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Ask Matt

We are pleased to provide a forum for which you can ask Matt DeVoll questions about the school, safety or general programs available to you. Simply send Matt DeVoll an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will post the question and Matt's reply here on a regular basis.

(Please know that ALL questions will be kept anonymous, your name will NOT be posted here.)

Ask Matt - Bullying

Blessed Sacrament School has developed a comprehensive Bully Program. Each class will learn what bullying is and what to do if you are bullied.

Bullying, by definition, is intentional or cruel incidents to another person. If an incident occurs just once, it is not considered a bullying incident. We have to remember that all kids like to joke around and engage in horseplay. But, when the name-calling or actions have a harmful intent and are repeated we have to look at the incident as possible bullying. Some examples are:

Physical: hitting or kicking

Verbal: use of words to hurt or humiliate another person

Relational: trying to convince their friends to exclude or reject a certain person

During the course of the year, anti-bullying signs made in the lower classrooms will be displayed in the hallways throughout the school to reinforce this message. There is a three-step process to handle each bully incident.

First step: Discussion with your teacher about the incident

Second step: Discussion with the principal

Third step: Phone call placed to the parents

The overall message at Blessed Sacrament is that bullying is not acceptable behavior and will not be tolerated. Blessed Sacrament would like parents and students to realize that every student has the right to an education and to be safe at school. Over the past five years, the faculty has participated in at least one workshop / in-service to keep abreast of bullying.

Blessed Sacrament is working on strategies to stop bullying:

Perform in-class bully sessions with students
Provide good supervision for children in classrooms, hallways, and playground
Have good communication between teachers and parents
Provide all children opportunities to develop good interpersonal skills

What can parents do if their children are being bullied?

Ask your child directly if their has been harm or intent behind the situation
Work with the school immediately to make sure the issue is known by both parties
If your child is timid and lacks friends, try to arrange for your child to participate in positive social groups, sports, or clubs that meet their interests.

Developing your child’s special skills and confidence in a social group can be very helpful.

If you have any questions regarding the program, please feel free to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at 572-5311 ext. 307, who is the counselor at Blessed Sacrament in charge of the program.

Ask Matt - Academics

A question was posed on how strong the academics are at Blessed Sacrament. One measure that we use in grades 2nd thru 8th are SAT's. These tests are distributed to many schools in the United States and it allows us to see where our particular grades stack up against other schools and parts of the country. It also allows teachers and the administration to see if we are teaching the students the curriculum that the states are requiring. Over the past few years we have seen the following trends for our SAT tests. School-wide average scores from 2005 – 2006 placed in the high 60's. The graduating class in the same period rose from the mid 70's to the low 80's.

Another measure we use is the Assessment of Catechesis Religious Education (ACRE) test. This test is administered to the 5th and 8th graders. It serves as a valuable and reliable evaluation tool for religion programs. Over the past few years we have seen the following trends that show students are concerned about cursing, lack of honesty, and bullying. As a school we use this information to reinforce proper Christian values and lifestyles.

As students reach the middle school level grades, they have the opportunity to test into advanced math in their 7th and 8th grade year. The course work is more demanding and typically students will test into honors courses in the high school. Mrs. Soklaski preps the students in Pre-Algebra and Algebra.

In summary, the testing and evaluation at Blessed Sacrament provides a solid foundation for students. Recent Blessed Sacrament graduates have tested into honors Math, Chemistry, English and Science classes at local Catholic high schools. At least 90% of our students move onto local Catholic high schools where they are in position for college opportunities. The local Catholic high schools pride themselves on sending as many as 96% of their graduating students onto college.

Thanks for the question and please keep them coming