MCCHS FRIDAY FOCUS
56th Edition: December 22, 2017
Pilgrims on the Way of Truth
"Teacher says, 'Every time a bell rings...'."
Our faculty is working non-stop to grade all the semester exams and submit final grades. We anticipate that we will have the Parent Portal open once again on January 9th, at the latest. This will allow instructors who have exam essays time to thoughtfully assess student learning. If we are able to complete this process earlier, we will certainly do so and will email you all with the update! Should you have any office business, we do have limited hours but we will be open to serve you! (See our office schedule below!)
Finally - we hope you can join us for the Priests vs Seminarians basketball game on Thursday, January 4th! This should be a great time, and all proceeds go to help support vocations - so it's a true win-win! Speaking of win-win, come back on Friday, Jan. 5th to cheer on our own Hurricanes as they face off against St. Viator!
Our next Friday Focus will be published on January 5th! Have a blessed Christmas and a joyful New Year!
Week(s) At-A-Glance: December 23, 2017 - January 5, 2018
Enjoy your break!
Office Hours Over Break
December 27 - 29, 2017: Office Open 9am - 1pm
January 3 - 5, 2018: Office Open 9am - 1pm
Events Hosted at Marian Over Break:
January 4th - 6:00 - 8:00 pm: Priests vs Seminarians Basketball Game!
January 5th - 5:30 pm: Boys F-A/S Basketball vs St. Viator
January 5th - 7:00 pm: Boys F-B/Var Basketball vs St. Viator
Check out our detailed Athletic Calendar for all practice times, team dinners, and "Away" games for this week!
Interested in any Clubs & Organizations? Check out the Clubs/Organizations page for more information and a calendar of meeting times!
Priests vs Seminarians January 4th!
Fall 2017 Hurricane Alert Now Available!
And check out our new promotion: Where in the World is the Hurricane Alert? Snap a photo of yourself holding the Hurricane Alert and email lhirsch@marian.com to be featured in the next issue! Let's celebrate how well-traveled our entire Marian family is, and watch our school truly go global! Consider tucking an issue into your suitcase as you pack for your holiday travels!
Need FREE ACT Test Practice? Check This Out!
This January, the Marian Central Catholic H. S. Library is offering an opportunity for Sophomores and Juniors to take a complete practice ACT test, spread out over two after-school sessions. The testing will take place on January 17 (2:30 - 5:00) and January 18 (2:30 - 4:00). These are official practice tests from ACT, and students will receive scaled scores for each test section and subsection. This is an opportunity for Marian students to get an idea of the types of questions they will be seeing on the real test. They will also experience the ACT testing environment, complete with proctored instructions, ACT rules, and more than one test in one sitting. Test seating is limited to the first 25 students to register. If you are interested, please print the form linked below, complete the signature block, and return it to the Marian library no later than January 16. You will be notified by e-mail once your form has been received. Watch the Marian website for information on the number of seats available.
Practice ACT Test Registration
Additional practice ACT tests will be offered in January and March, open to both Sophomores and Juniors.
Doing any DRESS SHOPPING Over Break?
WINTER SEMI-FORMAL (Jan. 27th) Our young ladies typically wear cocktail length dresses. PLEASE help your daughter select a length that is appropriate! It's very important that the hemline is no higher than mid-thigh. Young men wear suit/tie - but often forego the suit-coat.
PROM -FORMAL (April 27th - Juniors and Seniors only) Gowns and Tuxedos are the typical attire for this event. Again, with dresses, since there are so many selections out there - it is important that our school's conservative attire is respected.
Society (and the media) may be tempting our young men and women to dress and behave far beyond their age - but we have to do our best to protect the age they actually are. Thank you for always partnering with us in this effort to prepare them for adulthood, while still honoring and protecting their age.
We hope you find this Semi/Formal Dress Guideline helpful!
Do you have NEW or LIKE-NEW Children's Books Available for Donation?
Rockford IceHogs Celebrate Catholic Schools Week!
The first 2,500 fans will receive a Jake Smolinski (Boylan graduate) bobblehead!
Click HERE for an order form, or call Juliana at 815-847-6389 or email ferrandinoj@icehogs.com. Tickets must be ordered by January 31st. Tickets are $10 each (upper level).
Marian Central helps NCEA Raise Over $600,000 in Hurricane Relief for Catholic Schools!
The National Catholic Educational Association would like to express its gratitude to all the schools that participated in the Student to Student campaign. To date, over 800 Catholic schools from across the country donated more than $600,000 to the campaign. What made this campaign unique are the many ways Catholic school communities found to raise money; non-uniform days, car washes, jeans days, bake sales and good old-fashioned donation “jars” helped drive donations into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Arch/dioceses submitted appeals to NCEA requesting financial support and we have begun the process of disbursing funds to Catholic arch/dioceses affected by the summer’s natural disasters. Dioceses that will receive funds for their Catholic schools include the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, TX; the Diocese of Venice, FL; the Diocese of Beaumont, TX; the Archdiocese of Miami; the Diocese of Corpus Christi; the Diocese of Santa Rosa, CA; the Archdiocese of San Juan and surrounding dioceses and the Diocese of St. Thomas.
You can view a list of all the schools, arch/dioceses, organizations and individuals who donated to the campaign here. Although the official campaign has ended, you can still help by mailing a check and updated donation form to: NCEA, Student to Student Campaign, P.O. Box 63392, Charlotte, NC 28263-3392.
NCEA will distribute 100 percent of the funds collected to dioceses in the affected areas for their Catholic school communities in vital need of support. To learn more about the campaign please visit http://NCEA.org/sts.
Please continue to pray for those affected by the storms and wildfires.
Merry Christmas and God Bless,
National Catholic Educational Association
Illinois Tax Scholarship Information Now Online!
On August 31, 2017 the Illinois Legislature approved the Invest in Kids Act, which created an income based tax scholarship program to allow low income students more choices in education. These K-12 scholarships are based on financial need, not how well a child does in school. With this new legislation, families are able to choose to enroll in a non-public (private) school with scholarship money available for tuition and necessary fees starting on January 24, 2018, which marks the opening of the scholarship application process.
Scholarships offered through this program have the potential to cover up to 100% of tuition and eligible fees for next school year for families that qualify.
This program will be funded completely by donors who wish to help low income families have a choice in education. If you are in a position to donate, please consider doing so! Since individuals will be able to direct their donations to a school or group of schools, you can help ensure that families have access to a great Catholic education. Empower Illinois is the scholarship granting partner of the Diocese of Rockford. Applications for donor tax credits begin on January 2nd.
Rockford Diocese Department of Educational Services has created a very comprehensive, user-friendly online resource for both families interested in scholarship application and individuals/corporations interested in making donations to support this wonderful initiative.
THIS JUST IN! SPECIAL PRICING FOR ALL MARIAN CENTRAL STUDENTS!
Tickets for this event are $22 each - but because we feel SO STRONGLY in the importance of Chris's message of taking the beauty and genius of the gospel and applying it to one's every day life, Marian Central is underwriting a portion of the ticket price for ALL Marian students! The price for any Marian Central student is now only $10.00! Tickets are available for purchase in the Guidance Office - so come get yours today and join us on January 24th for this life-changing event in Landers Pavilion!