St Bernard Catholic School

08/31/2024

https://www.johnsonfh.com/obituary/peggy-scott

Peggy Jane Dressen Scott of Carver, Minnesota passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on August 26, 2024. Peg was born on October 18, 1957 to Myron and Joan Van Sloun Dressen in Waconia. Peg attended St. Joes, and after graduating from Waconia High School in 1975 she went

03/04/2023

Former teacher at St Bernard Catholic School.

Sister Pranitha Parambil, 55, grew up in India and entered the Franciscan Clarist Congregation at age 18. She now directs pastoral care at Mary,...

12/06/2020

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

No doubt St. Nicholas prays for us especially during this season, as we try to keep the worldliness of Christmas at bay so we can prepare our hearts for Christ's coming through prayer and little acts of charity.

07/20/2020

Fifty years ago, two sisters from India’s Franciscan Clarist Congregation arrived at St. Therese in Deephaven.

09/29/2018

Today is the feast of the Archangels - Saint Michael, Saint Raphael & Saint Gabriel. Angels—messengers from God appear frequently in Scripture, but only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named.

Pope St. Gregory the Great distinguishes between angels and archangels: "Those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels." The Catechism explains: "From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. 'Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.' Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God" (No. 336).

The name Michael means "who is like God." St. Michael's will is focused, immovable, and entirely driven toward accomplishing goodness: he is a protector of souls, and wields his unrelenting sword of righteous justice against the poisonous and vindictive aspirations of the one who is known as a liar from the beginning. During a visit to the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel, the Venerable John Paul II said, "The battle against the devil . . . is the principal task of Saint Michael the archangel."

Gabriel means "God is my strength." As we read in the second antiphon of the Office of Readings, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and said, "Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John" (see Lk 1:13). Thus St. Gabriel announced the coming of John the Baptist, the greatest prophet of the Most High, who would go before the Lord to prepare his way.

It was St. Gabriel who was sent from God to Nazareth, "to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, . . . and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, 'Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you'" (Lk 1:27-28).

St. Gabriel's message announced a pivotal moment in humankind's history: the Savior was, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The Archangel who draws his strength from God brought us the message of strength in which we draw our hope: God Incarnate was soon to enter history for love of man.

Raphael means "God is my health." St. Raphael is one of seven angels "who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord" (Tob 12:15). The meaning of Raphael's name reflects the fact that he touched Tobit's eyes in order to heal them of blindness.

In the third antiphon of the Office of Readings, we are reminded that Raphael stands before God: "I am the angel Raphael, I stand in the presence of the Lord; as for you, bless the Lord, and proclaim his wonderful deeds."

When Tobit and his son Tobiah were discussing how they should repay St. Raphael for all that he had done for them, "Raphael called the two men aside privately and said to them: 'Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory. Before all the living, acknowledge the many good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Before all men, honor and proclaim God's deeds, and do not be slack in praising him'" (Tobit 12:6).

There is a great deal we can learn from the Archangels, who are powerful messengers, allies and friends of men. (Catholic Online)

08/17/2018

Reminder, this is tomorrow.

Womens Bible Fellowship RESUMING this Saturday!
On August 18th, the Women's Bible Fellowship begins a five week session focusing on "Courageous Women" of the bible. We will explore heroines of the Old and New Testament. For behind every great biblical man and time period, there are great women as well. Join us as we take time out of our busy week to build friendships and pray with other women.
We will meet on five Saturdays: August 18th, 25th, September 8th, 15th, and 22nd from 8:15 am until 10 am at St Bernard Narthex. A light breakfast and coffee will be served at 8:15 am followed by opening prayer at 8:30 am.
Courageous Women: A Study on the Heroines of Biblical History by Stacy Mitch is the nihil obstat book we will use through the five week course.
We have a limited number of copies that can be purchased at our gathering for $10. There is no obligation to attend all five weeks; the study each week is independent of our prior discussions. Each session consists of large group prayer, small gropu reading/discussions, large group petitions, and closing prayer. Bring your bible and Catholic Catechism. Please join us as we embark on our faith journey among friends!

06/23/2015

Join us Sunday at the 10:00am Mass and afterwards for Linger Longer to thank and honor Sister Jancy and Sister Pranitha for all of their years of service, dedication and love for our school and parish.

06/01/2015

Dedication Page (Yearbook Dedication)
What makes a school great? Oh, I’m sure we could think of all kinds of things. We could make a list: the latest curriculum, new textbooks, a spacious playground, new carpeting, updated computers, small class-size, iPads for every student, delicious lunches, large classrooms, creative bulletin boards, a gym. The
list could go on and on. As you can see our school doesn’t have some of the things that are listed. So those things alone can’t make a school great. What about the people inside the school? The students sitting in the desks, of course, make a building a school. But what makes the school great?

This last St. Bernard School yearbook is dedicated to a group of people that has made our school a great place to learn for over 100 years!

THE TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS
They have been School Sisters of Notre Dame, Franciscan Clarists and lay teachers. They have come in all shapes and sizes; arriving from a variety of places; having varying amounts of experience; using many different classroom styles; and possessing different personalities. No two of them were alike, but
they all had some things in common. First of all, they all loved children and wanted them to succeed. Secondly, they wanted to share their love of learning with their students. To see the “light bulb” of understanding turn on in a student’s face is the most rewarding sight for a teacher. They loved being creative in using their talents and new techniques to make learning fun and
exciting. Finally, though, and most importantly, they taught at St. Bernard Catholic School because they all loved God and wanted to share their knowledge of Him with children and their families. They envisioned the children of St. Bernard School growing up to become bright, loving adults who were able to obey Jesus’s Commandment of Love; “Love one another as I have loved you”. Thank you, over 100 years of teachers and principals! May God bless you for your dedication to Catholic education and to St. Bernard School!

