Mercy Peek & Ponder by Mr. McGrath
Volume III Issue 17 Sunday, January 8, 2017
Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School
Email: jmcgrath@olmcatholicschool.com
Website: www.olmcatholicschool.com
Location: 29 Conwell Drive, Maple Glen, PA, United States
Phone: 215-646-0150
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Our-Lady-of-Mercy-Regional-Catholic-School-1427959374084742/?ref=bookmarks
OUR PEACEMAKERS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2016: OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S WILL
Our Peacemakers of the month help us to maintain and strengthen our OLM community. During the month of December, students were asked to look to Saint Juan Diego and work to be people who obey the will of God.
Our Lady of Mercy School embraces the virtues of our faith and look to the saints for inspiration and guidance.
The following students have been chosen as Peacemakers of the month for December. They displayed by their daily work obedience to the will of God. We offer them a big OLM CONGRATS!
Kindergarten
Amanda Cunningham
Braden Binczewski
Jack Dougherty
1st Grade
Wyatt Fell
Jaxson Carroll
Emily Buckius
2nd Grade
Nicholas Wilkin
Sean McCook
3rd Grade
Freddie Simko
Jake McVeigh
4th Grade
Raegan Penna
Marissa Moffa
5th Grade
Timmy Tilson
Josey Liebsch
Haley Lewinski
6th Grade
Michele Mirabelli
Molly Waltrich
7th Grade
Caitlin Hart
Cesar Guerra-Solano
8th Grade
Julie Giannini
AJ Citro
Brey Rivera
Upcoming Events
January 8
General Home & School Meeting, 7PM in school cafeteria (see below for more info)
January 10
Merit Award Dress Down
January 11
Merit Award Dress Down
Mission Collection - THON
Grade 4 Class Mass, 9AM
January 13
Professional Development Day #2
No School for Students
January 16
MLK Day - No School
With Appreciation:
Dear OLM Families,
Once again you have overwhelmed us with your generosity and kindness. We truly appreciate the Visa gift cards and we thank you for remembering us at Christmas. Best wishes for a joy-filled 2017!
Mrs. Costanza, Mr. Delaney, Mrs. Demkovitz, Mrs. Hoffner, Ms. Houser, Mrs. Momorella, Mrs. Schmidt
Home & School General Meeting
We are happy to welcome Mary Pugh, Esq., she will be speaking about “Keeping Our Kids Safe on the Internet”. Ms. Pugh will be discussing the benefits and challenges of technology. She will start with and overview of boundaries, expectations and privacy issues, growing use and acceptance of technology. Then she will discuss the common challenges, including exposure to violence, constant communication, cyber bullying, excessive video playing and sexting, texting and over sharing information. Wine and Cheese will be served. Highest homeroom attendance will receive a treat.
Sunday, Jan 8, 2017, 07:00 PM
OLM Cafeteria
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Mission Collection: January
Our theme for this school year at OLM is “Rooted in God and Growing in MERCY”. Keeping this theme in mind our OLM community will be collecting donations throughout the school year to help organizations that show and promote mercy in the world. In this way we can help others throughout the world experience mercy as a result of our generosity. These mission collections will take place each Wednesday. Please encourage your child to bring donations regardless of how large or small the donations are. Every donation makes a difference in helping more people to experience the circle of mercy.
During the month of January, we will be raising money for the Four Diamonds Fund. The Four Diamonds' mission is to conquer childhood cancer by assisting children treated at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. Each year, Four Diamonds provides direct support to approximately 600 children with cancer – 100 who are newly diagnosed and 500 who are continuing their fight. Since its creation in 1972, Four Diamonds has helped more than 3,600 children and families and supported a diverse platform of childhood cancer research at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, seeking improved treatments and cures to benefit those around the world.
We here at OLM are answering the call to help those facing pediatric cancer and we are asking for your support. We will be collecting donations each Wednesday in January and the fifth grade will sponsor our fifth annual Mini-Thon on Friday, February 3rd. More information about this exciting event to follow! We look forward to continuing to support organizations that help others to experience the circle of mercy throughout the school year. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Service Saturday
As we are all aware Martin Luther King Day, is a national holiday with Americans encouraged to give some of their time to do works of service. We are asking students in 6, 7, or 8th grade to volunteer at the St. Catherine of Siena Food Pantry on Saturday, January 14th from 9 to 12:15. Interested students need to email Mrs. DiNenno at ddinenno@olmcatholicschool.com by Wednesday, January 11. Students should report to St. Catherine of Siena by 9am on Saturday. To show our school pride students may wear OLM sweatshirts or T-shirts.
Thank you for reaching out to others!Notification Information - School Closings, Delays, Early Dismissals
Archdiocesan Schools Outside City of Philadelphia (Policy S316B – Elementary Policy & Procedure Handbook) - The parochial schools outside of the city limits follow the Public-School District where the school is geographically located for weather closings and delays.
Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School utilizes the MSP system of emergency notification in the event of a weather-related school schedule change. In the event of a school closing, early dismissal or late arrival, you will be notified via the phone number(s) that you provided in our student management database – MSP (My Student Progress).
