JUNE 6, 2007

Most Holy Trinity~ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ~Guide us and be our protector.

TOMORROW IS A SPECIAL DAY FOR OUR YOUNGEST CHERUBS  Both Pre-K and Kindergarten will be celebrating a year of learning as they share their thoughts in word and song for their parents and special guests. Their innocence and sincerity coupled with their enthusiasm always brings a combination of smiles and tears to the adults sharing their day. What a blessing children are! Next Tuesday evening will likewise be a bittersweet evening as The Class of 2007 graduates from St. Christopher School and prepares to move on to their different high schools. We celebrate our graduates and their accomplishments and wish them God Speed and Safe Journey as they move forward. We are grateful to all the ways that they enriched St. Christopher during their years here. God bless them one and all.

TOMORROW IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT DAY FOR OUR STUDENT COUNCIL CANDIDATES FOR 2007-2008 AND…  Students running for council will be sharing their views on how they can best represent the student body tomorrow afternoon in HFH. Following the speeches, the students will return to their classrooms to vote for those candidates who they do think would do the best job. This is always an exciting time around here.

The time after in HFH will also be exciting as our Third Grade returns for a Mix-It-Up Tournament. Last week Room 7 took top honors in division and Room 8 took the honors in multiplication. Tomorrow’s match pits the four homerooms in a combination division/multiplication tournament and so the students will have to think quickly in different modes.

Speaking of our 3rd Grade, Room 8 is pleased to announce that they succeeded in their goal of receiving a post card from every state in the Union. Everyone was very excited when the last few cards arrived. It was a fun project that went through the school year.

FACULTY CHANGES  Based on the combination of enrollment and budget, it was necessary to reduce our faculty.  Looking at the number of students, the budget for the upcoming year, an affordable tuition for you, and a fair subsidy from the parish, we needed to constrict three teachers. Following the protocol in place from the Archdiocese, the teachers are Ms. Bee, Ms. Keenan, and Mrs. Pomrink. We know that this is as difficult for many of you as it is for the teachers and for us. Many of you have soft spots in your hearts for teachers who have taught your children and would like them to be with us always.

INFORMATION SHARING—HOW? WHEN?   Please look for information about uniforms in the report card envelope. You’ll notice that we are changing over to mesh gym shorts. Students, of course, may wear their present ones until they outgrow them.  Besides that paperwork, you will see fall school supply lists and summer reading lists.

Also, be sure to keep up with school news during the summer in the church bulletin and on our school website. Mrs. Tremper and I will be posting information from time to time and there will also be generic information when you open the site. Remember to contact us at any time over the summer if you’d like. We will get back to you as soon as we can (That means we’re hoping for a few days away here and there and might not see or hear a message immediately.)

A FEW REMINDERS FROM OUR SCHOOL NURSE  Mrs. Coleman asks that parents come in to school to pick up their children’s medications before the close of the school year. Any meds that are not picked up will be left in her locked cabinet over the summer.

Students entering Kindergarten and 6th grades in the fall need to submit their completed physical examination forms by September and students entering 3rd and 7th grades in the fall need to submit completed dental forms by September as well.  Both Kindergarten and 1st Grade students will be required to have two varicella immunizations for the fall. This is a new requirement.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS  We’d like to thank the members of the Art Club for sharing their creations with us these past few days. When the students have a reception for their families and guests, we all benefit because we too get to enjoy the displays that Club moderators Annemarie Gervino, Phyllis Van Thuyne, and Beth Stack arrange. We are grateful to these three women for exposing the students in this after-school program to so many different media. It is amazing to see the creativity that the students have at every age.

What an end to the season it was for our track team as twenty members represented them and SCS at the finals at Franklin Field last Saturday. Despite the heat, our students did a remarkable job. When you think of all the preliminary matches they had to win to get there, it’s awesome that we were so well represented.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  Sisters Brigid (5-13) and Courtney (7-21) Young are sharing the final $10 Scrip of Choice Certificate for this school year for having their correct entry drawn. If you take two apples from a basket of six apples, you have two apples!  

MAY 30, 2007

“God bless America, land that we love. Stand beside her and guide her…”

WHAT A CHALLENGE FOR ALL OF US!  Both at school and  at home, summer, sports, and sunshine beckon our children even though the adults in their lives are still working hard to keep them focused and ready to close their school year successfully.  We’re in it together and we’ll do our best to help them. What a challenge, but what a team home and school together make! We’ll do it.

TERRA NOVA RESULTS ARE BACK  We have received the Terra Nova results for the 2nd and 3rd Grade students who took this testing in March. We will send them home to you so that you can review the information the paperwork contains. The letter accompanying the results  has some details for you.

IF FRIDAY’S JUNE, THEN THE END REALLY IS IN SIGHT!  June not only marks the end of school though, it marks the time that Mrs. Tremper and I must be super-serious about our training for our third 60 Mile Walk in October. To involve our students and to help our cause, we will make this first day of June a dress down day dedicated to fighting breast cancer. Bringing in a $1.00 or more to help earns students the privilege of coming dressed down Friday. If anyone wants to go one step more and include some pink in their dress down wear, that’s even better. We will also soon be displaying a commemorative sheet to hang on our camp tent. If you’d like to remember someone special who is fighting or has fought breast cancer, we’d be honored to remember and pray for them especially. We’ll let you know when it will be available.

NOTICE FOR STEWARDSHIP FAMILIES 8th grade families should have their offertory obligation for the year $780 paid prior to graduation exercises; all other families need to reach $725 in order for receipt of report cards. If you have a question about this, please call Maryann Junod at the Parish Center 215-673-5177.

MORE SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES  In addition to our SCS Summer Learning Camp, there are a number of opportunities available. Science Adventures is holding their 2007 Summer Science Day Camps at a number of area venues. We have fliers in the office or you can contact them at 888-458-1812 or www.scienceadventures.com.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS   If you caught the news on Channels 6 or 10 yesterday, you would have seen our 1st to 4th Grade students assembled in Trainer Hall as Deputy Chief Picossi and Firefighter Sroka presented John Reilly (2-2) with a blue ribbon, a firefighter desk set, and a check for $200 for his winning spring fire safety crossword puzzle entry. John was the city-wide winner and it was quite an event. As if that weren’t enough, about an hour later who should appear at school but the Fire Commissioner himself. When we took Commissioner Ayers down to 2nd Grade to say hello to John, he also got to meet the children of some of his men—Mr. Comas, Mr. Findlay, and Mr. Tabita. And that was just in two of our 2nd Grades. The Commissioner knew these firefighters, where they worked, and what their jobs were. It was a fine morning and the children got a lesson in home fire safety as well.

            Keep your eyes open for more good SCS news.  Nicole Serrano (4-9) was named the Overall Modest Design Winner in the Elementary Category for the Catholic Standard. This week’s edition will be doing an article about Nicki and we’re all looking forward to it. Imagine—two grand prize winners!  We congratulate you both and are proud of you.

            The 7th Police District Advisory Council is presenting its 7th Annual Community Day on Saturday, June 9th, from 10-2  at Maternity BVM Parish Hall. For a flier contact our office or contact the Council directly at 215-728-7300 or info@7thpdac.com.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  Taylor Goldstein (3-6) had her correct entry drawn for the $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. Taylor knew that mashing the potatoes would allow for equal distribution. For next week, “If you take two apples out of a basket containing six apples, how many apples do you have?”

MAY 23, 2007

“Come Holy Spirit and enlighten the hearts of the faithful.”

IT WAS A BUSY HOME AND SCHOOL FINAL MEETING!   Many of us saw what the step by step process of computer programming looks like for the first time at our meeting last Tuesday. Parent Greg Smith and student representatives of the Robotics Program demonstrated what they were doing all those Wednesday mornings at 7:10 AM in the Computer Lab. We saw how they constructed a program to make the Lego robot they built follow remote directions and deliver a payload while avoiding all the obstacles with which it was presented. It was amazing thing to see.   Next year Greg is looking forward to having both starter and advanced programs to which we say a grateful yes.

Can you believe that our Market Day program raised $15,000 for school this year? Now you can take advantage of it toward your tuition by filling in one of the Scrip Tuition Vouchers in the envelope. We’d like to especially thank MaryAnn Moore who along with Cheryl Sylvester got this program off the ground here at SCS. As she retires, Linda Gumpper will be joining Cheryl to continue to run this popular program.

Our very busy and dedicated Board announced new board members Cindy Retter, Mary Hughes, and Mary Kay Newbert, and thanked our retiring members Michelle Serrano and Bobbie Ruskowski whose terms ended this year. Knowing those two women, we know that they will still be very active at school and we also look forward to the other candidates who ran having an active role on some of our committees. We are grateful to them and need their talents!

RONAN AND MEADHBH (MAEVE) WILL BE HAPPY CHERUBS BUT…  the rest of us will be so sad when Mrs. Walsh our school librarian retires this June. Her two grandchildren will have Mrs. Walsh to read to them every day and to enjoy her garden with her but we will sorely miss this special woman here at SCS. We wish Mrs. Walsh Godspeed and will honor her at tonight’s Gym Show and at our closing mass.

CANDYLAND~GYM SHOW 2007  We hope that most of you have the opportunity to attend this year’s gym show to see how the many creative ways our students are entertaining us with this year’s Candyland theme. Just start thinking of the many songs you know that have sugar, sweet, or some kind of candy mentioned in them and see if you were right when you come.   Wait until you see our 55+ Club act! Wow and double Wow!

