St. Jerome School Weekly Newsletter
March 9th, 2022
“Our sins are nothing but a grain of sand along the great mountain of the mercy of God.”
St. John Vianney
From Mr. Merrick
Dear St. Jerome Families,
I hope that you are all having an enjoyable week so far. I want to start by expressing our appreciation for your support of our Home and School Fundraisers. As a result, our Home and School Association will be purchasing two new water fountains and a water bottle filling station for the school hall! Work on the hall has been progressing rapidly over the past few weeks (after setbacks due to material and labor shortages), but it will very soon be ready for our school play and for eating lunch down there toward the end of March.
Please save the date for two upcoming Home and School Events:
- Spring Family Bingo: Friday, April 22nd 6:30 PM-8:30 PM
- Father/Daughter Dance: Saturday, May 14th 6:00 PM-9:00 PM
Yesterday, I sent out an email (and a follow up to correct the date) about the shift to mask-optional. I said that I would send out the letter from the Office of Catholic Education. I have included it below. I didn't think that it needed to go out yesterday in a separate email since the most important detail was the change in the mask policy. Once again, thank you for your support.
This past Thursday, we welcomed Archbishop Perez who celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation. We congratulate our newly confirmed from St. Jerome: Audrey Katharine Ajoku, Nicholas Albert Bittinger, Aidan David Bolli, Logan Peter Brooks, Jack Patrick Brown, Matthew Anthony Cancelliere, Anthony Lawrence Correa, Jacob Michael Dang, Olivia Katherine DellaVecchio, Cole Michael Dietz, Justin Michael Dolphin, Kayleigh Catherine Donohue, Gianna Anne Duque, Joseph Joseph Fortino, Jamair Sebastian Gause, Adam Joseph Goldsmith, Sarah Catherine Harmon, Kelly Christina Joyce, Emanuel Blaise Kamara, Claire Teresa Konrad, Delanee Dymphna Malin, Richard Sebastian McKay, Brynn Gemma O’Donnell, Christopher Robert Parker, Caiden Sebastian Rivera, Nathan Joseph Russell, Erik Michael Schafer, Colin John Schultz, Adriana Marie Seravalli, Gerard John Sullivan, Samuel Joseph Veasey, Alexander Luke Vena, Peyton Teresa Watson, Kierah Cecilia Wisniewski, Cole Isidore Yeager, and Riley Gertrude Yeager.
Please keep our confirmandi in your prayers as they continue their faith journey. Mrs. Collins (7th grade teacher), Deacon Vass, and Mrs. Fiatoa for all that they did in preparing our students.
Terra Nova testing continues this week (kindergarten is finished, 1st & 2nd grade finish tomorrow, and 3rd-8th grades finish on Friday). Please make sure the students are prepared with #2 pencils. The students should also aim to get a good night's sleep, eat a good breakfast, and be on time for school. These tests are an additional measure of your child's achievement, and will be used along-side classroom tests, assignments, and teacher observations for the purposes of curriculum planning and instruction. There is no need for any students to be nervous; they should just try their very best. We will test only one subject per day, and the students will resume their usual class schedule after testing.
Second trimester report cards will be posted to OptionC on Friday by 12:00 PM. We try to have them up first thing, so they may be up earlier. However, there is sometimes a delay with the number of school trying to post them.
Fr. Reilly and I will be visiting St. Lucy School this coming Monday to meet their students and teachers. Sister Lisa (their principal) and I will be working together this spring to plan their move. We are very excited for the new opportunities that next year will bring for the students of both of our schools. As promised, we will keep you all informed through the course of the spring and summer.
Have a great rest of the week; St. Jerome, pray for us!
CORA's Ukrainian Crisis Relief Drive
CORA Services is collecting items that will be sent to families and children in need in Ukraine. Items may be sent into school through March 15th. We will also contribute from this month's St. Jerome Spirit Day donations to the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia who will support Catholics who have been affected and lost their churches in Ukraine.
Needed Items:
Clean/new adult and children's clothing
Sleeping bags
Underwear (all ages)
Protein shakes (protein bars preferred)
Towels
Knee pads
Hygiene products of all kinds
Adult diapers
Coats and jackets
Baby feeding bottles
Dry food (Granola bars, cereal, etc.)
First aid kits
Bandages
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!