Child around world
St. Gerard Majella School
A Family School

10 Carrelton Drive, Paterson NJ 07522

973-595-5640

Monthly Newsletters

September 2008

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are grateful to God and to you for making our opening of school a successful one. We are anxious to make this year the best ever by reaching out to you and asking you to be actively involved in your school and in the education of your child/ren so that this school can continue to provide quality education, the faith and values our children need, especially in today’s world! The faculty and staff join me in welcoming you and want you to know that we all want to work together as partners in education and appreciate the cooperation and support you give us to make this all possible. Together, we can do wonderful things for our Shining Stars and be of service to one another.

Today, your child/ren were given an envelope with all important information that we need filled out and returned to your child’s teacher by Friday, September 6th.

Please be sure we have your correct telephone numbers in case we have to contact you in any emergency situation!

Our lunch program begins today. All students may participate although Pre-Kindergarten students are not eligible for free or reduced lunches. You have received a lunch application which must be filled out by September 6th. All the applications will be reviewed by the Central Business Office. You will be informed at the end of September if you qualify to receive free or reduced lunches. Until that point, please pay the full price of $2.20 a day. Any child who does not wish to participate in the hot lunch program must bring home lunch.

Your child/ren are required to come to school in complete school uniform as indicated in the dress code section of our handbook and outlined in the July newsletter.

Remember that our drop off and pick up routines are for the safety of our children and have proven to be effective. We ask that you follow these guidelines.

All students are to enter the school through the front door on 10 Carrelton Drive. For dismissal, younger students will join their older siblings and be dismissed together.


Pre-K and Kindergarten students are dismissed from the classroom door on the church side of the building.
Grades 1, 2 & 3 are dismissed from the front door of the school building.
Grades 4 through 8 are dismissed from the Furrey Place door.

All parents must come to the door to receive their child/ren directly from their teacher.

After School Care begins today! Everyone who needs this service must be registered. All students must abide by our rules in order to remain in aftercare.


Please read the July newsletter regarding aftercare.
Parents need to sign out their child each day.
Please inform the school if someone other than yourself will be picking up your child/ren.
ALL students MUST respect and follow directions from the person who is in charge of the After School Care program.

Lifetouch Pictures will be taken for all students on Wednesday, September 10th. Students in Pre-K through Grade 8 are to wear complete school uniform for pictures.

We invite you to join us on September 11th for our opening of school liturgy at 10:30 AM.

In your packet, you will find our beginning fundraiser, “Celebrate Gift Boutique” from Kastle Kreations. We wanted to give you a head start so that you will be able to have more time to make this important sale a success. We must raise money to help our children and to meet all of our expenses. We are counting on your support and we know you will do your best!

Back to School Night is scheduled for Tuesday, September 16th. Please plan on being there for this important meeting to find out what is new and is happening in your school. Come to hear first hand, and be part of the decision making that affects St. Gerard Majella School and your children. Following the meeting, parents will gather in their child’s classroom to meet the teacher. Grade 8 parents have a mandatory meeting regarding the special things that happen during the Eighth Grade year. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Our school has a band! Each year we have seen it grow. We hope that you will read over the band flier and perhaps have your child register to be part of this program. The money invested is well worth it. The band instructor will be at our school on Wednesday, September 17th at 10:30 AM to give our students an assembly showing them just what is possible. All band forms are due on Tuesday, September 23rd.

Gym classes begin on Tuesday, September 9th. Please be sure your child is dressed in St. Gerard Majella School gym uniform.

Morning Prayer at 8:00 AM is the beginning of our school day! Parents, please be sure your child is on time for school each day. Please read the explanation in July’s newsletter regarding this rule. It is also in our handbook. Let us make punctuality a priority! We know that you will cooperate and see the importance and value this provides your child/ren.

Class of 2009: We challenge these Shining Stars to take on leadership roles in their school as we prepare then for high school. Each one of them must study and come to school prepared for classes with homework assignments completed. We want to award each of them at graduation for achieving the goals they set for themselves. There are scholarships available to local catholic schools with the only requirement being good study and work habits. It will be a challenging year for them to remember. We want to remind them that “It’s not what your get out of life that counts, but what you put into it.” Please work with us to make this a successful year for each of these Eighth Graders.

Our wonderful science lab is put to daily use by all teachers and students. There are so many hands-on opportunities for our shining stars to experience. This helps them to excel in this most important area. Grades 6, 7, & 8 have really done an excellent job since we put this lab in place. In May, four of our students competed at DePaul in the Annual Science Challenge on a day’s notice and placed 3rd. This is exciting for us here because we are challenging all of our students to shine by “Dreaming, Believing and Achieving”. We need to have our children focus and do their everyday work to the best of their ability. All they need to do is TRY! We are here for them.

Thanking you in advance for making the sacrifices you do each day, and for sending your child/ren to St. Gerard Majella School because you know that it is your child/ren who benefit. They are in a faith-centered environment, safe and loved each day by their principal, teachers and all the staff. They are with family members and are happy to be in a place they can call their home away from home.

May God continue to bless you with all the graces you need this year. May He help all of us in the daily struggles we face each day. With Jesus, ALL things are possible! Without Jesus, NOTHING is possible.

Let us go forward with much hope!

With love and gratitude,

Sr. Jo-Ann Pompa, M.P.F.
Principal

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