MORE SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES  St. Christopher Summer Learning Camp will be taking place in July and in August and responses should be returned by this Friday so that we may set up the sessions accordingly. Other opportunities include GlaxoSmithKline’s free educational  Science in the Summer  program held at many local libraries both in and out of Philadelphia. For more information and specific registration requirements please visit eith www.scienceinthesummer.com or your local library.

Drexel University which offers a Summer Reading Skills Program at Nazareth Academy or Abington Friends School. We have brochures in the office or you can call 1-800-978-9596 for more information or to register.

The Rock School for Dance Education will hold auditions on June 9th at 1 PM for their City Dance program that helps the school identify and train talented local children to become excellent dancers. For more information about this scholarship program which requires no prior experience or routines, call Tama Alesson at 215-551-7010  ext. 1105.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS   We’d like to congratulate the Students of the Month for May. They are:  Pre-K –Keegan Lynch, Kindergarten—Kevin Yerkes and Raymond Presutti, 1st Grade—Jonathan Atkinson, Ashley Sullivan, and Kaitlin Cavallo, 2nd Grade—Grace Gervino, Julian Rosado, and Joseph Browning, 3rd Grade—Vincent Luciano, Gabriela Amado, Christopher Zuk, and James Crown, 4th Grade—Kelly Bradley and Mia Retter, 5th Grade—Tori Matthews, Briana Colli, Jorel Aramburo, and Kevin Jurgelewicz, 6th Grae—Brianna Markee, Brandi Zieminski, and Daniel Stahl, 7th Grade—Christopher Muldoon, Anna Kim, and Michelle Thomas, 8th  Grade---Joanne Savidge and Michael Pastore.

You can see a picture of Joe Geoghan ’06 and his 1st Place trophy posted around school. Joe just won 1st Place for JV Poetry in the Philadelphia Catholic Forensics League on May 7th. We’re very proud of Joe for this accomplishment in his freshman year at Ghost ( Holy Ghost Prep to us outsiders!)

Nicole Serrano (4-9) has had a busy time lately in a multi-talented way. Nicole recently had a call back for a movie role. Although she didn’t get it, imagine getting called back! Then, when you open the latest edition of the Catholic Standard, there is Nicole’s dress design in the finals of the Modest Fashion Design Competition. Of course, you know that all of us at SCS will be voting for Nicki’s dress to win on the 4th Grade level and also for the Best Overall Design. You can check it out and send in your ballot as well. They just have to be in by Friday. We’ll keep you posted on Nicki’s doings. We can all say we knew her when…

Our Boys’ Varsity Baseball Team ably coached by parents John Rizzo, Joe Shaw, and Mike Adair made it all the way to 2nd Place in the North Division of Region 1. The players are Mike Adair, Mike Gradel, John Lee, Chris Muldoon, Kyle Murphy, Pat Peiffer, Jim Schuck, Walt DeTreux, Tyler Donnelly, Joe Gallagher, Hank Glenn, Pat McNicholas, Brian Miracle, Mike Pastore, John Rizzo, Matt Stahl, Alex Stanislawski, Joe Shaw, Dylan Singleton, and Matt Terrenzio.  Way to go, team! The Phils would be proud to have your 10-2 season.

The parents and children of our Track Team would like to thank their coaches Alyssa Dunphy-Dowd, Mike Kaiser, and Jim Donohue for the countless hours and the example they give to the team. This thank you is especially is especially heartfelt since none of these coaches have children in our school. They truly represent what CYO coaching is all about. Twenty members of the team are on their way to the finals to be held June 2nd at Franklin Field at U of P. They are  Matt Cavanaugh, Kerry Dunphy, Nicolina DiMascia, Shannon Harrington, Nick Pelbano, Jessica Sucharski, Erin Wible, Gina Luciano, Meaghan Harrington, Kyle Murphy, Chris Muldoon, Jared Celona, Justin San Juan, Grace Cochrane, Rob Fagan, Chris Averill, Kelly Lee, Michelle Paul, Juliana Garvin, and Christian Stewart. “May the wind be always at your heels….”

CRITICAL THINKING 101   For having her correct entry drawn, Nicoline DiMascia (5-15) will receive the $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. The answer was 624.   For next week, “A mother has six children and five potatoes. How can she feed them each an equal amount? (No fractions!

MAY 9, 2007

We offer our prayers of celebration for our First Communicants!

HARRISBURG MEETS SCS!  Yesterday we took random students throughout the grades to Harrisburg to celebrate the 6th Birthday Bash for EITC or Educational Improvement Tax Credit legislation. Our students had an awesome day with many media ops during the celebration followed by a tour of the capitol led by George Kenney, our state representative. It was a great day to see how PA tax dollars can help students in non-public schools. If you know a business owner, encourage him or her to assign their PA taxes to this worthy cause. Taxes are inevitable but being able to designate them is an opportunity.

St. Chris still has designated funds specific to Pre-K. If you know a family that might take advantage of these monies please have them call Maryann Junod at the Parish Center. The money is there for the fall and cannot be used for any other grade.

MARY’S MONTH  Knowing that our children will Mary’s son Jesus in the Eucharist for the very first time this Saturday in her special month makes their  reception of the sacrament even more special. Then celebrating Mother’s Day in Mary’s month may not seem significant to many in the world who don’t even recognize that May is Mary’s month, but to Catholics the significance of honoring our mothers who work so diligently to keep Mary as their role model, we know that it is a fortuitous happening. Here at school we devote each day of May to honoring Mary by praying at different Mary statues placed throughout school and by honoring her next Monday afternoon at our annual May Procession.  Our 2nd Graders will wear their First Communion finery, our 6th Grade their Confirmation robes, and our 8th Grade their graduation robes.

THE MAY COURT  Following tradition, a number of our 8th Grade girls will liturgically dance or be in the May court Monday afternoon.  Michelle Paul will be our May Queen and Maggie Ruskowski, Mariah McNally, Katie O’Neill, Heather LaPergola, Kathleen Brown, and Alicia Goodchild will form the Court. Dancers are Juliana Capcino, Jessica Sylvester, Lauren Haber, Gabrielle DiFrancesco, Maura Druding, Jessica Mascucchini, Juliana Garvin, Corrine Fanelli, Joanne Savidge, Grace Cochrane, Briana Druding, Laura Miciulla, Samantha Freedman, Julie Murray, and Diana Amado.

NO ENVELOPE NEXT WEEK  Since there is no school Thursday or Friday of next week, we will not be sending home a communications envelope next Wednesday. All groups are in agreement that you have all the paperwork that you need—or don’t! We’ll be back on the 23rd.

WHY SHOULD YOU COME TO OUR FINAL H & S MEETING?   When you read our president’s letter, you’ll know lots of reasons.

TUITION INFORMATION  Monthly Application forms are available at parish and school offices.  If you wish to use this plan a completed form must be on file by June 30.  Thank you.

HELPFUL INFORMATION  If you’d like some good safety information for you as parents and/or for your children, we have some brochures from Rep. George Kenney or you can call his office for some. We also have newsletters with information about Councilman Juan Ramos’ EITC Futuro opportunities.

MORE OPPORTUNITIES   The summer learning camp we are holding here has many registrations to date. If you are interested, please sign up by the 23rd.

Dr. Patricia Pace offers a variety of academic and holistic programs. We have some fliers or you can call her at 215-725-6568. 

We have fliers in the office for Ryan’s Ice Hockey Club which goes from 3rd to 12th grade. You can also call Kim at 267-577-3185. Bishop McDevitt HS is also holding summer athletic camps and their information is available at www.mcdevitths.org.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS   This space stands reserved for all the good news we receive about our students. Please share things with us. Include your name and number just in case.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  Congratulations to Leah Sosa (5-14) who had her correct entry drawn and so will win this week’s $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. The anagrams were reactions, praised/despair, marched, backward, cautioned/auctioned.  A good number of you realized that two of the originals could be made into two new words. By May 21st, “The sum of the digits of a certain three-digit number is 12. If the hundreds digit is three times the tens digit, and the tens digit is one-half the ones digit, what is the number?”
 

MAY 2, 2007

“O, Mary, we crown you with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May…”

IT’S A LOT OF INFORMATION  BUT IT’S WORTHWHILE READING  This week’s envelope is chock full and we have tried to organize it for you so that H & S information/activities are in one bundle, etc. Be sure to check out the brochure about our St. Christopher Learning Camp. We haven’t done this kind of thing in a while with all the renovations/construction that had been taking place each summer, but this summer we are able to hold a camp and we’re excited about it. Check it out!

DEAR ROOM 8, THIS STATE IS BEAUTIFUL. WISH YOU WERE HERE!  Your help is needed: The students in room 3 - 8 have been very excited to be working on a Social Studies project since last September. We have been trying to collect a postcard from every state in the union. So far we have received over 170 postcards from most of the United States as well as from around the world! However we are still missing the following states: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Alaska, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Iowa. In order to complete our project we are asking you to contact any relatives, friends or business associates who live in these states and ask them to send us a postcard from their home state. We really need your help, we would like to have at least one postcard from all of the 50 states. Thanks, Mrs. Osborn & the students in 3-8.

