A preschool through grade 8 Dorchester neighborhood school 
Campus Connections – December 2019
REGIONAL NEWSLETTER – December 2019
Dear Parents/Guardian,
Happy Advent!
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Those who follow me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” We are reminded to “be awake!” Stay alert and do not miss the opportunity to help someone in need at home, at school, at church or on the street. Be kind to people especially the poor, homeless, hungry and the immigrant families in our neighborhood and at our Academy. Perform generous acts of kindness for others. During Advent, it is the time to recall Jesus’ coming to earth. He came to be with us and to give us his example of how to be a good person. He was always helping people in need. Jesus also reminded us of God’s great love for us. Loving others is one way to reciprocate God’s love for us. As we anticipate Christmas during this special Advent time prepare well, stay alert, so no opportunity is missed in doing a good deed to help your dear neighbor, a family member, or another SJPIICA family in need. It is also a time to see God’s great love for us in the eyes of a loved one, beauty of nature and in the silence of our hearts.
Please continue to help us with our Calendar Raffle Fundraiser!! These can be given as stocking stuffers!! $10 each or 3 for $25!! All proceeds go to our schools!
Just a reminder to parents and guardians that grades K2-8 will be testing with MAP in January. We want to show all the learnings that our students have gained. Please make sure they are in school on time, have breakfast and a good night’s sleep. This testing helps our teachers to continue to craft lessons that help each student. Parents may view grades and messages from teachers on our PARENTS WEB account with RENWEB. This account also allows parents to pay tuition, check balances and make changes to demographics. Please check with your campus principal if you have any questions around RENWEB and FACTS.
At the end of January, we will begin our registration season for new families and re-enrollment for our current students. All registrations will occur online but must be done on a computer. We will be providing support for any family who does not have access to a computer. Computers are always available at the Business office.
Dear God, our world is in darkness and we need your light of peace and love to shine for us. You gave us that light through your Son, Jesus. Please help us to prepare our hearts and homes to receive the one who came to bring us hope. Help us to shine our lights!
God Bless,
Kate Brandley
Regional Director
Calendar Raffle!
Our calendar sales are going strong! Calendar recipients have the opportunity for 31 Chances to Win, totaling $3,000.
Donation: $10 per calendar or 3 for $25 Raffle Rules! Drawings begin on January 2, 2020. Any questions regarding the Calendar may be directed to the Advancement Office at 617-265-0019 ext. 7012.
December Prayer
Dear God, our world is in darkness and we need your light of peace and love to shine for us. You gave us that light through your Son, Jesus. Please help us to prepare our hearts and homes to receive the one who came to bring us hope. Help us to shine our lights!
Columbia Campus
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
9:00 am
Neponset Campus
Grades 2.9 – 1
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
9:00 am
Neponset Campus
Grades 2 – 8
Thursday, December 12, 2019
7:00 pm
Lower Mills Campus
Grades 2.9 – K2
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
9:00 am
Lower Mills Campus
Grades 1 – 8
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
6:30 pm
DATES TO REMEMBER!
There will be early dismissal
Friday, December 20th at 11:15 a.m.
and no afterschool programing.
Christmas Break is
Monday, December 23–
Wednesday, January 1st.
Classes will resume on Thursday, January 2nd.
…………………
Lower Mills’ Winter Fest!
