St. Jerome School Weekly Newsletter
Wednesday, November 9th 2022
“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”
St. Augustine
From Mr. Merrick
Dear St. Jerome Families,
I hope that you are all having a nice week so far. I am writing to you from Archbishop Ryan High School, where we are having our quarterly principal's meeting for Philadelphia North. AR has been fantastic with hospitality, and I was also able to tour the school with St. Jerome alumni and see the students in action.
Last week, we were able to gather our classes together for prayer partner/buddy activities. Each older grade has been paired with a younger grade, and they had time to meet each other and do activities. We will be getting together about once a month over the course of the year. Our students enjoyed the time together, and we look forward to them continuing to pray, learn, and play together.
I need to point out one omission on the school calendar and two changes:
- Tuesday, December 20th, should be listed as an early dismissal for the start of Christmas vacation. I apologize for the omission; I did double check the rest of the dates and we are all set through the end of the year. Last year we did do a full day, but this year I had intended to use that day as one of our allocated half days. This will be a day for us to do Christmas activities, and our Student Council will be organizing activities for all of our students to enjoy.
- Our Family Skate Night will be on Tuesday, March 21st (the Philly Skate Plex is not taking reservations over Christmas break). There is already no school on Wednesday, March 22nd for a faculty retreat, so the students will be able to enjoy the evening without it being a school night. More information will be sent home as we get closer, and this activity is included in the activity fee.
- Our Home and School End of the Year Bash will be on the evening of Wednesday, June 7th. More information will be sent home when we get closer. This activity is also included in the activity fee.
If you have parent/teacher conferences scheduled on Friday, the Stained Glass doors for the Blessed Mother Building and the front ramp door of the St. Joseph Building will be open. Please remember that there is no school for students on Friday. Instructions for scheduling conferences are below. Thank you for your support from home; our teachers are looking forward to discussing your children's individual strengths, opportunities for growth, and how we can all work together to ensure their continued success.
Yesterday, we received the stencils to paint the new games in the school yard. The paint is also on its way. Please be on the lookout, as we may put out a call for help as we work to finish this project in the next few weeks.
Pretzel orders are due tomorrow. Also, we are putting out the hot lunch and milk orders in the Wednesday Folder. In addition, we will be doing two hot dog days and a nacho day on the Thursdays in December to give you another option for lunch during the busy time preparing for Christmas.
Finally, as we get to the end of the first trimester and then start the registration process for the 2023-2024 school year, I encourage our families to please consider applying for Children's Scholarship for next year. They have more awards, have made their household income requirements more generous, and they are now giving awards for more school years. Please see below for more information.
Have a great week; St. Jerome and St. Lucy, pray for us!
Parent/Teacher Conferences (November 11th, 2022)
- Parent/teacher conferences days are scheduled for Friday, November 11th, 2022. There is no school for students that day.
- All conferences will be scheduled through OptionC. There is a handout below to help you with this. The scheduling will allow you to make appointments with multiple teachers if necessary.
- Scheduling begins on Thursday, November 3rd and ends on Thursday, November 10th.
- Conferences are not required, but our teachers look forward to discussing your child's progress. Your child's teacher will reach out to you if he or she requests a conference.
- Conferences will be conducted either in-person. Please indicate when you sign up if you would like to meet via phone. Otherwise, the teachers will assume that the conference will be in-person.
- If your teacher does not have any open slots or you can not make a time on November 11th, you may email your child's teacher to schedule another mutually convenient time.
Christmas School Apparel Store
Home and School Family Bingo
Join us for St. Jerome Family Bingo Night on Friday, November 18th
-Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm in the School Hall
-Included: Pizza, bottled water and juice- Feel free to BYOB and your own desserts if you wish
-Prizes to the winners of each round!
-Extra bingo cards and 50/50 raffle will be available to purchase!!!!
-Please RSVP with your family name and how many in your immediate family that will be attending by Friday, November 11 in an envelope marked “Family Bingo.” There is no cost for this event, as this is included with your school activity fee. This event is for our St. Jerome School families only. This is NOT a drop off event. Children must be accompanied by their parents or guardians.
***Walk-ins will not be permitted*** It is very important to RSVP to ensure we are ready for a fun-filled family night! Please let us know if you can volunteer to help set up, during event or clean up!
-You can register your family online at https://forms.gle/MQRN3bLMTDDkqL7e8
or return the paper form back to school in envelope:
Home and School Christmas Raffle
St. Jerome Home and School
$500
Christmas Cash
or
Tuition Credit Raffle
Tickets are $10 each or 3 for $20
Please return form and tickets will be sent home with students. You can also Venmo @Maria-Kling-15 and include name and phone number in comments.
Last day to purchase is Tuesday November 29th. Drawing will be Wednesday, November 30th.
Children's Scholarship Foundation of Philadelphia
Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia offers partial scholarships to K-8th grade students,
and for the first time ever, scholarships will no longer be restricted to four years. A student
who wins the CSFP scholarship lottery will receive a scholarship all the way through 8th grade
as long as they meet income and qualification requirements!
Eligibility requirements include:
- Philadelphia resident
- At least one child entering K-8th grade in September 2023
- Meet CSFP’s financial requirements
CSFP’s scholarship application is now available for the 2023-2024 school year. If you are
selected this year, funds will be applied towards the 2023-2024 school year tuition. Beginning
next year, no student will receive less than $1,200 in scholarship.
We hope that this information is helpful to you. Should you have any questions, please reach
out to CSFP directly at paperwork@csfphiladelphia.org.
Apply for a scholarship today. Priority deadline to apply is November 15, 2022. You will be
notified if you receive a scholarship via a random lottery in December or March.
Student Council Thanksgiving Food Drive
The Student Council will be conducting a Thanksgiving Food Drive to benefit our friends at the St. Jerome Food Bank. Each grade will be asked to donate one item from the list below. We respectfully request that no expired items be brought in. Thank you for your support in helping out this Thanksgiving! All donations are due by November 22nd, 2022; Student Council will sort and deliver the items to the Food Bank.
- Pre-K3 and Pre-K4: Apple Juice
- Kindergarten: Pancake Mix and Pancake Syrup
- 1st Grade: Stove top Stuffing
- 2nd Grade: Peanut Butter and Jelly
- 3rd Grade: Cereal
- 4th grade: Canned Potatoes
- 5th Grade: Instant Potatoes
- 6th Grade: Spaghetti Sauce
- 7th Grade: Tuna
- 8th Grade: Mac and Cheese