February 3, 2010

JUST CHECKING IN ~ FEBRUARY 3, 2010

“Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb
I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you’…” Jeremiah 1:4-5

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 2010 is underway and what a week it is! Many of you and your families were able to join us at Sunday as we opened the week at noon mass. A tradition at this mass is that the two students whose essays of what being an SCS student means to them were selected, read those essays at mass. This year we heard from Jessica Sucharski and Claire Cochrane reading Collin Wiercinski’s. Jessica and Collin shared their essays at some of the earlier masses as well. Representatives of each grade level were asked to carry their class flags in the procession as well. These students are K-Patrick Lonergan, 1st-Joseph Parker, 2nd-Emilia Tomes, 3-Erin Dunphy, 4-Lucas Spicer, 5th-Jettaka McWilliams, 6th-Connor Green, 7th-Ashley Hunter, and 8th Sabatino Caranci.
In addition to all the planning that our faculty does to make this week so special, our H&S is as busy with all that they do from the traditional pancake breakfast to the free hot dog student lunch to the Teacher Luncheon to the special parent Casino Night this Saturday evening, they work hard all week long. You should be very proud to be a member of the H&S. Our Catholic Schools are family affairs and there’s no greater family than the SCS family.
With not one but two spelling bees on Monday, we had not two but four winners. Timothy Lamb was the winner of the 4-5-6 bee with Samantha D’Alfonso the runner-up, and Marikate Kidd was the winner of the 7-8 bee with Jorel Aramburo the runner-up. Tim will represent us at the Archdiocesan Bee and Marikate at the Philadelphia Tribune Bee. Look for the names of all the participants of the bees and the “Smarter Than an SCS Student” competition on the back of next week’s JCI>
When families came to watch our faculty and students “sweat for sweats” on Monday evening, you gave donations to the cause at the door and at the snack table. We’re proud to say that we’ll be able to purchase $1,063.50 worth of sweats for our injured military as they undergo treatment and therapy.

FEBRUARY STUDENTS OF THE MONTH Like their families, we are very proud of these students and congratulate them: PK- Michael McCusker; Kindergarten-Riley Bowes and Julianna Deluisi; First- Gianni Galdo, Katelyn Weller and Kathleen Walsh; Second- Partick Cunningham, Marco Rossillo and Justin Kraft; Third- Barbara Walsh and Catherine Ferry; Fourth- Christopher Bowman, Julia Wilson andChristian Vanore; Fifth- Brendan Ruskowski and Chris Kuhar; Sixth- Alyssa O’Mara, Claudia Candidi and Bailey Warner; Seventh- Michelle Nocitra, Nina Juntereal and Jillian McNamee; Eighth- Bill Wilkinson, Rachel Shaw, Caitlin Logue and Erika Jesberger.

THOSE KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOMS OF OURS are so busy every day whether it’s conducting science experiments, increasing their reading readiness or proficiency, learning about what a great gift diversity is, or going about the day-to-day adventures of being kindergartners, we can tell you that they are right there. With the guidance of Mrs. DiCicco and Mrs. Whalen, these cherubs are thriving.

YOU’RE OUR BEST ADVERTISING, BUT see what you think of the ads’ we’re putting in the NE Times. Last week was the first one and they’ll continue for a number of weeks to come.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NO AUTOMATED PHONE PROGRAM for now. We had begun School Reach in February and that’s when the annual bill is due. Since we are looking to upgrade our database software, many of the new programs also include an automated phone calling program. Rather than having to lay out the full year price for our present system, it made financial sense to be on hold for a few months. We would rely on our homeroom parents to help in contacting parents if we had a non-weather emergency that involved closing school.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS We received word from State Senator Michael Stack’s office yesterday that Samantha D’Alfonso (6-20) was a winner in the Presidential Idol contest that his office sponsored. Sam will attend a reception breakfast where she will be recognized and also be presented with a $100 US bond. Congratulations from all of us, Sam. You did a great job depicting Thomas Jefferson.
Collin Wiercinski (8-25) and Frank Vanore (7-22) were chosen to represent the Archbishop Ryan Middle School Ice Hockey team in the Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League (LBCSHL) All Star Game. The boys played well and contributed to the team winning 5-1. Funds raised at The All-Star Game will be donated to The Special Olympics. We congratulate Collin and Frank. Our hats are off to our Swim Team! Once again, they made it all the way to the District Championships as they were again up against their traditional rival, St. Albert the Great. With St. Albert’s winning, you know that our swimmers already have their goal in place for next year. We thank them, their parents and coaches for representing SCS.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Mathew Anthony (8-27) had his correct entry drawn to win this week’s $10 Gift Card of Choice certificate. The next five numbers after 1 divisible only by themselves or 0,1 are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11. For next week, “To the month, how much longer has Alaska been a state than Hawaii?”