Sunday, December 8th
10am Mass – 11am to 4pm
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Fourth Grade visits Nutcracker
Thursday, November 14th
13 Saint John Paul II Catholic Academy Students
Inducted by the Catholic Schools Foundation into the Tenth Class of Peter Lynch Scholars
At Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Newton, MA, a Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Seán O’Malley, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, on Tuesday, November 19 to induct the tenth class of Peter Lynch Scholars. For the 2019-2020 school year, thirteen Saint John Paul II Academy student were among 206 elementary students to be inducted into the tenth class of Peter Lynch Scholars by the Catholic Schools Foundation (CSF). Cheyenne Brown (Lower Mills Campus), Stefany Contreras (Columbia Campus), Makayla Deschamps (Lower Mills Campus), Angie Edouard (Neponset Campus), Ernst Edouard (Neponset Campus), Eva Gordon (Neponset Campus), Eliana Jean (Lower Mills Campus), Chlory Julie Lamerique (Columbia Campus), Jovani Maestre (Columbia Campus), Anthony Martindale (Neponset Campus), Katherine Monterroso (Neponset Campus), Jade Olivenza (Lower Mills Campus), and Samuel Pierre (Lower Mills Campus) were joined by Peter Lynch Scholars from 59 Catholic elementary schools across the Greater Boston area.
Read full story >
A Message from the Business Office
Financial Aid is OPEN for the 2020 – 2021 school year. Please sign into the FACTS Grant and Aid to complete your application. Watch for the January Newsletter for more information regarding 2020 – 2021 financial aid open houses. We will be holding multiple financial aid open house sessions in the coming months. It’s not too early to apply for the next school year! The financial aid deadline for school year 2020-2021 is April 15, 2020. No financial aid applications will be accepted after April 15, 2020.
Please note, tuition payments begin in July. If you have missed any payments, you must make those payments online or by calling FACTS Management at 800-624-7092. Any student with an outstanding balance as of Dec 1, 2019 must contact the business office to make payment arrangements. If a payment arrangement is not in place with the business office students with past due balances will not be eligible for school activities such as field trips, sports, clubs and after school care.
If your voucher is updated or renewed by your ABCD facility, please make sure that you fax, bring or email a copy of it to the Business Office.
If you would like to make an appointment with the Business Office, please call or email jwalker@sjp2ca.org to make your appointments.
CONTACT US:
Tuition Payments: 617.265.0019 x 7004, 7202 or jwalker@sjp2ca.org or mhegarty@sjp2ca.org
Vouchers: 617.265.0019 x 7004, 7202 jwalker@sjp2ca.org or mhegarty@sjp2ca.org
Lunch Verification: 617.265.0019 x7007 kduggan@sjp2ca.org
Financial aid: 617.265.0019 x 7004, 7202 jwalker@sjp2ca.org or mhegarty@sjp2ca.org
Learning about Saints
Saintly Projects
The fifth grade at the Columbia Campus has been exploring the saints this month. They completed packets with fun facts, word searches and code breakers on the saints. The students each completed a research assignment on a saint. They looked up their canonization, birthdate and interesting facts. On November 21st and 22nd, the students presented their saints to their classmates practicing their public speaking skills. Some of the 5th grade dressed as their saint or a representation of their saint.
Additionally, students have watched short videos through the website Formed.org on the lives of saints such as St. Francis Xavier and Juan Diego. They then wrote facts they learned while watching the video.
Also in fifth grade, students have been practicing math by using the Clock Model and Money Model to solve addition and subtraction of fractions problems. These methods help the students see fractions differently by changing them into pieces of time or money. They have also been playing Work Place games in Bridges Math to help develop these and previous concepts better. The Work Places are a fun way to learn math!
Celebrating Grandparents
Phonics in K2A
This month, Lower Mills’ K2A has been using our phonics program Lively Letters to help master their phonemic awareness skills and get ready for reading! Students have been using the animated letter cards to identify the beginning, middle and ending sounds of CVC words. They are starting to blend letter sounds together to create words! This wonderful program helps our students stay engaged in our phonics lessons and has gotten them so excited about reading!
LegoLand
The Lower Mills’ Fourth Grade class enjoyed a fun-filled day at LegoLand. Students participated in the Merry-GO-Round Creative Workshop where they experimented with different sizes of gears and observed their rotation and speed. Builders were also able to let their imagination run wild as they made and tested their very own creations for speed and durability in the Lego Playground.
Congratulations to November’s
Artists of the Month
