Blessed Sacrament Catholic School

Links to other Blessed Sacrament School news

Summer Creative Writing and Composition

Middle School Physical Education Classes next year

On Friday, April 11, prizes were presented at the end of the all-school Mass to the winners of the 15th Annual Vocations Contest. This contest, sponsored by the Parish Vocations Team, is held during Lent each year. The kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grade students submitted posters and the 3rd, 4th and 5th Grade students wrote essays.

Essay topics this year were: “ How do you expect God to call someone for a religious vocation?” and “How are you preparing for a vocation if God were to call you?” The posters topic was: “What would you do as a priest or religious to serve others?”

Winners of the 2008 Vocation Contest are:

Kindergarten                Ernie Ernatt                Maggie Gann

1st Grade                      Burton Schindler      McKenzie Luft

2nd Grade                     Gio Ferraro                Evan Wilson

3rd Grade                      Eric Headley              Jaden Kasitz

4th Grade                      Brett Cass                  June Baldessari

5th Grade                      Will Crutchfield          Madelyn Gaulding

In addition, six “random drawing” prizes were awarded among all the participants. This year’s winners are: Jonas Koehn, Emma Degenbardt, Dominic Suniga, Jason Fondau, Jack Hane and Mary Clare.

Again this year, the 5th Grade classes continued with the Birthday Club. This is an adaptation of the Serra 31 Club. Calendar wall charts are hung in the hall of the second floor of the school with each student’s name posted on their respective birth dates. Each month, on “their date” the students pray for vocations, offer Mass attendance and good works of the day. A star is placed at the name of each student for each month in which they offer their respective date for continuing religious vocations.

In addition to the annual Vocations Contest and the Birthday Club, the Vocations Team promotes religious vocations with field trips to convents and seminaries for the 8th Grade students each spring and provides prayer cards of each religious from our parish. The Team encourages Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to earn religious merit badges and a Team member presents 8th Grade altar servers with the Serra Altar Server Award. During the summer, the altar servers are guests of the Team at an evening swim party at College Hill pool.

The Vocations Team schedules the praying of the rosary for vocations before Sunday Masses, promotes the “31 Club” and the traveling Shrine for Vocations. The “Hall of Fame” display honors all men and women of Blessed Sacrament Parish who have entered the priesthood or religious life since the beginning of our parish 80 years ago and is on display in the school.

The Vocations Team meets bi-monthly on the third Monday evening of September, November, January, March and May to plan and facilitate our endeavors. If you would like to be part of this effort, consider joining us. It is not a difficult stewardship and one that provides a contact with our students and an opportunity to encourage much-needed vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

We will not be having a formal enrollment in August as in the past. Please make sure your paperwork is returned as soon as possible to complete the enrollment process for the 2008-2009 school year. To download a checklist to help get you started, click here.

School Calendar- We are seeking volunteers to coordinate the school calendar. This is a summer position that involves selling advertising, gathering dates, collecting artwork and working with the printer. It can be a really fun position for two to three parents to work together on and is important to our school. Contact CY Suellentrop through the school office.

Boxtops for Education- Please remember to save Boxtops from participating products. Turn in to any teacher or Mrs. Loyle.

Report cards for students in grades 3rd - 5th wil be available on Power School only.

NO PAPER COPIES WILL BE SENT HOME FOR THESE GRADES.

Eventually, grades 6th - 8th will be available in this manner only, as the system is full implemented. Grades K- 2nd will bring home a paper report card since these grades do not have Power School acces for grades.

To login to Power School, click here. Power School passwords can only be given to parents in person through the school office. Students may NOT pick up parent passwords.

What a blessing it was to have the Holy Father in our midst! Many of us wished we could have been present with him last week. Click Here to Download a compilation of all the messages he delivered during his Apostolic Visit. They are a great gift to us and a wonderful source for meditation and prayer.

The download includes:

WELCOMING CEREMONY ADDRESS – White House
HOLY SEE/US JOINT STATEMENT – White House
VESPERS ADDRESS TO THE US BISHOPS – Basilica of the National Shrine
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS POSED BY THE BISHOPS – Basilica of the National Shrine
HOMILY AT MASS – Washington Nationals Stadium
ADDRESS TO CATHOLIC EDUCATORS – Catholic University of America
ADDRESS TO REPRESENTATIVES OF OTHER RELIGIONS – Pope John Paul II Cultural Center
MESSAGE TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY – Pope John Paul II Cultural Center
ADDRESS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS – New York
MESSAGE TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY – Park East Synagogue
ADDRESS AT THE ECUMENICAL PRAYER SERVICE – St. Joseph’s Church
HOMILY AT MASS – St. Patrick’s Cathedral
ADDRESS TO PEOPLE WITH DISSABILITIES – St. Joseph’s Seminary
ADDRESS TO YOUNG PEOPLE AND SEMINARIANS – St. Joseph’s Seminary
PRAYER AT GROUND ZERO – New York
HOMILY AT MASS – New York Yankee’s Stadium
FAREWELL ADDRESS – JFK Airport

“Calling All Adventurer Graduates”

Do you know of a somewhat recent (within the last 20 years) Blessed Sacrament graduate who is working or volunteering in an unusual locale somewhere around the world?

If so, call Mr. Grogan at 684-3752.

He is currently working on an alumni bulletin board in the hallway by the school office.

Scrip is simply a word that means “substitute money”-in other words, scrip is gift certificates from national and local retailers.

It's the fundraising program that works while you shop.

They are the same gift certificates that you buy at the store. Many popular retailers participate in our scrip program including Applebees, Sears, Blockbuster, Kohl's, Best Buy, Walgreens and many, many others. To read more about our Scrip program, click here.

To see our complete list, please click here.