Staying up to date with JPII
Happy Independence Day!
Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Pope Appoints Priest As Bishop of Allentown 

On January 31, Most Reverend John Barres was appointed Bishop of Rockville Centre, NY which left everyone patiently waiting to hear whom the new Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown would be.

This past Tuesday it was announced that Pope Francis has appointed Reverend Monsignor Alfred A Schlert as the fifth Bishop of Allentown.

John Paul II Center was blessed to have Reverend Monsignor (at the time) Schlert lead us in prayer at our 7th Annual Legacy Gala.

As a fun fact, Pope St. John Paul II was the one to name Bishop-elect Schlert a Chaplain to His Holiness with the title of Monsignor in 1999.

On August 31 at the Cathedral of Saint Cathearine of Siena in Allentown, Bishop-elect Schlert will be ordained.

For more on this story, please see the following articles:

Once Again, Over the Edge

Looking back to last year, Cruz summoned his courage to rappel “Over the Edge”  of the 525 Student Apartments in support of Bethany Children’s Home. In order to participate, Cruz had to raise at least $1,000 and ended up surpassing that goal to raise the third-highest amount, coming in at $1,996.

Bethany’s Over the Edge campaign ended up raising over $95,000 in donations. This funding is used to provide support for the health and medical needs of the youth served at Bethany.

Please help us send Cruz Over the Edge again this year by supporting his fundraising efforts. This year’s rappelling event will take place on September 22, 2017.  

Click to Donate
Pendants with Purpose Dates:
It's summer time and that means that Pendants with Purpose will be out and about! Parents: We need a few volunteers for the event below. If you would like to help out (even if it's just two hours) please contact Rene Berkhammer.
Event: Art Show and ADA Celebration
Date: Wednesday, July 26
Time: 3:00PM - 8:00PM
Location: Inn at Reading

Employment Opportunities
There's never been a better time to join our team at JPII. With expanded programming and new classrooms opening up, we are in search of caring individuals to fill various positions. For more information, click below. If you know someone that would be a good fit, feel free to forward this email.                                                   

Click to view our job postings
Therapy Dogs

At JPII, there are a bunch of ways to get involved. One way to help out is to volunteer and we don't just mean your time, but your dog's time too :).

Currently, we have two Therapy Dogs - Lucy (pictured), and Ricoh - that come to visit. Pet Therapy has all sorts of awesome benefits, such as increasing socialization, encouraging communication, reducing anxiety, and reducing loneliness, among other things.

Thank you to our volunteers who help out our students and adults by donating their time (and their dog's time)! For more information on Pet Therapy, keep reading here.
Our Garden
We would like to take a second to say thank you to Priscilla Plucinsky and everyone else that has been putting in a ton of hard work to make our garden not only beautiful but bountiful as well!
Summer is Here!

Summer is a great time to relax and what better way for a child to do so than by reading a good book under a shade tree? Books can still be purchased online through Scholastic (all Summer long).

Once books are ordered, Mrs. Berkhammer will be notified and can arrange for a pickup. If you have questions, please  contact her here .

First Time Ordering Online?
  1. Go to the Scholastic website
  2. Enter our one-time Class Activation Code (HG6HC).
  3. Shop and submit your child's book order.
  4. Your books will be delivered directly to the classroom.  
John Paul II Center for Special Learning | 1092 Welsh Road, Shillington, PA 19607
johnpauliicenter.org  | 610-777-0605
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