Mrs. Mulvanerty's Update

May 4, 2025

Hello SKS!

IT"S TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it: across industries, even outside of education, there’s nothing more powerful than a team of people who are mission-aligned, who care deeply about each other, who work with kindness, and who love what they do. That’s exactly the team we have in our building every single day!

At our Faculty Retreat on Friday afternoon, we focused on Pope Francis's teachings on the “Joy of the Gospel”—a joy that comes from knowing we are loved by God and called to share that love with others. Our educators embody that joy each day in the classroom. It radiates from their interactions with students, their collaboration with colleagues, and the way they approach their vocation with a full heart. The beautiful thing about joy is this: it’s contagious. When our teachers live and work with that joy, our students feel it, absorb it, and begin to reflect it themselves.This means your children are not only receiving an excellent education, but they are learning in an environment filled with warmth, purpose, and genuine happiness.

How You Can Say Thank You

Teacher Appreciation Week is a perfect time for students and families to share a simple word of thanks. Here are a few meaningful ways to show your appreciation:

• A handwritten note or card from your child

• A quick email of thanks from a parent

• A small drawing or piece of artwork from a student

• A prayer offered in gratitude for your child’s teacher

• Just saying, “Thank you for all you do!”

Sometimes the smallest gesture can mean the most. Knowing they are seen, supported, and loved by our school community fills our teachers with renewed purpose and joy.

Special thanks to our Home and School Association for the plans you've made to celebrate our faculty this week. Your support and appreciation help lift up the amazing work our teachers do every day.

To our teachers: thank you for your energy, your faith, your wisdom, and most of all—your joy. You are the heart of our school, and we are so blessed by your presence.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

G.B.Y.*,

Mrs. Mulvanerty

*God Bless You!

This month's DDD proceeds will be in support of a former SKS faculty member, Jeff Dillahay. Jeff's sister's house recently burned down, and her family lost everything. If you would like to donate further to support Jeff's family, you can do so by clicking here for the gofundme page.

Please join your fellow SKS parents and friends to pray together as a community! There is so much to be grateful for these days but we also have many special petitions. This month our special intention is for the nine OCIA catechists who were just initiated into our church at the Easter Vigil Mass - Heather Cocco, Olga Dramis, Michelle Johnson, Brian Libby, Phillipa Pascale, Katharine Purvis, Alyssa Slattery, Anna Solyarick, and Alexander Sykes. We also invite you to bring any prayer intentions that are close to your heart. Please email your intentions ahead of time to faithfulfamilies@sksparish.org or simply type them into the chatbox during the Google meet up.

Faithful families is a group of parish families working together to share God’s love with simple acts of service for our church and community. Click here to Join

Come on out to the Great American Pub on Saturday, 5/10 from 4-7pm to mingle with old friends and make new memories!

The beloved tradition of our May Procession is coming up on Tuesday, May 13! Students must report to their classrooms no later than 6:15, and the procession will begin promptly at 6:30.

Please pay attention to the attire noted below:

Students in grades K,1,4,5,6 wear their winter uniform. Students in grade 2 wear their Sunday best. Students in Grade 3 wear their First Communion attire, Grade 7 wears Confirmation robes, and Grade 8 wears graduation robes.

This event is mandatory for all students. We look forward to seeing you there!

SKS students are invited to participate in a meet-the-organ workshop on our Ruffattiorgan with visiting organist, Joseph O'Brien from Yale University. Mr. O’Brien will givean introduction to the organ, demonstrate how it works, play some music for the students and answer questions. Students will also have the opportunity to play the organ! Mr. O’Brien will also give a 45 minute recital on Friday evening.

Space is limited. Students grades 3-8 will be

chosen based on their music background and

interest in the organ. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Laura Kerr directly, at choirdirector@sksparish.org.

A huge thank you to Mrs. Kerr for providing such an exciting musical opportunity for our SKS students and community!

Sign Up Here: https://forms.gle/ZUmrJZmeDCqJDpGu6

Mark your calendars and start your training: The Holy Sprint is on Saturday, May 17th at 8 am! Registration is open NOW.

What is the Holy Sprint? Glad you asked. There are two events - a one mile fun run and a 5k. Both races are on the same, one-mile course through beautiful South Wayne. The 5kers will run the loop three times.

This event is open to students, parents, friends of SKS, walkers, strollers, wheelchairs, you name it! Not a runner? Grab a friend or your kid and download the couch to 5K app!

Participants receive a tshirt, timed race chip, refreshments and bragging rights! Students who participate will be allowed to wear their Holy Sprint tshirts to school on Monday, May 19th.

Want your business's name on signs around SKS and the race tshirt? Become an event sponsor. We have three, very reasonable tiers for sponsorship, and only a few remain! Sponsorships are open to individuals and businesses. See the attached flyer for more details.

Come out to cheer on our runners and help along the race course! If you'd like to volunteer, sign up HERE!

The SKS Fall Classic on October 6, 2025 is a tremendous opportunity to bring our entire SKS community together, while raising some significant dollars for the school!

The day is a combination of events that start with a racquet outing at Overbrook Golf Club, a golf outing at Philadelphia Country Club, and a reception at Philadelphia Country Club that evening. It is open to all friends of SKS, which means we are casting our fundraising net beyond the current parents that includes alumni, alumni parents, and parishioners. All proceeds will go to benefit the school through the governance of the annual fund. We have the capacity for 30 foursomes, around 50 racquets players, and 250 dinner reception tickets. Some portions of those categories have been pre-sold as part of larger sponsorships, so I strongly encourage anyone with interest to jump on the ticket information here to register.

Thank you for your continued support of SKS and we look forward to seeing you on October 6th!

Tom and Moira Hobson, Event Chairs
Bud Tosti, Coordinator of Development and Alumni Relations

There are some great new camps open for summer! Please click here for more details about after school clubs and summer camp opportunities.

For more announcements about SKS activities and clubs, CYO, and parish activities, click here!

May 5 - Dress Down Day - Proceeds will help the family of Jeff Dillahay

May 7 - Wax Museum presented by 4th Grade, 8th Grade graduation photo

May 13 - May Procession

May 16 - Electives, Grades 5-8

May 17 - SK5K

May 20 - Middle School Youth Group

May 23 - No School

May 26 - No School

May 29 - Ascension Thursday, Monthly School Mass

May 30 - 8th Grade Exams

June 2 - 6 - Final Exams

June 3 - Kindergarten Graduation

June 5 New Family Ice Cream Social, 8th Grade Graduation Party

June 9 - Spirit Day, Noon Dismissal

June 10 - 8th Grade Graduation, Noon Dismissal

June 11 - SKS at the Phillies, Noon Dismissal

June 12 - No School - Faculty In-Service

June 13 - Last Day of School! Closing Mass with Dismissal immediately following

Pope Francis called us to care for the poor. In his honor, faculty members made casseroles for Mercy Hospice during our Faculty Retreat.

What a thrill it was to have a packed house on Grandparents and Special Friends Day! Special thanks to our teachers, staff and Home and School for their teamwork in helping us host almost 500 guests!

Thursday was our 13th SCAN (Spring Cultural Arts Night)! Special thanks to Amy Grant, Riley Parker, Jill D'Agostino and Stephanie Twohig for their tireless work in helping our students celebrate the arts and SHINE!

Kindergarten enjoys a bit of outdoor time on a beautiful day!

4th Grade gets ready to begin their next novel study: Esperanza Rising.

Woohoo! A Golden Ticket!