Dear Parents/Guardians,
Happy Spring! During this busy Easter season, we are sharing and teaching about Jesus’s resurrection with the children, discussing new life in nature and in religion, acknowledging Earth Day and the stewardship God has entrusted us with for the Earth, and preparing for the Sacrament of First Holy Eucharist. We are also teaching and celebrating the Fruit of the Spirit, “Gentleness” this month. During the month of May, we will teach “self-control,” a very timely topic for the end of the school year.
Today at Mass, Father Nick talked to the students about God’s gifts to us and how we can and should share those gifts. God provides us with the desire to eat to keep ourselves alive. He mentioned sharing food with other people when they come to visit us and said it was a symbol of friendship and liking other good people. He told the story of Jesus’s friends, Phillip and Andrew, who were worried about how they could possibly feed 5000 people with a few loaves of bread and fish. They asked, “Where are we going to get so much food to feed all of these good people?” Jesus liked the people so much that he somehow made sure there was enough food for everyone and plenty of leftovers. Everyone could sit down and enjoy delicious bread and fish. He asked them to just share with each other the good things he has given us. He said our gifts are not just for ourselves but for us to share with each other. Father Nick asked us to consider all of the good things we have in our lives and see how we can share with others so that they can enjoy these things too. He reminded the children that this would be a sign of a caring friendship and liking others. It helps us to “be who we are and be that well.”
The school was closed from April 13th – April 23rd for Easter Break. During this time we had several calls from potential new students for tours and shadow days. We invite students to “shadow”, very similar to the process in high schools where a shadowing student attends school with their potential classmates, goes through the schedule of a typical school day, join their peers for lunch and recess, and gets to see the school in a normal day of operation. Parents and students have given us great feedback on this opportunity and the fact that we accommodate any family schedule for personal tours. Our Student Council officers have done an excellent job giving school tours to potential families.
School News
Rice Bowls – Please remember to send in any remaining rice bowls for the Missions. We appreciate the generosity of all those who have sent the bowls in to date.
Student Update – We visited Nick Mercantini this week. I am trying to stop by at least once a month with a few of his classmates. He enjoys the company and the break from the hospital monotony. He continues to make progress in therapies and still resides at A.I DuPont Hospital for Children.
Staff Updates – All full-time staff are back to work and feeling healthy. Please keep Kathy Potts’s sister and Joanne Waritz’s brother in your prayers. Both are battling cancer at this time.
Congratulations to 8th Grader Javier Lorenzo! – Javier set a record with his regional award every year since fifth grade. Competition is at the seventh and eighth grade level! This year he placed first in Region 3. He is a very quiet and humble student.
High School Scholarships Announcements – Congratulations to the following 8th Graders who received scholarships to one of our Catholic high schools!
- Cheyenne Hudson – St. Mark’s Service and Leadership Scholarship
- Dean Lawrence – Salesianum High School
- Javier Lorenzo – Salesianum High School (full scholarship for all 4 years) and St. Elizabeth High School
Padua Leadership Conference – On April 1st, a group of our 8th Grade girls went to Padua to attend a leadership conference focused on gratitude. The girls enjoyed their day. Mr. Shields attended with them.
Holy Eucharist– Please join our school and parish next Saturday, May 6th, as our 2nd graders receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist for the first time. They are very excited and have been practicing for this holy and happy event.
School Emergency Drills – Each month we have a regularly scheduled fire drill. In addition to this monthly drill, we also practice an emergency drill. We have a simple Crisis Plan that is easy for 3-14 year olds to understand.
- Code Red is a lockdown (children know that this means stop). Teachers lock the classroom doors and keep children out of the line of vision and quiet.
- Code Yellow is basically a yield. Teachers call anyone from the hallway back into the classroom. Doors remain unlocked and children proceed inside their classrooms.
- Code Green is an evacuation. Students know to exit the building, similarly to what is done in a fire drill. Teachers use walky-talkies to communicate their locations with me in the main office. This is helpful if we were to have a power outage and could not use the intercom system.
I am always impressed with the students’ cooperation with these drills. We are able to evacuate the building in an average of 1 minute and 25 seconds. Please talk with your students for more information.
School Calendar for 2017-2018 – Our draft of the school calendar for the 2017-18 school year has been sent to the Diocese for approval. I will release it to parents as soon as possible. For purposes of planning, we will begin next year at the same time as all other schools in the Diocese, despite ending a full week earlier due to the festival. As explained before, in order to make up for those days we will be losing 3 days of our Easter break. At this point, it appears we will have 6 days off, Holy Thursday through Easter Tuesday. We will be in school the Wednesday through Friday of what would be the normal Easter break.
Robots invade St. Anthony’s! – If you haven’t seen it yet on our Facebook page, we have purchased two mBots as a pilot program to test with one of our enrichment Math classes. During aftercare, students from all grade levels helped assemble these robots. They are currently being used in 6th Grade for purposes of students’ logical thinking and programming. For example, students are now programming the robots to navigate obstacle courses. They are enjoying this new advance in our technology. We plan to really expand this as we grow our library into a 21st Century Classroom.
Applebee’s Spirit Night – Thank you for joining us for a good time at Applebee’s on Wednesday. This event ran all day and 10% of your check will be donated back to our school. These events typically raise between $300 -$400. Thank you to those who attended Bertucci night and Café Riviera/Café Napoli nights. From our Bertucci’s Spirit Night we raised $240. These social events are a nice way to meet other families in the school, enjoy some good food, and raise money for our school. We will have another one coming up soon with our Spring Book Sale at Barnes and Noble in May.
