Academy newsletter 3/28/09

:  I just returned from the Sylvania Business Expo where our “Schools Lighting the Way” team has a display complete with the Academy banner and BOGO lights.  The students, under the direction of Mrs. Chambers, are continuing their campaign to raise awareness of the “energy poverty” that pervades the lives of almost two billion people globally.  Sean Wheelock, Dominic Zirbel, Amir Horani and Mrs. Chambers manned the booth and spread the word.  Mrs. Chambers put together such an effective display that it drew the attention of WTOL-TV 11 and meteorologist Robert Shiels sent a crew over to do a story.  Look for it tonight on the 11:00 p.m. channel 11 news.   The “BOGO light raffle/dress down pass” sale was a big hit–$955.00!  The boys will use this money to buy BOGO lights to send to “light impoverished” areas.  A special thanks to Mr. Welling for his “persuasive” selling of tickets and passes in his classes!

 

I am glad to report that both 7^th grade travel groups returned safe and sound (and tired) from their Space Camp and Chicago experiences.  The boys had a great time on both excursions and pictures will be posted on the website in a few days. 

 

Congratulations to Mr. Heintschel and the varsity basketball team on another in a long line of successful seasons.  Reaching the final four of the state tournament for the sixth time in the last seventeen years is a tremendous accomplishment that brought excitement to the large community of proud SJJ fans throughout northwest Ohio.    

 

Academy spring sports are getting underway.  Mr. Butler does a great job of organizing all of these programs and trying to control the costs associated with all of them.  Your cooperation in paying the fees for each sport is crucial to allow us to provide these opportunities.  If you still have fees outstanding from the winter season or owe for fees for the spring season please pay them as soon as possible.  Thank you!!

 

On Thursday the 8^th grade travels north to the DeSales center in Brooklyn, Michigan to retreat from the business of Academy life for a day of reflection.  Please keep them in your prayers on that day especially.

 

Last call for raffle tickets!  Please turn in all ticket forms and money by the end of school on Tuesday, March 31.  The raffle will be held next Sunday during intermission of the SJJ production of “Beauty and the Beast.”  Tickets for this tremendous production are available by calling the Valentine Theatre box office-419-242-2787- or by visiting www.valentinetheatre.com  -Special offer—-I will give a dress down pass to any Academy student who presents me his ticket stub from attending a performance of the musical.  My incentive to go see a show I know everyone will enjoy!

 

Next Friday Mr. Huther and I will travel to Columbus with the Mock Trial team to participate in two trials.  The “case” is based on the novel “The Outsiders” and the team will present one side—prosecution or defense—in the trial.  Thanks to Mr. Huther for his time and effort preparing the team. 

 

Next week there will be a school wide mission collection to support the 16 high school students who will be journeying to Guatemala this summer on a service experience.  Money collected will be used to buy school supplies for the Francisco Coll School and the Santa Clara Nursery that are located on the edge of the city dump where many of the schoolchildren’s parents labor to make a living by scavenging each day.  I had the privilege to travel with this group over the last four summers and I can promise you that your contribution is both greatly needed and appreciated by the children of the dump community.  It is through caring for those in need that we can find deeper meaning in our own lives.  In that spirit I also extend my thanks to John Emmenecker, Kassem Abbas, Marcus Thornton, Connor Bopp, and Hunter Clay for volunteering to spend their Easter break working with the mountain community in Mingo County, West Virginia.  They have opened their hearts, minds and committed their time and labor to work with those in need and I know that they will come back telling us that they received much more than they gave.

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

It was a busy weekend for Academy students and their families. One of our 7^th grade basketball teams played for the CYO 7^th grade championship on Saturday morning, and though they fell short, they can take solace in an undefeated regular season and a 2^nd place tournament finish.  Approximately 25 students participated in the Science Olympiad yesterday at the Lima branch of Ohio State University.  We’ll have a full report later, but Mr. Nichols reports that several students brought home medals in their events including a few gold medals.  Finally, three Academy students competed in the Power of the Pen regional tournament yesterday in Findlay and when we receive the final results we’ll let you know if anyone advanced to the state finals. 

 

Things slow down a little this week as we concluded our swimming program last Thursday and will hold our last scuba diving session this Friday. Academy Boy Scouts will meet Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.  The scouts are working on their physical fitness badge and will be going over to Shadow Valley for some activities.  Also, Friday there is a Lenten Reconciliation Service that is open to all students and next Saturday is the state final of MathCounts and we have a team comprised of Sean Wheelock, Harry Thaman, Connor Bopp, and Dominic Zirbel competing.   

