thanks to Mrs. Nowak and Mrs. Pretkelis for organizing this wonderful trip. (view photos)

Our kindergarten class has been studying the sacraments. Recently they studied baptism and learned how baptism is used to bring new people into the church. As part of their studies, the class went into the church and saw the baptismal fountain. The class also went through the various steps of a baptism and learned how a baptism is performed. (view photos)

The St. Chris Student Council recently sponsored "Spirit Week" at our school, with a different activity each day to show our St. Chris pride. Monday, March 8th was Comfy Day, with students wearing sweat pants or pajama pants of their choice. Tuesday March 9th was Twin/Movie Day, with students dressing as a twin with another student. The entire school watched the movie "Sharktale" and enjoying ice cream. Wednesday March 10th was Bingo Day, with the students be playing bingo as a class in our classrooms over the PA. Congratulations to the second grade, first grade and kindergarten winners. Thursday March 11th was Crazy Day, with students wearing mismatched clothes and unique hairstyles. Finally, Friday March 12th was School Spirit Day, with students wearing anything that has to do with our school. You can view the photos of Movie/Twin Day, Bingo/Movie Day, and Crazy Day.

The St. Chris student council is sponsoring a "Spirit Week" for the school the week of March 8. Monday is Comfy Day, where the students can wear sweat pants or pajama bottoms. Tuesday is Twin/Movie Day, where students can dress as a twin with another student. Wednesday is Bingo Day, with the entire school playing bingo together. Thursday is Crazy Day, where the students can wear mismatched clothes. Finally, Friday is School Spirit Day. Thanks to the student council for their hard work in planning this fun-filled week. (more info)

Our third, fourth, fifth and seventh grade students took their TerraNova tests the week of March 1. TerraNova tests are a series of standardized achievement tests designed to assess student achievement in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, vocabulary, spelling, and other areas. Our school uses the results from these tests to provide feedback on our teaching methods and curriculum and to help us improve our educational programs and methodologies.

The "Big Cheer" was held on Friday, February 19, 2010. The Big Cheer is tradionally held during the 8th grade boys’ last home basketball game. This is the last time the 8th grade boys will play at home and also the last time the 8th grade girls will cheer for them. For several months, all of the cheer squads (4 – 8 grades) have been practicing a dance and cheer routine for the half time of this game. Many alumni and their parents attended the event to cheer on the team and the girls. Also, we were honored by some special guests, including many teachers and also our pastoral staff, including Fr. Mark, Fr. Laurent, Deacon Smith, and Mrs. Lassandrello. The gym was decorated by the 8th grade parents. The half-time dance and cheer routine was truly spectacular!!! Thanks to all whose dedication and hard work made this wonderful event possible!

Our kindergarten through fifth grade students celebrated Valentine's Day parties on Friday, February 12th. Each grade did a variety of games, crafts, and activities. Our kindergarteners made butterflies and Valentines monsters. The first graders played bingo. Second-grade students enjoyed a Bozo bucket game, while the fourth graders made beautiful Valentine's Day picture frames. Thanks to all of our volunteers who planned the activities and worked to make the parties such an enjoyable experience. (view photos)

Our kindergarten students, under the leadership of Sr. Laurinda and Mrs. Windsor, are learning about Jesus’ story book, The Holy Bible, and how we hear the stories of God’s love at Mass. The kindergarten class has also talked about the different parts of the church. Shown here is one of the kindergarten students showing a diorama that she made of a Catholic church.

Our school students recently celebrated the 100th day of the 2009-10 school year. Students have been eagerly counting down the days since the beginning of the school year. The kindergarden students brought in to school 100 of a given item of their choice. Students brought in 100 pennies, 100 cheerios, 100 pieces of candy, 100 bingo chips, and more. Each student also made and decorated a special "100 days of school" crown. (view photos)

On Friday, January 29th, the school had a pajamas day. Students who wore pajamas donated either a pair of new pajamas, a new book, or $2. All items were donated to the pajama program, which benefits needy children who are awaiting adoption. This collection was sponsored by the Girl Scouts. Thanks for all who supported this worthy cause. (view photos)

Our art teacher, Mrs. Osinski, has been busy doing a variety of projects with our middle grade students. Our third grade students recent colored pictures of a variety of birds, using colored pencils and crayons. The fourth grade class picked their favorite character from the classic book "Where the Wild Things Are", drew them, and then painted the pictures with water colors. Finally, our fifth grader class made masks with paper mache and then decorated themask with horns made of aluminum foil. Congratulations to all of our budding artists at St. Chris school!

The school Spanish program is off and running again in the second semester. For second semester, students in kindergarten and first, second, third and eighth grade recieve weekly Spanish classes. Our Spanish program is run under the able instruction of Ms. Maricela Carrillo. Buena suerte en tus estudios, estudiantes!

