Mercy Peek & Ponder by Mr. McGrath
Volume III Issue 18 Sunday, January 15, 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
Upcoming Events
January 16
MLK Day - No School
January 18
Grade 3 Class Mass, 9AM
Mission Collection: THON
January 19
Middle School Reading Olympics Meeting, 12:05PM
January 20
Dress Down Day: THON
Elementary Reading Olympics Meeting, 12:35PM
January 25
Grade 2 Class Mass, 9AM
Mission Collection: THON
STREAM ACADEMY/CLUB DAY #2
Ski Club #2
January 27
Progress Reports
Martin Luther King Day
I recently came across this prayer written by Dr. Martin Luther King:
This is what I hear in Dr. King's prayer -- a cry for strength to carry on the work of peace and justice; for courage to be nonviolent, come what may; for blessings on the movements for civil rights, justice and peace; for healing for the oppressed and the oppressors; and for the coming of God's reign of peace, love and nonviolence here and now. May all our prayers for peace with justice be answered!
Our OLM Students ....
serving the community ...
in honor of MLK Day!
Please look for a brochure of events for CSW that will be sent home shortly. So much is planned to celebrate OLM and Catholic Education.
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 .
OLM MINI-THON T-SHIRTS ON SALE NOW!!
We will be selling t-shirts that may be worn to the Mini-Thon and on gym days.
The cost of the t-shirt is $10 (cash or check made payable to OLM). All proceeds benefit the Four Diamonds Fund and pediatric cancer research.
Please return the order form that was sent home on 01/11 to the OLM office in an envelope marked "Mini-Thon Shirt Order" by Wednesday, January 18th. * No late orders can be accepted.
Reading Olympics 2017
The first meetings for both our middle school and elementary Reading Olympics teams took place on Thursday, 1/12. At these meetings students had the chance to hear more about Reading Olympics and to get the book list that their team will need to read before the competitions. Students were encouraged to review the book list to see which books they had already read and which books they would like to read. The students do not have to read all of the books on the list as they will be working with a team of other students. The books are available in our school library.
At each of these meetings the students received a letter to share with their parents regarding their participation in the Reading Olympics program. If your child would like to participate in the Reading Olympics program, please sign and return this letter to school. The middle school (grades 6-8) letters should be returned to Mrs. Marano and the elementary (grades 4-5) letters should be returned to Mr. Smith. If your child did not attend these meetings and would like to participate in the program, please have them talk to Mrs. Marano (middle school) or Mr. Smith (elementary) and they can receive the letter about the program as well as the book list to read.
The next meeting of the elementary Reading Olympics team will take place this Friday, 1/20, at 12:35 in Mr. Smith's classroom. Your child should bring their lunch to this meeting. If there is indoor recess, the meeting will take place in the library. The middle school Reading Olympics team will be meeting on Thursday, 1/19, at lunch in Mrs. Marano's classroom. 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!
OLM’s 2nd Annual Designer Bag Bingo - Friday, January 27, 2017
Doors open @ 6:15 • Bring your family, friends, your favorite snacks and drinks! • $30 per person…or $275 for tables of 10, $220 for tables of 8 • Additional “special” bingo cards will be available to purchase
Email olmbingo2017@gmail.com for questions/ticket requests or RSVP with payment to JP Romano, (6-Opdyke) by Thursday, 1/19/17
*limited to first 250 people so act fast
* **proceeds benefit OLM Home and School Association
** ***Checks made payable to Our Lady of Mercy
*** ****Interested in donating a raffle basket, please let us know****
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, 01/15
Vincent Vacchiano
Monday, 01/16
Emily Mirabelli
Tuesday, 01/17
Wednesday, 01/18
Jaxson Carroll
Paige Hoeger
Logan Curcio
Madeline Curcio
Ella Pensabene
Thursday, 01/19
Gabriella Youngers
Alexander Sheak
Friday, 01/20
Conor Bryce
Saturday, 01/21
Oscar Contreras-Martinez
ALTAR SERVICE THIS WEEK 9AM
Tuesday: Mark O'Brien
Wednesday: Meghan Dennin
Thursday: Gretchen Wolpert
Friday: Erin Doyle