From the Principal s Desk

Transcription

1 January 2015 Important Dates: January 5: Classes Resume January 9: Geography Bee Grades 6-8 January 12: Dine with Your School Family at Pizzeria Uno January 13: New Student Registration 5-7pm January 14: New Student Registration 8-10am January 16: No School/Faculty Retreat Market Day Orders Due January 19: No School/Martin Luther King Jr. Day January 22: New Student Registration 1-3pm/ Market Day Order Pickup January 24: Girls Enchanted Evening 7pm January 25: Catholic Schools Week Begins/Open House 10am-Noon January 30: Catholic Schools Week Mass 11am/ Faculty Luncheon/ Noon Dismissal Holy Rosar y Review 3040 Walton Road Office: Plymouth Meeting, PA Fax: School Closing # 1385 From the Principal s Desk Dear Parents/Guardians, Happy New Year! Sometimes wisdom comes in the knowledge that others are better able to communicate your hopes and dreams than you. I have spent the last week or so praying for guidance and grace in order to send you a profound message for this New Year. And of course God sent me a response today. Please enjoy a slight variation of General Douglas MacArthur s Prayer for His Son. May the Peace of Christ fill you as you dwell on these poignant words and aspirations for the New Year. Make me the parent, O Lord, who will show my sons and daughters the strength to face weakness; the courage to face fear; the grace to accept honest defeat; and the humility and gentleness to accept victory. Make me the parent who will show my sons and daughters not a path of ease and comfort, but the ability to accept the challenges of stress and difficulty. Use me, I pray, to be the example of one who can stand up in the storm, and there learn compassion for those who fail. Make me the parent who will teach his sons and daughters the value of a clear heart and a high goal; to look in the mirror of their own faults before they find fault in others; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to cry; to reach into the future without ever forgetting the past. Make me the parent, O Lord, who will show my sons and daughters enough of a sense of humor, so that they will always be serious, but never take themselves too seriously. Give them humility, so they will always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength. And after all these things are theirs, add for me, I pray, the wisdom to show them the dubious value of titles, positions, money, and material gain; and the eternal value of prayer, the Holy Bible, a Christian home, and a saving relationship with Your Son, Jesus Christ. Then I, their mother or father, will dare to whisper, I have not lived in vain. Peace, Lisa S. Hoban One Faith, One Family, One School

2 Page 2 Did You Know... Mrs. Koneski/Mrs. Pickering - Kindergarten: Read highlights from our teachers each month! December was a very exciting time in the Kindergarten at Holy Rosary. They had lunch with Santa at the North Pole and everyone got a chance to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted. They all had an awesome time. They also had their Polar Express Pajama Day. They wore their pajamas to school, boarded the Polar Express with a special ticket, ate cookies and milk, and enjoyed watching the movie. They are all very excited about Santa but they have learned the true meaning of Christmas-Jesus' Birthday. They all made a Happy Birthday Baby Jesus Book and couldn t wait to say Happy Birthday to Him as soon as they wake up on Christmas morning. Mrs. Dunsmore/Miss Carroll 1st Grade: First grade will devote the month to the discovery and appreciation of great men and women in our society who have "made a difference" in our world. The children will learn about the contribution of Pope Francis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Rosa Parks to our society. Our little guys and girls are really enjoying the use of ipads. Reading levels are improving through the implementation of Raz Kids and children are having fun as they learn while playing Math Blaster. Mrs. Luthy 8th Grade Religion: Congratulations to the 8th Grade on their performances in the Christmas Pageant. Mrs. Luthy's 8th grade Religion classes spent several weeks practicing and preparing for their version of "The Nativity Story." The students presented their tribute to the Birth of Our Lord on December 18th. They did a phenomenal job along with the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th grades. The collaboration and cooperation from the staff truly came alive with this performance. Mrs. Gilman Physical Education: During Catholic Schools Week- January 25-30, we will have our annual Jump Rope for Hearts fundraiser for the American Heart Association. A letter from me will come home the week of January 5th explaining everything. Each year Holy Rosary has raised over $5000. Thank you for your continued generous support of this worthy cause. 8th Grade: The 8th Grade will be starting a huge project after New Year s and are requesting donations of cardboard and duct tape! Please send the items into school.