SCRIP HOURS ALERT   Our Scrip coordinators have asked us to share this information with you. During May or June, if school is closed on a Monday or a Friday, the Scrip program is as well.

TUITION AND OFFERTORY  School families receiving the stewardship rate should be near to their $780 minimum due by June 30.  In order to receive report cards offertory contributions will need to reach $725 by the end of school.  Offertory contributions for eighth grade families must reach $780 prior to graduation in order to participate in graduation exercises.  Please call Maryann or Anne at the Parish Center to inquire about your current level of contributions at 215- 673-5177.

IF YOUR CHILD WILL BE ENTERING 6TH GRADE IN SEPTEMBER  please ask her or him for the note from Mrs. Coleman our school nurse about the required physical due between now and the start of school.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADE SCHOOL  This past year three of our families received scholarships from Futuro Educacional, Inc. which is part of the EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) program. This particular one is headed by City Councilman Juan Ramos and is available for K-8th Grade families. If you’d like an application, please let our office know and we’ll send one home to you.

            We are looking forward to sending a huge pile of essays to the Andy Wallace Family Scholarship competition. Remember that essays are due back to school by Friday morning, May 11th. 6th and 7th Graders, get writing! 

MORE OPPORTUNITIES  Archbishop Ryan Boys’ Basketball Camp takes place June 25-29 and July 16-20 from 9:00 to 2:30 each day for boys ages 7-15. The cost is $125 if received by June 1st. For more information please call 215-637-1800 ext. 283 or we have some brochures in our office.

            CORA will be offering education support services through its Summer Learning Center for students in grades K to 9. If you are interested, you may call 215-342-7660 ext. 2673 for more information and fee schedules.

            The Annual Broad Street Run takes place this Sunday, May 6th. Get fliers from our office and read about the kids’ events or go online at www.broadstreetrun.com. We have so many students who’d do great here.  See below, for example.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS  Holy smoke! Was John Reilly (2-2) ever surprised when Firefighter Sroka walked into his classroom and asked for John. In the entire city of Philadelphia, John is the winner of the Easter time fire prevention contest and as such will be presented a savings bond for $200. It gets even better though. John will get to go to the Fire Museum where Fire Commissioner Ayers will make the presentation.

            Out of 108 competing schools at this year’s Penn Relays, our Boys’ Senior Team came in 21st overall. Beating out 87 other teams with their time of 51:98 was no small feat.  Congratulations go to Kyle Murphy, Eric Lane, Chris Averill, Christian Stewart, and Rob Fagan. Well done, gentlemen! We have a Penn Relays baton from the team that we are proud to display.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  We had tons of correct entries this week and K-34 student Barbara Walsh had her entry drawn for our $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. Here’s the words:  battle=tablet, grease=agrees, recent=center, height=eighth,woodland=download. Let’s finish more of these anagrams up for next week:     creations     diapers      charmed          drawback        education

APRIL 25, 2007

“Go out to the whole world, and preach the gospel to all creation.” Alleluia   ~ Mark 16:15

WE ARE COMMISSIONED   by our God as Mark reminds us today on his feast day to go forth and preach the gospel to all. Well-spoken advice from one of our favorite saints reminds us in this way, “Go forth and preach the gospel to all; if necessary, use words.” What a powerful message to give our young people for their day-to-day lives.

NICKELS FOR NEIGHBORS can also come in their light-weight form of dollars if your children are inspired to live the gospel by doing for “the least of their brothers” what they would in a heartbeat do for Christ. We are a blessed community and are called to share our blessings in small ways. We have containers on each wing for donations to this students’ appeal. Our gifts will be presented to Bishop McFadden in a lump sum check  at Archbishop Carroll on May 1st by our Student Council president Juliana Garvin. The amount will also be credited to our parish Catholic Charities total gift.

SIXTEEN FAMILIES WILL HAVE IT EASIER TUITION-WISE   in the fall since they had their names drawn in the Bridge Foundation lottery. These families will each receive a $625 grant made possible by PA legislation now six years old known as EITC / Educational Improvement Tax Credit. How easy for businesses in our state to simply assign taxes that they have to pay anyway to our non-public schools—read St. Christopher.  If you know anyone with a business—size has no bearing—suggest that they call George Kenney’s office for information on how to use their tax dollars so nobly. Just imagine how many of our families could benefit!

IT WAS REALLY THE LAST ONE  That progress report you looked at yesterday was really the last one for this school year. Before we know it, you’ll be looking at final report cards. Please take advantage of progress reports to see how best to direct your child academically during these spring weeks. It’s a full time of the year, isn’t it? You can tell by our two-sided May/June calendar enclosed that it’s full at school too. Spring is a busy, busy time!

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE  There is limited assistance available for families with serious financial difficulty. These families may apply for financial consideration. All applications should be made in writing to our Tuition Review Committee no later than May 1st. Parents seeking assistance will be sent an application form which must be completed before a meeting is scheduled for them with the committee. Any families receiving assistance are expected to likewise make use of the Scrip Program to reduce their tuition.  Please be assured that all families will be treated with dignity, respect, and confidentiality. Please keep in mind that this applies only to families in grades K to 8. Full tuition must be paid for Pre-Kindergarten

OPPORTUNITIES  Fliers have been distributed to boys in grades 3-8 about CYO Viking football for the fall. Boys in 4-8 will be getting information about scouting programs here at St. Chris while 8th graders will receive Adventure program scouting fliers.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS   If you missed them in the Inquirer, you can read about two of our alums Mariellen Medernach and Mary Hoch, now St. Hubert’s seniors and softball stars, in a feature sports section article that we have hung in a few places around school. They can be found next to the Philadelphia Tribune’s article about Monica Sucharski being the Scripps Howard spelling bee runner-up this year.  It’s great seeing our alumni highlighted whether it’s these young ladies’ prowess on the diamond, Laura Luisi’s honorable mention in the microbiology division of the 39 school Montgomery County Science Research Competition, Andrew Rogers’ playing basketball so well, or any number of our former students who have excelled in one or more ways as they continue on their life journeys.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  Whew! We were inundated with correct entries for last week’s critical thinking. Patrice Gantert (3-5) knew that ALL the months had 28 days and so will receive our $10 Scrip of Choice certificate for having her entry drawn.  For next week, if you’re good at anagrams, you’ll have fun solving these. An anagram is a word that can be formed by rearranging the letters of another word. For example, grown is an anagram of  wrong.. Try your hand with these words: 

  battle              grease              recent              height             woodland

APRIL 18TH, 2007

When they ask who you are, tell them, “I’m a child of God!”

~ Fr. J-Glenn Murray, SJ

…AND WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE  the Class of 2007 recipients of the Josephine P. Connelly Achievement Awards.  Congratulations to Grace Cochrane, John Rizzo, and Joseph Shaw. These three students will each receive well more than $1,000 each year of diocesan high school.  The Connelly Foundation is dedicated to not only making Catholic education a reality for so many students in the Archdiocese but also to making more opportunities available to the schools of the Archdiocese themselves. As you surely must be, we too are grateful to them for all they do.

THE ANDY WALLACE FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP  will once again be awarded to one of our families with a present 6th or 7th grader. The foundation is asking students about their greatest personal achievements. The information about this opportunity is printed on the back of this newsletter. You may remember that 8th Grader Jessica Sylvester won last year’s family scholarship when she wrote about her grandfather Fred Sylvester.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE  There is limited assistance available for families with serious financial difficulty. These families may apply for financial consideration. All applications should be made in writing to our Tuition Review Committee no later than May 1st. Parents seeking assistance will be sent an application form which must be completed before a meeting is scheduled for them with the committee. Any families receiving assistance are expected to likewise make use of the Scrip Program to reduce their tuition.  Please be assured that all families will be treated with dignity, respect, and confidentiality. Please keep in mind that this applies only to families in grades K to 8. Full tuition must be paid for Pre-Kindergarten.

MIDDLE STATES MADE EASY!  To keep abreast of Middle States, what it is, what we need to do, and our progress to date, just check into Mrs. Tremper’s site on the Teacher Webpage and you can keep up with how things are going.

            The group of stakeholders who have been meeting to analyze the teachers’ reports and go forward from there are a dynamic and spirited group for whom we are grateful. They know how to “cut to the chase” (Where do you think that expression comes from?) and take us to the next step in the process.

IS ALL THIS ACCREDITATION STUFF WORTH IT?   Actually, it’s well worth it in many ways. We had just received a $4,000 gift from an alum’s parent in December and got paperwork for the possibility of a matching gift from his firm. You guessed it. We had to show documentation that we were accredited before we could be considered for matching funds. Just the other day, we received that matching $4,000!

NOW AND THEN OPPORTUNITIES  If  you’re interested in the Broad Street Run MetroKids on Sunday, May 6th, we have brochures in the office. We also have fliers for Nazareth Academy Grade School Summer Theatre Dance Camp for children from age 3 through 8th Grade. Manor College is holding workshops about magic, Red Cross babysitting training, space, and predators/prey. We have their fliers or you can call 215-884-2218. Philadelphia City Sail teaches sailing and more during their after-school or summer programs. You can contact them at 215-413-0451  to enroll and ask about scholarships or email them at www.citysail.org  to check out their calendar and more.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS  Congratulations to Michael Geoghan (6-20) who has just earned his Junior Black Belt in Kenpo Karate last Sunday. Believe it or not, Mike is already working on the adult version. Great work, Mike! There’s a lot of self-discipline involved.

