SJRS Monthly Newsletter January 2018
Saint Jerome Regional School
"Living Fearlessly Through Faith..."
A Message From The Principal
Dear Parents/Guardians,
May God bless you with peace and joy as we celebrate Jesus' birth. May the spirit of Christmas be with you throughout the new year. The faculty and staff of SJRS extend wishes to you and your families for a holy, healthy and Happy New Year and we pray for God’s blessings in 2018.

Home For Christmas

Bishop Schlert is inviting all Catholics ‘home for Christmas’ to one of our 84 parishes. "Perhaps this Advent, you can consider inviting someone who has been away from the Church home for Christmas Mass. What more beautiful gift can you give your family and friends this Christmas than the love of Christ through his Church?” Bishop Schlert asks. Read more by visiting this link: 
http://www.allentowndiocese.org/home-christmas
Some of the highlights during the month of December are listed below:

  • All of the students in grades K-8 participated in the Christmas Program entitled "The Children's Nativity Story”. It was a beautiful show! Thank you to Mrs. Confer, Mrs. Dakosty and Ms. Cressley for organizing this event. Thank you to the faculty and staff, as well as Mr. Cara, for helping to make this a success! 

  • The students enjoyed shopping for their families at the Santa's Secret Shop. Thank you to the HSA for coordinating this event! Thank you also to all of the volunteers who helped make this event special!
  • Our students also participated in making Christmas cards for the Parish Shut-ins. We are so happy to see our students being so generous and thoughtful this Christmas season!
  • Thank you so much to everyone for their generous donations during the month of December! Our mission projects for the month of December supported our local community. Students in grades Kindergarten through 4 brought in items for the “Birth Rite” Tree sponsored by the St. Vincent DePaul Society. Students in Grades 5-8 participated in the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program. May God bless you for your generosity during this Christmas Season.

  • Student Council also had a Christmas Door Decorating Contest. Students from kindergarten through eighth grade participated in this fun-filled event and all grades did an outstanding job! Winners of the contest were: 1st Place: Grade 52nd Place: Grade 8, 3rd Place: Grade 3, and Honorable Mention: 1st Grade. Winning grades had a dress down day. Congrats and great job to everyone! Please see the school Facebook page for pictures of the doors!

  • The fun didn't stop as Student Council sponsored an Ugly Sweater Dress Down Day on Tuesday, December 19. 
1st Trimester Honor Roll 2017-2018   
First Honors-5 th Grade
Nina Day
Alexandra Feller
Connor Rehnert

Nora Snyder
 
Second Honors-5 th Grade
Anthony Aguirre
Logan Fisher
Zachery Holt
Samuel Homyak
 
Distinguished Honors-6 th Grade
Brady Bobrowski 
Abigail Kluck
Julia Meiss
Anthony Odorizzi
Luke Sterns
 
First Honors-6 th Grade
Isabella Boyer
Aleck Jewells
Alex Porambo
 
Second Honors-6 th Grade
MacKenna Jacobs
Madison Miller
Jakob Mummey
 
                 First Honors-7 th Grade                 
           Alexander Homyack            
               Blaise Mullen                

Hailey Watkins

           Second Honors-7 th Grade          
Hunter Gallagher
Matthew Zakrewsky
                    First Honors-8 th Grade                  
   Matthew Holloman
        
                    Second Honors-8 th Grade                 
       
 Chloe Hiles
 
Christian of the Month 

The Christian of the Month Award recognizes students who display good character on a consistent basis and serve as student role models throughout the month. Students are nominated by their teachers based on the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Students chosen to receive this award will be acknowledged for their accomplishment in the monthly newsletter. Students will receive a dress down pass, Christian of the Month Certificate and a Burger King Certificate. Listed below are the students that have been chosen as Christian of the Month for November in each homeroom. CONGRATULATIONS!
Avery Pfeifer is the Christian of the Month for Kindergarten Gold. Avery is a very calm, quite, and thoughtful student. She loves to color and is very helpful. Avery loves to dance at “Faberge Follies,” Dance Studio. She also a very active member in her church, Holy Ascension Orthodox.

