A saintly celebration
St. Patrick School students Ava Rush and Lydia Miller spend some class time coloring, decked out in green for St. Patrick’s Day. The students learned about St. Patrick in their studies.
St. Patrick School first-grade students are ready for St. Patrick’s Day. The students were taught about St. Patrick and how he became a saint in the Catholic Church.
Today, more than 125 million Americans are expected to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Not all who partake of festivities are aware of the origins of the holiday, but the first-grade students at St. Patrick School in Canonsburg are.
Students easily recite what teacher Julianne Skoner taught them – that St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland and used shamrocks, the native clover, to explain the Holy Trinity.
“I like him because if he wasn’t good, we wouldn’t be in the school. The school wouldn’t be named after him,” said Rocco Bellino of Ireland’s patron saint.
To honor their namesake, all 185 St. Patrick students will wear green and listen to Irish music during school today.
When they go home, most first-graders said they will celebrate with a feast, just like traditional Irish families, who observed the day by attending church in the morning and celebrating in the afternoon.
The school, which opened in 1954, has students from preschool through eighth grade.
In his fourth year as principal, Dr. Anthony F. Merante said the school continues to build upon its cherished traditions while striving for academic excellence and social development among its graduates.
“It is fantastic being with the children of St. Patrick School every day,” Merante said.