APRIL 11, 2007

“Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! All on earth with angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! Sing ye heav’ns and earth reply, Alleluia!”

~Llanfair

“TOUCHING THE FACE OF GOD…”  is how Fr. Murray calls us to pray to our Creator and the visual and physical act of reaching up in prayer is a simple way of having this remarkable connection to our God. Let us all keep the message that Fr. Murray brought to St. Christopher alive and in our hearts by practicing how we pray. Are our hands lifted in prayer near our hearts as we hear the Word of God? Do our eyes gaze on the Body of Christ at the Consecration? Do our hands form a throne lifted to receive the Body of Christ? As adults, we must be mindful to nurture the powerful ideas that Father gave to each of us so that they become life habits for our children—and for us.

THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD FEEDBACK ABOUT OUR REVERSED DISMISSAL PROCEDURE  We have heard from so many of you that you think it is a better procedure to dismiss cars and we agree. Now we still need to worry about parents who want to pull into the Trainer Hall parking lot to drop their students off in the morning or pick them up there in the afternoon but don’t want to walk over to the main lot either way. Help! Like parents in cars who continue to pick up in the back from walker line, it is a safety concern. Like many of you who express concern, we are stymied as to why parents would compromise the safety of any of our children.  We are called to consider possible worst case scenarios even if a few people choose not to do that.

“I NEED YOU!”    The message was a powerful one in WWII and one familiar to many of us. Well, we need you here at SCS. In today’s envelope there is a nomination form for our Home and School Board. Please read it and consider whether you or someone whom you consider very interested in our school might be a candidate for one of the positions open. St. Christopher School needs good people to share ideas and plan events and activities for our students and our families too.  Don’t hesitate to ask for information or suggest another person’s name. That person can say yes or no but just being asked makes the person more thoughtful about considering it. How about it? Just like Uncle Sam, we need you.

CHOOSE YOUR UNIFORM—BUT STICK TO IT!  This is the time of year when our children can elect to wear either their “winter” or their “summer” uniforms, but that doesn’t mean mix and match. If they want to wear sneakers with their uniforms, for instance, then they need to be wearing uniform shorts, etc. Please double-check what each uniform looks like on our school website if you have forgotten or are not sure.

WE’RE HEARING ABOUT SOME CAMPS  The Philadelphia Department of Recreation will host a summer art camp. Contact AnneMarie Dunne at 215-685-2871 or at AnneMarie.Dunne@phila.gov for information.  If you’re interested in sports, Holy Ghost Prep has a program for students ages 6 to 14. Contact Tony Chapman at 215-639-2102 ext. 210 or at tchapm01@holyghostprep.org. Camp Cora will also be running camps. Contact them at 215-701-2780 or at www.coraservices.org. We also have some brochures in the office for these three programs which we’d be happy to send home to you.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS  It’s hard to believe but we have no specifics for this week so we’ll just reiterate what a great student body we have. They are a group of caring, giving young people who realize the blessings and talents they have and work to share them with others.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  In 1999, April 1st was on a Thursday, and in 2001 on a Sunday. Amanda Hearn (2-4) had her correct entry drawn for the $10 Scrip of Choice certificate.   For next week, “How much will an angle of 38 degrees measure when viewed under a microscope that magnifies ten times?”

MARCH 28, 2007

“Save your people, O Lord. Show us the way to come home. We have been wandering far from your love. Save your people, O Lord.”  ~Jim Farrell

SURRENDER!  REACH UP TO GOD!  Those exhortations came across loud, clear, and with much humor for our students in their encounters with Fr. J-Glenn Murray, SJ, who led our parish mission.  Just ask your own children to demonstrate and explain surrendering and reaching up to God and you’ll have an inkling of the impact that Father’s message had on them. Be sure too to ask about “Boring!” As Father Joe told the evening mission visitors, we are so in need of Father Murray’s message as we encounter God. We hope that many of you were able to hear the message yourselves.

SINCE THE DANGER OF MORE SNOW IS NOW HISTORY ,  we are at last able to finalize the school calendar for the rest of the year. Who would have ever thought that we’d have an ice storm on St. Patrick’s Eve? We have included some May and June dates that you might need to note on the BACK of the April calendar which is enclosed in this week’s envelope. We will be sending May and June calendars when they are due, but we knew that you need to plan ahead too.

THIS IS THE LAST COMMUNICATION ENVELOPE UNTIL WE COME BACK ON APRIL 11TH  Since the 4th, next Wednesday, a school-wide day of Lenten retreat is our last day of school until  the11th, the following Wednesday, we will not send an envelope home next week. There’s enough to do without worrying over where this envelope is!  We do send you our hopes though that your Lenten journey has been a meaningful one and that you rejoice in the glory of the Resurrection and its promise for us.

THE SONG OF MARK is a musical adaptation of The Gospel According to Mark and it will be presented this Palm Sunday, April 1st, at 5:00 PM, at St. Jerome’s Church for the 9th year. All are welcome to attend.

GOOD FRIDAY EVENING: EXPERIENCE THE LIVING STATIONS OR WALK WITH JESUS IN AN OUTDOOR CANDLELIGHT PROCESSION   Our 8th Grade will once again present the Living Stations in our church as a prayer experience for you and His Eminence, Cardinal Rigali, will lead Stations of the Cross at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.  Either lets your family retrace the steps of our Lord on His way to Calvary.  We are grateful for these opportunities to experience our faith and we hope that you can be at one of them Good Friday evening at 7:30 PM

DOESN’T A  FREE TUITION GRANT SOUND GOOD TO YOU?  SCS has been awarded $10,000 from the Bridge Foundation to be distributed among eligible school families to help with SCS tuition costs in exchange for some volunteer hours of service here. To be eligible for scholarships, families of students must have an adjusted gross income of less than $50,000, with an additional $10,000 adjustment for each dependent.  Please call Maryann Junod at the Parish Center 215-673-5177 to put your name in the distribution lottery for these EITC (Education Improvement Tax Credit) funds which the Bridge Foundation oversees. If your family name is drawn, Maryann will send you the application paperwork to complete for the Bridge Foundation’s final approval. If you have questions about the grant, Maryann can answer them for you as well.

B-I-N, B-I-N, B-I-N…WHERE’S THE G-O?  Ladies Bingo Night will be just that --No Go! Life is just too busy these days for families to do everything. Attending the Parish Mission was the most important part of this week and the lack of response to Thursday night tells Home and School that your plates are full enough. Stay home and enjoy the family and catch this fun night when it comes again in the fall.

WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK?  We are hopeful that you find the car line exit change to be a good move. Pardon the pun! We value input.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS   Congratulations to our March Students of the Month:  Pre-K—Katrina Juntereal. K-Jennifer Coull and Mikhala Frankunas. 1st-Michael Galdo, Brittany Kahhan, and Luke Pryor. 2nd-Miranda Candidi, John Reilly, and Nick Martino. 3rd-Thomas McMonagle, Kevin Pullman, Melissa Szelagowski, and Kelsey Tyrell. 4th-Thomas Peterson, Colin Regan, and Matthew Dixon. 5th-Marco Cavallo, Nicholas Pelbano, Laney Coull, and Sarah Morici. 6th-Brian Finnegan, Joseph Ruskowski, Jacqueline Bamberski, and Courtney Young. 7th-Shane Kelley, Michael Nitowski, and Joseph Dietrich. 8th-Andrew Daigneau, Mariah McNally, and Adam Meyers.

            Frank Vanore (4-9) and Collin Wiercinski  (5-15) are members of the L’il Raiders Ice Hockey Team at Archbishop Ryan. Their team not only won the 2007 Pocono Year End Classic, but they swept the tournament the weekend of March 9th.  We think the Flyers could use you, boys!

CRITICAL THINKING 101  Molly Demchuk (7-21) had her correct entry drawn for this week’s $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. There were 15 customers waiting in line. We didn’t trick very many of you at all with that one. Since April Fool’s Day is coming up this weekend, try your luck with this one, “In the year 2000, April 1 took place on a Saturday. On what day of the week was April 1, 1999? What about April 1, 2001?”  

MARCH 21, 2007

 As a faith community, let us offer our special prayers for all of our newly confirmed children.

JOSEPH, CECILIA, ROSE, PATRICK, ELIZABETH, MARY, LOUIS…  The list of saints whose names that our 6th Graders chose to take for their Confirmation is a long and distinguished one and we are glad to see Christopher included as well.  The Confirmandi had a glorious day to receive the Holy Spirit as they were anointed by Bishop Cistone and the Church community felt the glory and wonder of such a special day.  Our students had big smiles when the Bishop told them that since he knew that they would know all the answers to his questions, he would just go and see how prepared the parents and sponsors were.

A CURRENT HEALTH AWARENESS INDICATOR  is the BMI which stands for body mass index. Between now and Easter, your child will be bringing home a growth screening parent notification letter which includes your child’s height, weight, and BMI. This index is used as a guideline to help assess a person’s health risks related to weight. If you have any questions about this letter, please call Mrs. Coleman, our school nurse.

WE’RE PILOTING A NEW CAR LINE DISMISSAL  PROCEDURE  to see if it allows for more cars in each row and discourages cars from blocking the back access lane. In addition, we are thinking ahead to warm weather when classroom windows are open and cars come early for pick-up. Starting tomorrow, we will beginning exiting cars from the rows nearest to Proctor Road first as opposed to our present process of exiting cars nearest school first. Let’s see if this helps. If it does, we can make it permanent. If not….

