What Makes St. Sylvester School Special?
We are a dynamic, constantly advancing school with many special characteristics. The list
below provides a short review of some of these attributes.
Academic – We seek to uphold a standard of excellence at all grade levels and in all subject areas.
~ Named in 2011 as one of 4 schools in Chicago with highest student increases in Terra Nova scores
~ Continual professional development and over 70% of teachers with Masters degrees
~ Constant communication via weekly reports, classroom newsletters, and letters from main office
~ Advanced and extensive classroom resources
~ Proactive high school preparation services including High School Prep club
~ Successful early childhood program with Illinois’ Preschool for All accreditation and support
~ Successful participation in city, state, and national contests – essays, posters, projects, etc.
~ Spanish classes as part of standard weekly curriculum
~ Podcasting technology, development of student videos and blogs
~ Summer camp plus summer reading and math work
~ Won IL Clean Energy grant to pay for solar panels on school roof and A+ for Energy Grant through BP
~ Multiple field trips throughout the Chicagoland area and its great cultural and academic resources
Faith – Our Catholic Christian faith underscores the core mission of our school – to grow in
knowledge and love of God and others.
~ Weekly Mass attendance and regular prayer services
~ Values taught across all curriculum
~ Sacramental preparation available
~ Rigorous grade level religion objectives
~ Classroom visits by priests, teaching masses, student Mass booklet, bulletin inserts, altar server program
~ School-wide service projects like clothing drive, food drive, St. Jude’s Math-a-thon, etc.
~ School choirs perform at parish Masses
Extracurricular – Our program looks to form the whole child by educating our students
academically, socially, spiritually and physically.
~ 2 student choirs and instrumental program in music including percussion, keyboarding, and flute
recorder lessons ; private lessons available as well
~ A state of the art technology lab with multiple technology classes every week
~ Weekly physical education classes
~ Foreign language classes in extended day – past examples: French, Italian, Mandarin Chinese
~ Successful sports teams - co-ed softball, co-ed flag football, Varsity and JV boys basketball, Varsity and
JV girls basketball, girls soccer, boys soccer
~ 1st and 2nd grade school play
~ Examples of recent after school clubs: art, fitness, Go Green, yoga, student council, cooking, CSI, etc.
Community, Development, Family, Outreach, Miscellaneous – The outreach of the St. Sylvester
School community plays a vital role in the lives of its families both in and out of school.
~ Won Polk Brothers School Leadership Grant in 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11
~ Students nominated and selected as Corboy-Dempsey Scholars, Valenti Scholars, Reynolds Scholars
~ Successful appeals on behalf of graduates for HFS Chicago Scholarships, LINK Unlimited Scholarships
and the very prestigious Daniel Murphy Scholarship
~ Family events – fun fairs, dances, game nights, family potluck meals
~ Convenient extended day services from 6:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
~ Need-based financial aid and scholarships available
~ Increased advocacy and successful appeals for high school scholarships
~ Alumni outreach – alumni newsletter, alumni appeal, and reunion events.
~ Weekly communication from school and teachers including classroom blogs and podcasts
~ Classroom “Buddy program” – older and younger grades partner regularly for projects