3 Page 3 Letter from The Governing Board of Pastors Father Lewandowski St. Titus Parish Dear Holy Rosary School Family, Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever! May God s Holy Spirit enlighten us and guide us throughout the new year. Liturgically, our new year begins with the Feast Day (and Holy Day of Obligation) of Mary, the Mother of God. The first reading at Mass for that day is taken from the Book of Numbers. In that Old Testament scripture reading, God Himself tells Moses the words that God s priests are to use to bless God s people. Those words are: May the Lord bless you and keep you; May He let His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; May He look upon you kindly and forever give you His peace! So, at the very beginning of each new year, we are always reminded that we are blest by God Himself, since we are His chosen people in and through His Son Jesus Christ. To be blest means that due to our Baptism in Jesus name, we are made holy, we are protected by God, we have been provided with something desirable (i.e., Eternal Life in Heaven), and we have been approved by God to perpetually receive His life and love especially provided in the Sacraments of the Church. As we begin this new year, therefore, let us rejoice in the knowledge that we are ALL special to God each and every one of us, regardless of age, mental or physical ability or family background. God extends His blessing upon all of us, since we are His children and heirs to His Kingdom in Heaven. Happy New Year to one and all! Fr. Len Lewandowski and all the priests of Holy Rosary Regional Catholic School

4 Page 4 Jacob Antonello Named Neumann Scholar On December 16 th The Connelly Foundation visited Holy Rosary to announce that Jacob Antonello has been named a Neumann Scholar. The announcement was streamed live online thanks to the work of Mr. Antonello and Mr. Graham. Jacob was one of the top 35 eighth graders in the Archdiocese, 897 of which met the criteria to sit for the scholarship test. This is an unbelievable accomplishment. Jake will receive a full scholarship to the Archbishop Carroll (his choice) as well as support throughout his high school career in preparation for college. We congratulate Jake, as well as his family and teachers, without whom this would not be possible. We are very proud of our eight-8th graders who were also eligible to sit for the exam- Mary Katherine Cleary, Jason Cross, Mario D'Elio, Nadine Lampe, Erin Mahady, Mark Martinelli, Edwin Morton, and Connor Patzuk. HASA Happenings Dinner with Your School Family at Pizzeria Uno Take a night off from cooking dinner and support Holy Rosary and dine with your school family at Pizzeria Uno on January 12th! Holy Rosary Open House As part of our school s celebration of Catholic Schools Week, Holy Rosary will host an Open House on Sunday January 25th from 10 am to 12 pm. Our entire school family is invited to tour the school, chat with the Student Council tour guides, and just enjoy coffee and pastries as a community. All are welcome, and we encourage all families to invite prospective students to get to know us. Girls Enchanted Evening Girls Enchanted Evening will be held on Saturday, January 24th at 7pm in Grady Hall. All girls are invited to bring an adult male who has made an impact in their life to an evening of dancing, cupcake decorating, raffles, and more! $20.00 per family if registered before January 22nd. More information coming soon in the weekly HASA Happenings. Shop Amazon and Help Earn Money for Holy Rosary! Click here to be directed to Holy Rosary s Amazon Fundraiser page, or find the link on our school website under Fundraising. Holy Rosary receives a percentage of all sales, and it adds up fast! The school does not receive any personal information on purchases, so please share the link with friends and relatives!

5 Page 5 Box Tops for Education There will be many products used for the holiday season that have Box tops on them. Please make sure you are clipping them. Ask friends, neighbors and family if they can keep an eye out for any Box Tops. I know so many people who are happy to do it. Every single Box Top counts. Remember, there will be a spring contest with fabulous prizes. Keep on clipping and thanks for your support! If you have any questions, please don t hesitate to contact Luisa Kelly, Box Top Coordinator at Aidank1@msn.com. Luisa is here to make our school s Box Tops for Education program a HUGE success this year. Happy Clipping! Save Your Can Tabs! Please save your can tabs! Holy Rosary participates in the can tab program for The Ronald McDonald House. Saving them in a large plastic container (pretzels, etc) would be perfect. Please do not send them in during the year, as we do not have the storage room; Please HOLD your can tabs until June. Market Day Order delicious pre-cooked meals and earn back 5% of your total yearly purchases over $200 as a rebate at the end of the year, while helping our school in the process. January orders need to be submitted by Friday, January 16th and pickup will be held on Thursday, January 22nd between 6:30 and 7:00pm. Questions about Market Day, please contact Jennifer Petruccelli at jenniferpetruccelli@comcast.net or Eileen Heflin at heflin618@comcast.net.