Designer Bag Bingo – Thank you to all who attended and supported Home and School’s Designer Bag Bingo on April 23rd. It will clear over $2,000 when all bills are finalized!
St. Francis de Sales Scholarship Convocation – On Monday, April 24th we hosted over 250 people here on our campus. The high school students gathered in the school gym and practiced. The ceremony began at 7:00 P.M.in church, with Bishop Malooly celebrating. We served refreshments in the Ballad Room and received a lot of positive feedback from the Diocese for our hospitality.
Parish News
May Parish Monthly Socials -Please join us for the Parish Socials on Sunday, May 7th after the 9:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. Masses in the Ballad Room. Enjoy a variety of great food, including tomato pie and donuts from Serpe’s Bakery, breakfast pizza from Degnars’ Greenhill Deli, and other delicious food selections including mini-bagels and fresh fruit, while catching up with fellow parishioners and friends. Hope to see you there!
Italian Festival Bartender Training Session – The training session/certification for all volunteers who intend to work as bartenders at the Italian Festival is scheduled for Tuesday, May 9th, from 6:00 – 7:30 P.M. at the Town of Newport’s Old Town Hall (15 N. Augustine St; Newport, DE 19804). PLEASE NOTE:
- ALL those bartending/working in bar areas need to be certified by the State’s Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner (OABCC).
- This training is ONLY open to volunteers at the Italian Festival.
Italian Festival 8-Day Passes & Gift Cards Now Available—PRE-FESTIVAL SALES PRICES
Passes are a great gift for graduation or any occasion! Gift cards are a perfect gift for Moms, Dads, grads—everyone. Also, a smart way to provide funds to the kids for use at this year’s Festival. BUY NOW and SAVE!!
Passes and Gift Cards are available:
- at the rectory during office hours (8:00 A.M.- 4:00 P.M., Monday-Friday and 5:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M., Monday-Thursday) starting the week of May 1st
- at the Church after Masses in May
- via secure PayPal purchase on the Festival website (www.stanthonysfestival.com) [starting 4/10/2017]
- with Home & School gift card sales at the Grade School on Friday mornings.
PRICING:
- PRE-FESTIVAL 8-DAY PASS PRICE:
- $12.00—20% OFF the price at the Festival ($15.00).
- A pass provides one admission per person per day to the Festival.
- Festival Admission Policy: Under age 14: FREE (if accompanied by a parent or guardian age 18 or older); $5 daily ages 14-61; Over age 61: FREE.
- PRE-FESTIVAL GIFT CARD PRICES:
- $25.00 Gift Cards: SALE PRICE $22.00
- $50.00 Gift Cards: SALE PRICE $42.00
NOTE: Advance Ride Tickets will also be on sale when available. (approximately mid-May)
Important Dates – Please continue to check our school website (https://sapgs.org) for upcoming events and information.
- April 29th – Spring Fling – Gym
- May 1st – Student Council Meeting – Preschool Room – 3:00-3:30 P.M.
- May 3rd – 8th Grade Scholarship Convocation – St. Mary Magdalen – 6:30 P.M.
- May 4th – Salesianum and Padua Visit – 6th/7th Grade – 9:00 -10:00 A.M.
- May 5th – Practice Day for First Holy Communion
- May 6th – Celebration of First Holy Eucharist – Church – 10:00 A.M.
- May 7th – Parish Social – Ballad Room – After 9:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. Mass
- May 9th – May Procession Practice – 1:30 P.M.
- May 10th – May Procession – Church – 2:00 P.M.
- May Procession Practice – 9:00 A.M.
- May 15th – May 19th – Excellence Fair – Gym – All Day
- May 15th – Student Council Meeting – Preschool Room – 3:00-3:30 P.M.
- May 16th – Band Concert – Ballad Room – 2:00 – 2:45 P.M.
- May 17th – 8th Grade Field Trip – New York City – All Day
- May 18th – 1st Grade Field Trip – Philadelphia Zoo – 8:30 A.M. – 2:30 P.M.
- 5th Grade Field Trip – Philadelphia Museum of Art – 9:15 A.M. – 2:00 P.M.
- Barnes & Noble Night – Concord Pike – 4:00-7:00 P.M.
- Grub Burger Spirit Night – Concord Mall – All Day
- May 19th – Community Builders – Church – following 8:00 A.M. Mass
- May 20th – Student Achievement Banquet – Padua Academy – 6:00 – 9:00 P.M.
- May 24th – Field Day – Father Tucker Field
- May 26th – Noon Dismissal – Faculty Planning Day
- May 29th – No School – Memorial Day
- May 31st – Preschool Last Day
- June 5th – 8th Grade Communion Breakfast following 8:00 A.M. Mass
- 8th Grade Graduation Practice and Last Day of School
- June 6th – Noon Dismissal – Faculty end of year luncheon
- 8th Grade Graduation – Church – 7:00 P.M.
- June 7th – Last Day of School – 10:30 A.M. Dismissal
- Closing Mass – 9:30 A.M.
- June 11th – June 18th – St. Anthony’s Italian Festival
Easter Blessings,
Mrs. White and Mr. Shields
“The Eucharist is essential for us: it is Christ who wishes to enter our lives and fill us with his grace.”
~Pope Francis