Mercy Peek & Ponder by Mr. McGrath
Volume III Issue 11 Sunday, November 20, 2016
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
From the Principal's Desk - Happy Thanksgiving!
What is the worst thing a person can undergo here on earth? What is the greatest difficulty? The harshest circumstances? What do you think the answer might be?
To be born in extreme poverty, as is one sixth of the world’s population? To be born into a loveless family? To have an incapacitating illness?
Let us consider this possibility-that the worst condition is to be ungrateful. If you suffer from ingratitude then it won’t matter what blessings and goodness are in your life, you won’t be capable of receiving it. In contrast, if you are grateful then even in the most challenging of circumstances, you will be able to recognize the many gifts that you are receiving.
Thinking this week about what to write reminded me of the story of a man who would come in every day to a restaurant on South Street in Philadelphia that served a small loaf of bread with its meals. Shortly after sitting down, he would ask for more bread to be served with his meal. After a few days of this, the waitress got tired of running back and forth, so she put two loaves of bread in front of him. Much to her surprise, he still finished them in record time and asked for more. She then gave him two baskets with four loaves when he came in next time-only to have him eventually demand more bread. Finally, she had it with him, so she talked to the baker prior to his next visit. The baker make a large loaf of bread four feet in diameter. She thought to herself, “This will shut him up!” When he came in and was seated, she went back to the kitchen for the bread. Struggling as she carried it to the table but still smirking all the while she did it, she dropped it on the table in front of him. He looked at it, paused, looked up and said in a whiny voice, “Oh, so we’re back to one piece of bread again, eh?”
More and more I think that a Christian life begins with being receptive. And being receptive includes noticing all that is given to us. If you only say one prayer in your whole life, let that prayer be thank you. A real thank you, one that comes from the heart, means that you have let in the love that is sent your way. Gratitude enlarges us-makes us bigger, more connected to others-to our past, and to our possibilities.
Gratefulness is a generative thing, it moves us up and out, gets us to do things we didn’t think we could. And then we grow some more. Simply put we do belong to this world, it is here that we live. We and the world are in constant dialogue, giving and taking air, seeing and being seen, born into live and dissolved back into the earth. The world is our home and here we belong, here hopefully we know ourselves as belonging.
May this felt sense of the garden of earth as our home give rise to unceasing gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving!
November Food Drive for St. Catherine of Siena's Food Pantry
Chilly & Winston greeted all of the pre-schoolers who attended a special Thanksgiving "Reading with Winston".
Upcoming Events
November 21
Grade 4 Trip - Franklin Institute
November 22
Thank-Scrip-ing Day is Making Its Tuesday Debut on November 22!
Thanksgiving Parties, 2PM
November 23
Thanksgiving Prayer Service, 10:30AM
Noon Dismissal
November 24
Thanksgiving - No School
November 25
No School
November 28
Classes Resume
November 29
Confessions, 1PM - Grades 3-8
November 30
MIddle School Academy Trip to Keswick Theater
Picture Re-takes
FIRST ANNUAL OLM CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING
Monday, Dec 5, 2016, 06:30 PM
Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School, Conwell Drive, Maple Glen, PA, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
PLEASE JOIN US TO CELEBRATE AND THANK!
Our Lady of Mercy invites all police, first responders, firefighters, EMS and veterans to a thank you breakfast and prayer service in gratitude for your service to our country and to our community.
We ask that our OLM parents, grandparents, family, friends join us - wear your uniform!
Please join us for breakfast on Wednesday, November 23rd at 10:00 AM at Our Lady of Mercy school followed by a prayer service at 10:30 in St. Alphonsus Church.
Please see the attached flyer. If you are able to attend, please RSVP to stimlin@olmcatholicschool.com by November 18th(name & # attending).
CONFIRMATION (ST. ALPHONSUS)
OLM 6th grade Confirmation candidates (and their siblings) may leave at 12:00 noon on Thursday, December 1st.
ATTENTION CLASS OF 2017!
Parents of the Class of 2017. Please read about the Maguire application and the benefits of this program. All applicants must also complete the Smart Aid application at www.smartaidforparents.org .
THE DEADLINE IS 12/16/2016.
The application is available at: http://www.aopcatholicschools.org/2017-2018-maguire-scholars-program-application-final/
Almost to 100 students already - and its only been a few days!
REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR THE 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR!!!
It's that time of year and we want to make sure our current families have the opportunity to re-register for the 2017-2018 school year before we open registration to new families.
- Register by 12/16/16 and the registration fee is discounted to $200 per family.
- 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.