PLEASE NOTE: In the event that you do not receive a phone call before 5:45 a.m., and the weather seems inclement, be sure to utilize any of these other methods to verify the status of the school day. While MSP is a very reliable system, no system is completely fail-safe, and so a variety of back-up measures are in place.
ONLINE: Details regarding any delay, closure or early dismissal will be posted to Our Lady of Mercy’s home page at www.olmcatholicschool.com . It will also be posted to our social media – Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (find more information about these sites on our website)
E-MAIL: When school closings occur, you will receive an e-mail to the e-mail address(es) that you provided in MSP.
RADIO AND TELEVISION: Tune to KYW Newsradio 1060 AM and listen for Upper Dublin School District for snow and other emergency school closings. Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School, once notified by the Upper Dublin School District, will also posted to radio and television. You will also see this information listed online and broadcast on CBS 3 Eyewitness News, WPVI Channel 6 Action News, Fox29, and NBC 10 News school closing scrolls. These stations may also offer a text message sign-up, more information can often be found on their websites.
In the event that schools are closed during regular daytime hours due to inclement weather, all evening events, and activities will also be canceled.
SIXTH GRADE FUNDRAISER (see attached flyer)
GIFT CARD BASKET RAFFLE
DATE OF RAFFLE: Monday, February 6th
VALUED AT: $300.00
GIFT CARD BASKET
Tickets
$1.00 EACH
3 FOR $2.00
6 FOR $5.00
Benefiting
THE OUR LADY OF MERCY CATHOLIC SCHOOL ANNUAL
GIVING FUND FOR 2016-2017
Gift Cards from:
Lands’ End
Target
Subway
Panera
Cheesecake Factory
Dunkin’ Donuts
Dairy Queen
Cold Stone Creamery
AMC Theaters
Starbucks
Red Robin
SKI CLUB FUNDRAISER - PRETZEL SALE
The ski club students will be selling regular sized pretzels for the students to enjoy in the month of January and February during snack time. A form was sent home today to complete if you would like your child to have pretzels. All pretzels must be pre-ordered. The dates for pretzels are 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13 and 2/27. Cost is $5 per child. Send in cash or checks (made payable to OLM) to JP Romano (6-Opdyke) by Thursday, January 12th.
Class of 2017 Scholarship Awards
Gwynedd Mercy Academy:
· Megan Emmerling: Misericordia Academic
· Devon Sweeney: Trustee Academic
Mount St. Joseph Academy:
· Julia Norton: Alumnae Academic
St. Basil Academy:
· Grace Toriello: Music and Academic
· Melanie McGill: Mother Josephat Award
· Megan Emmerling: Academic
LaSalle College High School:
· Robert (Ted) Nagle : Presidential Academic
· Lucas Braccia: Principal Academic
Archbishop Wood:
· Margaret (Meg) Waltrich: Academic
· Lucas Braccia : Academic
Lansdale Catholic:
· Gavin Mook: Academic
Bishop McDevitt
· Emily Mirabelli: Lancer Academic
Total Scholarships as of 12/19/16: $218,000
Virtue of the Month: Prayer
Our virtue of the month of January is Prayer
Pope Francis says, "Prayer is very important. Never forget to pray! Nobody can tell when we are praying on the bus on in the car. We pray in silence, with the heart, so let's take advantage of these opportunities to pray."
The most important thing is to acquire the habit of prayer. It has to become a habit. Without that, we don't have an interior life; we just have an exterior life. And when all we have is an exterior life, we become anxious, restless, and that leads to greed, the inordinate love of possessing. For we end up trying to secure our own happiness and to reduce our own anxiety, and when things do not go our way in life, we become angry, impatient, irritated, we lose the peace that we long for. And when we are at that point, it means we've taken our life into our own hands. But life is not meant to be lived out of our own hands. We are meant to be carried along by God, like a baby is carried in a car seat. We are meant to be carried along by divine providence. God is in control, not us, and we have to surrender to his control. When we do so, life becomes so much more exhilarating.
St. Andre Bessette will be our model.
Prayer to St. Andre Bessette
Lord our God, friend of the lowly, you gave your servant, St. André Bessette, a great devotion to St. Joseph and a special commitment to the poor and afflicted. Through his intercession help us to follow his example of prayer and MERCY and so come to share with him in your glory. (mention your intention) We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
St. André Bessette, pray for us.
Students will be recognized at the School Liturgy on Friday, February 10, 2017.
Lollipops for Sale
The 7th & 8th grade will be selling lollipops every Thursday from now until supplies run out. All the proceeds are going to the Annual Giving Fund as their gift.
The lollipops are $1.00 each. Thank you for supporting our efforts.
OVER 350 students already! REGISTRATION OPEN TO NEW STUDENTS IN ALL GRADES K-8.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR THE 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR!!!
- Register by 3/31/17 and the registration fee is $250 per family.
- Anyone not registered by 3/31/17 will be automatically re-registered at $350 per family.
In order to opt out of re-registration, please contact Julie, our Advancement Director, at jbebey@olmcatholicschool.com.
