Mercy Messenger
Issue 1 ~ Sunday, August 20, 2023
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
Giving Thanks For Summer
Father, Creator of all, thank You for summer!
Thank you for the warmth of the sun
and the increased daylight.
Thank You for the beauty I see all around me
and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy Your creation.
Thank You for the increased time I have to be with my friends and family,
and for the more casual pace of the summer season.
Draw me closer to You this summer.
Teach me how I can pray
no matter where I am or what I am doing.
Warm my soul with the awareness of Your presence
and light my path with Your Word and Counsel.
As I enjoy Your creation, create in me
a pure heart and a hunger and a thirst for You.
Principal Update
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Today is the first mercy messenger of the 2023-2024 school year. I hope everyone is having an enjoyable and relaxing summer. I would like to once again express my gratitude and thanks to everyone in the school community for all the well wishes and support that you have given to me since I started this new position as principal. We are only 17 days away from our first day of school on September 6th. Faculty and staff have been hard at work getting the building ready for the upcoming school year. This week you will be getting a welcome email from your child's new homeroom teacher. If you do not receive an email by Thursday 8/24 please let me know. There are several forms on option C that need to be read and signed. The handbook and technology policy is in your file library on Option C for you to read. Please have these important forms completed by 9/6. Be on the look out next week for a communication from the home and school association. My next communication will be on 9/3. I wish everyone a peaceful and relaxing final two weeks of summer. If there is anything that I can help you with please do not hesitate to contact me.
In Mercy,
Mr. Bill Delaney
Archdiocesan Schools of Distinguished Instruction
Our Lady of Mercy has been awarded an Archdiocesan School of Distinguished Instruction in growth. Growth is defined by comparing the Normal Curve Equivalent score from this year’s testing to the NCE in the last test the students took, the students gave evidence of expected or greater- than-expected growth. These schools were found to have shown a full year’s growth in the Total Mastery of Skills at all grades tested using comparative NCE data. This is a wonderful achievement that we should all be proud. I want to thank all of the faculty and staff who work so hard every day to enhance all of our students learning and achievement. Also I want to thank all of the parents and guardians for you are their first and most important teachers.
Faculty Update
Welcome to Mrs. Monica Harris
Welcome to Mrs. Shannon Ballintyn
Mrs. Ballintyn is joining our faculty as the Pre-K 4 assistant teacher along side our lead teacher Mrs. Colleen Pohl. Mrs. Ballintyn is also no stranger to the OLM community. She taught at OLM from 2017-2019 as a second grade teacher. Mrs. Ballintyn left in 2019 to raise her son Liam and has now decided to return to teaching. Mrs. Ballintyn is a graduate of LaSalle University with a B.A in Elementary Education. Please join me in welcoming Mrs. Ballintyn back to our school community.
Welcome to Mr. Vincent Balestrino
Mr. Balestrino is joining the OLM faculty as our new Physical Education teacher. He is a graduate of Duquesne University with a degree in Public Relations and Advertising. Mr. Balestrino has most recently taught at St. Pio Regional Catholic School as the Spanish and Technology teacher for grades Pre-K to 8th grade. He also has taught 6th grade Social Studies, ELA and Religion. Mr. Balestrino has been coaching basketball for several years along with working as a counselor/coach for the Philadelphia 76ers summer camp. Please join me in welcoming Mr. Balestrino to the OLM community.
Changes to our Faculty 2023-2024
Mrs. Maureen Reily
Mrs. Maureen Reily was our 2nd grade teaching assistant last year. She will be moving into the position of 2nd grade teacher along with Mrs. Nowaczyk and Ms. Hogan. Mrs. Maureen Reily has spent thirty-two years teaching PreK - 3rd grade students. She has spent 11 years teaching in Catholic Education. She is PA Certified Pre K - 3 and has her Religion Certification through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Mrs. Reily strongly believes that learning is a team effort and together with the parents, students will become independent , joyful learners . She also values the gift of her faith and looks forward to helping students grow in their faith formation.
Mrs. Nancy Weir
Mrs. Nancy Weir was one of our 3rd grade teachers for the 2022-2023 school year. Mrs. Weir will now be our ELA Resource Teacher. She will be pushing into the middle school classrooms during ELA class. Mrs. Weir will also be meeting with small groups of students from the elementary grades to enhance their reading and writing skills. Mrs. Weir holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing. A Masters in Elementary Education at the Instructional 11 level. She also holds a Reading Specialist certification for grades K-12. Mrs. Weir will truly be an asset to our students continued success at OLM.