Aubreanna Hutnyan has been chosen Christian of the Month for Kindergarten Blue. Aubreanna always tries to do her best and enjoys participating in all class activities. She is kind and respectful to her teachers and classmates. At home, Aubreanna is involved in the Tamaqua Soccer U-6 on the American Hose Co. #1 Team. She also participates in dance at the Crystal School of Dance. 
Congratulations, Aubreanna!

Kylie Kisenwether , Grade 1, has earned the Christian of the Month Award. Kylie swims for the Tamaqua Blue Waves since 2016. She competes in meets for backstroke and front stroke. Kylie is a member of the children’s choir at St. Joseph’s Church of the Panther Valley. Kylie truly is always happy and is a great help at home. She loves to play with her big sister and in the summertime enjoys walking her dog, Sunshine, and riding her bike. In school, Kylie works very hard. She is always ready to lend a helping hand to her teacher and classmates. Kylie is a very responsible and conscientious student. Great job, Kylie!!!!!

Jack LeClair is second grade's Christian of the Month for December. Jack was chosen because he is trustworthy, very respectful and responsible. He is always ready to help his classmates. Jack is a Cub Scout and is a member of the Panther Valley Youth Soccer team. Jack volunteers with various veteran organizations. He really enjoys volunteering with his family and always puts a lot of thought into how he can help others. He enjoys attending Broadway plays with his family and going to museums and science centers. Jack is a very good big brother and very helpful at home.

Third grade Christian of the Month is awarded to Katie Purin for her kindness and compassion shown towards her classmates. Katie is responsible with her work and likes to help out in the classroom. She has been a Girl Scout for two years. She has played soccer for three years. She was also a Lil Colts cheerleader for two years. She has taken dance classes for 6 years at the Dance Factory. This year is her first year in the specialty class which is an invitation only class. She is an altar server at St. John XXIII. Katie will be participating this year in the Pottsville Winter Carnival for the Snowdrop Princess. Katie is a great big sister to her brother James. She loves to dance and do gymnastics. In the summer she spends her time camping, jet skiing and knee boarding. In the winter, she spends her weekends skiing and last year started going down double diamond ski slopes!

The 4th grade Christian of the Month for December is Eris Hayes . Eris is a hard worker and good student. She always tries her best. She is always willing to lend a helping hand. Eris is very kind and respectful to her classmates and adults she encounters during the school day. When Eris is not in school, she plays for TAYSA. She can play both offensive and defensive positions. Eris is an enormous help as a big sister. She is very sensitive and caring.

Jayden Ladlee is fifth grade's Christian of the Month. Jayden is very kind, patient and helpful towards others. She is a great big sister to her brother; she enjoys watching and playing with him. Jayden loves to go shopping and playing with her pets. An extracurricular activity that she enjoys is piano, which she has been doing for the past two years. Congratulations Jayden!
  
The sixth-grade Christian of the Month is MacKenna Jacobs . Mackenna is an honor student. She is very responsible, reliable, and trustworthy. She is always willing to help others. MacKenna is a member of the impact dance team at Dance with Kim School of Performing Arts. She was named dancer of the month for September. MacKenna is a student assistant. She also plays volleyball for the 209 fusion travel team. Great job ManKenna!

Joseph Walko has been selected as 7th Grade Christian of the Month. Joseph is a kind, considerate, friendly student. He serves as Vice-President of the Student Council and is also a Student Ambassador. Joseph has a great interest in sports. He was the catcher on the McAdoo Fire Company Little League team as well as the Tri-County All Star Team which took third place in their division. Joseph played Babe Ruth in the fall for Drums. He is currently playing CYO basketball for St. John XXIII. He also enjoys hunting with his dad. Joseph is an altar server at All Saints Church, McAdoo and frequently serves at school Masses. Congratulations, Joseph! 