Recently, Mrs. Nowak’s 4th grade class enjoyed a visit from the Illinois Audubon Society. We heard bird calls, viewed a slide show and heard fun facts about Illinois feathered friends. The class is off to a great start in the “Winter Bird Feeder Challenge” contest. The contest will continue until March and our results will be sent to the Audubon Society. To date, we have seen many sparrows, morning doves and even a hawk! (view photo)

All St. Chris students who turned in their homework in a timely fashion for the past month were rewarded with a movie day on Thursday, December 17. The students watched the hit comedy "Bedtime Stories", featuring Adam Sandler. After the movie the students enjoyed an ice cream treat. Congratuations to all of our hard-working, diligent students who did such a great job with their homework this past month!

This year St. Christopher School adopted a new platoon of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division. This 2009 "Support Our Troops" drive was a huge success!! Through donations and a jeans day held in October, we have sent out 26 boxes to SSG. Andrew Marckesano and his platoon. He is a friend of our o w n " Uncle Donny. " Thanks to all who wrote messages and helped out in the drive. (view photo)

Recognizing that the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry was dangerously low, our Student Council organized a food drive. The food drive featured a contest to see which classroom could collect the largest number of food items. Congratulations to our 8th graders, who brought in 236 food items. The entire school collected 1,220 food items. Thanks to all who demonstrated the Gospel values of feeding the poor and taking care of the needy. (view photo)

Thanks to all of the families who supported our school on Novemeber 28 at the Barnes and Nobel book fair. The Mothers Club, School Advisory Board and other volunteers helped out with the gift wrapping table and the craft activities for our students. The highlight of the day was the book reading session with Mr. Johnson! The students crowded around Mr. Johnson, hanging on his every word as he performed some dramatic readings of some classic children books. A special thanks goes to our librarian, Mrs. Monahan, for organizing this wonderful event. (view photos)

Our Kindergarten class celebrated Thanksgiving with a special Thanksgiving's Day lunch on Friday, November 20. The lunch featured corn, cranberries, and treats. A highlight of the lunch was special homemade cornbread that the class made in the classroom by mixing eggs, flour and other ingredients. The kindergarten girls dressed up like pilgrims, and the boys dressed as indians. Thanks goes to Mrs. Windsor and Sr. Laurinda for planning and organizing such a wonderful experience for our Kindergarteners. (view photos)

Yellow is the color of the month for November for our preschool class, and this week Mrs. Strelczyk, Mrs. Murphy and the preschoolers made fresh-squeezed lemonade and home-made butter to celebrate the color yellow. After making the lemonade, the preschoolers enjoyed drinking their tasty beverage. The students also showed their creations to the other primary grade classes.

On October 27 the 3rd and 4th graders went on a field trip to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park. They saw cameras that had been attached to penguins, sharks and turtles so scientists could get a first-hand look at life underwater. They learned about sea creatures, field animals and forest animals as well as reptiles and mammals. The children had fun at the "Stump Steve" booth, where Scientist Steve answered all of their questions. The kids also played "Animal Olympics" at the Museum, where every group represented one sort of animal/bird and had to compete against the others, using their special adaptations. The finishing touch was the butterfly haven, where hundreds of butterflies of all different varieties and colors came to rest on them or on the trees or bowls of cut up fruit, where the children were able to get a very close up look. What a great way to spend a fall day! Thank you to Mrs. Rosen and Mrs. Nowak for making it possible. (view photos).

October is the month of the Rosary, and our school celebrated this month by praying a decade of the rosary together at the end of each school day in October. The school spent a week each on the Glorious, Joyful, Sorrowful, and Luminous mysteries. Ms. Barry's 6th graders did a project where they made single decade Rosaries. Fr. Laurent then visited the 6th grade class and give a special blessing, which you can see here.

In celebration of National Breast Cancer Month, St. Chris School participated in the Lee National Denim Day. A jean day was held for $1.00 and the students were encouraged to wear pink to show their support. The proceeds will benefit the Women's Cancer Programs and research to help find more effective, less toxic treatments, and better methods of early detection. So far we have raised $284. Shown here are students from all grades wearing their pink.

The school recently had a food drive for the St. Vincent DePaul food pantry. The class that brought in the most food items won a Jeans Day. Congratuations to our 8th graders. Thanks to all of the students and families who showed such generousity to the hungry in our community. (view photo)

The Soccer Awards Banquet was held on Sunday, October 25. Congratulations to all of our student-athletes - we are proud of you! Special congratulations to the 5th and 6th grade team, who won second prize in their bracket. Thanks to the St. Chris Athletic Association and to all of our coaches for their many hours of hard work which made the soccer season possible. (view pictures)

St. Christopher School has adopted a new platoon of soldiers from th 82nd Airborne "All-American" Division, which is currently stationed in Afghanistan. The school children are trying to send as many "care packages" as they can by Veteren's Day to show their support these brave men serving our country on the front-lines. The school children are collecting hard candy, chapstick, powdered drink mixes, DVD's, hot chocolate, and more. The school is holding a Jean's Day on October 23 to raise money for this worthy cause.

Our kindergarten class recently studied Johnny Appleseed, the American pioneer who introduced apple trees to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The class read a number of stories and books about this great American hero. The kindergarteners made their very own Johnny Appleseed hat to wear at school. They also learned about the many things we can do with apples, and they even made applesauce during one of their classes.