St. Jerome School Weekly Newsletter
February 23rd, 2022
“Love is the most beautiful sentiment the Lord has put into the soul of men and women.”
St. Gianna Beretta Molla
From Mr. Merrick
Dear St. Jerome Families,
I hope that you all are enjoying the warm weather. Fr. Reilly and I are excited to announce a new partnership for next year. Below is a letter from the Office of Catholic Education explaining that, this September, St. Lucy School for Children with Visual Impairments will be leasing unused space in the Convent and St. Joseph Building to form a partnership with St. Jerome School. This will provide revenue for our school (for space that we have to maintain but not utilize) that will allow us to improve our buildings and programs and ensure the long-term financial sustainability of our school. At the same time, we will be able to partner together to have our students interact and learn from each other and share in events together. As we get closer to the end of the year, we will be sharing more details and getting the chance to meet the St. Lucy Community (they currently have about 35 students and are really excited to be able to relocate to our neighborhood).
If you have any blessed palms left over from last year, you are welcome to send them into school by next Tuesday. On Tuesday, we are going to have a prayer service where Fr. Reilly will burn the palms from last year to make the ashes that we will receive on Wednesday at the 10:00 AM Mass for Ash Wednesday.
Our Home and School Association sent home flyers today for their Luck of the Irish St. Patrick's Day Raffle. A copy is also below (if you didn't get it today, it is on its way home). There will be reminders in the next few newsletters as well.
Congratulations to our Students of the Month who were recognized yesterday, following our February School Liturgy, for living the virtue of cheerfulness: Jack Mooney, Jelani Neba, Brayden O’Brien, Gemma Jenkins, Evan Okwudishu, Giana Clarke, Matthew Wisniewski, Emma Schafer, Casey Hart, Kenzi D’Amore, Jerachmeel Guillaume, Madalyn Edney. Thomas Carolan, Mya Applebaum, Ayden Wallace, Chidera Odor, Diego Rivera, Jack Brown, Emanuel Kamara, Basia Brady, and Jeffrey Kolakowski. Our virtue for March is temperance, which is enjoying things in a proper, balanced way.
Thank you to Mrs. Mensch's fourth grade class for doing an outstanding job as altar servers, readers, and gift bearers at yesterday's Mass.
Pretzel order forms are due tomorrow and cover Monday, February 28, 2022 to Friday, April 1, 2022.
Tomorrow, Thursday is a St. Jerome Spirit Wear day for February; the proceeds raised from donations that day will help us purchase supplies for our service projects (such as postage to mail cards, bags for Caring for Friends Breakfast kits that we will make in June, and treats to include with the notes that we made for first responders). We will also be making a donation to the Miraculous Medal Shrine for visiting us last week.
On Friday at 1:00 PM, we will be connecting virtually with St. Jerome School in Phoenix, Arizona. Each one of our classes will be assigned a question to answer (for example, describing our uniforms and our neighborhoods) to allow our students to be able to compare and contrast our two schools.
This coming Sunday, February 27th, is our Liturgical Rite for our second grade candidates for First Holy Communion at the 9:30 AM Mass. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue their sacramental preparations for May.
Archbishop Perez will be celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation on Thursday, March 3rd at 4:00 PM; as noted on the school calendar, March 3rd is a half day with dismissal at noon.
Have a great rest of the week; St. Jerome, pray for us!
CARES Fun Friday for March
Read Across America Week (2/28 to 3/4)
Ways to Save On Your Tuition
St. Jerome Scrip Program
Support St. Jerome on Amazon Smile:
COVID-19 & Catholic Schools Onward Protocol Reminders
Please continue to monitor your children for any symptoms, and have them stay home if unwell, if he or she tests positive for COVID-19, or was exposed to a person who tested positive for COVID-19. Please let us know so that we can help you determine a return date.
We are also ready to switch our students in K-8th over to virtual learning as quickly as possible. Please let us know, and we will prepare your child's books and lend a Chromebook if you need one. Pre-K teachers will work with families on an individual basis with suggested activities so that your child does not fall too far behind.
If a student or staff member who has been in a classroom tests positive for COVID-19, we will work with the Philadelphia Department of Health to determine close contacts and notify them of the need to quarantine. With the latest guidelines and mitigation efforts, quarantines of whole classes and classmates are generally not being recommended. Again, we will let you know their guidance and switch any students who need to quarantine to virtual.
Thank you for your help and support as we work to keep our students and staff safe and healthy while maintaining in-person instruction for our families and providing the best possible spiritual and academic experience for our students.