WHILE WE TRY TO MAKE COMING AND GOING AS CONVENIENT AS POSSIBLE, please know that it is never at the possible jeopardy of any child’s safety. Our car line policy for both arrival and dismissal is a front lot/Trainer Hall (for parents who like to park and walk their children over) policy only. Drivers who pick up and drop off children at any other spot must bear full responsibility for the safety and security of all our children.

MORE GOOD NEWS FROM THE BRIDGE FOUNDATION  In addition to the Pre-K funds available, we have learned that SCS will receive $10,000 in EITC allowances thanks again to Enterprise Autos. If you’d like to apply for some of these tuition funds for the 2007-08 school year, please call Maryann Junod at the Parish Center (215-673-5177) about the application. This year’s applications will be accepted until Friday, April 13th, and will be entered into a distribution lottery.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS   Why I Am Proud to be an American was the topic for the essay contest sponsored by the American Heritage Credit Union and we have two students who obviously stated their pride well. 6th Grader Matt Stahl will receive a $100 US Savings Bond for his fine essay and 8th Grader Grace Cochrane will receive a $500 bond for her eloquent essay as the grand prize winner in the whole contest. We are proud of Dan and Grace. Good compelling writing pays off!

Attention Swim Team Parents!  As you know, the Team Mass is this Saturday at 5 PM followed by the traditional end-of-season gathering in Trainer Hall. During the gathering, families would like to present the coaches with tokens of gratitude for the time they take and the Christian example they set for the children. If you’d like, please send a contribution toward the coaches’ gift to the school office attention Mrs. Kennedy by the end of this week. If you have any questions, please call Jim O’Neill at 215-357-9902.

Track Team members—it’s time to be off and running!  You can show your coach how much you’ve trained at practice tomorrow, the 22nd, at George Washington HS at 6 PM.

8th Grader Lauren Haber went to Rhode Island this weekend for the Ocean State Classic Gymnastic Competition. She had an amazing weekend and a great performance. It was so good that she brought home the gold. Lauren won 1st Place. Congratulations, Lauren!

On another gymnastic floor up at Penn State Main Campus, 5th Grader Joe Fernandes became the PA State All Around Champion for USA Gymnastics Level 6-Age 10-11. Joe is the champion in floor, high bar and parallel bars along with all around. Joe also won silver in pommel horse and vault and 4th in rings. We congratulate Joe on scoring his personal best total score of 55.75 out of 60. Way to go!

We also congratulate the Bustleton Bengals U-10 Basketball Team which won the Department of Recreation City Championship last Tuesday.  Ably coached by Pat Peiffer, SCS team members include Taylor Adair and Carly Peiffer.

If you’re looking to have lunch with the Easter Bunny, hop over to the North Cafeteria at Ryan HS on Saturday, March 31st from 11 to 1 PM. The field hockey parents are holding an Easter egg hunt, crafts, and a hot dog lunch. Tickets are $7 each and you may call Grace Smith at 215-676-8109 for more information.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  Andrew Hund (5-13) had his correct entry drawn for the $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. Lovey’s fence should be in the shape of a circle to give the dog the most space. For next week, “The local sandwich shop was so busy that every customer needs to take a number. During one particularly busy lunch hour, customers 17 through 31 were waiting to be called. If you counted up all those waiting customers, how many would there be?”

MARCH 14, 2007

“Rend not your garments, rend your hearts.”

NOON DISMISSAL REMINDER FOR TUESDAY THE 20TH  On Tuesday, Bishop Cistone will be at St. Christopher to administer the sacrament of Confirmation to our 6th Graders who have been preparing long and hard for this very special day. To be ready, it is necessary to dismiss our school at 12:00.  We ask that your family remember our Confirmandi in their prayers in a special way as they reach this important place in their faith journey.

AMAZING RACE, SPECIAL PERSON DAY, LIVING STATIONS…  It is always busy at SCS. Right before our indoor pep rally to cheer our basketball team on, Mrs. Osborn, a number of parents, and the students in 3-8 were very busy last Friday afternoon when they had their Amazing Race. Team Asia won in a record ten minutes flat. Asia’s members were Patrick Becker, Samantha D’Alfonso, Vincent Luciano, and Erin Young. They certainly demonstrated their knowledge of directions, continents, hemispheres, oceans, and geographical terms. All the teams had fun and you can bet that they will remember this social studies knowledge.

Tomorrow our 1st Grade is holding their traditional Special Person’s Day. The cherubs have been practicing time-honored songs like It’s a Grand Old Flag, That’s Amore, Harrigan, etc. to sing for their guests before sharing a special treat.

As we all make our Lenten journeys, our 8th Grade is also hard at work preparing their annual Living Stations prayer service to present to our students on April 4th. This is a most moving and reverent presentation of Our Lord’s suffering and death.

PLEASE REVIEW THIS POLICY WITH YOUR CHILDREN  In the interest of student safety, we have clear technology guidelines to which students and parents both agreed in the Responsible Use of Technology contract issued at the opening of school.  They state:

“This includes digital cameras, cell phones, PDAs, MP3s, and similar devices all of which are NOT allowed in school. If a student is found to possess any of these items, the item will be taken and held in the school office and returned to the parent. In the case of emergency, a student may leave a cell phone in the office during the day and pick it up at dismissal time.”

Know that these guidelines are important in the interests of ALL of our students. If a student is found to have any of these, we will follow through with the policy stated above and also with a suspension. We have had incidents of misuse which compromised the integrity and well-being of others and we ask you to regard it as seriously as we do.  As the students know, if you have reasons that they need a cell phone after school, they must turn it in to either Mrs. Tremper or me as soon as they come in. The phone should be in a sandwich bag with their name and room enclosed inside as well. “I forgot to bring it to you” won’t work!  

HOW WILL THE CONVERSATION AT YOUR HOME GO?  When your child brings you the 2nd Trimester report card, please be ready for a meaningful conversation about potential, strengths, and challenges. We need our students to take ownership of their learning and to be able to discuss these three areas. As ever, if you would like to meet with a teacher, please make arrangements.

EITC MONIES HAVE BEEN DEDICATED SPECIFICALLY TO THE SCS PRE-K PROGRAM  We have this money to make available to qualified families to considerably help with Pre-K tuition. If you or someone you know would like to be considered, please contact the Parish Center about the application forms. The money is there!

PEOPLE AND EVENTS  When we told you about Monica Sucharski being the runner-up in the Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee, we didn’t tell you all that came with this honor. Monica received a computer, printer, and E-encyclopedia for her accomplishments. We know you share our pride in Monica and also in the following SCS students who made it through the 6th and 7th rounds at the Ryan Spelling Bee Saturday. Congratulations to 7th Graders Erin Dwyer, Emily Gumpper, and Mike Nitowski for representing SCS so nicely. If you’ve ever been in the spotlight that way, you know how intimidating it can be.

Our Varsity boys’ basketball team weren’t intimidated by St. Benedict’s last Friday night when they played them for the championship. Although we lost that game, we are proud that we got to the championship and of what a “class act” our team is as described by a CYO commissioner. There’s lots of ways to win and doing it on the court is only one of them. Like our other teams, these boys will also have the opportunity to show the kind of winners they really are by sharing in the CYO Day of Service on the 31st to help others. Congratulations Team and Coach Devlin.

If you’re in our lobby, you can check out the trophy that our Girls JV team brought home as runners-up as well. What a year this has been!

Congratulations also go out to the Boyle U-12 Basketball Team who won the Gold Division Championship Sunday. This team coached by Vince Furlong was undefeated this season with a 15-0 record. SCS team members include Mike Adair, Jared Celona, Kevin Clifton, Brendan Furlong, Anthony Moffa, Kyle Murphy, Pat Peiffer, and Drew Stricker. Great job!

You see the good news about our high school alumni published in the parish bulletin but we wanted to make special mention of Rachel Durkin SCS’03 who is Number One in her graduating class at Wood this year.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  This week’s $10 Scrip of Choice certificate goes to Daniel Rodden (5-14) whose correct entry was drawn. Silence is so fragile that just saying it breaks it. For next week,  “Suppose you had a long stretch of fencing to make an outdoor play pen for your new puppy Lovey. If you wanted to give Lovey the biggest possible area to roam in, what shape should the fence be?”

MARCH 7, 2007

“May the Lord bless our praying, in the community of our family, these days of Lent.”

PRAYING TOGETHER AS FAMILY  During this holy season of Lent we are called to praying, fasting, and almsgiving.  One of the real challenges that we too often find in our busy lives is finding time to be together as a family, and it is especially difficult to find opportunities to pray together.  This Lent let’s consider praying in the home.  You may already have traditions or different times during the day for family prayer such as before and after meals, and at bedtime.  Wouldn’t it be a good start to the day to pray before leaving for school or work, or in the car on the way to school ?

