First Communion Preparations

The second graders at St. Brigid have been busily preparing for their First Communion, which will take place on Saturday, April 27.

Students in Mrs. Ouellette’s class used the St. Joseph rectory kitchen to make bread this week. They mixed the ingredients, allowed the dough to rise, and formed it into delicious rolls that baked in the oven.

Students also created a map of friends and family that will be coming to Maine from around the world to attend the First Communion celebration.

St. Brigid Students Deliver Speeches at Regional Competition

Marissa (grade 6), Robert (grade 7) and Emily (grade 8) delivered
excellent speeches at the regional Civic Oration in Auburn last
Tuesday. Their stories of people who have overcome obstacles
had the audience riveted. Great job!

Holocaust Survivor Speaks at McAuley

Seventh grade students from St. Brigid attended a talk this week by a survivor of the Holocaust. Max Slabotzky, a Portland tailor who grew up in Belgium, came to McAuley on Tuesday to share his World War II experiences with high school and middle school students.

Mr. Slabotzky, 83, talked to the audience about how he was separated from his family and went into hiding when he was just 12 years old. After being caught by the Gestapo, he was taken by train to Auschwitz and forced into labor.

Upon liberation, Mr. Slabotzky learned that his mother had gone to a different camp and been a victim of medical experiments. She passed away shortly after they were reunited. His father had been sent to a mine, where he died as well. A younger brother - who had been kept safe in a convent - was the only other survivor in the family.

The talk fits well into the seventh grade’s upcoming interdisciplinary unit on World War II.

St. Brigid Students to Sing at Pirates Game

Our St. Brigid 4th graders will be singing “God Bless America” on the ice at the opening of the Portland Pirates game on Sunday, April 7th at 4:00PM.

The classes have been rehearsing for over a month and are extremely excited. They will be wearing their school uniforms.

The Pirates will be taking on the Springfield Falcons! 

- Crystal Found

St. Brigid Auction

Greg Lagerquist, anchor for WGME-13 news, will be the emcee and auctioneer for the St. Brigid auction tonight. St. Brigid students Issac and Gabe Russell had the opportunity to tour the station and meet Mr. Lagerquist.

Civic Oration

This year’s school level of the Civic Oration competition featured eight St. Brigid students in grades 5-8. These talented individuals, selected by their classroom teachers, delivered speeches about people who overcame obstacles to achieve greatness. 

Subjects of the speeches ranged from famous people such as Beethoven to personal friends and family members of the speakers. Two students will advance to the regional level. Marissa Page, grade 6, told the touching story of her older brother’s struggle with Tourette Syndrome. The overall winner was 7th-grader Robert Bossong. He wrote about a blind teenager who was the only known person to learn how to see using echolocation.

Marissa and Robert will move on to the regional level of the Civic Oration, which will be held at St. Dominic Academy after April vacation. Good luck!

Grade 8 Presents Living Stations of the Cross

The eighth-graders of St. Brigid acted out the Stations of the Cross as part of the school's observance of Lent and Easter. They did a beautiful job of portraying the stations with honesty and sensitivity.