Saint Martin Students Enjoy Time with our Friends from L’Arche Community

Members of the Saint Martin community enjoyed dinner with our neighbors from L’Arche Cleveland September 23. Nine students prepared the dining room and served a delicious spaghetti dinner, courtesy of President Rich Clark and Executive VP Tom Bennett, to about 30 friends from four L’Arche homes in the Cleveland vicinity. Dinner was spectacular and our students served as wonderful hosts. For more information about L’Arche, which “makes known the gifts of people with developmental disabilities,” please visit larcheusa.org.

Seniors Attend Sustainable Food System Forum at CSU’s College of Urban Affairs

Five members of the Saint Martin Class of 2009 - Dominique Eason, Shirley Jordan, Ariel Powell, Dawn Ramsey, and Autumn Stewart - attended the “Feeding Cleveland: Creating a Sustainable Local Food System” forum at Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs on September 16. The lecture and discussion examined why change in our food system needs to happen, some possibilities of how we can make the change happen, and how it can revitalize the local and regional economy. As part of the forum, our students had the opportunity to talk to with Cuyahoga County Planner, Megan Chaney, about the career of urban planning.

Strengthening Our Commitment to Sustainability

Saint Martin de Porres High School’s commitment to sustainability is reflected in our 12th grade theme – Care for the Earth, in the modernization of our heating and cooling systems, our Organic Community Garden, our composting program, and our recycling program. These efforts have yielded the following positive results:

• Heating and cooling costs have been reduced while limiting energy consumption

• We produce local food and the members of our community have learned to produce their own food

• Our composting and recycling programs have limited the amount of waste which needs to be hauled away from Saint Martin

Our commitment has deepened recently by switching from non-reusable plates and styrene cups to trays and reusable coffee mugs. This change was made for philosophical reasons after a deliberate process that included a meeting with Great Lakes Brewing Company’s sustainability expert, Saul Kliorys, at which it was estimated that Saint Martin could actually save money by hiring a part-time dishwasher in our Cafeteria.

Under the leadership of Director of Food Services, Kathy McClement, Marie King, Dorothy and Melanie Kolengowski, and Betty Montanez have agreed to take on additional responsibilities in order to make this positive change happen. Our waste has been dramatically reduced as a result of this effort and we estimate that we could save at least $2,000 annually simply by reducing the amount of waste to be hauled away from our campus.

While saving money, we are transforming our community by strengthening our school community’s commitment to sustainability.

Please contact Keith Laschinger at 216.881.1689, extension 302 for more information.

Saint Martin is “Excellent with Distinction”

Report cards have been delivered from the Ohio Department of Education to public schools throughout the state and were published locally in the August 26 edition of the Plain Dealer. Schools are rated based on Ohio Graduation Test results and attendance and graduation rates. As a private school, Saint Martin is not evaluated by the state in this way. If we were, however, our designation would be the highest possible, “Excellent with Distinction.”

This designation places Saint Martin among 37 suburban and exurban districts in Northeast Ohio and ahead of all other rated schools in Cleveland. During the 2008-09 academic year, Saint Martin posted 100% passage rates in 10th grade reading and writing, 11th grade mathematics and writing, and a 100% graduation rate.

While we are proud of this distinction, the real accomplishment is the creation of a school culture that focuses on the development of the whole student. We are not a school that merely focuses on passing standardized tests. Rather, we are a school driven to empower students to develop habits of mind and spirit that will enable our young men and women to achieve success in college and life. We achieve this through an innovative curriculum masterfully implemented by a caring, dedicated, and talented corps of professional educators and through a pioneering partnership with the corporate community of the city.

Saint Martin also wishes to congratulate the Cleveland School of the Arts, Horizon Science Academy, the three schools of John Hay, Valley View Academy, Warner Academy, and Whitney Young for their “Excellent” ratings.

Be Hopeful, Love, and See God in All Things

Dawhon Willis and Franklin Evans prepare to the lead the members of the Class of 2013 into St. Vitus Chuch for the Mass of the Holy Spirit.

At Friday’s Mass of the Holy Spirit, Father Lorn Snow, SJ, called upon the members of the Saint Martin community to be hopeful, to love, and to see God in all things. These virtues were present in abundance as we welcomed 131 new students and new faculty, staff, and Board members into our community. Our new Board Members are Sr. Mary Pat Cook, HM; Mr. Anthony Rego; and Rev. Robert Welsh, SJ.

Seniors Kimi Thompson and Yesenio Bucio contributed to the celebration by reading, as did junior Angel Caban-Alvarez, who read the second reading in Spanish. Members of the Saint Martin gospel choir, led by Ms. Natasha Cooper and Mr. Danny McElroy, as well as Campus Minister Virginia Malloy, led the congregation in beautiful and spirited singing.

Many members of the Board, Martin’s 500 members, and corporate partners enriched the celebration with their presence and helped us hail another great year at Saint Martin – a year which will be filled with hope, love, and many blessings.

Yesenia Bucio `10 and Angel Caban-Alvarez `11 pose for a photograph prior to reading at Friday’s celebration.