MIDDLE STATES RE-ACCREDITATION  St. Christopher School is presently an accredited school and is now involved in the re-accreditation process.  Last spring the faculty reviewed the evaluation  options and decided upon a process entitled Renewing the Vision.  This past fall the faculty began to study different aspects of our school beginning with the school’s mission statement.  Some of the language was revised to provide a better description of “who we are”.  As we continue to work on the different stages of this evaluation process we will keep you informed of our progress.  As we mentioned at our recent Home & School General Meeting, we have created a Planning Committee which is composed of eighteen parishioners.  These committee members are called “stakeholders” because each has some special interest or tie to the school.  These members are parents, graduates, businessmen, coaches, neighbors, and teachers.  Their task is to look at data we have gathered about St. Christopher School and then help us to set goals for the future.  This is an exciting time for our school.  Please watch for updates.

REPORT CARDS ARE COMING!  PLEASE NOTE: TUITION / OFFERTORY REMINDERS Second trimester report cards will be distributed on Monday, March 19.    We will be holding report cards if offertory contributions are at a very low level and/or if monthly tuition is not paid through February, or there is an open balance on any other payment plan.  Please call the parish office (673 5177) and speak with Anne Beebie with your questions or concerns in these areas.

To insure accurate recording of your Sunday Offertory contributions always use the Sunday collection envelopes provided and clearly mark the amount enclosed; i.e. $100.00 or $200.00 so the amount is not recorded as $1.00 or $2.00.  Thank you.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS   S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G  B-E-E . . . Monica Sucharski not only participated in the Philadelphia Tribune 2007 Regional Spelling Bee on March 3rd  but also was the second best speller!  Thanks to Monica for bringing honor to her family, herself and her school!

We are thrilled to share the news that our Varsity Boys Basketball Team beat Mary, Mother of the Redeemer team last Sunday 47-41.  Next on the schedule is the Archdiocesan Championship Game this Friday evening with St. Chris versus St. Benedict at 7:30 PM at Archbishop Carroll High School.  We will be sending the boys off with our very best green and gold school spirit on Friday afternoon (aka a Pep Rally)!  Our students can all wear their gym uniforms Friday—built in green and gold! We are asking all the players from all our basketball teams to wear their basketball shirts with their gym sweatpants if they’d like. Let’s support our boys and try to pack Carroll’s gym Friday night with St. Chris green and gold.

And way-to-go Varsity Girls!  The girls had a great season as well.

CYO FAMILY BINGO  Another fun night of bingo games for the whole family is planned for next Thursday evening (March 15th). 

DON’T FORGET   to  set your clocks ahead.   Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend!

CRITICAL THINKING 101   Speaking of Daylight Savings Time, we have two sets of answers based on which day people counted for starting and stopping. We accepted both 237 and 239 and drew from that group. Alexis Johncola (4-11)  is the winner of this week’s $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. For next week, “What is so fragile that when you say its name you break it?”

FEBRUARY 28, 2007

We are an Easter people ~ make the journey with Christ.

AS A SCHOOL COMMUNITY OF FAITH  know that we make a myriad of Lenten opportunities available to your children during these forty days of Lent. Mass, Stations of the Cross,  age-appropriate reflections, visuals, Living Stations, a school-wide retreat and  Seder meal,  and giving opportunities like our Ice Cream Day for Amigo de Jesus are some examples of the on-going ways we make the journey. By partnering with you in this way, we hope to let your children truly exalt in the alleluias of Easter morning.    

8:00 to 8:15 AM  is a very busy time in the school office every day. Students are coming in and out and we have announcements and prayers at 8:10. If you need to call, you’ll find that waiting until 8:15 is easier all the way around. Of course, parents may call the absentee line in the middle of the night or as soon as you get up in the morning if you so choose. You definitely do not need to wait until the start of school to leave that message.

WE’D LIKE TO THANK ALL THE PUNCTUAL FAMILIES  who have sent in their 2007-2008 application fees and are up-to-date with  trimester lunch fees. The final trimester—believe it—is almost here and so that lunch fee will be due soon.

SPEAKING OF LUNCH  We are thankful to the Nutritional Development Staff here at SCS who work so hard to make this program work for your children. Based on the number of students who participate, we know how much families appreciate this program.  The staff is continuing to look at ways to make ordering as easy as possible for you within the confines of the program.

1,000 SCHOLARSHIPS!  The Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia is accepting applications for 1,000 four-year K-8th Grade need-based scholarships. The new deadline to apply  is March 14th.  Apply online or download an application at www.csfphiladelphia.org.  

PEOPLE AND EVENTS  Congratulations to the Girls Varsity Basketball Team for making it into the quarter-finals of the Archdiocesan Regional Tournament. The girls have had an awesome season finishing in 3rd Place in Region 1. In the Elite Eight, the girls beat St. Bede’s Sunday and we wish them luck as they move on in the regional tournament this Saturday  at 11:30 AM at Little Flower High School. Coached by Mrs. Rose Lynch and Mr. Fran Young, the team members are Megan Wolf, Taylor Kaminski, Katie O’Neill, Maggie Ruskowski, Jessica Sylvester, Nicole Perri, Valerie Cerruti, Monica Sucharski, Liz Hoch, Stephanie Welte, Jessica Mullelly, and Dominique Menichella.  Good luck girls! You can have some great cheerleaders as you’ll see when you check out their good  news.

After beating Our Lady of Ransom Sunday night, our Girls JV B  team moved on to play Christ the King for the championship at St. Hubert’s Monday night. Although they lost that final game, imagine all the great playing that brought them to the championship game. Team members are Shannon Harrington, Nicole Haselbarth, Hannah Cochrane, Claire Cochrane, Sandy Aiken, Jessica Sucharski, Kaitlyn Shields, Christine McGuire, Brigid Young, Nora McWilliams, Ali Pottebaum, Maria Mairone, and Kristen Mays. Way to go, team! 

Our cheerleaders competed in the Little Flower High School Competition this past weekend and brought home many trophies. Our JV squad won the 1st Place trophy in the All-Around competition and Varsity won the 2nd Place trophy. Sarah Morici was awarded 1st Place in the Elite Cheerleader category for JV, and Jessica Mascucchini was awarded 2nd Place for the Varsity. In addition to all of this, JV received the Spirit Award. What a great showing for SCS cheerleaders!

Our Varsity Boys defeated St. Basil the Great this past Sunday. The team will be going to Malvern Prep this Saturday to play in the Lead 8. That’s a new competition!

CRITICAL THINKING 101  Twenty donuts was the answer and  Nicolina DiMascia (5-15) had her correct answer drawn for a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. What a lucky family!  For next week, Daylight Savings Time will be here in a few weeks. How many days will it last this year?

FEBRUARY 14, 2007

How special to know that we are, each one, God’s Valentine!

CALL IT OFF? NEVER!   Our 2nd Graders were adamant Tuesday. They were prepared to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time and snow wasn’t going to stand in their way. It was a special evening to see these cherubs assembled with our priests and four guest priests along with their 2nd Grade teachers Mrs. Mantone, Mrs. McFillin, and Ms. Thompson, and their CCD teachers along with our music teacher Ms. Paul and parish music director Mrs. Gallo-Terrenzio.  God works through our little ones, doesn’t he?   It was a special evening.  Our little ones knew everything about Jesus as the Good Shepherd when they interacted with Father Joe during his homily.  When you read what Catholic education means to 8th graders Matt Stahl and Julie Murray on the back of this newsletter, you will see how those early seeds come into fruition. You can also check out our February Students of the Month on the back. If you’re in school, you’ll also see their pictures posted in our main lobby.

BE AWARE AND TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN  Recently three of our 8th grade girls were invited by a stranger opening his car door to help him find his lost cat. The police are now looking this person. We urge you to keep your children aware that they should never engage in conversation with strangers and how to handle those situations. We also suggest that you check out the Megan’s Law site periodically.  Our cherubs need to be constantly reminded by us of how safe we want/need them to be.

THE CATHEDRAL MEETS SCS!   What a special event it was this past Sunday when many of our altar servers and student choir members were at the annual Altar Servers Mass at our Cathedral. Our adult and junior choirs had the privilege of singing for the Mass. We are grateful to Ms. Paul, our music teacher and student choir director, for leading Katie Gumpper, Ashley Hunter, Brittany Hunter, Jessica Sucharski, Emily Gaggiano, Alex McDonald, Michaila Harris, Jessica Parker, Julie Ford, Conner Smith, Alicia Goodchild, Kristen Doyle, Jillian Spicer, Elizabeth Shrenk, and Maria Market. We will look forward to see the photographs of our choir and of our altar servers with Cardinal Rigali and to seeing the award that 8th Grader Alicia Goodchild received for exemplary service

TUITION/OFFERTORY REMINDERS  Second trimester report cards will be distributed on Monday, March 19.    We will be holding report cards if offertory contributions are at a very low level and/or if monthly tuition is not paid through February, or there is an open balance on any other payment plan.  Please call the parish office (673 5177) and speak with Anne Beebie with your questions or concerns in these areas.

To insure accurate recording of your Sunday Offertory contributions always use the Sunday collection envelopes provided and clearly mark the amount enclosed; i.e. $100.00 or $200.00 so the amount is not recorded as $1.00 or $2.00.  Thank you.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS   As soon as it arrives, we are looking forward to presenting Justin San Juan (7-22) with his engraved award from Beneficial Bank for representing SCS in their annual Someone Special  contest.  We congratulate Justin for his good artwork in representing someone special in his life.

 Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop 367 had a special Scout Mass this past Sunday. We’d like to recognize the following students for the medals they received for having completed community service, Bible readings, written assignments, artwork, and documented family meetings all verified by Father Ik. For the Ad Altare Dei  Boy Scout  award, 7th grader Joseph Dietrich, for the Parvuli Dei  Cub Scout award, 5th grader Thomas Peterson, and 3rd graders Michael Berchick, Kristian Celona, Sean Domzalski, Sean Finnegan, Nicholas Krupczak, Christopher Maffei, Thomas McMonagle, Joseph Murphy, and Kevin Pullman, and for the Light of Christ  award 1st graders Christopher Bowman, Tyler Dackow, Luke Pryor, Patrick Stack, Sean Thomas, and Justin Weiss. We are grateful to the adults who give of their time to help these boys develop in Scouting.

 We are proud of Juliana Pascali (3-5) who had her ten inch pony tail cut off to send to Locks of Love. This kind of outreach is a perfect example of what our mission asks of us. Thank you, Juliana.

We’d like to wish good luck to the members of our swim team who are going to La Salle University this Saturday for the Catholic Youth Swim League Championships. Thanks, coaches, for all your efforts as well.

CPR Saturday at Cardinal Dougherty on March 3rd will be a good opportunity for our students from 13 up to learn how to save a life thanks to the American Red Cross. Sign your student up for the 9 AM-1 PM training session by calling 1-800—42-CROSS.  This is another way that our students can show their willingness to carry Christ to others.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  Hopefully like Ashley Hunter (4-11)  whose correct entry was drawn for a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate, you figured out that FORTY is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order. For next week, “Rearrange the letters in the phrase ELEVEN PLUS TWO to create a new phrase with the same mathematical meaning.”

The Good News in Education  By: Matt Stahl

            For me, Catholic Education has been a wonderful experience. It gives me an amazing education, and it has taught me valuable lessons I will need in my future. It has inspired me to do great things with my life and it has given me a reason to do my best to ensure that I will enjoy a great life.

 Catholic education has not only taught me the importance of living a moral life, it has also taught me how to openly practice Christianity and be a faithful follower of Christ. During the eight years I have spent in Catholic school, I have not only learned the values in living a good life, but I have learned how to live these lessons every day. It has inspired me with the desire to attend college and someday have a family of my own to care for and to love with all my heart.

 Catholic education is not only about the education, it involves community participation like the CYO, which keeps children off the streets by providing us activities to do. It holds food drives and money collections to support our poor, shut-ins, and other people who have suffered disasters. So as you can see, Catholic education is a wonderful thing. It educates you, and it teaches you the right way to live life. So remember, you are an important part of Catholic education, and you certainly are the Good News! It is a great thing, so please take your role to spread it seriously.

Julie Murray – The Good News in Education

     Laughter floats out of a classroom. Students are listening intently as their teachers instruct. A place that feels like a second home for most children is putting them in a comfortable place. Where do you find all of this? It is inside of a Catholic school! Catholic schools are where faith and learning come together to give children the best education possible. With 7,500 schools in this country doing just that, we can feel confident that these children are being taught at the highest level.
    Catholic schools are unlike other schools. They give a child the opportunity to better understand their Catholic faith and their God. Friends are easily made here and unity can be found in each and every classroom. Children are taught and inspired, and they give their all in every subject. Crime is low in Catholic schools no matter where the location is. These schools also provide a safe haven for children who need help or who are under stress. There is always a reliable person within these doors to help. Catholic schools teach the best moral value to both boys and girls. This type of schooling also teaches you how you should go about living your life if you want to succeed as a Catholic and as a person of integrity and character.
    The difference between Catholic schools, Public schools and Charter schools is a rather great one. God is central in everything that happens here, everyday. Once one experiences a Catholic school, then they will want to stay there. Catholic schools make children comfortable, they provide the very best education, it is a very social and safe environment there, and they teach good morals and values. They always think about the children first, no matter what, and that is why Catholic schools are spreading the good news in education everyday of the school year. With God as our center, they truly are "The Good News in Education"

FEBRUARY STUDENTS OF THE MONTH   We are thankful to Mrs. Marshall for organizing the Students of the Month for us so that we can highlight different students each month.  Here we go! Pre-K—Eric Jastrzembski, K—Rachel Bembischew and Casey Coan, 1st—Corinne Hughes, Jonathan Daigneau, and Erica Wagner, 2nd—Joseph Comas, Kristen Findlay, and Caitlyn Maggetti, 3rd—Jessica Marino, Amelia Hathaway, Joseph Gillespie, and Jack Raynor, 4th—Jillian McNamee, Annemarie Rymal,  and Bryn Reilly, 5th—Jenna Plunkett, Mary Kate V ogelman, Anthony D’Alfonso, and Billy Wilkinson, 6th—Amanda Johncola, Emily Gaggiano, Peter Brennan, and Emily Chow, 7th—Manju Anthony, Valerie Cerruti, Stephanie Welte, and Alyssa DeMaio, and 8th—Matthew Terrenzio, Patrick Haselbarth, and Maggie Ruskowski. 

FEBRUARY 7, 2007

Heavenly Father be with our 2nd Grade as they receive 1st Reconciliation

PLEASE JOIN IN PRAYING FOR ST. CHRISTOPHER 2ND GRADERS   Tomorrow  SCS School and CCD students will be gathering for a retreat in preparation for their reception of the sacrament of reconciliation for the first time next Tuesday evening. It is a delight to see them as they make themselves ready to talk to Our Heavenly Father through the priests who have the privilege of hearing their very first confessions.  As a faith community, we know that you will remember them in prayer.

GRADE SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES   There are a number of foundations and groups who recognize the importance of Catholic education and want to help you financially if you qualify. There is only one way to find out though! Here are the sites:  BLOCS is at www.BLOCS.org, The Children’s Scholarship Fund of Philadelphia is at www.csfphiladelphia.org, and  CEO AMERICA at www.ceoamerica.net.  Some of these are lotteries but all have deadlines. It is well worth going to the sites and seeing the conditions.

SEPTEMBER 2007?   You’ve got it! We’re planning for the upcoming school year and we’d like you to continue to be part of SCS. Application letters and envelopes are enclosed in this envelope.

….AND THE WINNERS ARE!   If you saw the science fair projects on display during CSW, you know that the judges had their work cut out for them. The results are in, ladies and gentlemen, and we are proud to announce them. In 5th Grade:  1st—Kevin Jurgelewicz, 2nd- Erin Wible, and Honorable Mention—Tori Matthews.  In 6th Grade:  1st—Michael Geoghan, 2nd-Conner Smith, and Honorable Mention-Jeffrey Altmeir. In 7th Grade:  1st-Taylor Kaminski, 2nd-Michael Nitowski, and Honorable Mention- Andrew Amado.  In 8th Grade:  1st—Sara Scholwinski, 2nd—Briana Druding, and Honorable Mention—Robert Fagan.  The Grand Prize for the entire fair goes to Collin Wiercinski in 5th Grade. Congratulations to everyone!  Learning can be fun and we also learn that timelines work when we have projects like these.

TUITION/OFFERTORY REMINDERS  Second trimester report cards will be distributed on Monday, March 19. We will be holding report cards if offertory contributions are at a very low level and/or  if monthly tuition is not paid through February, or lastly if there is an open balance on any other payment plan.  Please call the parish office (673 5177) and speak with Anne Beebie with your questions or concerns in these areas To insure accurate recording of your Sunday Offertory contributions always use the Sunday collection envelopes provided and clearly mark the amount enclosed; i.e. $100.00 or $200.00 so the amount is not recorded as $1.00 or $2.00.  Thank you.

YOU’LL BE HAPPY TO KNOW….  that we raised $540 at the Faculty-Student Basketball game during Catholic Schools Week. This money has already been sent to the Amigo de Jesus Orphanage that Father Denny directs. It is good to share our blessings!

We have a beautiful new statue of Our Lady of Fatima brought all the way back to our school from Portugal by the family of Linda Rodrigues (1-31). Mr. and Mrs. Rodrigues wanted to share this special symbol of their homeland with us. At present, the statue is sitting in my office since it is breakable and we would be sad if that were to happen before Mr. Sweeney can mount it on a shelf safely away from being jarred.

The Chatterband was also a great success.  You’d think that you were actually hearing the singers and groups they imitate so well.  People already requested a return engagement. We are grateful to Father Ik and Mrs. Giammaruti and their committee for all the work involved in making it happen.

This you won’t be so happy to know but for parents whose children have allergies to nuts, you need to know that chocolate and I suppose other imported products are not necessarily labeled as containing nuts.  One of our students had a serious reaction to an unlabeled product and we are sharing this with you. In addition, even in our country brochures and labels for products might carry the warning in such fine print that you really need to search. We were recently shown an example in a cookie brochure.

CAR LINE, CAR LINE, CAR LINE!  We again remind everyone that our car line needs to keep moving in the morning. If you need to get out to help your children, please be reminded that you should park in the Trainer Hall lot and walk them over. If you’d like to suggest an improvement to the arrival procedure, we would be happy to hear it. We know from car horns and e-mail how frustrating it is for parents when others do not follow policy.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS  Congratulations to our swim team for a great season. Your coaches and staff are very proud of you. The team took 3rd Place in the Gold Division. Start thinking about next year and all that you will accomplish. New people are always welcome. 

