St. Patrick School
ABOUT US . . .
Saint Patrick School is a parish school located within the Diocese of Manchester in a rural setting in Pelham, New Hampshire approximately 30 miles north of Boston. Sixty five percent of school families reside in Pelham; the rest come from neighboring New Hampshire and Massachusetts communities. There are approximately 225 students enrolled in grades Kindergarten through Eight for the 2007-2008 school year.
The school was founded by Saint Patrick Parish in 1960 and was originally called St. Patrick Convent School as it was staffed with Sisters of Mercy from the Motherhouse in nearby Windham, NH. As the years have gone by and a significant decrease in available teaching sisters was seen, more lay teachers were employed. In the early 1990's the name was officially changed to Saint Patrick School. Today, the school is totally staffed by certified lay personnel.
The focus of our instruction at the elementary level is on basic skills development. We believe that by giving children a strong foundation in the basic skills we are ensuring student success as life long learners. Indeed, our students perform above expected levels on the annual Iowa Tests of Basic Skills which are given to students in grades 2 - 8. Our Middle School curriculum is challenging and our students traditionally have no trouble getting accepted into area Catholic High Schools after graduation from eighth grade.
As a staff we take great pride in creating a family
atmosphere at the school where children know they are loved and cared
for. At Saint Patrick School children come first! We work hard to know
each child by name and to communicate with parents. Our emphasis on
values which are based on Catholic doctrine is vital to who we are as a school.
Our mission statement reads, “As a school family we provide our students
with a nurturing, academic environment that leads to respect and responsibility
for self and others, while grounding them in our Catholic values and beliefs.”
We encourage parent participation in school activities. We have an active parent volunteer program which has been awarded the Blue Ribbon Award for Volunteerism by the State of New Hampshire. The school has an active PTO which, besides running several fundraisers during the year, focuses much of its efforts on parent education and communication. We also have a school board which acts in an advisory capacity and meets on a monthly basis.
Student activities include an interscholastic sports program, campus ministry, a music program, a school store, and a Winter Enrichment Activities Program which includes skiing, bowling, basketball, and cooking.
The school is situated on the banks of Beaver Brook, a tributary of the Merrimack River. An outdoor environmental classroom gets good use from classes as they learn more about interaction with nature through writing, science, and art activities.
Each year, our eighth grade class experiences a week-long trek to Washington, DC. The sixth grade spends a week during February at Nature's Classroom, an environmental camp near Worcester, MA. Our State Spelling Bee competition, National Geography Bee competition, school-wide reading project, and many other special activities serve to make each year interesting and challenging for all our young learners.
[Updated 9/10/07]