Paris Sevinsky has been chosen as the eighth grade Christian of the Month. Paris is courteous and always shows good manners in the classroom. She shows respect for teachers and peers. Paris serves our school as a Mission Representative and she is involved in service activities at her church, Blessed Theresa of Calcutta. Outside of school, Paris enjoys crafting and sewing. She is a big help at home, loving and caring for her little sister, Paislee. She plans to attend Marian High School. Congratulations, Paris!
Geography Bee

Congratulations to the following students who competed in the "National Geographic Geography Bee" final competition at SJRS on December 5th. The students pictured were the winners of the class bees that were held in November.  Eric Ankiewicz , Gr.7, won the final competition and was declared the school champion. He will take the state qualifying test later this month. Great job by all students and good luck to Eric! We are so proud of our students!

Grade 4: Kaitlyn Calarco
              Gabrielle Maggio

Grade 5: Logan Fisher
              Connor Rehnert

Grade 6: Alex Porambo
              Abby Kluck

Grade 7: Hailey Watkins
              Eric Ankiewicz

Grade 8: Daniel Stein
Home and School Update
Registration for the 2018-2019 School Year UPDATE

Thank you to all our families who have already taken advantage of the early re-enrollment discount! We already have over 120 students enrolled for the 2018-2019 school year! In order to officially register for next year, please fill out the re-registration form and send it back to the office with the registration fee. The deadline for the $50 discount is this Friday. December 22nd.

The following discounts will be offered for re-registration:

Enroll by December 22 nd : $50.00 per child
Enroll by February 3 rd (End of CSW): $75.00 per child
Enroll after February 3 rd : $100.00 per child

**Registration fees must be paid in order to officially register for the 2018-2019 school year**
January Mission Projects

Many thanks for your donations for the Birth Rite Tree and Toys for Tots. Once again our school community has demonstrated a genuine spirit of generosity. During the month of January we will be selling snowflakes for a donation of 50 cents. The money collected will go to the St. Vincent DePaul Society to aid needy families. The snowflakes will be displayed throughout the school.
Gift Certificates and Scrip Certificates
These are great ways to help with tuition costs. If you have any questions please call the office. Many people are saving hundreds of dollars in tuition by purchasing certificates. Certificates are sold from the school office daily during school hours and scrip orders are taken on Tuesdays. On-hand certificates: Boyer's and Redner's, $100 and $25 denominations. 
 
Tuition            
Monthly tuition payments are essential to pay the operating costs of SJRS. The school has monthly bills that must be paid and overdue tuition payments create a hardship on the school budget. Please keep up- to-date with tuition payments using the FACTS tuition management system. Thank you for understanding the importance of your tuition commitment and up-to-date payments.


Tuition Chance
This year we will again sell tuition chances to help you win money toward your tuition bill. The chances are $1 each and paper slips are in the family envelope. If you want to purchase the chance, fill out the slip and enclose money in an envelope marked tuition chance. This is not a fundraiser. All money collected will be awarded to the winning student’s tuition account. If your tuition is fully paid, credit will be applied to next year’s bill. 

The winner for December is  Kylie and Kaitlyn Kisenwether in 1st and 4th grade.  The amount of tuition credit is $101 . Thank you to all who took chances. Next month’s drawing will be on January 23rd.
AmazonSmile

SJRS is now registered with AmazonSmile. Amazon shoppers can now designate SJRS as their organization under Amazon smile and eligible purchases entitle SJRS to 0.5% of all purchases. The SJRS charity link is: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/46-5472464 . This link takes you to smile.amazon.com and are automatically asked if they want to support St Jerome Regional School.

