M.A.G.I.C.  Match Program

The M.A.G.I.C. (Make a Generous Incentive Commitment) Program is a special partnership between our classrooms and a local business or participating sponsor.  The M.A.G.I.C.  Match Program provides opportunities for businesses or sponsors to have a very special relationship with our school and an immediate and positive impact on the educational lives of our students. 

These partnerships have, in the past, been used to fund educational materials such as microphones for the computer lab to be used for multimedia projects, books for art and geography projects, books and CD’s, musical instruments, games and manipulatives, as well as “hands-on” educational experiences such as field trips or special classroom activities.  These educational enhancements provide our students with an opportunity to experience learning in ways they might otherwise miss due to budget constraints.

This partnership involves a financial commitment of up to $500 from you or your business to sponsor one of our classes for a full school year.  Funding alternatives can be arranged to meet your needs.  Your tax deductible donation can be made in the form of monthly payments, in semi-annual payments or in one lump sum. You are allowed to choose the classroom or program that you would like to sponsor, or St. Dominic School will match you with one or two classrooms.

The M.A.G.I.C. Match Sponsors for the 2010-2011 school year were: Terstriep Tree Service; Hummel Bottling Inc./Blue Falls Natural Spring Water; in Memory of Rita Hummel and Ella Mae Myers; St. Anthony WCU Branch 51; First Choice Physical Therapy; Glen and Fran Welden; Heetco; Little Jess Motor Co.; Green Smart Builders; Little E Construction; First Bankers Trust Company; R.W. Reichert Trucking; and an anonymous parishioner.

A business that partners with a classroom will be the beneficiary of exceptional publicity that continues throughout the school year.  In appreciation of their generosity, the business name will be engraved on a plaque at the main entrance of the school and in the gathering area of our church.  They will be recognized as a M.A.G.I.C. Match sponsor in our school newsletter (reaching over 110 families) and parish bulletin (reaching over 600 families).  Their business name will be posted at the entrance of the classroom that they are sponsoring and will remain there for the duration of the school year. Parents, teachers and students all represent a very appreciative audience.  In addition to the increased visibility of the business, the sponsor will receive a thank you letter, stating how the funds were used to improve the quality of the classroom experience because of its partnership with our students.  It is a beneficial relationship to both business and education.

If your business would like to become a sponsor or if you would simply like more information about the program, please contact our school principal, Mrs. Sue Kelley, at 217-224-0041 or email at skelley@stdominicschool.org

Guided Reading Program

St. Dominic School incorporates Guided Reading into our curriculum, which enables the teacher to work with smaller groups of students tailoring reading instruction for their individual needs.   Guided Reading is a teaching approach that is designed to help individual students learn how to process a variety of increasingly challenging texts with understanding and fluency, and greatly expand their reading powers.  It will equip our students with reading strategies and comprehension skills that will be required in the 21st century.  The St. Dominic Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) purchased a Guided Reading Program for our school, consisting of sets of over 760 titles, written on individual reading levels. We are very grateful for their support.

The 7 Habits

This program originated from the popular book by Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  It provides a sequential study of how to become more effective in our schoolwork, how to develop leadership qualities, instill a high level of responsibility in all activities, as well as doing acts of kindness for each other.  Students are taught how to make good choices and how to organize their time efficiently in order to meet their goals.  They learn skills to help them work together effectively as a team. The St. Dominic School 7 Habits theme is “Creating a generation of leaders, one child at a time”.

At St. Dominic, the entire student body and staff start the day, four days a week, with our 7 Habits Assembly.   Classes take turns demonstrating ways to live one of the 7 Habits through drama, song and other methods showing how to be successful by being proactive.  Teachers also incorporate the 7 Habits into lesson plans during the course of the day.

The 7 Habits are stated and briefly summarized as follows:

1.      Be Proactive.  Being proactive means recognizing our responsibility to make positive things happen.  We don’t wait for something to happen and then react to it.  We want to take charge and make great things happen.

2.      Begin With the End in Mind.  This habit is based on the ability to envision, to see the potential, to create with our minds what we cannot at present see with our eyes.  If we know what our end goal is or should be, we can devise a road map of how to achieve that goal.

3.      Put First Things First.  Create a clear understanding of what needs to be accomplished, and then prioritize our activities. The most important things we need to accomplish should be at the top of our list.

4.      Think Win-Win.  Win-Win is a frame of mind that constantly seeks mutual benefit in our interactions with one another.  Win-Win means that agreements or solutions to problems are mutually beneficial to both sides.

5.      Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood.   We usually seek first to be understood.  Most people do not listen with the intent to understand, they listen with intent to reply.  They’re either speaking or preparing to speak.  When we first seek to understand someone, our paradigm shifts, so that we learn to seek first what the other person is saying, then make our attempt to also be understood.

6.      Synergize.  Synergy is working together. It is teamwork and team-building.  It is developing unity and creativity with each other.  Synergize means to work together, helping each other to succeed.

7.      Sharpen the Saw.  This is the habit of renewal, of being lifelong learners.  It is the habit of continuous improvement that lifts us to higher levels of knowledge and understanding.  To sharpen the saw means that we are constantly learning, exploring and always interested in new ways to improve and educate ourselves.

 

Source:  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

 

SWAT Team

SWAT (Students Working to Advance Technology) is a technology program that includes students in grades 5-8.  Originally founded by Lucy Miller-Ganfield, the St. Dominic Swat Team meets once a month after school in “a structured environment for students to develop digital literacy skills.” (source: www.swatweb.net).  For example, in one session, students downloaded “SCRATCH”, a programming language designed by engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab.  They learned how to create interactive stories, animations, music, art and games.  In another session, students designed their own personal web pages.

Swat Team members also take several field trips during the course of the year.  In the 2010-2011 school year, they visited Quincy Notre Dame High School to learn about their Mac Lab.  Instructor Mr. Jeff VanKanegan led the students in a demonstration of many of the intricate features available on their computers.  We also visit other schools which have Swat Teams.  This past year, we visited St. Peter’s School and Blessed Sacrament School, and hosted both of these schools at St. Dominic as well.  At each meeting, teams became acquainted with students from other schools, and shared a new computer application with other team members.

The goal of SWAT is to strengthen digital literacy, while learning valuable computer skills, in order for students to be prepared for the workforce of the 21st century.

Builders Club

All 7th graders at St. Dominic School are members of the Builders Club.  It is a service organization, based on many of the principles of the Quincy Noon Kiwanis Club.  Students are available to assist teachers with various projects, help clean the school, help keep the school grounds in pristine condition, help with fundraisers that benefit children and ring the bells for the Salvation Army at Christmas.

CYO  The Catholic Youth Organization offers structured athletic programs for students during the school year.  For a detailed look at the CYO and all it has to offer your student, please follow the CYO link on our home page, under the administrative tab.  Simply click on “links” and you will be directed to the CYO page.

Before/After School

St. Dominic School has a Before and After School Program for our children of working parents.  The program is offered before school from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and after school from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The adult supervised program operates on days when school is in session and includes various activities as well as an after school snack.  Parents of enrolled children pay an hourly rate of $3.00 per hour.  There is also an annual registration fee of $20.00.