Est Principal s Message - December #1 Visit Us on the Web At:

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1 Est Principal s Message - December #1 Visit Us on the Web At: ICS Thanks You Mrs. Eisenhart! Diane Eisenhart became a staff member here at Immaculate Conception School in Thus, for 13 years she has been a very integral part of our community. Now, with her retirement on the horizon, officially with the start of Christmas Break, it is obviously a good time and quite appropriate for us to recall what a blessing Mrs. Eisenhart has been to the students, families, faculty and staff of ICS for many years now. So many in our community have offered their thoughts: Diane has truly put her whole heart and soul into both our parish and school. Her overall love and consistent dedication has been amazing. If I had to describe Diane in a few words (and trust me, my personal list would go on) I would say Diane is a... *nurturer *teacher *supporter *prayer warrior Diane is a blessing to our community and a role model for all teachers, parents, and parishioners. * * * Faith Families. Diane was the driver behind that becoming reality at ICS. As the parent of a child who came to ICS as a first grader, I can tell you that Faith Families (or Fake Families as he used to call them ), was what made ICS work for my son. The exposure to children in all grade levels to work on service types of projects was huge. Perhaps even more special to my son was the fact that the Faith Family he was assigned to when he arrived (the one that Diane led for all of his 8 years) is the group that stayed with him until he graduated last year (Kindergarteners are added to replace 8 th graders who graduate. Otherwise, all of the students stay the same). This is something very special that happens at ICS. * * * Diane moved to Clinton Township in 1984, with her husband and five children as a result of a corporate transfer. In the Fall of 1984 her youngest son was born. (He s now a parent of a daughter in the 2-year-old program.) She quickly became involved with youth ministry and the parish religious education program. Diane helped to develop the Family CCD program for our parish, now called the Family PREP program. All of her six children married at ICC, the first two in the old church and the others in our current church. All 13 grandchildren were baptized in the parish. Diane helped to make ICS a reality! She was on the hiring committee for our founding principal and first staff of teachers, many of whom are still here. She was also on the strategic planning committee, helping to develop our school mission and vision. She spearheaded implementing Responsive Classroom and differentiated learning at ICS. She supports and advocates for students in need of special services. All of her grandchildren have been students at ICS over the years, with five graduating so far and two this year. Diane was instrumental in ICS being recognized with National Blue Ribbon of Excellence status. She has been involved with music ministry for over 20 years and was the director of music ministry for many years. Diane has been a true friend and confidant to teachers. She s always been willing to share words of wisdom to our parents and students. * * * On behalf of numerous faculty, staff members, students, families, volunteers, and our community as a whole, Immaculate Conception School wishes to say, Thank You! while wishing Diane all the best in her retirement. ICS is a better place due to Mrs. Eisenhart.

2 From Mr. Stone s Desk Greetings Immaculate Conception School Community, The calendar year is waning even as our joy begins to build, looking ahead to the coming of Christ during this season of Advent. Students and big people alike start to look forward to Christmas Break, holiday family gatherings, Christmas wish lists, sleeping in, festive food, and, hopefully, recognition and service to others, each via our own individual time and talents. We still have a little over two weeks of school before Christmas break begins, of course, and there are plenty of activities that will require our focus and attention. Students still have learning and schoolwork to do ( super smart time ). Teachers still have standards and expectations to teach and model. School mass this Friday, our Christmas program, an International Day for Kindergarten and 5 th grade, and a culminating school prayer service and sing-a-long on Dec. 21 st all lie on the immediate horizon. Yes, the next couple of weeks will still be busy, still requiring effort and focus. Advent is upon us. A new liturgical year has begun. Now is when we give special attention to preparing ourselves for Christ s birth, for the coming of our Lord and savior, Jesus. As we all know, this is the real reason for the season. How truly blessed we are to know that despite our faults, despite our sins, we can always turn to Jesus seeking forgiveness, knowing that He loves us beyond measure. The depth, importance, and celebratory intent of this liturgical season s message is worth all of our focus. Serviam, -David Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary December 08 th Holy Day of Obligation As Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaimed on December 8, 1854: "The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin." Catechism of the Catholic Church Our Lady of Guadalupe: Dec. 12 th A feast day in the United States, raised to a solemnity in Hispanic countries such as Mexico, Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated as being the Patroness of the Americas. More info can be found here: P.S. Mrs. Diane Eisenhart Yes, of course we will still see Mrs. Eisenhart from time-to-time. Faith Families, Reading Olympics, helping coach up people with respect to curricular materials ordering in the summer, attendance at mass, etc. Diane is retiring. Still, Immaculate Conception is her parish, ICS is where she gave much of her time, talent, and treasure, and she will always be welcome. ICS Employment Opening: PT Tech Teacher Immaculate Conception School seeks a part-time middle school Technology Teacher for the remainder of this school year. This position will teach Technology to 6 th -8 th grade students, Tuesday- Friday, typically between 10:45a.m.-2:35p.m. The total position will represent 15 hours per week, and prep time is included. Interested applicants should please review the job posting and subsequently complete the required application, both of which can be found here: (Diocese of Metuchen website). Please submit a cover letter and resume, in addition to the diocesan application and teacher questions documents. All four of these items are required to complete your application. A first review of applicants will take place the week of December 11 th. We hope to hire someone to shadow the position the week of December 18th, subsequently taking over the position upon our return from Christmas break on January 02 nd, Tech Teacher candidates should be able to teach: Use of Google Apps, including Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Form Programming Language Online Safety Effective Online Search Techniques Help students develop the 21st Century skills outlined in the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards (2014), including: Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, Digital Citizenship, Research and Information Fluency, Critical Thinking/Problem- Solving/Decision-Making, and Understanding of the impact of technology, engineering, and computational thinking on today's world. Thank you Kelly and Mike Wojtal and all of the fabulous volunteers for an awesome St. Nick Shoppe!

3 12/07 First Thursday [No Mass], Faith Families, Early Release at 12:15p.m. 12/08 Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary School at mass at 10:00a.m. Dress Uniforms 12/15 ICS Christmas Program - 6:30p.m. - IC Church 12/21 School Prayer Service and Sing-A-Long 12/22-01/01 No School Christmas Break Lost & Found Final Warning To Be Cleared Our school lost and found table, located near the main office, has a lot of valued treasures on it. Clothing items, notebooks, water bottles, one shoe (yes, one), etc. Prior to Christmas Break we will be doing a sweep, cleaning everything off. Uniform items will go to our used uniform cache, unclaimed notebooks will be repurposed, etc. Thus, please seek to check the school lost and found table within the next week or two, thus not missing out on one of your valued treasures being sent on down the road. Thank you. Prayer for Immaculate Conception School: Dear Lord, bless our Catholic school. Help us to continue to be a humble source of wisdom, always yearning to learn more about your tremendous love for us. May all who enter Immaculate Conception School be filled with the gift of your Holy Spirit, coming to know you in a more meaningful way. Guide us as a community that respects and welcomes everyone. May Catholic education continue to grow so that your good news can be taught to children throughout the world. In your son Jesus s name we pray, Amen. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Winston Churchill

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