“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor even touched, but just felt in the heart.” 

                                                           Helen Keller, American Writer, Activist

 

February 1, 2012

 

Dear Parents,
 

I want to thank our families who were able to join us for our National Catholic Schools Week liturgy at the 9:00 a.m. Mass last Sunday. I was pleased with our 3rd grade choir, 8th and 7th grade welcome, scripture and petition readers, 7th and 6th grade musicians, 8th grade cantor, and 1st grade gift bearers. I want to thank Mrs. Susan Kirkpatrick for her work with the readers and gift bearers and Mrs. Chris Brennan, Mrs. Laurie Huger, Mrs. Joan Johnson, and Mr. Ben Tomczak for their work with the choir. In addition, I want to thank Mrs. Patty Brooks for her assistance in preparing the Distinguished Graduate Award materials and Dress Down Day Reward coupons. We handed out these coupons (good for February 6th-9th) after all Masses. Kudos should go to the Hill, King, Nystrom, and McGrath families, Mrs. Amy Parent and Mrs. Niki Wright for assisting with these coupons.

At the 9:00 a.m. Mass we presented the eighth Distinguished Graduate Award. The first seven recipients were Sister Mary Shea (Class of 1975), John Ruocchio (Class of 1979), Philip Domville (Class of 1979), Father John Forbes (Class of 1972), Nancy Masteller (Class of 1970), Susan Getter (Class of 1984) and Michael House (Class of 1969). Although the committee once again felt that Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School has produced many distinguished graduates to choose from over the past fifty-eight years, it was decided that this year’s recipient would be Jeffrey C. Yardley, a member of the Class of 1990. The committee felt that Jeff deserved this award for the following three reasons. First of all, Jeff learned the importance of Catholic education in terms of academic and spiritual foundations by attending both Our Lady of Lourdes and Cardinal Gibbons High School. Second, wanting his children to have the same Catholic education he did, Jeff has begun to send his first child to Our Lady of Lourdes this year. Finally, wanting to be of service to others, Jeff presently shares his financial knowledge by serving on the Parish Finance Council and has been actively involved promoting the OLL Adopt A Student Fund, a fund that offers tuition assistance to school families in need. At Sunday’s liturgy Jeffrey received a certificate and pin from Father John. Jeff’s name has been added to the Distinguished Graduate plaque that hangs in the school office. Congratulations, Jeff, for being an outstanding OLL graduate! After Mass many of us then attended the Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast in the Fallon Center. I want to thank the Knights for doing a tremendous job with this breakfast and their continued support of our parish school.

We held our second cultural arts program on Wednesday, January 18th. The Chinese acrobats ooohed and aaahed the students and staff with their various acts. Of course, everyone was told that these endeavors should not be tried at home as they may look easy, but in reality they were difficult and dangerous. This program was perfectly timed as Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon) was Monday, January 23rd. I was impressed with the way the acrobats kept the interest of the younger and older students. I want to thank HASA for their sponsorship of this program for our students and staff.

On Friday, January 20th, we had a best attendance ever for a Family Night Bingo. Doors opened at 6:00 p.m. for a fun evening. We called eight games of bingo and had multiple winners during some of the games. We brought in a total of $1,294 from the card sales and food. This was the most money we have ever made from this event. This money will go to HASA. I want to thank Mr. & Mrs. William Thornburg for their organization of the evening and the purchasing of the food. I also want to thank Ms. Amy Hill for coordinating our parent volunteers. Without these volunteers, our evening would not have been a successful one. They took care of everything from selling bingo cards to serving food, from set up for the evening to clean up after the event. In addition, our varsity and junior varsity girls’ basketball teams had a great bake sale and raffle that evening. The girls made $634.15 which will be used for their basketball activities. This also was one of the best nights for the bake sale and raffle. I want to thank the many parents who made the delicious bake goods and worked the treat table at bingo. The final Family Night Bingo will be Friday, March 30th. Please mark your calendars. One final note on bingo, I am asking families to please RSVP when the bingo form comes home. Although we would never turn anyone away at the door, we would appreciate a more accurate count for food.

Allow me to close this letter with the following announcements. First of all, please remember that registration packets for the 2011-2012 school year were due yesterday. Families who have not sent in their forms and checks will risk losing their spots for next year. Also, please join us tomorrow night for our Open House/Art Show/Science Fair (6:45-8:00 p.m.) Student art work will be showcased in the two art rooms and the primary and middle school buildings. Science fair projects will be viewed in the Fallon Center. We always have great attendance from our present families for this open house. Third, our 8th graders are preparing for Mardi Gras this Friday in the Fallon Center. Students in grades K-3 will attend Mardi Gras at 9:15 a.m.; students in grades 4-7 will attend Mardi Gras at 10:30 a.m. Finally, we wish our Science Olympiad team good luck as they finish their preparation for their regional competition this Saturday at Wakefield High School.

 

Blessings,

 

 

Robert B. Scripko, Ph.D.
Principal