DIVINE MERCY ACADEMY
FEBRUARY 2012 NEWSLETTER
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK IS HERE!
Father Farnan is hoping for a strong turnout of school families at the 9:00 Mass on Sunday, January 29, the official opening of Catholic Schools Week. All students are invited to come up to the choir loft to sing. The school will be open from 8:00-11:00 and since I will be at Mass and the breakfast, are there some parents who are willing to stay at the school in the event visitors would like a tour of the school?
SACRAMENTAL NEWS
Two important sacramental meetings will take place in February. Both are scheduled at 10:00 at St. Philomena’s. A Confirmation Parent meeting is scheduled for February12 and a First Holy Communion Parent meeting is scheduled for February 26.
Reconciliation will take place at Divine Mercy on Friday, March 9 after the 9:00 Mass. First Holy Communion is scheduled for Sunday, May 6 at the 11:00 Mass at Divine Mercy Parish.
Our 8th graders will be confirmed at Christ the Divine Teacher Church by Bishop Zubik on Thursday, April 26 at 7:00.
MARKET DAY
Due to the bad weather last week, Market Day would not send their trucks out on the icy roads. Market Day will be delivered Saturday, January 28. You may pick up your orders at the usual time. The Market Day order forms for next month’s sale will be sent home in next week’s Thursday folders.
VALENTINE’S DAY
The students will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, February 14. Homeroom parents should get in touch with the teachers to see how they can be of assistance for the parties.
PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE
Preschool will have an open house on Tuesday evening, March 6 from 6:00-7:30. If you know of anyone who is looking for a great preschool, guide them our way. Mrs. Fairley welcomes anyone interested to come to the open house or to observe the program during regular hours. More information is available upon request.
LEAP DAY
Preschool students will enjoy a taste of what next year holds for them on Wednesday, February 29, Leap Day, a day when they will take part in regular Kindergarten activities. The “day” will begin at 9:00 and last until 12:30 and will include lunch and recess. If you know of anyone interested in sending their children to DMA Kindergarten next year, please notify them of this neat event.
MARCH RAFFLE TICKETS
St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) is the date of our lottery based ticket for the year. Each family is asked to buy or sell at least 10 tickets. If you have any lucky numbers to request, please send them in by Monday, January 30. If you want more than 10 tickets, please let us know as soon as possible. They will be sent home in next week’s Thursday folders.
CANDY SALE
Once again this year we will be having our annual Sarris & Anderson Easter candy sale. Please consider buying your Easter goodies from us. Informational flyers and order forms will be sent home next week. Many thanks to Lisa Debo who agreed to chair this fundraiser again this year.
QUIGLEY FUNDRAISER
Quite a few tickets remain for the fundraiser being organized by Quigley Catholic High School. The raffle is a Seven Day Money Sweepstakes. You can win between $100 and $5,000 from April 22 – 30 and $10,000 on May 1. If a winning number is drawn on May 1, in any combination, you double your money. Winner is based on the PA 4 digit lottery. Tickets are $10.00 each. Please help us sell them as we make a percentage of the tickets we sell. Call the office to request the number of tickets you are willing to take.
VERY WORTHY CAUSES
GIFT OF LOVE FOOD DRIVE
Our annual Valentine's Day food drive is being held from February 1 - 14. In past years, the students have always been very generous in their support of this project. Non-perishable items such as canned goods, paper products, and diapers, are collected and given to needy families, area soup kitchens, the women's shelter, Meals-on-Wheels or the Salvation Army food bank.
ST. JUDE MATH-A-THON
Mrs. Wertz would like to have the money turned in for the Math-a-thon by Wednesday, February 15. Since we began participating in this great cause, Divine Mercy Academy has raised over $10,000 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital!
JUMP ROPE FOR HEARTS
Please remember our drive for the American Heart Association which takes place every year around Valentine’s Day. Alumnae Rosemary Young has been the organizer of this drive in our school for many years. Mr. Debo will conduct the jump rope activities in gym class on February 14. Donations and pledges are due February 21, one week after the Jump Rope for Heart actually takes place.
REGISTRATION
Registration for next school year (2012-2013) will take place March 5-9, 2012. Forms will be sent home next week in the Thursday folders. Please read them carefully. Financial aid is available from the Bishop’s Education Fund, the Scholastic Opportunity Scholarship (S.O.S.) and our own Angel Fund. In order to get any financial assistance from the BEF and/or the SOS, you must fill out the PSAS (Private School Aid Service) financial application form and send it in by March 15, 2012. There are separate applications for the Angel Fund and these are due, along with Income Tax Returns, by April 18, 2012. If you need assistance filling out any applications, please call and set up a time to come in and someone will assist you.
The rule of thumb for qualifying for financial assistance under the PSAS is
# of dependents maximum income
1 $72,000
2 $84,000
3 $96,000
4 $108,000
5 $120,000
*add $12,000 for each additional dependent
At the bottom of this page, fill out the request form and send it back to school by Monday, January 30. If we don’t hear from you, we will not send any applications for financial assistance.
Please do your best to recruit new students. Your positive comments about DMA may encourage other parents to consider enrolling their children in this fine school. Every study ever done on the marketing of Catholic schools indicates that the number one source of information by far is “word of mouth.” Generating positive word of mouth, then, becomes an indispensable part of a good communications plan and program. The key is to find ways to generate positive word of mouth.
“Like a forest fire, word of mouth is smoldering, burning or blazing along on its own, the most powerful force in the marketplace, out of control. You never know what good or damage it may do. You usually do not know if it’s there, or what form it’s taking, or whether it’s doing good or harm. But word of mouth can be harnessed.”
from How to Harness Word of Mouth
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FAMILY NAME_____________________________________
_____ Please send a PSAS application (includes SOS and BEF)
_____Please send an Angel Fund application.