April 7, 2010

JUST CHECKING IN ~ APRIL 7, 2010

“Jesus is risen! Let us sing! Praise to the ever living king! Alleluia!...”

SPRING IS REALLY HERE Having all celebrated a blessed Easter, having the Phillies ready to go, having the IRS counting down toward the 15th, having cherubs out on baseball and softball fields, all are signs that spring is really here and that we must be diligent in keeping our students tuned into a strong 3rd Trimester effort. With sunny days and longer evenings, it is a challenge, but one that won’t be daunting to those of you looking for a strong finish for your children to the school year.

NOON DISMISSAL REMINDER FOR NEXT WEDNESDAY Please be reminded the Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred at 4 PM on the 14th and that we will be dismissing at noon. Your prayers for these students will help them on this very special day in their spiritual lives. We know how important the graces they will receive are for them.

TITLE I SERVICES When we sent home letters about summer school for Title I eligible students, some parents were surprised that their children were on eligibility lists. When our Title I teacher spoke at the first H&S meeting in the fall, she told the audience that lists were determined based on given guidelines. By the use of Terra Nova test scores in Grades 3-8, by the inclusion of as many as possible under the umbrella in 1-2, and by total inclusion in K we were able to make lists that put as many students as possible on them. Services are then provided on an as-needed basis with parent approval to a limited number of those students with the exception of summer school which is available to all the eligible students. As you can guess, some students will have no need of these services, but by being on the lists which are formalized by the third week of September, they would be immediately able to have them if the need arose during the school year. With all that this Title I program can do for our students, we want to be sure that we cover as many students as possible.

MORE BRIDGE GRANT MONEY AVAILABLE The Bridge Foundation has notified us that we will be receiving an additional $8700 in EITC funds to be shared by nine financially qualified SCS families. To be considered, please call Maryann Junod at the Parish Center by next Monday, April 12th, and your name will be put in the lottery. Drawing will take place on Thursday, April 15th, and those whose names were drawn will be notified. Those families whose names were not drawn in the earlier lottery we held for $10,000 in funding will also be included.

FINANCIAL AID FOR 2010-2011 There is limited assistance available for families with serious financial difficulty. These families may apply for financial consideration. All applications should be in writing to our tuition review committee no later than May 1. Parents seeking assistance will be sent an application form which must be completed before a meeting is scheduled for them with the committee. Please be assured that these families will be treated with dignity, respect and confidentiality. Please keep in mind that this applies only to families in grades k-8. Full tuition must be paid for Pre-kindergarten. Families receiving assistance are expected to use Gift Card (Scrip) Program to reduce their tuition. Assistance is limited to families who qualify for Special Stewardship Rate.

A TRUE EARTH DAY CELEBRATION can take place very easily at SCS if we renew our efforts to recycle and get our green and yellow bins as full as possible this month. April 22nd will mark the 40th birthday of Earth Day and we can give our Earth a great gift by being extra-aware of how much we can/should recycle.

APRIL STUDENTS OF THE MONTH Congratulations to the following students: Pre-K-Caitlin Coan; Kindergarten- Jennae Yeager and Patrick Lonergan; First- Juliette Lamb, Ethan Ramos, and Robert Fredericksdorf; Second- Ryan DiVergilis, Nicholas Schmid, and David Teesdale; Third-Kada McGovern and Casey Coan; Fourth-Katie Rogers, AJ Naylor, and Kassidy Rusden; Fifth-Joseph Comas and Brianna Geiger; Sixth-Lisa Valentino, Juliana Pascali, and Kelsey Tyrrell; Seventh-Jill Snyder, Maria Market, and Maria Schuck; Eighth-Laney Coull, Anna Ryan, Nora McWilliams, and Jenna Plunkett.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS Imagine winning a trophy almost as tall as you are! That’s just what happened last weekend for Katie Weller (1-31) at the Amerikick International held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Katie came in 2nd Place in the 6-7 year old competition for yellow belts. Way to go, Katie!
How about these alums? Holy Ghost will be presenting their spring musical on April 15, 16, 17, 18 at 7:00 pm each evening. The show is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with four St. Chris alums involved in the production: Edward Spangler (Stage Crew Manager), Edrick Chow (stage crew), Emily Gaggianno (orchestra) and Conner Smith (Benjamin). We’ll post the flyer with ticket information by the main office.
CRITICAL THINKING 101 Congratulations to Michael Rocks (4-11) for having his correct entry drawn. We didn’t catch very many people. Almost everyone knew that exactly 250 dozen eggs would be needed. Michael will be receiving this week’s $10 Gift Card of Choice certificate. For next week, let’s go back to a popular kind of puzzle. See if you can take away the first letter of the word and still have a valid word. Here are the clues. It’s up to you to figure out the words. 1. A trip through the air > illumination; not heavy 2. true statement > part of a play; something done 3. straightforward; blunt > position in a hierarchy 4. high body temperature > at any time; at all times.