Mercy Messenger
Issue 23 ~ Sunday February 11, 2024
Through the intercession of Our Lady of Mercy, we commit ourselves to living the Good News of Jesus through Works of Mercy. Our rigorous academic program unleashes creative energy for the pursuit of knowledge and nurtures a hope-filled vision for Catholic leadership. We live out our relationship with God by respecting the dignity of others and providing service to the global community that fosters unity, understanding, and compassion.
Beginning Prayer
Almighty and ever living God, you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent. May this time be one of outward focus; seeking you in those we often ignore.
Principal Update
Sunday February 11th, 2024
Good Morning,
As we move into the liturgical season of Lent on Ash Wednesday I would like to reflect on how Lent is a time of prayer. Lent is essentially an act of prayer spread out over 40 days. As we pray, we go on a journey, one that hopefully brings us closer to Christ and leaves us changed by the encounter with him. OLM will be celebrating Ash Wednesday together at the 9 am mass. After mass we will be awarding our peacemakers of the month. I welcome all of you to join us in celebrating the beginning of Lent. Also this week we are participating in "random acts of kindness" week. This week we are asking our students to look for opportunities to show that you care and go out of their way to make a positive impact in someone else’s life. We are asking that the students donate items to cradles to crayons. The flyer is below in the "counselors corner" with the list of items that each grade is asked to bring in. I hope everyone has a great week ahead and a very holy Lenten season.
In Mercy,
Bill Delaney
Reminders
- Please do not get out of your car to get your child during car line. It is not safe to walk in the parking lot during dismissal. Thank you.
- Please do not drop your child off at school before 7:30.
- Please remember to fill out all the school forms that are on OptionC as soon as possible.
- If you are changing the way your child is going home please call the main office before 1pm.
- If your child is absent from school please email attendance@olmrcs.com.
- Make sure to have all your clearances up to date if you are planning on volunteering in the school or with any clubs. (See Wednesday communication for more information)
Mini -THON!
The fifth grade would like to thank the entire Our Lady of Mercy School community for all you did to make our annual Mini-THON a great success! With your help, we were able to raise $4,142.35 for the Four Diamonds Fund, which helps families facing the battle against pediatric cancer. We greatly appreciate your generous donations and your support of our t-shirt sale and dress down day. A special thank you to all of our parent volunteers who assisted with many different tasks and our Home and School Association for providing pretzels for all students and staff. Thank you, OLM, for your amazing generosity and for helping to make a difference in the lives of those affected by pediatric cancer.
A Look Ahead
2/14- Ash Wednesday 9 am mass.
2/14- Ski Club.
2/16- Professional Development Day. No School for Students.
2/19- Presidents Day. No School.
2/21- Ski club make up.
SUNDAY STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Congratulations to Megan Bell '24 on receiving the following scholarships to:
ASP Academic Scholarship - Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School
Misericordia Academic Scholarship - Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School
Presidential Academic Scholarship - Mount St. Joseph Academy High School
Presidential Academic Scholarship - Lansdale Catholic High School
Neumann Scholarship- Full scholarship for four years to any Archdiocesan High School
The OLM community is very proud of Megan and all her accomplishments!
Mini Thon Results
The fifth grade would like to thank the entire Our Lady of Mercy School community for all you did to make our annual Mini-THON a great success! With your help, we were able to raise $4,142.35 for the Four Diamonds Fund, which helps families facing the battle against pediatric cancer. We greatly appreciate your generous donations and your support of our t-shirt sale and dress down day. A special thank you to all of our parent volunteers who assisted with many different tasks and our Home and School Association for providing pretzels for all students and staff. Thank you, OLM, for your amazing generosity and for helping to make a difference in the lives of those affected by pediatric cancer.
Fashion Design 101
Class of 2024 Scholarships
We proudly report that the Class of 2024 students were awarded a grand total of $917,000 in scholarships. Congratulation to all.
Honor Band
Congratulations to Henry Lemanowicz for making the Archdiocese of Philadelphia middle school honor band. Henry plays the trumpet. The concert will take place on Friday, February 23, 2024 at Archbishop Wood High School.
Archdiocesan Honors Chorus
Congratulations to Grace Womelsdorf, Kylie Youngers, and Izzy Eliason for being named to the Archdiocesan Honors Choir. Over 85 students from the surrounding Catholic schools were selected to participate. The concert will be on Wednesday, February 28, 2024 at Cardinal O'Hara High School.
