Mercy Messenger

Through the intercession of Our Lady of Mercy, we commit ourselves to living the Good News of Jesus through Works of Mercy. Our rigorous academic program unleashes creative energy for the pursuit of knowledge and nurtures a hope-filled vision for Catholic leadership. We live out our relationship with God by respecting the dignity of others and providing service to the global community that fosters unity, understanding, and compassion.

Dear Lord, on Thanksgiving Day, we bow our hearts to You in prayer. We give You thanks for all You have done, mostly for the gift of Jesus Christ, Your Son. For beauty in nature, in which we see Your Glory, for joy and health, friends, and family.

Sunday November 24th, 2024

Good morning,

As we start this short week of school I want to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I hope you and your family wherever you celebrate enjoy your time with your family and make wonderful memories. I want to thank everyone that contributed to our food drive that went to the Saint Vincent DePaul food bank. We collected about 80 boxes and an estimated 2,176lbs of food. Your generosity is helping a lot of needy families over this holiday season. Thank you so much. Just a reminder that December 6th is the end of the first trimester. Report cards will be sent home on December 18th. Please check with your children to make sure all assignments are completed and turned in by December 6th. If you have any questions please be in touch with your child's teacher. Thank you for your support of OLM and again have a great Thanksgiving and safe travels if you are traveling over the holiday. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out.

In Mercy,

Bill Delaney

Our annual Christmas Tableau will be held on Thursday December 19th at 7pm. Students will arrive at 6:30pm. More information will follow in the coming weeks. Please know that the expectation is that all students participate in this annual school tradition.

If your 8th grader has received a scholarship to any high school please send a copy of the letter to Mrs. Maher cmaher@olmrcs.com so we can recognize your students amazing accomplishments.

As we have done in past years, we will continue with automatic re-registration for all current students in grades K to 7th grade for the 2025-2026 school year. Any family that does not plan to return next year must contact Julie Bebey at jbebey@olmrcs.com by Wednesday, December 18th, 2024. All returning families will have their FACTS accounts charged the $300/family re-registration fee in January. If you have any questions, please speak with Julie Bebey. Thank you in advance for your commitment to OLM and catholic education.

2025-2026 financial aid is now open. Please log onto your FACTS account to apply. To be considered for financial aid you must fill out an application through your FACTS account. If you have any questions please send your questions to grants@olmrcs.com.

Reminders

- Please remember to fill out all the school forms that are on FACTS.

- If you are changing the way your child is going home please call the main office before 1pm.

- If your child is absent from school please email attendance@olmrcs.com.

- Make sure to have all your clearances up to date if you are planning on volunteering in the school or with any clubs.

Please remember that your child needs to be 24 hours fever free and vomit free without medicine before returning to school. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our school community healthy.

As we are moving towards the winter months of the year here are a couple of reminders if we have a delayed school day or closure.

- OLM follows Upper Dublin school district. If Upper Dublin closes school for weather or is delayed, OLM is closed or delayed. A text, call and email will be sent out.

- If another school district closes and Upper Dublin is open, OLM is open. Those school district's that are closed will not provide busing. You will be notified if that occurs.

- If OLM is closed for a weather related reason we will be running on an asynchronous learning day. Your child's teacher will send work that will have to be completed through google classroom or via email.

11/27- 10 am prayer service for first responders.

11/27- 12pm dismissal.

11/28-11/29- Thanksgiving Break.

12/5- Dress Down Day ($2 Student Council Christmas Shopping).

12/6- First trimester ends.

12/7- Ambler Parade (1pm)

12/9- Christmas Tree lighting (6:30pm).

For the last 2 weeks, the OLM community has been collecting food and essential items in support of the St. Vincent DePaul food pantry at St. Catherine of Siena parish. We are proud to announce that our community collected 2,176 lbs. or 80 boxes! Because of the generosity of our community, we pray that this will make the upcoming holidays a little brighter for those less fortunate!

The OLM community will be working in conjunction with the St. Vincent DePaul Society at St. Catherines to raise money to buy Christmas gifts for local families that are in need. Student Council will be sponsoring a pajama dress down on Thursday, December 5th. We are asking for a minimum $2 donation from each student. We have received wish lists with various items for us to purchase with the money our school collects, and Student Council will be going Christmas shopping during the week of 12/9. If you would like to purchase a specific gift or gift card, please contact Ms. Timlin at stimlin@olmrcs.com. We thank you for your generosity! See the attached flyer for more details.

Believe it or not, it is already time to place your order for the 2024-2025 OLM yearbook!

