St. Bede School
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St. Bede School is a K-8 parochial, coeducational, Catholic school located in Point Breeze, a neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It provides education to young members of its parish as well as students from the city and the suburbs. The school emphasizes providing students with a strong academic curriculum, embracing a child's artistic and athletic talents, and nurturing a compassionate, Christian school environment . It is fairly small, with roughly 346 students. There is an average of 35 students are in each grade, and, for most classes, they are divided in half. The St. Bede school year usually begins in the final days of August but never after Labor Day, which the public schools do. Because the school starts early, the school year can end early in June. However, the exact days are based on the number of in-service days, size of holidays and breaks, and the number of snow days.
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[edit] School Curriculum
Unlike some public and private schools, St. Bede does not divide classes for subjects based on academic achievement or skills, with the possible exception of 6-8 Mathematics and Reading groups (this issue has been debated by students over whether there are real differences in the academic level of students). More "advanced" students who are believed to understand concepts or ideas more easily are in the "A" group. Students who might need longer time to fully understand key ideas and problems are members of the "B" group. This division is primarily used for Mathematics, rather than Reading. Students take a placement test at the end of 5th Grade and the following middle school years (except 8th Grade) to determine their placement in these groups. The Principal of the school is Ms. Drumond and senior teachers include Mr. Riedel, who teaches 4th Grade, and Mrs. Kimbrough, who teaches Kindergarden and tends for students at Afterschool. Ms. Drumond also teaches classes to students as well, including Latin and spelling for middle school, social studies for 4th Grade, Handwriting, and spelling for 5th Grade. The pastor of the St. Bede parish is Fr. Bryce, who regularly participates in school functions. Sr. Mary Elizabeth is the director the school's religious education. She also manages and direct parish and religious activities at the church. Sr. Mary Elizabeth also teaches religion to 8th Grade students in preparation to Confirmation. The school teaches basic course (as well as Religious Education) but also offers a variety of afterschool programs. Students are instructed in religion through frequent religious classes, weekly Friday school masses, and optional afterschool and summer programs. Foreign Languages include Spanish, French, and Italian, but the frequent changing of teachers (the job is part-time) over the years has made it difficult to sustain a consistent and permanent curriculum. 7th-8th students are also allowed to participate in an Electives class, where they can choose a weekly course organized by a teacher. There is also a small Special Education class to help students who need extra help or support in reading and math skills. St. Bede also offers a Speech Therapy class.
[edit] School Activities and Programs
St. Bede also hosts a variety of afterschool activities. They include writing and computer club, basketball, Chinese Club, art club, fencing, soccer, volleyball, and Spiritual Scholars. It has also participated in various academic competitions, including:
- Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl The school has historically done well in the competition, at many times achieving 1st-5th place at the state competition and sometimes qualifying for the national finals. The school has 4 teams, each assigned to the grade division.
- Future City Competition: St. Bede has participated frequently in this competition, and twice qualified for the finals.
- St. Bede has also participated in Math Olympiad, Newsbowl, National Geography Bee, the National Handwriting Contest, the Spelling Bee, and many others programs. A student from the school also attended the state National History Day Competition. However, this was done through the Pittsburgh Gifted Center.
The school also offers several summer camps and programs, which are usually organized by teachers and take place on the school campus. They include international language and culture, piano lessons and tutoring, a Christian teaching program, and a nature and geography camp. In addition to its success in academic competitions, St. Bede also has a basketball team called the Crusaders, though some students have been concerned over the name's cultural sensitivity towards Muslims. In addition, the school has a volleyball and soccer competition, but this only takes place between different teams from the school. The school's official team colors are blue and yellow. The student body has formal representation through a student government which serves the them by representing them at various functions and organizing school activities and events. Student Council consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasury. Each of these officers chair a student council committee (Communication, Service, Dance, Spirit), who organize and volunteer for school events and activities. These committees also consist of Representatives, students who ran unsuccessfully for the main offices but gained enough votes to qualify for representative. Other forms of student representation have been considered over the years, including a student newspaper and court. Elections were held in September for the presidency, representative seats, treasury, secretary, and the vice presidency. The scope and focus of the election was expanded greatly this year through a debate among 8th Grade candidates with 4th grade students who would be voting for the first time.
St. Bede also has a weekly newsletter called the Bede Banter. Students also listen to daily news bulletins and updates at the end of the day by an 8th Grader student speaker. Currently, the principal has selected three speakers for the position.
Because St. Bede is not publicly funded, much of the money for school and parish services, programs, maintenance, and activities, is acquired through independent fundraisers. They include Best of the Bede, in which individuals and businesses sponsor students to participate in an athletic event (walking, jogging, lacross, skateboarding, scottering, dancing), the Triple 3 Club that has a weekly lottery, a school auction, yard sale, a sale of Christmas items (Santa's Workshop), and donations by individuals, groups, the parish, and the SBAA (St. Bede Athletic Association). This organization helps organize and prepare for school athletic events or competitions. Most of their funds are acquired through their annual Mardi Gras festival and fundraiser.
[edit] Food Services
The school's lunches are provided by the Pittsburgh Diocesan Purchasing Commission (PDPC), INC. which caters to Western Pennsylvania Catholic schools. Many students have complained over the quality and health of lunches at school, though there have been no studies, evidence, or inspections that indicate that the food is unhealthy (a popular school legend is that the hot dogs "bounce"). Many Student Council candidates have also exploited the issue to gain votes. A health inspection noted that the cafeteria put to much soap into their washing water. However, there were no complaints over the health standards of food. On April 22, 2006, the PDPC announced it was suspending its catering operations [1]. The new school year lunches have gained a positive response from students, and one of the Student Council makes choices on which lunches should be served.
[edit] School Campus
The campus of the school is fairly small comprised in a medium-sized building with two floors and a basement. The basement contains the Kindergarten and Preschool classrooms, a storage room, and rooms for K-2 Reading class and Special Education. The first contains the cafeteria, school office, the 1st-5th Grade classrooms, two science labs, library, and computer laboratory. The second floor is where most of the Middle School classes are located along with the Art Room and 3rd-5th Math classroom. Connected to the cafeteria is the gym, which was remodeled in 1999 to provide space for Physical Education class and athletic programs. Previously, Gym class took place on the playground. In the same year, the school's interior set-up was also radically altered. In 2004, the school's playground was also recreated. However, controversy has arisen over the zip line that was created as a part of the redevelopment project due to the serious injuries of several students. In addition to the playground, there is also an upper level above it, which contains a basketball court. There are also connections to the school parish on the second and first floor. The parish, however, is less ornate or decorated than traditional Catholic churches. This is partly because the building was originally conceived as a gym. As a result, the church is rather small and square in comparison to other parishes. Recently, the parish has organized Campaign 85, a massive fundraising campaign to renovate the church.
[edit] Statistics
St Bede School Students by Race
Number of Students Percentage
American Indian/Alaskan 0 0.0%
Asian/Pacific Islander 2 0.64%
Hispanic 2 0.64%
Black (Non-Hispanic) 26 8.38%
White (Non-Hispanic) 280 90.32%
Classroom Teachers: 19
Student Teacher Ratio: 15.97
School Member Associations: National Catholic Education Association