Important September Dates
9/5- Teacher Organizational Day- No Students
9/6- First Day of School for Students
9/8- 9:00am School Mass- Grades 1-8
9/8- Ice Cream Social 6:30-8:00pm
9/13- Back to School Night- Grades 6-8. From 6:30-8pm.
9/13- Class of 2024 Meeting for Parents in Cafe- 8-8:30pm.
9/20- Back to School Night- Grades PreK to 5. From 6:30-8pm.
9/21- Mercy Day Prayer Service 10:00 am in Church.
Coding Club
Blossom in Stem Program
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.
2023 High School Test Preparation Course
● 5 sessions: Monday, 9/11; Thursday 9/14;
Monday, 9/18; Thursday, 9/21; Monday, 9/25
● Sessions will be divided into two 45-minute
periods:
3:15 to 4:45 at OLM School
▪ Math with Mrs. Maher
▪ Verbal with Mrs. DiCarne
● We will use Kaplan’s Catholic High School
Entrance Exams (Seventh Edition) as a reference.
If you are interested in this course, you will need to
purchase this book on your own (Barnes & Noble
or over the internet.) Item # 978-1-5062-0339-3.
Barnes and Noble Retail Price: $19.99 plus tax.
Please purchase this book ASAP. You can order it
on Amazon too! As of June 6, 2023, the price for
this book was $18.40 on Amazon.
● Fee: $125.00 – Due: September 8, 2023
● If paying by check: Please make it out to “Caroline
Maher” or you may VENMO@Rita-DiCarne the
fee
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Maher
cmaher@olmrcs.com or Mrs. DiCarne
Counseling Corner
Meet Your School Counselors
A new addition to the Mercy Messenger this year is the “Counseling Corner”. This section will allow our school counselors to share information about the activities they are working on and provide resources or tips that might be helpful for our families. There are two counselors at OLM that work together to ensure your child’s social-emotional needs are being met.
Ms. Kim Gawthrop interned at OLM for the 2020-2021 school year and was hired by MCIU in May 2021. She has 18 years of counseling experience in the school setting. Ms. Gawthrop’s schedule varies, however, she will be at OLM most days and can be reached at kgawthrop@mciu.org.
Mrs. Kristie Parkhill started at OLM in December of 2022. Before staying home with her son, Mrs. Parkhill was a school counselor in the public school setting for 16 years. She currently resides in Maple Glen and is excited to start the new school year. Mrs. Parkhill will be in the building on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and can be reached at kparkhill@olmrcs.com.
Please feel free to reach out to Ms. Gawthrop and Mrs. Parkhill with any questions or concerns you may have throughout the year.
Communication 8/27
Our wonderful Home and School Association will be sending out their own communication the week of the 27th. Please be on the look out. We thank them for all that they continue to do for our school community.
Cares Program
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School is proud to provide extended services for our students through CARES program. Afternoon CARES will operate from 3:00 – 6:00 pm on days when OLM is in full session. On days when school dismisses early, CARES is available until 3:00 pm, except for Thanksgiving break.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of interest, Morning CARES WILL NOT be offered during the 2023-2024 school year.
Our CARES program is designed to provide a safe and secure environment for students while providing students with an afternoon light snack, outside play (weather permitting), homework time and organized activities. All rules and policies of the school, outlined in the OLM Student-Parent handbook, apply to CARES. For the safety of all children, a parent or designated adult must sign out your child.
The pricing for the 2023-2024 school year is as follows:
After CARE pick up before 4:30 pm $17.00
After CARE pick up after 4:30 pm $19.00
Early Dismissal CARES 12:00 to 3:00 $25.00
Late Fees: Students who are picked up late will be assessed a late fee, which will be added to the daily fee.
6:00 – 6:15 Additional $8.00
6:00 - 6:30 Additional $10.00
CARES fees will be processed at the end of the month through your FACTS accounts. There is a $30.00 family registration fee to cover start-up costs associated with the program.
TO REGISTER PLEASE USE THIS LINK:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10MGL4_98gmcwkVWPecpeDT_CdHQKOQm34RuuhORfO3M/edit
DROP IN CARES SERVICE
At OLM we recognize that situations may arise in which parents need to utilize CARES, but they have not formally registered for the program. For these days, we are pleased to offer our “Drop-In CARES” services. This Drop-In service provides the same hours and same benefits as our regular CARES program and can be arranged by calling the main office before 2:00pm. The cost of this service is: $25 per student when pick up before 4:30, or $30.00 per student when pick up after 4:30.
EARLY DISMISSAL DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER: CARES WILL NOT be available on days that school dismisses early due to inclement weather. On this occasion, please contact the front office to advise how your child should go home (bus or car).
If you have any questions, please contact the CARES coordinator at esolanodeguerra@olmrcs.com