St. Jerome School Weekly Newsletter
March 30th, 2022
“Joy, with peace, is the sister of charity. Serve the Lord with laughter.”
St. Padre Pio
From Mr. Merrick
Dear St. Jerome Families,
I hope that your week is going well so far. I want to start by saying how proud I am of the cast of Aladdin Jr. I enjoyed seeing the show this weekend, and I am so glad to see this wonderful tradition brought back. I want to thank Miss Natalie and Miss Linda for their hard work in bringing the show together.
Yesterday, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Regional Religion Bee was held at Archbishop Ryan High School with 26 contestants from Philadelphia, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties. Adrian Manzur, 8th grade, represented St. Jerome School, having been and finished in the top three, going twelve consecutive rounds with correct answers! Adrian and the other contestants in the top six will join the top finishers from tomorrow's Regional Religion Bee at Cardinal O'Hara High School on Friday, April 8th at the Shrine of St. John Neumann for the finals! We are so proud of Adrian and ask that you keep him in your prayers as he prepares for the championship!
Fr. Reilly will celebrate our March School Liturgy tomorrow at 10:00 AM; Miss Labovitz's 2nd grade class will be assisting as readers and gift bearers, and we will recognize our Students of the Month for March following the liturgy. Mass will be live-streamed on our School Facebook Page.
Last week, Sister Lisa Lettiere, principal of St. Lucy School, visited St. Jerome. She was greeted with St. Jerome gifts, including a stuffed version of the latest addition to our mascot entourage, Lucy the Lioness! She was also able to visit our third and fifth grade classes and brought braille books and other items that her students use to learn. Our students were able to try out these items as she passed them around. Finally, she was able to address our 1st-8th graders after Stations of the Cross. She plans to visit again to be able to meet all of our classes before the end of the school year. We look forward to continuing on our journey to welcoming St. Lucy School this fall.
For the Easter Egg hunt on April 12th, donations of candy and plastic eggs are greatly appreciated and may be sent into school by Wednesday, April 6th.
Chick-fil-A Lunch Order Forms (for Wednesday, April 20th) are due by tomorrow.
Also, our Spring St. Jerome Apparel Store (including t-shirts for the Race for Education) is now open through Sixsmith. Online ordering for St. Jerome School ends on Mon, Apr 4, 2022 (11:59 PM EDT). Order Link: https://sjslions.itemorder.com/shop/sale/
Finally, registration is ongoing for this summer's Camp Jerome. Please visit the page on the school website for registration forms and more information. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Lerlo, Camp Director, at campjerome@sjsphila.org.
Have a great rest of the week; St. Jerome, pray for us!
Race for Education 2022
We are excited to announce that our 17th annual Race for Education will take place on Tuesday, April 26th. This Race serves not only as an important fundraiser, but also as an opportunity for our school community to celebrate our successes through the last two years. St. Jerome was recently named a School of Distinguished Instruction by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, demonstrating school-wide academic growth between 2019 and 2021. Our walking together will be a display of unity and thanksgiving. We continue to be committed to providing excellent spiritual and academic experiences for our students.
With your support and generosity, we hope to raise $20,000! All monies raised directly benefit the children of St. Jerome. We are proud of the improvements that have recently been made to our programs and facilities.
The Race is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26th at 10:00 AM. (Raindate is Friday, 4/29) Our students and faculty will walk a designated route through the Winchester Park neighborhood. Neighbors are encouraged to decorate windows and front yards with messages of encouragement for our walkers. The students will be permitted to wear the school gym uniform that day. More information including the route map will be sent to the parents at a date closer to the event.
Here’s how you can help:
All students are asked to submit 10 email addresses of family members and friends who are likely to sponsor them and support St. Jerome School. Emails can be submitted here: https://forms.gle/LCErSK9YZYhW6LzB7 Each student who completes this form will earn a prize for their participation. Siblings must complete separate forms, but may use the same addresses on each. All email addresses are due by Thursday, March 31st.
Each family is also asked to post the donation St. Jerome School Race for Education link to your social media accounts. You can share the link directly from our school Facebook page “Saint Jerome School.” For those who prefer a paper flyer to distribute to family members, a PDF of the pledge request can be obtained on our school website: https://sjsphila.org/race-for-education.
The suggested fundraising goal per student is $100. Working together we achieve more! We kindly ask that all donations be submitted by Monday, April 25th so that our totals can be tallied.
Donation Payment Information:
Credit Cards and Paypal: St. Jerome School Race for Education
Venmo: @sjsphila (Business)
Cash or checks: Cash or checks made payable to St. Jerome School can be
sent into school with a student, dropped off at the main office, or handed in at the rectory scrip counter.
Spring Apparel Orders (Including Race for Education T-Shirts)
Our Spring St. Jerome Apparal Store (including t-shirts for the Race for Education) is now open through Sixsmith. Online ordering for St. Jerome School ends on Mon, Apr 4, 2022 (11:59 PM EDT).
- Full Zip Sweatshirts can be worn in school.
- Orders will be processed once the store closes. Orders will be delivered to school once they are ready.
- If an item becomes unavailable, we will try to substitute for that item or refund your card.
St. Jerome Easter Egg Hunt
Home and School Family Bingo
Join us for St. Jerome Family Bingo Night on Friday, April 22nd
-Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm in the School Hall
-Included: Pizza, bottled water and juice- Feel free to BYOB and your own desserts for your family, if you wish.
-Prizes to the winners of each round!
-Please RSVP with your family name and how many in your immediate family that will be attending by Friday, April 15 in an envelope marked “Family Bingo" or register online using the link below. There is no cost for this event, as this is included with your school activity fee.
-This event is for our St. Jerome School families only. This is NOT a drop off event. Children must be accompanied by their parents or guardians. ***Walk-ins will not be permitted*** It is very important to RSVP to ensure we are ready for a fun-filled family night! Volunteers needed for set up, clean up, and during event. Please notate if you can help.
-Register online at: https://forms.gle/Gv5bGwtuUR5zyuJ69
or return this form back to school in envelope:
Easter Woodchip Project
Home and School Clothing Drive
Spring has sprung… time to clean out those closets and sheds!
Wednesday April 27th & Thursday 28th SJS will be collecting gently used:
- Clothing
- Shoes
- Accessories: belts, hats, scarves, handbags, etc.
- Soft household items: comforters, sheets, towels, curtains
- Small toys- 2ft or less
- Bikes or scooters
- Car seats (ONLY together w a base) &
- Strollers
NO:
- Electronic devices
- Cribs
- Sports equipment
- Board games or puzzles
- Books
- Pots/pans
- Furniture
- Large baby items/gear
- Glass
Be on the lookout for more details!
Disciple Maker Index Survey
The link will be on our Facebook page, Instagram, and the church website beginning March 2nd. All responses are confidential and the parish will only receive information about the community as whole. We will share the link with you a bit closer to the launch of the survey.
We are trying to get the highest response rate possible. This information will be invaluable to Fr. Reilly and our various ministries as we plan for the future and strive to be the best disciples we can be. We will receive the results this spring/summer at which time we will share what we have learned with the entire parish.
If you prefer a paper copy you may pick up a paper copy of the survey in the parish office on or after March 2nd. Printable version of the survey will also be available to print from the church website when the survey opens. To submit the completed paper survey, please drop it off at the rectory or in the basket at church.
Thank you for helping with this important project!