6 Page 6 Craft Show Update Dear Holy Rosary Parents, The Craft Show Committee wishes to thank each and every one of you for your support before, during and after this year s Craft Show. As you can see from the long list of volunteers below, this Show would not be the fun, profitable community event it is without the help of our wonderful School Families. THANKS ESPECIALLY TO: All of the talented bakers who donated so many wonderful baked goods to the BAKE TABLE. Thank you to Stephanie Wimmer and Maureen Marcolina for heading up this year s bake table Mrs. Claus, Jenn Petrucelli and her hard-working team of parents in the KITCHEN who fed our shoppers breakfast and lunch items quickly & cheerfully: Eric Olsen, Pat O Hara, Karthik Sripal Jayapal (and friend), Connie Cleary, Patie Lampe, Heather Haley, Jo Ann Creeden, Lisa Martinelli, JoAnne Tirpak, Karyn Flocco, Beth Kormos, Robin Bowman, Kim Vespe, Anthony Forti, Eileen Mahady, Janet Marano, Kim Taglieber, Karen David, Christine Saxon, Melissa Mazzei- Cooper, Letitia McNeil, Clelia Lyra-Battestelli, Athena, Lehatto, Beth Fish, Luisa Kelly, Melissa Keene, Giselle Booker, Michelle McKay, Heather Baxter, Nadine Hunter, Liz Pilacik, Jennifer Kerper, Dawn Bewell, Kim Dragone, Patsy Morrone, Julie Peticca, Jen Fuchs, Eileen Heflin and Theresa Christopher, The dedicated parents who helped with PRE-SHOW SET UP and POST-SHOW CLEAN UP: Suzanne Antonello, Joe Antonello, Gabe Antonello, Amy Fruncillo, Colleen Petko, Christina Galleo, Eileen Mahady, Maureen Marcolina, Patie Lampe, Pat O Hara, Lisa Trowbridge, Glenn Hubler, Chris Keene, Brendon Stevens, Connie Cleary, and Eric Olsen and Lisa Hoban. The SPONSOR and DONOR TEAM who reached out to our Community asking for their financial support Amy Fruncillo, Jenn Petrucelli, Maureen O Hara, Christina Galleo, Lisa Trowbridge, Rachel Yoka, Glenn Hubler, Bernie Saxon, Maggie Pugh, Julie Peticca, Heather Fryer, Maureen Marcolina, John Conte, Marie Valerio, Nicole Marino, Jacki Jay, Courtney Coccia, Eileen Heflin, Eileen Mahady, Robin Bowman, Colleen Giamo, Mike Creeden, Kristin Rippert, Maryann Barbosa, Megan Patzuk, Nicole Coey, John Boyce, Stephanie Wimmer, Beth Fish, Melissa Keene and Lisa Moran. Our SANTA SHOP lead by Judy Coughlin and the Parent and Student Volunteers Mary Malazita, Jack Derfler, Karen Tickner, Andrew Tickner, Jacob Wilczynski, Destynie Davis, Rylie Cox, Rocco Mazzei-Cooper Rosetta Gallo, Joey Gallo, Jennifer Klug, Kate Gibbons, Colleen Gibbons, Nicole Mastrangelo, Melissa Keene, Giselle Booker, Aidan Kelly, Pete Brauckmann, Lu Ann Saldutti, Marie Valerio, Juiana Valerio, Theresa Christopher and Stephanie Christopher. Our BABYSITTING Parent and Student Volunteers JoAnne Tirpack, Matt Tirpak, Beth Kormos, Justin Kormos, Danielle Saffell, Tommy Cannon, Stephanie Willis Monroe, Mikaela Monroe, Nadine Lampe, Corinne Archbold, Rosetta Gallo, Rachel York, Destynie Davis, Rylie Cox, Ken Ciccarone, Kelsey O Hara, Christina Wong, and Sofia Natale.

7 Page 7 Craft Show Update SPECIAL THANKS TO: Suzanne Antonello and Amy Fruncillo for continuing to give and share their knowledge of all things CRAFT SHOW! Patie Lampe and daughters for taking care of all raffle pre-sale and for crafting this year s flyer. Christine Saxon for using her talents and publishing software to create our beautiful Craft Show booklet. Anthony and Marie Valerio for donating their delicious Café Excellence Gourmet Coffee and Teas. Heather Fryer and Maureen Marcolina for advertising our show. Amy Walker and Colleen Giamo for keeping Craft Show news current in the newsletter and on the website. Miss Crawford for organizing the 7th Grade volunteers for SET UP and preparing the snowflakes. Our STUDENT VOLUNTEERS! The 7th Grade Class for helping with set up. Every student was motivated to help, efficient and polite. They were a pleasure to work with and a true example of what a HOLY ROSARY STUDENT embodies. Our TEACHERS for being supportive of this school fundraiser while watching their entire classrooms being cleared out to make room for Crafter Tables. Also to Mrs. Hoban and Mrs. Sheldon for fielding phone calls from Crafters and maneuvering through the many cases of soda. Our entire school family greatly appreciates our Faculty! CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RAFFLE WINNERS! Flat Screen HD TV: Diane Johnston Laptop: Sara King Taylor Swift Tickets: Brittany Ehslin Flyers Tickets: John Redington Apple ipod Touch: Peg Malory Kindle : Joe McCollum XBOX: George Weiss Godiva Gift Basket: V. Marks Restaurant Gift Cards: V. Marks Entertainment Package: Dawn Haggerty Golden Inn Getaway: Affatato Walnut Street: Charles & Jeanne Dolway Camden Aquarium: Carol Skipper North Hills Golf: Linda Harris ConAir Gift Basket: Brad Vespe Yoga Basket: Ron Gamza Thank you to the entire Holy Rosary Community for helping raise over $30,000 for students! Karen Conte, Robin Hubler and Sue Frustillo