 

Next week, March 16-20, every day will be a late start with school beginning at 10:15 a.m.  We will be open for those who need to come to school early and all buses will be running on the regular schedule. 

 

 

7^th grade class trips are only two weeks away.  Please send in final payment for your son’s trip as soon as possible.  The Space Camp trip leaves on Sunday, March 22 at 6:00 a.m. and the Chicago trip leaves Tuesday, March 24 at 6:00 a.m.  Detailed agendas for the trips will be sent home this week with third quarter report cards. 

 

Congratulations to the high school Men’s Chorus, which includes several Academy graduates. On Friday March 6th, the SJJ Men’s Chorus received the highest possible rating (I – Superior) at the Ohio Music Educators Association Large Group Adjudicated Event at Archbold High School.  The chorus competed in Class A, a first for the ensemble.  The rating of I, or “superior,” qualifies the chorus for state contest, which will take place in early May.  Another first for the chorus is a perfect score from all three performance judges.  This is only the third time in recent memory that the chorus has qualified for state contest.

 

Tennis practice begins this week.  The varsity tennis team has bumped us from our time slot for the month of March, so our new times will be Tuesday & Thursday 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. and Friday 3:30 – 5:00. Starting April 1st we will be back to our original times Tues, Thurs, and Fri 3:30 – 5:00.  Other spring sports will be starting soon.

 

Have a good week.

 

Academy Newsletter 3/1/09

The fourth quarter begins on Tuesday and we look ahead to numerous activities and events as we head toward our May 28 8^th grade graduation. 

 

On Monday the Academy students will visit eight high school students from Belgium who are visiting the school for two weeks and staying with SJJ high school students.  Over the Easter break our high school students will travel to Belgium to reverse roles and be the guest of the Belgian students.

 

Students in our YMCA swim program conclude their lessons this week while 8^th grade scuba divers continue wind up their introduction to scuba next Friday.

 

On Wednesday and Thursday 7^th graders will enjoy a pizza lunch and activities with their junior Big Brothers during their fourth period lunch.  A list has been posted so your son should know which day he will be set for lunch on us.

 

The latest installment in our “After-school Movie Series” will be shown on Thursday in the Academy classrooms as we watch “August Rush,” an inspiring tale of a young boy who believed in hope and the power of music.  Visit the website to check it out.  http://augustrushmovie.warnerbros.com/  Students who attend and stay for the whole movie will receive pop and snacks and a dress down day pass.

 

Students can buy a “Jeans Day” pass for Friday, March 6 for $2 to support the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. 

 

Next Saturday students head to Lima and Findlay to participate in Science Olympiad with Mr. Nichols and the regional finals of Power of the Pen in Findlay.  Unfortunately students who wish to compete in both are not able to due to the conflicting schedules. 

 

Last call for the spring break Appalachia trip.  I need to have a final count of Academy students committed to going on this great adventure by Tuesday.

 

The week of March 16-20 there will be a late start every day due to state mandated Ohio Graduation Testing being administered to the sophomores.  School will begin each day at 10:15 a.m.  We are trying to set up some service experiences that wee so we might ask a few boys to come in early on one of those days, but for now, plan on the late start.

 

7^th grade trips will be blasting off for Space Camp and Chicago in a couple of weeks. The Space Camp trip will depart the school parking lot early Sunday morning, March 22 and return late Wednesday evening, March 25.  The Chicago trip leaves school early Tuesday morning, March 24 and returns late Wednesday night, March 25.  All 7^th grade students are excused from school on Thursday, March 26 since the trips are returning so late.  In addition, there is no school for anyone on Friday, March 27 as the entire SJJ staff will be participating in service projects for a staff retreat experience. 

 

Congratulations to Mr. Carroll on another successful swimming season.  The season ended this weekend with the state championships and seven SJJ swimmers were participating.  Mr. Carroll was once again named “District Coach of the Year” along with his co-coach Andy Dugan for their work with the SJJ boys and Notre Dame Academy girls.

 

Mr. Szynkowski and the hockey team continue to move forward in the state tournament.  They will play on Saturday evening for the district championship.

 

Have a great week.