Blossom in Stem Program (Spots still open.)
Gwynedd Mercy Academy is offering their Blossom in Stem Program to our 6th, 7th and 8th grade female students. This program is meant to enhance and expand their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Once a month, students from Gwynedd and their Stem teacher Mr. Berger will come to OLM to facilitate and aid them in performing Stem related activities and experiments. The club is free to our students and is open to 20 girls per session. There will be 9 sessions and it will be after school from 3-4pm. Below you will find a link for the sign up list. Thank you.
Counseling Corner
This week is Random Acts of Kindness week! We perform Random Acts of Kindness when we go beyond what is expected of us and reach out to help another person. There are hundreds of ways to show kindness. This week we are asking our students to look for opportunities to show that you care and go out of their way to make a positive impact in someone else’s life. Below are a few ideas.
Hold the door open for someone
Compliment a friend
Do a chore without being asked
Smile at everybody
Invite a new person to play
Show your appreciation or thanks
Donate food, toys, books or other items to those in need.
It doesn’t take much to be kind. When we are kind, we inspire others to be kind, and it creates a ripple effect that spreads outwards.
Remember our Cradles to Crayon donation drive is Thursday, February 15th.
From the Nurse's Office
If your child test positive for Covid-19 please follow the CDC guidelines. If you have any questions please contact the nurse's office at nurse@olmrcs.com.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/isolation.html
Please remember that your child needs to be 24 hours fever free and vomit free without medicine before returning to school. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our school community healthy.
OLM at the Union Game ~ GET YOUR TICKETS THIS WILL SELL OUT!!!!
OLM is partnering with the Philadelphia Union on a school night out this season! Families can purchase tickets to Philadelphia Union vs. DC United, Sunday, September 22nd at 6:00pm. With Union tickets at an all-time high demand, we are opening this up well in advance. We were able to secure a limited number of tickets to sell to our school community. We will sell tickets until February 17th or until our block of tickets is sold out. The Union does expect to sell out this game soon so please grab your seats today. So, if you are interested in purchasing tickets, please do not delay! Purchase your tickets ASAP at the following link: https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/OLM24 Questions? Contact Alex Carrington with the Union directly at 610-497-8796 or acarrington@philadelphiaunion.com. Hope to see you at Subaru Park!
Fat Tuesday - February 13th
Home & School will be supplying the students and staff with donuts on Tuesday to celebrate Fat Tuesday.
Valentine’s Day - February 13th
With Valentine's Day falling on Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting, the students will celebrate Valentine's Day on Tuesday, February 13th. Please check with your homeroom parent as to how your class may be celebrating.
Ski & Board Club
Ski & Snowboard Club
- The next trip is Wednesday, February 14th. If your child is part of the ski & board club please consider volunteering for the trips, https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4BA8AF2FA46-44432645-2024#/. If you have any questions, please contact Bea Lemanowicz at bml@lemanowiczlaw.com
We need parent volunteers with Ski & Board Club Monday Pretzels. One person is asked to pick up pretzels at 8am at the Philly Pretzel Factory Horsham, deliver to the school, and help sort/distribute. We need another parent to meet at the school at 8:15am and help sort/distribute them. Please use the sign up genius link to volunteer for a day or two. Our Lady of Mercy Home and School Association: 2024 OLM Ski & Board Club Pretzel Sale Volunteers (signupgenius.com)
February Dine & Donate
HSA will host their next dine and donate on Thursday, February 22nd from 11:00am to 9:00pm at Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza in Horsham. Mention you are there for the OLM dine and donate. 20% of your bill (excluding alcohol) will be donated back to the school.
Father/Daughter Dance - Friday March 8th, Registration now open!
Registration is now open for the annual Father Daughter Dance. The event will take place on Friday, March 8th at Our Lady of Mercy. So get ready to parTAY on the dance floor! See the flyer for more details.
To Register: Father Daughter Registration
- To Volunteer or Donations:http://tinyurl.com/OLM2024dance
OLM Run for Mercy 5k & 1 mile fun run/walk – March 16th!