06/01/2015

The Story of a School (Inside of 2014-15 Yearbook)

Hi, Students! I’d like to introduce myself. I’m St. Bernard School. I was born in 1915. So, yes, that makes me 100 years old! Where has the time gone? I’ve been standing here tall
and strong, weathering rain, snow, wind and storms up on this beautiful hill throughout all these years. That’s not what makes me a great building, however. It’s what has been going on inside
me for these 100 years that is really important. Let me tell you the story of how I came to be.

How did I get here? Well, some very wise ancestors of yours decided that St. Bernard Parish needed to teach its children about their Catholic faith by building a school. They made great sacrifices and raised the money needed to build me. It wasn’t an easy task. I cost $50,000, which maybe doesn’t sound like a lot of money today, but back then it certainly was! So they
planned and worked until they reached their goal because they were very determined to make sure children knew about God. They were very proud of their efforts, as they should have been,
because I’m pretty good-looking for a 100-year old school!

So then the fun began! Year after year, for 100 years, I have been filled with sweet, wonderful kids like you. You’re what has brought me to life. I echo with the energy you emit;
the sound of your footsteps in the hallways and on the stairs; your beautiful voices raised in song and prayer; the laughter escaping from the classrooms and the playground; the lilt of voices

Great things have been happening in these 100 years within my walls. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of students have learned math, reading, English, social studies, science, printing and
handwriting from wonderful sisters and lay teachers. What makes me really proud, though, is the most important reason why I am here! You, and all the girls and boys who came before you,
have learned about Jesus! That’s why those early parishioners sacrificed and worked to build me so strong and sturdy. They wanted you to have a place to learn about your faith. That’s also
why the parishioners throughout these 100 years have made improvements and kept me in great shape. Their vision was to make it possible for generations of Catholic children to learn to love God and one another. I think they have succeeded with help from you and me!

Well, that’s my story! It’s a great one, isn’t it? I’m so glad I got to be a part of your lives! I hope you will always remember me as the place where you got a great education, made some wonderful friends and learned about the best friend you will ever have – JESUS!!

06/01/2015

Now for the final good bye. This was from the 6th Grade Graduation Mass. Please share! This wasn't just a school, this was something more.
We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe!
As sixth graders going on to seventh grade, the time has come for us to say goodbye to St. Bernard School. Saying goodbye is always a hard thing to do. This year, however, it is even more difficult because we are not just leaving our school. This school has been our home for 8 years for 2 of us, 4 years for 1 of us and 2 years for another. When you leave a loving home, you always expect it to be there when you return. That won’t be true of St. Bernard’s. After tomorrow St. Bernard School will no longer exist. All we will have left are the memories. That’s what this address is all about – the memories.

We will always remember the fun we had at recess. We looked forward to the ringing of the bell at 10:10 and 12:00 each day when we could go out and burn off our energy on St. Bernard’s beautiful, spacious playground. We always had so much fun with our friends playing games. Memories of flying down the snowy
hill in winter will be something we will tell our children.
We will always remember Peggy Eiden, our cook. She planned each menu carefully so that we ate everything we needed to stay healthy. Her food was not only healthy, but it tasted delicious. It wasn’t only the food, though. We will remember the love that Peggy spooned out with the food. She made lunch a fun
We will always remember the exciting events we looked forward to each year: the marathon, the winter carnival, Catholic Schools Week, Wacky Winter Olympics, the Christmas programs, May crowning, skits, plays, movies and popcorn, the
school dance, birthday lunches and so much more. We will never forget the fun
We will always remember our small classes. We were so lucky to get so much more attention when we didn’t understand something. We have all become friends and gotten to know each other so well. I know we will stay friends, even though we will meet new friends at our new schools. We can’t imagine what it
will be like to be in a large class. We will long for the days at St. Bernard School.

We will always remember the family-like community we had here at St. Bernard School. Everybody always looked out for others. We always tried to help each other just like in our real families. Everybody was very supportive. We knew everyone’s name. We’ll miss all the kindness from our St. Bernard School family!
We will always remember Mrs. Kooiman, our nurse; Bob Symanitz, the custodian; and all the volunteers and benefactors who worked so hard to keep the school safe and in great condition.

We will always remember the teachers: Mrs. Sell, Mrs. Caroline, Mrs. Hennen, Mrs. Urness, Mrs. Glander, Sister Pranitha, Miss Worm and Mrs. Jacques. They gave so much of themselves to the school. They have given us knowledge and faith and cared about us. They inspired us to do our best. We will always
remember their hard work and dedication. Their love for us came from their deep faith and love for God.

We will always remember Father Gregory, Father Thomas Joseph, and Sister Jancy. Thank you, Father, for saying Mass and teaching us. Thank you for the opportunity to receive the sacraments. We will never forget Sister Jancy’s leadership as our principal. She worked so hard to make St. Bernard’s the best school it could be. Thank you, Sister Jancy!

We will always remember our parents and the sacrifices they have made to allow us to attend St. Bernard School. Thank you for knowing how important it was for us to have a Catholic education. We will try to make you proud!

Finally, we will always remember what we learned here. St. Bernard School provided us with a great education academically, but also spiritually. Each day we learned about Jesus and His love for us. We were able to pray often throughout the day, going to Mass 3 times a week and receiving the Eucharist. At St. Bernard School we had the time to talk about God, think about Him and love Him. Our faith will not surround us as it does here, but we will take all we have learned here about Jesus and His love for us with us in our hearts.

06/01/2015

A few more pictures from last week. A little tug of war.