To order a yearbook, please follow the steps listed below:

1- Go to https://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A07266900

2- Under the "Yearbook" heading, click "Buy Now" and continue following prompts to order the yearbook

3- Complete the remainder of the order by entering the following:

- Student First Name

- Student Last Name

- Grade

- Homeroom Teacher

4- Please continue following the prompts. All orders will be paid online via credit card. Please be sure to keep your receipt to verify that you did order a yearbook!

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL 8TH GRADE STUDENTS DO NOT NEED TO ORDER A YEARBOOK AS THIS IS ALREADY INCLUDED IN GRADUATION FEES!!

LAST DAY TO ORDER YEARBOOKS: March 23, 2025

We need parents to prepare the float for the Ambler Parade. Please get in touch with Julie Bebey if you can help. Most work will be done at night at a parent's home.

• This year we invite you to contribute to an optional gifting holiday fund. We are asking for a suggested $10.00-$20.00 donation per family. The collected amount will be used for the staff, specials, front office, lunch staff to have a nice holiday gift from the families. Checks can be made out to OLM. Please put in the memo “optional gift giving”. On the envelope, please put the attention of HSA – Optional Gift Giving. Please have all donations in by Friday, December 13th. For additional information, please see the attached flyer for more details. **Traditional teachers’ gifts will be coordinated by homeroom parents who will be reaching out to you.

The OLM spirit wear shop is open and ready for you to purchase! The shop will be open until November 25th. All payments are due by November 26th in order for your order to be placed. Items will be delivered to the school the week of December 16th. In the new year, we will offer an apparel sale. https://tinyurl.com/OLMSPIRITWEAR

The Santa shop will be Tuesday, December 10th and Wednesday, December 11th. All grades will have the opportunity to shop at the Santa shop during school hours. More information and volunteering information will be sent home in the next few weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Kristin Butler at kmbutler333@gmail.com

• We need parent volunteers to help with Ski & Board Club Monday Pretzels. One person is asked to pick up pretzels at 8 am at the Philly Pretzel Factory Horsham, deliver them to the school, and help sort and distribute them. We need another parent to meet at the school at 8:15 am and help sort/distribute them. Please use the SignUp Genius link to volunteer for a day or two. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4DA9A62CA2FD0-51172154-2024#/

Bake Sale on December 10th and 11th

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090944A8AB2BA5F94-53145441-skiclub

We ask that all families either provide a baked good OR sign up to help! We will be selling them for $2 an item, so please bake generously!

Spread the word:

Dress Down Day on December 13th $2 donation is suggested!

Thank you again for your help and support!!! The more money we raise, the less YOU PAY! Plenty of reminders will be coming your way - so thanks in advance for your help and support!

Get your dabbers ready! Back for another year Designer Bag Bingo will take place on Friday, January 24, 2025 (snow date: February 8, 2025), in the cafeteria. This is the HSA event of the school year and it sells out! So, Gather your friends for your table and be on the lookout for the registration form in the Mercy Messenger on Sunday, December 1st. If you would like to donate a basket for this event please reach out to Katie Sacchetta at katie.sacchetta@gmail.com.

This holiday season, we’ve partnered with Minted where you can save 20% and Minted donates back 15% to the school. Shop holiday cards and gifts on minted.com/holiday and use our promo code: FUNDRAISEMERCYREGIONAL.

Do you, someone in your family, or a friend have a small local business? Feel free to complete the form so we can share these businesses with the OLM community. We like to feature these businesses as the holiday season approaches. https://tinyurl.com/OLMsmallbiz24

Mabel's Labels will donate 20% of all purchase totals made through our storefront! Visit campaigns.mabelslabels.com and select Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School (Maple Glen). All coupon codes and promos are valid through our storefront and shipping is always free!

• Interested in joining the 2024-2025 HSA?

• Want to be more involved with events at school. Feel free to complete the interest form: tinyurl.com/2425OLMVolCalendar. As the event becomes closer we will pass your information to the chair of the event. We welcome you to follow and interact with us on social media, FB @olmhsa or Instagram @olmhsa.
• We welcome you to check out our website, www.olmhsa.wixsite.com/2021, or follow and interact with us on social media, FB @olmhsa or Instagram @olmhsa.

Welcome back to OLM!!

At OLM the students are our top priority and we are excited to serve your child through our Lunch program. In this letter you will find some important information about the program, what it is included in every meal and payment options.

