Mercy Peek & Ponder by Mr. McGrath
Volume III Issue 19 Sunday, January 22, 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
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS' WEEK 2017
This month we celebrate National Catholic Schools Week. Starting with special Masses at all three parishes on Sunday, January 29, we have a whole week of activities planned to demonstrate what our students are accomplishing and to celebrate the community we’ve built to educate tomorrow’s citizens and church leaders.
This year’s National Catholic Schools Week theme is based on community: “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.” At OLM we have added the word “leadership” to the national theme. The theme highlights the fact school communities are part of many other communities, including families, parishes, cities and our country. In addition, the theme focuses on key components of Catholic education: faith development, academic excellence and dedication to service. Our students then transform the world through Catholic leadership. These elements set Catholic schools apart from other educational options. They are why families make sacrifices to provide a Catholic education to their children.
Catholic Schools Week is an opportunity for us to welcome prospective families in to Our Lady of Mercy. I am very proud of our school, and I look forward to inviting new families and our current families to our Open House on Sunday, January 29th from 11AM to 1PM. Please encourage your friends and neighbors, particularly those who may be thinking about Catholic education for their children, K-8. OLM is offering Referral Tuition Credits for any current family referring a new family who registers. Please contact Julie Bebey for mor information.
Catholic Schools Week is also an opportune time for me to thank our teachers, staff, administrators, parents and volunteers for their dedication and commitment to our school. As principal, I am blessed for all of your support.
With thoughts and prayers,
Mr. John C. McGrath, M.Ed.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 2017 KICK-OFF OPEN HOUSE AND BREAKFAST
Join us for our Open House from 11AM to 1PM with a special kindergarten information session at 12PM in the library. There will be a Kick-Off Breakfast served and plenty of time to tour the school. Our celebration begins with mass at our parishes: St. Catherine of Siena – 9AM, St. Anthony of Padua – 9:15AM, and St. Alphonsus – 10:15AM.
Sunday, Jan 29, 2017, 11:00 AM
Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School, Conwell Drive, Maple Glen, PA, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Upcoming Events
January 25
Grade 2 Class Mass, 9AM
Mission Collection: THON
STREAM ACADEMY/CLUB DAY #2
Ski Club #2
January 27
Progress Reports
Designer Bag Bingo, 7PM (doors open 6:15PM) ***SOLD OUT***
School Cafeteria
January 29
Opening of Catholic Schools' Week
Breakfast/Open House, 11AM to 1PM
Kindergarten Information Session in library at noon
FAMILY FUN BINGO
Date: Friday, February 3rd
Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Place: OLM Cafeteria
Price: $7 per person or $25 per family
Pizza and drinks will be provided. Bring a dessert to share.
Please complete the form that was sent home today, along with your payment, by Monday, January 30th to Bea Lemanowicz c/o Bebe - 6, Mrs. Opdyke.
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.
THON INFORMATION
When: Friday, February 3rd; 9:00am - 10:30am (Eighth grade versus teachers volleyball game - 10:45am)
Where: Gym
Who: All kindergarten through 8th grade students; Parents and families are most welcome!
If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please donate to the weekly Wednesday mission collections or bring your donation to school during the week of January 30th. We greatly thank you for your support!
All checks can be made payable to the Four Diamonds Fund.
If you would like to make an online donation, follow the link below to access the OLM donor page: http://fourdiamonds.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.ev ent&eventID=1701
All students should wear their gym uniform and/or optional Mini-Thon tshirt on Friday, February 3 rd .
FACTS PAYMENTS
Do you still owe pretzel money or CARES fees?
Fees other than tuition are billed as "Incidental Billings" or processed as an invoice through FACTS. Many families have Auto Pay (automatic withdraws) for your tuition payments but must manually schedule your payment for Incidental Billings, which sometimes get missed. Please check your FACTS account to see if you have any past due balances. If you are having any difficulties making the payment through FACTS, you can send a check into school and the payment will be applied to your account. Please call Renee' Makoid if you need help with FACTS.
https://online.factsmgt.comReading Olympics 2017
There will be an elementary (grades 4-5) Reading Olympics meeting on Thursday, 1/26, at 12:35 in the library. The students should bring their lunches and their book list to the meeting. Also, any student who has not returned their signed Reading Olympics letter should bring it to the meeting on Thursday. Please note that all books on the book list are available in the school library. The students are encouraged to visit the library and exchange books as they finish them. At this week's meeting, the students will be discussing the writing of practice questions about the books.
Students on the middle school (grades 6-8) Reading Olympics team are free to check in with Mrs. Marano during lunch this week. If you have any questions about the Reading Olympics program, please contact one of the moderators.
MERCY 5K - SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2017
The 5th Annual Run is scheduled for Saturday March 25, 2017. Registration is now open. Register before February 6th for early bird pricing! The homeroom class with the highest percentage of participation will receive a prize. Post race food courtesy of Fireside Bar & Grill. Happy running!
Click here for all the information:
http://www.olmcatholicschool.com/runformercy.html
From the HOME & SCHOOL
In honor of OLM's wonderful faculty and staff, please consider helping out with our appreciation luncheon scheduled for Wednesday, February 1st during Catholic Schools Week. See the link below. There are many ways to help! Thank you for all that you always do!
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
Neumann Academic Scholarship:
· Margaret(Meg) Waltrich: Full four-years
Total Scholarships as of 01/16/17: $253,000
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.
ALMOST to 400! 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.
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!
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, 01/22
Katie Romano
Monday, 01/23
Olivia Coer
Allyson Maguire
Tuesday, 01/24
Gretchen Wolpert
Mrs. DiNenno
Wednesday, 01/25
James Barton
Thursday, 01/26
Elena Franklin
John Mele
Friday, 01/27
Henry Lemanowicz
Kathleen Tallon
Saturday, 01/28
Jake Coll
ALTAR SERVICE THIS WEEK 9AM
Tuesday: Elena Franklin
Wednesday: JP Romano
Thursday: Nathan Selgraph
Friday: Ciara Peyton