The Pride of Saint Jerome
Happiness is a Voyage
Author: Unknown
We convince ourselves that life will be better once we are married, have a baby, then another. Then we get frustrated because our children are not old enough, and that all will be well when they are older. Then we are frustrated because they reach adolescence and we must deal with them. Surely we’will be happier when they grow out of the teen years.
We tell ourselves our life will be better when our spouse gets his/her act together, when we have a nicer car, when we can take a vacation, when we finally retire.
The truth is that there is no better time to be happy than right now. If not, then when?
Your life will always be full of challenges. It is better to admit as much and to decide to be happy in spite of it all.
For the longest time, it seemed that life was about to start. Real life. But there was always some obstacle along the way, an ordeal to get through, some work to be finished, some time to be given, a bill to be paid. Then life would start.
I finally came to understand that those obstacles were life. That point of view helped me see that there isn’t any road to happiness. Happiness IS the road. So, enjoy every moment.
Stop waiting for school to end, for a return to school, to lose ten pounds, to gain ten pounds, for work to begin, to get married, for Friday evening, for Sunday morning, waiting for a new car, for your mortgage to be paid off, for spring, for summer, for fall, for winter, for the first or the fifteenth of the month, for your song to be played on the radio, to die, to be reborn… before deciding to be happy.
Happiness is a voyage, not a destination.
There is no better time to be happy than… NOW!
Live and enjoy the moment.
Student of the Month
April Students of the Month are being recognized for their spirit of generosity. Congratulations to the following students.
Rm. 2 Maryrose Hoger Rm. 3 Emily Merchant Rm. 7 Brittany Bucher
Rm. 4 Giana Roddy Rm. 5 Colleen Kirlin Rm. 6 Kevin Schultz
Rm. 10 Alison Sros Rm. 11 Emily Mahalis Rm. 15 Caitlyn Brook
Rm. 12 Michael Jackson Rm. 13 Anthony Leneghan Rm. 14 Anthony Romano
Rm. 27 Nevin Ferry Rm. 30 Elizabeth Stampone
Rm. 25 Thomas Ramos Rm. 32 Paul Schaeffler Rm. 26 Sean Murphy
Rm. 28 Jamie Lorimer Rm. 29 Riley Weiss
Rm. 19 Alexandra Whitlock Rm. 20 Elizabeth Kolakowski
Rm. 17 Erin Jackson Rm. 23 Alexander Brotton
Congratulations
In January we had 11 eighth graders take the Neumann Scholarship test. In order to take the test, students must have had a general average 90 for the first trimester of eighth grade. From the Terra Nova testing they must also have a CSI score of 120 or be in the 90th percentile in Math and Reading. This scholarship, sponsored by the Connelly foundation, pays the full tuition for four years in a diocesan high school.
There were over 700 students who took the test and forty were awarded scholarships. We are very proud to announce that two of our students were awarded the Neumann Scholarship. John Carley and Megan Lodes were awarded a full scholarship worth over $24,000. John will be attending Father Judge and Megan will attend Saint Hubert.
We congratulate John and Megan for all their efforts, their family for their support and all their teachers for challenging these two students and all the students.
Two representatives from the Connelly Foundation came to present John and Megan with this good news. They said that our record of Neumann Scholars indicates that we provide a solid academic program for all our students.
Former Neumann Scholars:
‘95 Carolyn Sheehan ’96 Thomas Taggart
’97 William Farina’98 Jacqueline Kelly
’00 David McGrath & David Vreeland
’02 Jospeh Romito & Christopher Ward
’03 Jillian Jourdain & Gregory Shissler
’05 George Pinel ’06 Casey Ferrell
’07 Katherine Beer’08 Antoni Gierczak
’09 Alex Citerone ’10 John Stopyra
’11 Peter Blumenstein ’11 Olek Gierczak
‘12 Ryan Green’12 Adrian Toledo
Congratulation
Congratulations to Sabrina Veitz who was awarded an additional $2000.00 from Nazareth Academy toward tuition for the 2013-2014 school year. Sabrina was also selected to be a recipient of the Lacey Gallagher Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will be presented to her at an awards ceremony on April 28th.
Re Registration
Before we accept any new registrations for the 2013-2014 school year, we want to be sure that places are saved for our present students. Please remember that there will be two classrooms for each grade and we do not want to go over 30 students in a room. The tuition contract for next year will serve as your registration for the 2013-2014 school year. All contracts, with the registration fee must be returned to school by Thursday, April 18th. The registration fee is $50.00 for one child or $75.00 for two or more children. The fee must be sent in with the contract. If you registered someone for kinder you have already paid the registration fee. It is important that we have an idea of numbers for next year so we can provide teachers, books and supplies.
