This week, the Catholic Church in the United States spends time promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Every person has a vocation; a calling in life to be the person God has intended you to be. Our callings are as unique as our fingerprints. And discovering your vocation, a process called discernment, takes careful consideration, quiet contemplation, prayer and dedication. It also takes courage to say “yes” to God’s call.
We wish everyone a safe and Happy Halloween! Be sure to use proper precaution this year. If you go out trick or treating, remember to wear a mask, and stay socially distanced from others. Enjoy your candy and favorite Halloween show or movie!
Fall is fully in the swing of things, and we know you’re looking for some socially distanced fun after the school week! While the weather is still comfortable to spend time outside, take advantage of all the Fall and Halloween themed activities in the Philadelphia region.
The season of giving is right around the corner! This year, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Catholic Foundation of Philadelphia are teaming up to participate in the #iGiveCatholic initiative. Our faithful community is invited to join us in this effort.
Now that we are in the swing of things with the school year, we are all looking for socially-distanced activities to help us feel normal and have fun while doing our best to remain safe. We are also rapidly approaching the beginning of Autumn, and all the Fall-friendly and Halloween related events to spice up our free time.
Families at 23 suburban elementary Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have received unexpected tuition assistance thanks to a grant awarded by the Ambassador’s Fund for Catholic Education. As schools begin to reopen amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we know these families are beyond grateful to know their children continue to receive the best quality education.
The 2020-2021 school year is upon us. Now that it is September, we know you are figuring out how to balance your child’s schedule as they return physically to Saint Eugene School for in-person learning.
As you may be well aware, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will be open in a few weeks for full-time, in-person learning. While elementary schools will be open, parents also have the option to continue distance education virtually. Those staying home and learning virtually, however, must be dressed in their uniform and ready to go at the same time as their classmates are at school.
Saint Eugene School offers financial aid to every family through parish assistance, scholarships, and grants. Ask about our special Welcome Grants for Kindergarten and 1st Grade families.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced earlier this week all schools are set to open this September. Over the last few months, the Office of Catholic Education worked with various partners to develop a safe plan to reopen the parish and regional elementary and secondary schools within the Archdiocese.
As Congress works on a new stimulus bill, the White House intends to section off funds for scholarship programs specifically for private and religious schools. The COVID-19 continues to affect us all, including families who choose to enroll their children in non-public schools.
The School District of Philadelphia released the results of a survey that was open for responses from June 15, 2020, through June 22, 2020, on Tuesday. Superintendent Dr. William Hite stated more than 36,000 people responded.
Among the 15,000 parents/guardians who responded, 47 percent said they would send their children back to school under the current circumstances. When asked if safety measures were put in place, this number rose to 62 percent.
This week the Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot exclude religious schools from funding made available to other private schools. This ruling will help our schools hurt by COVID-19, as well as helping out underserved communities seeking Catholic education as an alternative to failing public schools.
This ruling mandates states must allow the inclusion of Catholic schools in programs for scholarships and other aid that is available to other, non-sectarian private schools. Saint Eugene School sees this as a huge victory for our schools!
We previously mentioned the Office For Catholic Education is building a task force to safely open schools come fall. The task force will officially be known as “Catholic Schools Onward, Best Practices and New Opportunities as We Move Forward” (referred to CSO for short). CSO is made up of about 30 individuals from our schools, which include principals, nurses, business members, teachers, religious leaders, parents, board members, and central administration. Each member received guidance from the State of Pennsylvania regarding expectations to reopen, CDC guidelines, and plans from schools that already reopened. Working together in subcommittees, we will develop specific practices and precautionary measures our schools will use...
The school year ended quite differently than years past at Saint Eugene School. However, due to the need for social distancing, we were still able to come together while remaining apart and celebrate our students as they closed out the school year. On the last day of school at SES, we had our Grades K-7 awards ceremony as usual. This year it was a Zoom assembly. Congratulations to all the award winners. All of our students worked hard from home in our 3rd trimester. Way to go! Awards include Be A Better Me, Peer Mediation, the Thaddeus Basara Memorial Scholarship Award (to be put towards tuition), the Anthony and Matthew Meo Memorial Scholarship (also put toward tuition), the Harry Smalley Award, the Saint Eugene Award and the Strive to be a Saint Acknowledgement. All of our students worked hard this year on both their schoolwork and creating a loving environment within their classrooms. We miss you all! Have a good summer!