8 Page 8 Tuition Assistance Opportunities for Holy Rosary Families There are several sources of tuition assistance available to Holy Rosary families. These opportunities are made possible through the generous support of various businesses and foundations. A number of these opportunities require interested families to go through an outside application process. Other opportunities become available because of direct donations to Holy Rosary from generous parishioners of affiliated parishes. The available opportunities and related application processes are outlined below. In cases in which Holy Rosary decides who the recipients will be, Holy Rosary will only consider families that have completed the application process for all funding sources for which they would qualify. Any cases of extraordinary or unforeseen circumstances will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. If you have individual questions on applying for financial assistance, contact Beth Hallinan in the school office, bhallinan@holyrosaryregional.com, EITC & OSTC FUNDS Much of the available tuition assistance is made possible through Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) business donations to non-profit organizations interested in promoting education. To be eligible for EITC or OSTC funding for the school year the adjusted gross income for a family with one dependent must be $90,000 or less. For each additional dependent, the adjusted gross income threshold increases $15,000. Below is a listing of the organizations that provide EITC & OSTC funding to Holy Rosary students and an explanation of how to apply for funding from each organization. Please note: all eligible families do not necessarily receive funding. Awards are dependent on the amount of scholarship money available each year. Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping families afford Catholic education. Holy Rosary students received almost $30,000 in BLOCS funding during the school year. BLOCS applications for the school year will be available in the fall at

9 Page 9 Tuition Assistance for Holy Rosary Families The Bridge Foundation is an independent non-profit organization that provides scholarship opportunities to Pennsylvania low-income families. Families must apply directly to the Bridge Foundation between May 1st and June 30th each year. Applications are only accepted during this window. Applications are available online at Families who receive Bridge funding must complete a 40-hour community service requirement. The Henkels Foundation supports benevolent, religious, educational, charitable, scientific, and literary undertakings throughout the United States. If funds become available through the Foundation, Holy Rosary determines how to distribute the funding. Only families that have completed the BLOCS application, and who meet the eligibility requirements for EITC funding, will be considered for available Henkels funds. Other Funding Sources The Kremer Foundation provides Catholic elementary schools with tuition grants for children from financially challenged families. The Foundation s grants are given directly to the schools; school principals select which students receive the tuition assistance. Holy Rosary received $11,400 from the Kremer Foundation for the school year. To qualify for assistance, a family s adjusted gross income cannot exceed the federal food program s maximum family income for reduced priced meals. The guidelines are not yet available. To qualify for the school year, a family of four s adjusted gross income had to be less than $43,568; the qualifying amount was increased by $7,437 for each additional family member. If Holy Rosary receives a grant from the Kremer Foundation for the school year, Holy Rosary will notify families of the application process in the spring. All applications will be submitted to Holy Rosary. Children s Scholarship Fund (CSF) provides scholarships to qualifying families who live in Philadelphia to fund tuition at a private school of the family s choosing. PLEASE NOTE: Families must reside in Philadelphia to qualify; students may attend a CSF-approved school outside the Philadelphia city limits. Income eligibility requirements will be available on the CSF website when they become available. Applications will be available on the website in mid-november and are due no later than March 1. Scholarships are awarded by random lottery. Recipients are notified by mid-march.

10 Page 10 January 2015

11 Page 11 January 2015 Lunch Menu 2014/2015 Home & School Association Board Members Executive Board Committees President Bernard Saxon Beautification-Amy Fruncillo Community Service - Judy Coughlin Vice President Rachel Yoka Fundraising Jennifer Petruccelli Recording Secretary Karen Conte Grant Writing Jacki Jay Corresponding Secretary Beth Fish Hospitality Christine Powel Lead Homeroom Parent Kristin Rippert Marketing Colleen Giamo Social Nicole Coey