A letter and the re-registration form was sent home to students. To re-register, simply fill out the family name, your parish, child(ren) name(s), grades they are going into and any NEW family member joining OLM. Send in the formalong with your payment to OLM in an envelope labeled "Registration". The registration payment must accompany the form.
SMART AID FOR 2017-2017 IS NOW OPEN! Click the link above to apply.
Smart Aid Information
The new ONLINE application is available. Click the Smart Aid Button above to access the application. The Priority Deadline is 12/31/2016.
OLM SCHOOL CODE 91026
OLM families are encouraged to complete and submit and application. This application will handle all financial aid for OLM (and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia) - including BLOCS, Heritage of Faith Funds, and other scholarship opportunities - both system-wide and at OLM.
Those families who applied in 16-17 will only need to:
1. Login in ( using the username and password from 16-17) www.smartaidforparents.com
2. Update their information
3. Submit and pay the $25 application fee
4. Return to the site and upload their 2016 taxes when completed but no later than 3/31/2017.
OLM's online Art Museum
Yearbook Orders
Believe it or not, it is already time to place your order for the 2016-2017 OLM yearbook! To order, follow the steps below:
1. Go to http://www.schoolannual.com/
2. Click on "Buy your Student's Yearbook" which is above the School Annual / Joston's logo.
3. Enter in school name, city, state, and then click "Go"
4. Enter in number of yearbooks to purchase, as well as child's homeroom / teacher and pay via credit card.
Please note that all 8th grade students DO NOT need to purchase a yearbook since it is included in graduation fees.
- All orders are due by January 31st!
BOX TOP NEWS
Don't forget that we have two Box Tops contests running. The next contest ends on February 15th, and the class with the highest total will win a doughnut or cupcake party! The end of year contest is for a class Pizza Party! The class that turns in the most Box Tops over the entire school year will win this prize in June.
Keep sending in your Box Tops every month. All Box Tops submitted count toward both contests. The holidays are a great time to look for Box Tops on products such as: Land O' Lakes butter and cheese, Hefty disposable products, Green Giant veggies, Reynolds foil baking pans, Food Should Taste Good chips, and many more! Here is a complete list http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/participating-products
Finally, don't forget about the new Box Tops app. It's as easy as checking the app after you do your grocery shopping, looking for any items that you purchased, and snapping a picture of your receipt. This page explains it well: http://www.boxtops4education.com/bonusapp. Thanks to all who have already been using it. The earnings are added to our account every time you submit your receipts!
OLM’s 2nd Annual Designer Bag Bingo - Friday, January 27, 2017
Doors open @ 6:15 • Bring your family, friends, your favorite snacks and drinks! • $30 per person…or $275 for tables of 10, $220 for tables of 8 • Additional “special” bingo cards will be available to purchase
Email olmbingo2017@gmail.com for questions/ticket requests or RSVP with payment to JP Romano, (6-Opdyke) by Thursday, 1/19/17
*limited to first 250 people so act fast
* **proceeds benefit OLM Home and School Association
** ***Checks made payable to Our Lady of Mercy
*** ****Interested in donating a raffle basket, please let us know****
A MESSAGE FROM THE HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION...
The HSA is organizing another Teacher's Wish List. Last year, the OLM community provided so many important items to help our teachers provide the best education to our students. Please take a moment to look at this year's requests. If you are able to provide new or gently used items, please sign up!
Consider joining together with other families and don't forget about our specials teachers!
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0F48A5AC2CA0F85-teaching
When you have something ready, please contact the teacher it is for to set up the best way to get it to them!
Please contact Alison Bell, alisonL24@yahoo.com, with any questions!
We Can’t Do It Without You!
The Home and School Association sponsors a full calendar of social events, fundraisers, meetings and programs each year. Lots of volunteers are needed to help make this happen. Contact Mirella Palme at mirellapalme@verizon.net our volunteer coordinator to lend a hand!
To view a list of current volunteers and chairs/co-chairs, or to sign up as a volunteer, please https://sites.google.com/site/olmhsaweb/volunteers
Volunteer for Lunch Duty at OLM!
Two parent volunteers must be on-duty in the school yard - before the playground is open. This ensures the safety of ALL. Our active volunteer program not only provides valuable hands-on assistance through the school, but also benefits the children by reinforcing ties between the children’s individual homes as well as the community at large, and the school. The Lunch/Recess Duty Volunteer program is a great way to volunteer and become involved at the school.
Sign up for Lunch Duty at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d4daaa622a6f49-january1
Birthday Blessings this Week!
Sunday, 01/08
Monday, 01/09
Justin Giannini
Julie Giannini
Tuesday, 01/10
Wednesday, 01/11
Courtney Sox
Thursday, 01/12
Marissa Braccia
Friday, 01/13
Christian Crane
Saturday, 01/14
NIcholas Sapp
Paige Metzler
ALTAR SERVICE THIS WEEK 9AM
Tuesday: Mary McGrory
Wednesday: Andrew Boles
Thursday: Siobhan Brogan
Friday: Gina Princivalle