HRA WEEKLY UPDATE – Sunshine and Melting Snow

 

Here are some preliminary notes and reminders before the summary of the week behind and the week ahead:

ANNOUNCEMENTS & REMINDERS

• There will be no school on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, or Easter Monday.
• Students brought Greek & Roman Festival Potluck fliers home on Friday. They list the assigned dishes for each grade.
• The major dates for the 2017-18 school year have been posted on the Sycamore calendar and HRA website.
• The latest edition of the Catholic Anchor features a front page article on Fr. Mark Francis Manzano’s role as a teacher at HRA. Extra copies of the paper are available at the Front Office.
• We have a new tenant in the Bernadette Bldg. apartments. Mr. John Burger is a longtime friend of the school and part of the original Hickel family that donated the property. He is also one of our new substitute teachers.
• Klump and her husband will be moving from one apartment to another, so you will see lots of activity in that part of the campus this spring.

SPECIAL THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Congratulations to Maria Koop (6^th) and Yordana Sidun (6^th) for winning the Catholic Daughters of the Americas “Campership” essay contest. The girls each won a scholarship week at St. Theresa’s Camp in Wasilla this summer.
• Thank you to Mrs. Leinon for subbing for Mr. Mason on Monday.
• Thank you to Jon Syren (11^th) for helping refill salt buckets around campus on Monday morning.
• Thank you to Miss DiCiero and Burger for subbing in 3^rd Grade.

HANDBOOK BYTES

It is always a good idea for parents to review the modesty section of the Upper School Student Handbook as he or she prepares for prom. Miss Neumayr spoke to the High School girls this week about dressing beautifully by dressing modestly. This is a great opportunity to have a conversation as a family about the purpose and benefits of modest behavior as well as modest dress.

WEEK IN REVIEW 

MONDAY 4/3: Miss Neumayr made the following announcements at the Morning Assembly:

• Students were advised to be careful of falling ice and snow near buildings now that it is all melting so quickly.
• Congratulations to Mary Tappel, who won The National Merit Scholarship Finalist Top Honor, which is a $2500 scholarship. She also received offers of full-ride scholarships to several schools because her National Merit Scholar achievement. She has accepted an offer from University of Oklahoma totaling $130,000. She is one of the top four Merit Scholars in Alaska.
• Miss Neumayr thanked the students for their warm hospitality toward all the visiting families and Shadow Students that have come to the campus this spring.

TUESDAY 4/4: The Lower School attended Mass with Fr. Brosamer in the JPII Chapel. Thank you, Fr. Brosamer. We would also like to thank those who helped with the Mass in particular ways:

• Altar Servers: Joshua Fouch (6^th) and Nico Gonzalez (5^th)
• Readers: Maria Koop (6^th) and Miguel Reyes (6^th)

WEDNESDAY 4/5: We made up the Pizza Day that we missed last week due to the Snow Day. Thank you to Ms. Brookwell and Mrs. Cedillo, our Pizza Moms!

WEDNESDAY 4/5: There was a great turn out of volunteers and motivated prospective families at the Open House. We were very grateful to have so much help. We would like to thank the following parents, grandparents, and students for coming to the Open House: Mrs. Benton, Mrs. Grandel, Mrs. O’Hanley, Mr. O’Hanley, Mr. Patton, Mrs. Stevens, Drew Benton (11^th), Juliana Biegel (11^th), Gabi Holder (11^th), Joseph Bjelland (10^th), Jacinta Grandel (10^th), John Lastimoso (10^th), Alexander O’Neill (10^th), Kayla Persson (10^th), Sofia Sidun (10^th), Aine Nakada (9^th), Yordana Sidun (8^th), Brooke Bune (7^th), Bernadette Hart (7^th), Angela Patton (7^th), Grace Ward (7^th), Andy Duryea (5^th), Stephen Hart (5^th), Earthen Le (5^th), Alley Pimentel (5^th), Nicolas Reiman (4^th), Carlos Stevens (4^th), Sophia Patton (3^rd), Matthias Hart (2^nd), Maya Stevens (2^nd), William Patton (1^st), and Daniel Stevens (K). We also thank the faculty and staff for their long hours that day.

THURSDAY 4/6: The Upper School attended Mass with Fr. Manzano in the JPII Chapel. Thank you, Fr. Manzano. We would also like to thank those who helped with the Mass in particular ways:

• Altar Servers: Macklen Bell (9^th)
• Readers: Ashely Stephens (9^th) and Catherine Droege (9^th)

FRIDAY 3/31: The Upper School followed a First Friday Schedule with Stations of the Cross during Adoration in the JPII Chapel. The 7^th & 8^th Grade student served meatless soups to their fellow students for lunch. We would like to thank all the parents who made special trips to school in order to deliver hot soups in the middle of the day, particularly Mrs. Stockard, who made an extra trip to ensure there were enough spoons for everyone to eat.

THE WEEK TO COME

MONDAY 4/10: Morning Assembly in St. Dominic’s Hall, 8:00 a.m.

MONDAY 4/10: Final Parent Association Meeting 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Kolbe Lobby. Babysitting will be provided.

TUESDAY 4/11: All School Mass in St. Dominic’s Hall w/Fr. Manzano at 9:45 a.m.

TUESDAY 4/11: Shroud of Turin Talk – Mr. Bob Bird, the father of one of our Board Members, will give a talk to the 7^th-12^th grades (5^th & 6^th have been invited) on the Shroud of Turin in St. Dominic’s Hall immediately after Mass. The talk is expected to run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There will be a short break part way through and students will be permitted to eat their lunches during the second half of the presentation. This is a wonderful way to prepare for Holy Week. Parents are invited to attend.

WEDNESDAY 4/12: The Upper School will follow Special Schedule A and have an All School Seminar in the afternoon:

8:00 – 8:37                  Period 1

8:40 – 9:17                  Period 2

9:20 – 9:57                  Period 3

10:00 – 10:37              Period 4

10:40 – 11:17              Period 5

11:20 – 11:57              Period 6

12:00 – 12:45              7-12 Lunch

12:45 – 1:00                Homeroom

1:00 – 3:10                  All-School Seminar

 

THURSDAY 4/13: NO SCHOOL FOR HOLY THURSDAY

FRIDAY 4/14: NO SCHOOL FOR GOOD FRIDAY

UPCOMING IMPORTANT EVENTS

• Mid-Quarter Progress Reports will be sent home on Thursday, April 20^th.
• The Greek & Roman Festival will take place on Friday, April 21^st. Family and friends are invited to join us on campus for this delightful carnival day. There are a multitude of SHARE HOUR OPPORTUNITIES all day long!
• 2^nd-6^th Grade SCANTRON Testing will take place April 24^th-28^th.
• & Sr. Theses will be presented the week of April 25^th-28^th.
• 7^th & 8^th Grade SCANTRON Testing will take place May 1^st, 3^rd, & 4^th.
• The Festival of Poetry & Song will be on Friday, May 5^th at 7:00 p.m. in the Deacons Hall at St. Patrick’s Church.
• Upper School Prom at the Sheraton Hotel downtown on Saturday, May 6^th from 7-11 p.m. The details will be announced by the Seniors this week.