Est. 2001 Principal’s Message – June 2018 – #1 Visit Us on the Web At: www.icsannandale.org
Transitions, from the HSA
Dear ICS Community,
As the 2017-18 school year comes to a close, so does our time as the HSA Board. It’s been our pleasure to serve
the ICS school community for the last three years and we would like to thank everyone who helped in any way.
Whether you chaired an event or volunteered your time in other ways, we couldn’t have done it without you!
We are confident that the new HSA leaders will do awesome things and we pray that you give them the support
you so generously showed to us. Our children and families benefit when we come together to share our time and
talents in positive ways. We have already begun the transition process and pledge to be available for the new
Board as they settle into their roles.
Thanks again for your support!
Kathy Gilhooly
Stacie Metelski
Kate Hulsen
________________________________________________________
Dear ICS Community,
As this school year closes, we would like to take a moment to say a few words during this transitional time of
leadership within the HSA.
First, we want to thank both Mr. Stone and Father Toborowsky for entrusting us with this responsibility. We feel
both excited and blessed to be given the opportunity to serve on the HSA board for the new term. As you may
know, HSA supports the school, its students, teachers and administrator in an effort to help foster spiritual growth,
academic excellence and moral integrity. We certainly will do our best to continue to promote this vision within
the ICS community.
Second, we cannot thank enough the service of our predecessors: Kathy Gilhooly (President), Stacie Metelski
(Vice President), and Kate Hulsen (Treasurer), who have tirelessly committed themselves for the past 3 years to
the success of the HSA and ICS on the whole. Ladies - we have big shoes to fill and we hope we can live up to
your standards.
Lastly, ICS and HSA will continue to need your time and dedication! Thank you to all those parents who gave
their time and efforts this past year for HSA. Parental involvement is critical to supplement and support the work
of Immaculate Conception School. The HSA works hard to coordinate many events that benefit our school and
our children during the year. In order to make our events thrive, it takes selfless dedication and time from all of
our parents.
Please be on the lookout soon for summer HSA events as well as our new updated webpage within the Parents tab
of the ICS website. We look forward to a year of wonderful blessings.
“For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the LORD. 'I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have
plans to give you a future filled with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Yours in Christ, Sara Cook, President, Denise Bumb, Vice President, Elizabeth Peterson, Secretary
PD Update – NJ DOE – CASIM Workshop
Two ICS staff members, nurse Sara Cook and teacher
Karen Smith, will be attending a NJ Department of
Education training program addressing ‘Comprehensive
Active Shooter Incident Management’ on June 11th. As
we continue to look to stay informed regarding best
practices related to preparedness and emergency
planning we will look forward to Mrs. Smith and Mrs.
Cook providing a total faculty/staff group follow up
presentation during our August pre-service.
Thank You and Best Wishes Mrs. Gena James
ICS Community,
After contemplating my options, I have decided to accept another music teaching position for the 2018-2019 school year.
ICS has blessed me with the opportunity to grow a strong music program from almost the beginning, and to challenge myself as a music educator by giving me opportunities to step outside my comfort zone. I am very blessed, and thankful to have been given that opportunity, and to have the opportunity to learn from, and teach the wonderful students at ICS over the past 16 years.
I can’t begin to thank everyone for all of your support and kindness over the past 16 years. Immaculate Conception School and community is like a family to me. I will miss the Immaculate Conception School’s great community of staff, faculty, students, and parents.
Mrs. Gena James
Mrs. James, you have indeed developed an excellent
school music program and you will be missed. Best
wishes to you and thank you for your service. -David
Parent Ambassadors Program
Can we add your name to the list? Mrs. Hillwig is
looking for a few more volunteer parents willing to
share their own experience with prospective families
that are considering Immaculate Conception School.
While we always encourage parents to help spread the
good word about our community, please let Sharon
know if you are willing to make yourself available to
speak with new family folks. Thank you.
06/07 – First Thursday – Mass at 9:00a.m. – Dress
Uniforms – Early Dismissal at 12:15p.m.
-and-
Art Show – 1:00p.m.-3:00p.m. – MPR
-and-
Portfolio Day/Conferences – 1p.m.-3p.m.
-and-
Middle School Meet and Greet – 1p.m.-3p.m.
06/08 – Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
06/12 – Half Day/Last Day of School for 8th Grade
8th Grade Only – Dismissal at 11:30a.m.
