St. Jerome School Weekly Reminders
Week of February 21st, 2022
“The future starts today, not tomorrow.”
Pope St. John Paul II
Reminders for the Week:
*Click here for the St. Jerome Parish Sunday Bulletin; please join us for Sunday Mass each week: 4:30 PM (Saturday Vigil), 6:30 AM, 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM (Children's Liturgy of the Word), & 11:00 AM. The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is offered on Saturdays from 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM or by appointment.
*There is no school tomorrow, Monday, February 21st for the Presidents Day holiday.
*Pretzel order forms are due by this Thursday, February 24th and covers Monday, February 28, 2022 to Friday, April 1, 2022.
*CARES Fun Friday forms for March are due by Tuesday, March 1st.
*On Tuesday, Fr. Reilly will celebrate our February School Liturgy at 10:00 AM; the liturgy will also be live-streamed on our Facebook page. After Mass, the Students of the Month for February will be recognized. Mrs. Mensch's fourth grade class will be assisting as readers and gift bearers.
*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.
*Please keep our Confirmation Candidates in your prayers as they have their retreat this coming Saturday. 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.
*This coming Sunday, February 27th, is our Liturgical Rite for our second grade candidates for First Holy Communion at the 9:30 AM Mass.
*Applications for financial assistance from the Children's Scholarship Foundation of Philadelphia are open through March 1st. Please click here for a link to an online form that will help you determine if your family is eligible; if so, it will direct you to an online application. The number of scholarships that are awarding in 2022-2023 is increasing, but they do not have any applicants so far; we encourage all of our families to check this out.
*Band Lessons are on Wednesday. Please contact our band director, Mr. Morrisette, with any questions: smorrisette@nemusicprograms.com
*Support St. Jerome School while shopping on Amazon; click here to designate St. Jerome as your chosen organization. Then, go to smile.amazon.com when you shop. St. Jerome will earn 0.5% of each purchase (at no cost to you)!
*Please remember to call the office and report your child's absence (215-624-0637); you can leave a message of the office is closed.
*Virtue of the Month for February: Cheerfulness (Looking on the bright side).
*Our school website's Communication Page contains copies of the flyers that we send home as well as an archive of the school newsletters.
*Our school website's Calendar Page has a listing of all events on a Google Calendar.
*Remember that Box Tops have gone electronic, but you can still use them to support St. Jerome School; click here for more information.
*Have a great week!
COVID-19 & Catholic Schools Onward Protocol Reminders
The Office of Catholic Education has been in contact with the Philadelphia Department of Health, and the guidance for quarantines for students who test positive for COVID-19 is still ten days for K-12 schools. We will be notified if a change is made, and we will let you know as soon as that happens. We are also still following the protocol and precautions for the school day as recommended by the Philadelphia Department of Health and the Office of Catholic Education.
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.