SAFE ENVIRONMENT LESSONS
In the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, Article 12 calls for all dioceses to establish "safe environment" programs at all grade levels. This ongoing education is presented to the students in the parish and regional elementary schools of the Archdiocese as well as in the Parish Religious Education Programs (PREP or CCD) two times during the instructional year. This is a mandated obligation from the Archdiocese with the two lessons provided for our teachers. The lessons are available for you to review by visiting www.catholicschools-phl.org and clicking on Safe Environment.
Lessons will be conducted on Monday, November 28th in all grades during their religion class. In the event that you do not want your child to receive this instruction, please email your child's religion teacher by Wednesday, November 23, 2016.
PULSERA SALE
The Spanish Club is partnering with The Pulsera Project to hold its second pulsera sale beginning Monday, November 28. The Pulsera Project is a nonprofit organization that supports artisans in Nicaragua and Guatemala. Spanish Club will be selling these handmade pulseras (bracelets) in the cafeteria during both lunch periods from November 28 to December 2. All of the proceeds from our sale will go towards educating and empowering men, women and children in Central America.
Each bracelet is unique and sells for $5. Your child will have the opportunity to pick out their bracelet during his or her lunch period. Attached to each bracelet is a picture and the name of the person who crafted the pulsera so your children will know who they are helping.
Last year, we were able to raise $3,126 to benefit artisans, and we are hoping to have another successful sale this year. For more information, please visit The Pulsera Project website: http://www.pulseraproject.org/about
Thank-Scrip-ing Day is Making Its Tuesday Debut on November 22!
Don't miss 24 hours of incredible ScripNow®, Reload, and ReloadNow® bonuses from dozens of your favorite retailers. As always, our list of retailers is TOP SECRET, so you'll have to wait until the promotion begins to see who's participating. To participate, you just need a ShopWithScrip® account, and you must be able to login to place online orders. Think about signing up for PrestoPay™, our secure online payment system.
Sign up ASAP if you haven't already so you can receive your ScripNow eCards and add funds using ReloadNow in minutes, or use Reload to add funds overnight!* Plus, with PrestoPay you can place your Thank-Scrip-ing Day order with MyScripWallet™, our mobile scrip experience. You can still participate and receive bonuses if you pay by check, as long as you place your orders within the 24 hours, you just won't receive your scrip until your coordinator releases the order. Note: ScripNow and ReloadNow purchased with PrestoPay will be available in minutes.
*Reload orders placed before 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time will be loaded overnight. Tuesday, November 22nd – Thank-Scrip-ing™ Day 12:00 a.m.–11:59 p.m. Eastern Time
December Dust Up - Friday, 12/02/2016
Elves are to report to Mrs. DiNenno's room at 3:15PM on Friday, 12/02 and will be finished and ready for pick-up at 3:45PM. If your child is interested in this service opportunity, please RSVP to Mrs. DiNenno at ddinenno@olmcatholicschool.com.
STREAM SIGN-UPS FOR SECOND TRIMESTER
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!
Virtue of the Month: SERVICE
Our virtue of the month of November is Service
"Do not shut yourselves in your small world, but be open to others, especially to the poorest and neediest, to work to improve the world in which we live. Be men and women for others, real champions in the service of others." ~ Pope Francis
For Christians, service is not something to be tacked onto our schedules if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life. Jesus came "to serve" and "to give"—and those two verbs should define your life on earth, too. Serving and giving sum up God's purpose for your life. Mother Teresa once said, "Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile."
Students will be taught to begin to shift their focus from "Who's going to meet my needs?" to "Whose needs can I meet?"
We pray to Saint Catherine LaBoure to help us to serve others.
Students will be recognized at the School Liturgy on Thursday, December 8th.
OLM SKI & BOARD CLUB
Attention all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students! The OLM Ski and Board Club is preparing for a great season at Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Lehigh Valley, PA! Please save the following dates for our six session ski package.
Registration and more information will be sent home in the coming weeks. See you on the slopes!
Friday, January 13, 2017
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Friday, February 3, 2017
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
A MESSAGE FROM THE HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION...
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:
Birthday Blessings this Week!
Sunday, 11/20
Antonio Trinacria
Monday, 11/21
Tuesday, 11/22
Wyatt Fell
Edwin Garcia
Wednesday, 11/23
Emily Fisher
Thursday, 11/24
Friday, 11/25
Nick Araco
Mary McGrory
Charlotte Chiappa
Saturday, 11/26
William Powers
ALTAR SERVICE THIS WEEK 9AM
Tuesday: Andrew Boles
Wednesday: Anna Emma
Thursday: Gina Princivalle
Friday: Mary McGrory