The link is also located on our school website. The direct link to the resources page is http://www.sjrschool.com/resources.html 
Protecting God's Children and Mandated Reporter Trainings

An updated list of Protecting God's Children and Mandated Reporter Training sessions are listed on the Diocese of Allentown Website at http://www.allentowndiocese.org/youth-protection . Details are also listed for each location.   
Winter Weather Alerts

Parents/Guardians, in order to keep you up-to-date with any schedule changes due to weather, SJRS optimizes the Parent Alert System on OptionC. As a reminder, please be sure to log into your account to update your preferences. Notifications are sent out via, text, voice, & email in an event of a delay or closing. Notifications are also posted to Facebook and our website along with WBRE & WNEP News stations. If you have any questions regarding your Option C account please call the school office.
Catholic Schools Week 
Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week. The theme for the National Catholic Schools Week 2018 is “Learn. Serve. Lead, Succeed.” CSW will be celebrated beginning January 28th. 
This is a special time to celebrate in our Catholic Schools. Special events are planned for this week. Information will be sent home on these events throughout the month and also check it out on the school facebook page.  Here is the tentative schedule of events.
Little Lions Preschool Update:

Preschool 4
During the month of December, Preschool 4:
  • Prepared for the birth of baby Jesus through the lighting of the advent wreath.
  • Practiced very hard for the Christmas play. 
  • Practiced the Letters L and U.
  • Learned about our 5 senses and made our own books about what we like to see, hear, taste, smell and touch.  

During the month of January:
  • The theme will be Winter. 
  • They will Practice letters, X, V, Z, O and T and learn about 2d and 3d shapes. 
  • Hope to create beautiful winter landscapes during art class
  • Explore Magnets science class. 
  • Celebrate with our school family during Catholic Schools Week.

Preschool 3
During the month of December, Preschool 3:
  • Prepared our hearts for the coming of baby Jesus.
  • Read many stories about the birth of the Christ Child.
  • Spent time building our fine motor skills by coloring many beautiful Christmas pictures.
  • Danced our hearts out to Jingle Bells and other Christmas Carols. 
  • The letters L & M were introduced.  

During January:
  • The letters L, M, N, O and P will be introduced. 
  • We will continue to learn about the world around us and identify shapes in the environment. 
  • We will also practice counting.
  • Celebrate with our school family during Catholic Schools Week.
REMINDERS: 
  • Please check the January calendar for all important dates.  

  • Christmas vacation – December 23rd- January 1st. School reopens January 2nd.
Know that we thank God for you and your continued cooperation and support of Catholic education.  The faculty, staff and administration ask for your continued prayers, support, cooperation and dedication to Catholic education. If you have any questions or concerns, you can call the school office at 570-668-2757. We will be happy to help you! Thank you for being part of the SJRS Family! Thank you for all the sacrifices you make to send your child to this school! In order to save time and money, we will continue to use email to communicate with you. If you have an email address, please check it and look for our messages. If you are not receiving our e-newsletters, please send a note to the office to be added to the email list. 


God bless you and your families,

Mrs. Amy M. Hannis-Miskar, Principal
Let Us Pray

 
Catholic Schools Week Prayer
Almighty Father, You sent forth your Son, Jesus, as a beacon of hope for all people.
As Teacher, he has given us the prime example of the importance of education.
As disciples, we look to him for inspiration and strength.
Thank you for the many men and women who have dedicated their lives in service to our Catholic schools.
Thank you for the teachers and administrators who lead our schools today.
Thank you for the parents who have given support and witness to the importance of Catholic education in their daily lives.
Thank you for the students who work hard to further their education.
Bless our school and all the schools in the Diocese of Allentown.
Bless the many people who advance the mission of Catholic Education.
May our schools be homes for those who seek to grow in faith, knowledge, and service of others.
May our faith communities always support one another and show a warm welcome to new members.
Loving God, fill our minds with knowledge and wisdom.
May our understanding of the world help us to grow in appreciation for it.
Fill our hearts with gladness.
May we always turn to you in times of need.
Fill our hands with the tools we need to serve others.
May we show them your unceasing love through our actions.
We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus, Who is Lord forever and ever.
AMEN.   
     


Let us pray for:

Your continued prayers, support, cooperation and dedication to Catholic education.
Your continued kind words toward each other.
             Someone who is sick and in the hospital.
     A special intention.

Email your prayer requests to altssj@ptd.net or send a note to the office.
We will list the names that you would like us to pray for in our monthly newsletters.