OLM Lunch Program and Meal Plan:

Full lunch: $5.00 and includes:

- Main Entree (two different options every day)

- Side Dish

- 2 fruits AND 2 veggies

- 1 drink (milk, small water bottle or 100% juice)

Menus are posted in the school website under the "Lunch Program" tab and are included in the school's communication that is sent home at the beginning of each month. In addition to the two main dishes daily options, we offer seven alternate lunch choices on a daily basis. Snacks, bottled drinks and A la Carte items are not included in the meal plan, but they are available to be purchased every day and can be bought with or without buying the meal.

As in past years, we will continue to offer Fireside (boneless wings) and Chick Fil A once a month. A Google form will be posted in the school communication so you can register for these lunches. Although payment is not necessary at the time of ordering, we kindly ask that you make sure that your account has enough balance to cover such lunches, otherwise your orders won't be processed.

This year we are merging the lunch program with our FACTS system. As in the past EVERY STUDENT is provided with a NEW PIN number. This PIN number can be found in your FACTS Family Page: All you have to do is select your child from the middle drop down menu and find his/her 5 digit number -on the left hand of the screen- labeled ID Number, system. We kindly ask that you help your child memorize his/her number as this will help us speed up the check out process.

Lunch FAMILY accounts can be funded through your financial link in the FACTS family portal.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at esolanodeguerra@olmrcs.com

Looking forward to serving your kid!!

Mrs. Eugenia Solano-DeGuerra

OLM Cafe Food Service Director/CARES Director

BEGINNING PIANO LESSONS AT OLM!!

Payment: Every 4 lessons in the amount of $100.

Lessons will be scheduled upon receipt of first payment.

Payments may be made through PayPal. FJFJR@comcast.net

Or Venmo at….. @Frank-Ferraro-12

Lesson details:

Private lessons, 30 minutes each, once per week, during school hours.

Teachers will be contacted regarding lesson times. Parents will be informed of their child’s lesson time.

We will begin lessons in October!!

Please purchase this piano book: Alfred's Basic Piano Library Lesson Book, Bk 1A: Book & CD

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0739024833/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_c_u6L.xbJENWRFZ

Many Blessings,

Frank Ferraro

Piano Instructor

band@olmrcs.com

Morning Car Line: For everyone's safety please do not park your car and walk your child over in the morning. Please stay in the car line and drop your child off on the sidewalk. Thank you for your cooperation.

To keep our students safe and the car line moving in the afternoon, please:

• Do not get out of your cars. A faculty member will help your child get into the car.
• DO NOT PASS cars in front of you as there may be children getting into their cars on the driver's side. Please be patient and stay in line as you exit the school property, following the car in front of you.
• Do not stop in front of your child. Pull up as far as you can (up to the gym doors) to allow the most cars to load at one time. Please pull right up to the car in front of you.
• Do not speed. The speed limit is 10 MPH while driving on any part of the school property. Please be mindful of your speed.
• Do not use your cell phone while driving in the parking lot.
• WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE PUT A SIGN IN YOUR PASSENGER SIDE FRONT WINDOW IDENTIFYING YOUR LAST NAME. This will help us find your child(ren) faster.
• If you need to buckle your child into their car seat, please do so in the circle near the exit of the property.

ALL uniform rules will be enforced. Please review the general uniform rules that are listed below and are in the student handbook.

● Girls’ kilts must be no shorter than two inches above the knee. After a second warning, they must wear navy blue tights or school-issued pants until the skirt/kilt is at the appropriate length.

● All students must wear OLM uniform pieces with logos. They must be purchased from one of our two approved vendors: Flynn & O’Hara or Lands’ End.

● All formal and gym uniforms must be purchased from one of our two approved vendors: Flynn & O’Hara or Lands’ End.

● NO LOGOS, Nike Elite sports socks, or the like are permitted with the school uniform except on gym days.

● Sneakers must be worn on gym days, even on a dress-down day.

● Girls may wear post-earrings or small hoops.

● Belts must be worn with pants or shorts by both boys and girls.

● Only the neckline of a plain white undershirt may be visible under the shirt.

11/24

Chloe Sun

Joanna Creed

11/25

Charlotte Chiappa

11/26

Mrs. Schmalbach

Julia Young

Garrett Luskin

11/27

Freddie Cook

11/28

Emilia Conlon

11/29

Samuel Pollock

11/30

James McGeehan

Tuesday 11/26

Ryan Duffy

Thomas Hungerford

Wednesday 11/27

Drew Barton

Nicolette Cervone

Thursday 11/28

No School: Thanksgiving Break

Friday 11/29

No School: Thanksgiving Break