Mark your calendars and start training. The OLM Run for Mercy 5k & 1 mile fun run/walk will take place on Saturday, March 18th at 10:00am. To Register for the event use this link: http://tinyurl.com/RUNFORMERCY2024. If you would like to volunteer and join the 5k committee, please reach out Kristin Butler at Kmbutler333@gmail.com.
Coffee with the Principal - Thank you!
We hope those who attended enjoyed themselves and we look forward to hosting another event with Mr. Delaney on April 6th.
Supporting Home & School
- Interested in Volunteering?
- We are always looking for new ideas, suggestions, and volunteers! If you have any interest in volunteering please feel free to fill out this interest form: tinyurl.com/OLMVolCalendar24.
- If you are interested in joining the board, we would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out via email at hsa@olmrcs.com. We welcome you to check out our website, www.olmhsa.wixsite.com/2021, or follow and interact with us on social media, FB @olmhsa or Instagram @olmhsa.
8th Grade Pretzels!
Ski Pretzels end on Monday, February 26th! 8th Grade will begin their pretzel sale delivery on Monday, March 4th. Be sure to sign your child(ren) up for pretzels by February 26th to ensure they receive their Monday pretzels. Sign up through the link: http://tinyurl.com/OLM8thgradepretzelsale. We appreciate your support to help them with the cost of their 8th grade graduation.
Winter Weather
As we are moving towards the winter months of the year here are a couple of reminders if we have a delayed school day or closure.
- OLM follows Upper Dublin school district. If Upper Dublin closes school for weather or is delayed, OLM is closed or delayed. A text, call and email will be sent out.
- If another school district closes and Upper Dublin is open, OLM is open. Those school district's that are closed will not provide busing. You will be notified if that occurs.
2024-2025 Financial Aid
2024-2025 financial aid is now open. Please log onto your FACTS account to apply. To be considered for financial aid you must fill out an application through your FACTS account. The deadline to apply is February 29th. If you have any questions please send your questions to grants@olmrcs.com.
Uniform Policy
Please remember that all students should be wearing our winter uniforms. ALL uniform rules will be enforced. Please review the general uniform rules that are listed below and are in the student handbook.
● Girls’ kilts must be no shorter than two inches above the knee. After a second warning, they must wear navy blue tights or school-issued pants until the skirt/kilt is at the appropriate length.
● All students must wear OLM uniform pieces with logos. They must be purchased from one of our two approved vendors: Flynn & O’Hara or Lands’ End.
● All formal and gym uniforms must be purchased from one of our two approved vendors: Flynn & O’Hara or Lands’ End.
● NO LOGOS, Nike Elite sports socks, or the like are permitted with the school uniform except on gym days.
● Sneakers must be worn on gym days, even on a dress-down day.
● Girls may wear post-earrings or small hoops.
● Belts must be worn with pants or shorts by both boys and girls.
● Only the neckline of a plain white undershirt may be visible under the shirt.
Car Line Procedures
To keep our students safe and the car line moving in the afternoon, please:
- Do not get out of your cars. A faculty member will help your child get into the car.
- DO NOT PASS cars in front of you as there may be children getting into their cars on the driver's side. Please be patient and stay in line as you exit the school property, following the car in front of you.
- Do not stop in front of your child. Pull up as far as you can (up to the gym doors) to allow the most cars to load at one time. Please pull right up to the car in front of you.
- Do not speed. The speed limit is 10 MPH while driving on any part of the school property. Please be mindful of your speed.
- Do not use your cell phone while driving in the parking lot.
- WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE PUT A SIGN IN YOUR PASSENGER SIDE FRONT WINDOW IDENTIFYING YOUR LAST NAME. This will help us find your child(ren) faster.
- If you need to buckle your child into their car seat, please do so in the circle near the exit of the property.
Birthdays this week
2/11
Bridget Homa
Quinn Stumpf
Reagan Stumpf
2/12
Kailyn Wirsul
Hannah Fida
2/13
Mrs. Norman
2/14
Claire Devlin
Nicholas Dodson
2/15
Mrs. Schmidt
John Mershon
Katrin Mershon
2/17
Mrs. Maples
Alicia Torres
Talia Ceron-Andrade
Altar Servers
Tuesday 2/13
Erin Proulx
Luke McDonald
Wednesday 2/14
Drew Barton
Jaxson Carroll
Cassidy Carroll
Thursday 2/15
James Norman
Victoria Heath