Weekly Update
December 13, 2019
As I entered school this morning, I was reminded that the school has a new sign above the entrance thanks to last year’s graduating Class. We are very appreciative for this gift as it is one more way that we are working to make our wonderful school visible to the outside world.
Our upcoming concerts are perhaps our best opportunity to make the school visible to the world and we are very pleased that Cambridge Cable TV will be filming the performance on Sunday so that it can broadcast to a wider audience. This is a direct result of our outreach to media outlets through a public relations campaign spearheaded by Mr. Moran.
Please continue to do whatever you can to bring friends, family and others to enjoy the show. For all those who were present at last week’s concert, you know that the boys and men are truly outstanding. Christmas Concerts tickets are on sale through Dianne Flaherty in the office and online on our events page: https://www.saintpaulschoirschool.us/events
We are very pleased to announce that the school received a $25,000 grant from the Strake Foundation to support need-based student scholarships. This award, in addition to an anonymous award to the St. Cecelia Scholarship Fund of $15,000 and a $30,000 award to the Lawrence and Geraldine Bolt Scholarship fund are helping the school reach our goal of $190,000 in grants to support our scholarship fund. Our annual fund appeal is underway, and we wish to thank all who have contributed so far and ask for the generosity of all our friends and patrons to consider a gift to the School as the calendar years nears an end.
Benjamin Britten Ceremony of Carols at Sea Port Chapel: The choir will be conducted by Mr. Kennerley in a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols coupled with traditional Christmas Carols, Saturday, December 14, 7 pm, Our Lady of Good Voyage Shrine Church, 615 E. 4th Street, South Boston
For tickets and more information on Our Lady of Good Voyage Shrine Church, visit seaportshrine.org
Elegant Lunch(es)!: This week we recognized the incredibly hard work of the boys, who have been rehearsing and performing virtually non-stop these past two weeks, with not one, but two elegant meals on Thursday. Thanks to the Haferd and Shokoti families, the boys were treated to a tasty Haitian inspired elegant lunch during the traditional mid-day period and another healthy West African inspired meal after the rehearsal. We always appreciate that the boys are treated to home cooked meals that are healthier and more nutritious whenever we are able. If you can help with the elegant meals program, please contact Mrs. Thurston (mthurston@saintpaulschoirschool.com).
Family Christmas Concert: On Wednesday, December 18, at 5:30 we will have our traditional family Christmas concert during which all our students are provided an opportunity to showcase their talents. (PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS BECAUSE THIS IS A DATE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS CALENDARS AND THE SEASON OF MUSIC BROCHURE). Alumni and families of alumni are welcome to attend the event that will be held in Digiovanni Hall.
Germany Fundraising: Mrs. Flaherty has created an online auction site as a wonderful opportunity to purchase some beautiful gifts from donations to the choir school or simply support one of the different activities for our upcoming Germany Tour. If you receive these weekly updates, you should receive an invitation and link to the site in the coming days. Weather permitting, some of our boys will be washing cars after school and on Saturdays.
POP UP SHOP:
Our table will again be present at the Christmas Bazaar fund raiser in the lower church from Friday through Sunday, if we have volunteers to manage the sales. Take advantage of these opportunities to do some of your shopping for Christmas gifts and make it a gift to the Choir as well.
We will also have an opportunity for the boys to shop this week for their gift giving needs. Tuesday through Thursday the library will transform to a gift shop and the boys will be able to do all their Christmas shopping. All funds raised through the shop will go directly toward funding the Germany trip to keep our costs as low as possible.
Thank you, Tom