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