06/13 – 8th Grade Graduation – Mass at 7:00p.m.
06/17 – Father’s Day
06/18 – Early Release Dismissal at 12:15p.m.
No After Care
06/19 – Last Day of School – Dismissal at 12:15p.m.
No After Care
06/20-24 – Parish Festival
ICS Summer Office Hours: Monday-Thursday,
9:00a.m.-1:00p.m. – All Are Welcome 😊
Prayer for Immaculate Conception School:
Dear Lord, bless our Catholic school. Help us to
continue to be a humble source of wisdom, always
yearning to learn more about your tremendous love
for us. May all who enter Immaculate Conception
School be filled with the gift of your Holy Spirit,
coming to know you in a more meaningful way.
Guide us as a community that respects and welcomes
everyone. May Catholic education continue to grow
so that your good news can be taught to children
throughout the world. In your son Jesus’s name we
pray, Amen.
To: Diocesan School Principals Monday, June 04, 2018 4:27 PM
Dear Principals, Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal that you may want to share with others! Blessings,
Ellen F. Ayoub Superintendent of Schools Diocese of Metuchen
Here is the Wall Street Journal article that caught Bishop’s attention – “note especially the last sentence”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/thecatholicschooldifference1527894168?redirect=amp#click=https://t.co/sON60lm3QJ
The Catholic School Difference
A new study shows the benefit of demanding student self-discipline.
The Editorial Board June 1, 2018 7:02 p.m. ET
For the thousands of nuns who have served as principals at Catholic schools, their emphasis on self-discipline
must seem like common sense. But a new academic study confirms the sisters are on to something: You can
instill self-discipline in students, a virtue that will help them in their studies and later in life.
The study was conducted for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute by University of California-Santa Barbara
associate professor Michael Gottfried and doctoral student Jacob Kirksey. The authors analyzed two waves of
national data on elementary school students collected under the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study for the
National Center for Education Statistics. They compared children in Catholic schools with those in public
schools and other private schools, religious and secular.
The authors found statistically meaningful evidence that students in Catholic schools exhibited less disruptive
behavior than their counterparts in other schools. “According to their teachers, Catholic school children argued,
fought, got angry, acted impulsively, and disturbed ongoing activities less frequently,” the authors write.
Specifically, students in Catholic schools “were more likely to control their temper, respect others’ property,
accept their fellow students’ ideas, and handle peer pressure.” In other words, they exhibited more self-discipline.
The authors concede their findings aren’t causal, meaning there might be unobservable differences between
students in different schools that account for the striking differences they have found. But the correlation is
strong between the focus that Catholic schools put on self-discipline and better student behavior. We also know
that, especially in urban areas, black and Latino students who attend Catholic schools show higher achievement,
higher graduation rates and higher college enrollment than those at nearby public schools.
At a time when the different suspension rates between minority and non-minority students has become a toxic
debate, the authors offer three key judgments:
First: “Schools that value and focus on self-discipline will likely do a better job of fostering it in children.” If
other schools “took self-discipline as seriously as Catholic schools do, they wouldn’t have to spend as much
time, energy and political capital on penalizing students” for bad behavior.
Second: “Assuming that these results reflect a ‘Catholic Schools Effect,’ other schools might consider both
explicit and implicit methods to replicate it.” The report notes that some “no excuses” charter schools are already
doing this, through the curriculum or the way students interact with adults and teachers who model self-discipline
themselves.
Third: “Don’t underestimate the power of religion to positively influence a child’s behavior.” Religion isn’t the
only way to foster self-discipline, the authors emphasize, but it’s effective compared to most of the alternatives in
channeling youthful energy into productive self-control.
Though the authors offer no easy prescriptions, they do say it is a “tragedy for the nation” that so many Catholic
schools continue to close when they are most needed. Their lessons are worth preserving.
Upcoming 8th Grade Hoopla:
Friday, June 08th – Candle Ceremony – 10:30a.m. – Church
8th Grade students pass their leadership to 7th grade students.
Tuesday, June 12th – Last Morning Gathering with 8th Grade Students
8th Grade students come to Gathering in their Cap and Gowns – Blessing by a priest (TBD)
Tuesday, June 12th – Awards Dinner – Parish Hall – 6:30p.m.
Wednesday, June 13th – Graduation – Mass starting at 7:00p.m. followed by Commencement
HOPE
“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations,
but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and
failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”
–Pope John XXIII