More congratulations! Jamie Gogel (6-17) and Hannah Cochrane (5-15) won in the District Knights of St. Columbus Free Throw Contest to go even further to the Regionals. Good luck Jamie and Hannah!

CRITICAL THINKING 101  You won’t believe this! Mrs. Osborn (3-8) was the winner of our last contest. She knew that $10 Scrip of Choice certificate while you all can think about this week’s contest. “What is the only number whose letters come in completely alphabetical order?”

JANUARY 31, 2007
 
 
Dear St. Christopher Community,
 
Although I speak with you each of you every day and hope that you are listening, today I wanted the opportunity to speak with all of you together about the Good News in education. This is really checking in!  Next week, you can read about the day-to-day things that I knew could wait a week.
 
You are what Catholic schools are all about! My priests, families, teachers, parishioners, and students are all a part of the Good News. Preparing students to be the future of our world—church and state—is an awesome responsibility. You are called to be sure that my Good News and love form the core of these students as they go into the world.
 
Please know that your mission at St. Christopher of carrying Christ to others is strengthened and passed on to our young people in the educational partnership that you share. Each of you has a role to play that is inter-dependent with one another.
 
I am confident that St. Christopher students will go forth prepared to be the Christ-centered citizens that our world so desperately needs no matter what their career choice. I need people to do My work in all areas. I need people who are able to communicate effectively with others as they work together for a better world.
 
Thank you for the opportunity this Catholic Schools Week 2007 to check in with you as a parish school community. Remember that I am a grateful and generous God and that whatever you do on behalf of these children will come back to you many times over in ways that will surprise and amaze you.
 
Love,
God
  
P.S. I promised to remind you that there is no school Friday for our students!
 

JANUARY 24, 2007

Celebrating Catholic Schools:  The Good News in Education!

WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING YOU BRING ALL YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR APPETITES THIS SUNDAY MORNING   Our Home and School is sponsoring a delicious pancake breakfast in Holy Family Hall from 8:30 up to the noon mass.  The only thing better than the pancakes and sausage is the delightful service you’ll receive from our student waiters and waitresses. It is a real treat. You got the blue trifold brochure with Catholic Schools Week activities set out day by day last week and there’s more reminder information in today’s envelope as well. It is for you—our families— that we celebrate the Good News of Catholic Schools. 

 “PLEASE HOLD…”  Each morning at 8:10 and each afternoon at 2:40, we make general school announcements and pray as a school community. This all takes place from the main office and so, if you call school at either time, you would be asked to hold until announcements and prayers are over.  

 IT’S FINALLY WINTER AND SO… when it’s too cold to line up outside, we come in through the “new lobby” doors in the morning. This entrance has one of those warm weather curtains like a department store and so protects the rest of the school from loosing as much heat from the door being constantly opened.  If it’s raining, however, we use the main lobby door to get in as soon as possible. There are students stationed at these places who escort little ones to their classrooms when the teachers do not bring them in as a class.

 WHAT IF WE HAVE A SNOW DAY?  If school is closed for snow or any other reason, when we return we will have the letter day we missed. For instance, if school were announced as closed on a C Day, when we return it will be a C Day and our calendar will be adjusted through the rest of the month. The same system will hold true for the Lunch Program. If we were closed on the scheduled meatballs day menu, when we returned, lunch would be meatballs and the rest of the scheduled lunches would be adjusted as well. Whenever there is the weather possibility of school being closed, please listen to KYW for the message. You may also check our website or listen to our phone message. We try to make the information available as soon as possible and as in as many ways as possible. If you live outside of the city, you may have to check local information to see if those school districts which provide your busing are open or closed as well.

NEWS FROM BLOCS  Please take note of this information for BLOCS (Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools) student aid applicants with the March 16th deadline.  Although the present application has one site to check the status of your application, the site has been changed. It is www.mypsas.org as BLOCS has a different provider. The rest of the application is the same except for this.  Some families at St. Christopher do receive BLOCS aid and possibly more people would be eligible if they applied. Go to www.BLOCS.org to download an application or call our school office if you are unable to do that and we will send one home to you.

 PEOPLE AND EVENTS  Jaclyn Dietrich (4-12) donated eight inches of hair to Locks of Love and Kimberly Dietrich (4-11) donated ten inches of her hair to this wonderful cause. We are very proud of Jaclyn and Kimberly along with the many girls at SCS who have made so many hurting children feel better with this positive act of outreach. They truly live our mission of carrying Christ to others.

Our Swim Team did it again! They won against Our Lady of Good Counsel on Saturday.  Their parents and Ms. Kelso did a good job of cheering them on. The last meet of the season takes place at 6 PM this Saturday against a very tough team Our Lady of Calvary. We wish our swimmers much luck and invite anyone who can come watch to go.

CRITICAL THINKING 101  “Every lady in this land hath 20 nails. On each hand, five; and twenty on hands and feet.”  Barbara Walsh (K-34) had her correct entry drawn for this week’s $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. For next week, please give us the product of the number of letters in the first and last names of the person who began the Catholic School system in the United States. For example, if it were me, it would be Patricia (8) times Kilbride (8) for a product of 64. If it were Mary Tremper it would be 4 x 7 for a total of 28. 

JANUARY 17, 2007

“Help! That’s a very simple  prayer, but it gets the job done. God hears all our prayers, the simple ones and the fancy ones. So we don’t ever have to worry that we aren’t using exactly the right words with God…The One who looks into our hearts sees beyond our choice of words.

          Loving God, thank you for hearing what I have to say, even when I don’t say it so well.”

IT’S ACTUALLY GETTING COLDER AND SO….  a little more planning ahead time is necessary so that warm jackets, hats, gloves, etc. are ready to go in the morning and your cherubs won’t be late. Please remember that if you do bring your children late—for any reason, you need to sign the late book inside in the main lobby. 

 BLOCS APPLICATIONS (FINANCIAL GRANTS) ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON-LINE   EITC monies are available for qualifying families and you can go straight to the BLOCS website at www.BLOCS.org to  download the application. When you go to the site, you will see a yellow column with information about the application and then the link to it at the bottom. You won’t know your family’s eligibility if you don’t at least read it as requirements for these grants change from year to year.  Keep in mind that there is a March 16^th deadline to file the application.

 THERE’S HELP FOR HIGH SCHOOL AS WELL  Families who will be sending their 8^th graders to Archdiocesan high schools can also apply for TAP financial help. These applications are available by calling school and we will send one home for you. Like the BLOCS application, unless you review it, you won’t know whether or not you are eligible.

 TUITION UPDATE   A policy reminder that in order for children to continue attending school after February 1st:  Families on the monthly payment plan must be paid through the month of January; those families on the annual plan must be paid in full. (1) Monthly tuition must be current through January (2) Other payment plans – tuition must be paid in full.  Please call Maryann Junod at the Parish Center with questions about your tuition status.

Thank you to all the families who paid their tuition on time and to the volunteers who assisted on tuition night.

 “BUILD A HOUSE..BUILD A DREAM! CONTEST FOR KIDS”   Delaware Valley Habitat for Humanity invites 5^th graders to put their creative talents to work to build the three-dimensional miniature of their dream home and to prepare an essay describing their creation. We have fliers with information and the registration form on it. There’s a January 31^st deadline to register for the March 24^th judging at the Franklin Institute. 5^th grade teachers have the forms.

HAVE A PASSION FOR FASHION?  Help plan our annual H & S fashion show. Check the flier in the envelope for details.

 PEOPLE AND EVENTS  When we told you about the Gymnastics competition at Harrisburg in last week’s newsletter, we didn’t have the details for Connor Green. Connor was awarded the First Place medal on floor exercise and high bar and Second Place on vault. As we said, Connor’s and Joe’s Level 6 Team went on to win the First Place All-Around Team trophy. Imagine the hours of practice involved!  This Saturday, Connor’s sisters Devon and Taylor were also in a competition in Delaware County. It was Taylor’s first competitive meet and she received 1^st Place in floor, beam, vault, and all-around. Devon received 3^rd on beam and floor exercises and the team won the 2^nd Place All-Around trophy.  This family must be very proud! We are too.

Our Boys’ JV Soccer Team has won the CYO championship for the third year in a row. What an accomplishment! Very well coached by Mike DeIeso and Bob Gass, the members are Andrew Lee, Sammy Caranci, Anthony D’Alfonso, Matt DeTreux, Marco Cavallo, Fred Licsauer, Tommy Farmer, Chris Marshall, Raymond Rocks, George Furitsch, Erik Lynch, Bryan Constantine,  Anthony Moffa, Kyle Contstantine, Brandan McCammitt,  Mike DeIeso, John Zuk, Joe Ruskowski, Miguel Rendon, Chris Sugden, Adam Wisniowski, and Drew Stricker. Great job, team! You had an awesome season.

Our swim team came away with a 22 point win against BVM at their meet Saturday. Like us, their coaches and Mrs. Giammaruti and Ms. Kelso who were also there to cheer them on were very proud of them. Our Lady of Good Counsel has tough competition when they swim against St. Chris this Saturday, the 20^th, at 5:15 PM at William Tennant High School. Go, team!

CRITICAL THINKING 101  Our $10 Scrip of Choice certificate for having her correct entry drawn goes to Jackie Valori (6-17). The letter e was the answer. For next week, we need you to fix the punctuation in this 500 year old poem so that it is true:  “Every lady in this Land hath 20 Nails on each Han