Registration for people outside our parish will be taken in June.
School Year Book!
Our faculty is working on the Saint Jerome School Year Book. The book will contain pictures from every grade as well as school wide events. We are hoping that each family will purchase one book. This is not a fundraiser. The books will cost $30.00 and that is based on selling 300 copies. We do not want to over order these books therefore you must send in the order on time if you wish to have our school yearbook.
We would like to acknowledge several students who were very instrumental in the production of this Year Book. Our eighth graders, Andrea Cahill and Sabrina DeOlivieria, took most of the pictures used for the various school events. With the added assistance of Regina Boyle they spent many lunch periods designing the pages. We appreciate the time and talent that they willingly shared with us.
Smart Tuition Program There will be a meeting Wednesday, April 3rd at 7:00PM in the school hall to explain the Smart Tuition Program. All tuition payments will be made through this agency beginning in the new school year. A representative from Smart Tuition will explain the options available to parents for paying tuition and answer questions that you may have regarding the program.
Tuition
As stated in the February Newsletter it is necessary to restructure the scrip program. This was a recommendation from the Archdiocesan Financial Office. We will no longer have tuition rates based on grocery and non-grocery. However everyone can still apply their grocery credits toward tuition. The more you use the scrip program, the more credit you have towards tuition. That has always been the case. Tuition will be spread out over eleven months instead of ten months. That makes the monthly payment less than it would have been using the previous system. The tuition increase is 3%. Below are the rates for next year.
One child K-8 $3586 per year divided by 11 months = $326.00 per month Two children K-8 $5401 divided by 11 = $491.00 per month Three or more K-8 $6214 divided by 11 = $574.00 per month Non-parishioners $5082 divided by 11 = $462 per month/per child PreK 4 $3080 divided by 11 = $280.00 per month Hopefully making these changes now will avoid any radical changes in the future.
Thank You!
We would like to thank our faculty and staff for their efforts to raise money to assist the parish in meeting our financial needs. They raised over $20,000 from the two bingos and the Italian Dinner. That money was sent to the rectory to help meet the payroll. We appreciate the time and effort that went into achieving that goal. We also thank all who supported those events.
We would also like to thank Mrs. Carolan, Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Leneghan for their efforts in establishing the Saint Jerome Advancement Board. With your help the board can help to make us more financially stable by seeking grants and providing successful fundraisers. Their goals include:
-Having a list of parent volunteers
- Evaluating the need for a PreK3 Program
- Researching the means to obtain Lab Learner which will enhance our science program - Marketing our school
- Seeking financial resources for our school
We want to commend them and all who have responded to their call for help. Working together will assure that Saint Jerome School will be around for a long time providing quality Catholic education.
Three Year Old Program
If you have a child who will be three by September 1st and would be interested in having them attend a PreK3 Program here at Saint Jerome School please contact the school (215 624 0637) or the SJAB at SJABinput@gmail.com . The program will run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 8:30 AM until 11:00AM. The tuition will be $2000.00 for the year and there is a $50.00 registration fee. The children must be potty trained.
Fifth Grade Science Fair
The Fifth Grade Science Fair will be held Wednesday, April 17th and 18th . The projects will be set up in the hall in the morning of the 17th and judged after school. All parents are invited to view these projects on Thursday, April 18th from 3:30 to 6:00 PM.
The fifth grade has their own Science Fair in the Spring so that throughout the course of the school year they can be taught the proper procedures involved in creating a science fair project. We would like to thank Mr. Stevens for all his efforts in preparing the students for this annual event. He has laid the groundwork for the students’ future projects.
Give Kids Sight Day
Free eye care and eyeglasses for children (0-18) who did not have or did not pass an eye screening this year. This is especially for students who do not have health issues.
Saturday, April 13th
Jefferson University Hospital – Alumni Hall, 10th & Locust Street. Registration 8:00AM – 2:00PM Walk in only/ No appointment needed/First come, first served. Children must come with a parent or guardian. Questions? Contact Dana Sclafani at danas@pccy.org or call 215 563 5848 ext. 21 Presented by Wills Eye Institute/Visionworks/The School District of Philadelphia. More information and registration form at www.pccy.org/sightday
