This past Tuesday evening, eighty-two students from St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish celebrated their First Confession, including twenty-five students from our St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School Second Grade. It was very uplifting to see the glow of God's forgiveness in the faces of the children as they returned to their seats after confessing and praying their prayers of penance.

The Gospel Reading for today is also about repentance and forgiveness. Today, we heard the story of the woman caught in adultery, who was threatened with the penalty of stoning until Jesus said, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

Pope Francis gave a homily in March of 2019, commenting on this incident in the life of Jesus. I would like to share some of that homily with you today, especially as the homily encourages us to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a spirit of hope and freedom:

“The two of them alone remained: mercy with misery” (Homilies on the Gospel of John by St. Augustine 33, 5). In this way, Saint Augustine sums up the end of the Gospel we have just heard. Those who came to cast stones at the woman or to accuse Jesus with regard to the Law have gone away, having lost interest. Jesus, however, remains. He remains because what is of value in His eyes has remained: that woman, that person. For Him, the sinner comes before the sin. Let us ask for the grace of a gaze like that of Jesus. He remains there with the woman, for the most part standing in silence. Meanwhile, He twice performs a mysterious gesture: He writes with His finger on the ground. With Jesus, the mercy of God incarnate, the time has come when God writes on the hearts of men and women, when He gives a sure hope to human misery.

Only God's love raises us up from within, only His tender love poured out into our hearts makes us free. If we want to be free from evil, we have to make room for the Lord who forgives and heals. He accomplishes this above all through the sacrament of Confession. Confession is the passage from misery to mercy; it is God’s writing upon the heart. There – in our hearts – we constantly read that we are precious in the eyes of God, that he is our Father and that He loves us even more than we love ourselves.

“The two of them alone remained: mercy with misery”. What do we need to do to come to love mercy, to overcome the fear of Confession? It would be beautiful, after Confession, to remain like that woman, our eyes fixed on Jesus who has just set us free: no longer looking at our miseries, but rather at His mercy. To look at the Crucified One and say with amazement: “That’s where my sins ended up. You took them upon yourself. You didn’t point your finger at me; instead, you opened your arms and forgave me once again”. It is important to be mindful of God’s forgiveness, to remember His tender love, and taste again and again the peace and freedom we have experienced. For this is the heart of Confession: not the sins we declare, but the divine love we receive, of which we are ever in need. We may still have a doubt: “Confessing is useless, I am always committing the same sins”. The Lord knows us, however; He knows that we are weak and inclined to fall, that we often relapse into doing what is wrong. So He proposes that we begin to relapse into goodness, into asking for mercy. He will raise us up and make us new creatures. Let us start over, then, from Confession, let us restore to this sacrament the place it deserves in life and pastoral ministry!

“The two of them alone remained: mercy with misery”. Today, in Confession, we too draw life from this saving encounter: we with our miseries and sins, and the Lord who knows us, loves us and frees us from evil. Let us enter into this encounter, asking for the grace to rediscover its saving power."

By Your help,

we beseech You,

Lord our God,

may we walk eagerly

in that same charity with which,

out of love for the world,

Your Son handed himself over to death.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with You

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Thank you again to all of you who have completed the Disciple Maker Survey. St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish has over 130 responses so far! We know there are many more parishioners, including some of you, who have not yet completed the survey.

The online survey closes this week on April 10.

This survey is important to the growth of the Archdiocese, as all parishioners throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have been asked to participate at their respective parishes. The survey is also important to Fr. Brownholtz, so, if you have not already clicked on the link and completed the survey, please click on it now.

This 10-15 minute survey can be accessed through the CLI Portal link below and will ask you to reflect on your own spiritual growth and enable you to provide feedback on our parish’s efforts to help you grow.

All responses will be confidential and the parish will only receive information about the community as whole. We are trying to get the highest response rate possible. This information will be invaluable to Fr. Brownholtz and our various ministries as we plan for the future and strive to be the best disciples we can be.

Thank you for helping with this important project!

St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish has a parish-wide subscription to FORMED, a Catholic website with diverse Catholic movies, audio books, podcasts, shows, and more. You have free access to the content. Simply go to formed.org/signup, type in St. Ignatius of Antioch, look for the Yardley address on Reading Ave., click NEXT, type your name and preferred email address, and you will have access to the vast amount of content on FORMED.

Mass: 7 am and 9 am, Monday through Friday

Stations of the Cross: April 11 at 2 pm

Passion Play: April 11 at 7 pm in church auditorium

Confessions: Saturdays from 4 pm to 5 pm; April 15 at 1:15 pm and 7:00 pm

Vigil of Palm Sunday: 5:15PM

Palm Sunday: 7:30AM, 9:30AM,11:30AM, 6:00PM

Palms are blessed at all Masses.

HOLY THURSDAY

7:00 PM Mass of the Lord’s Supper and Procession to the Repository

GOOD FRIDAY

9:00 AM Celebration of Morning Prayer

3:00 PM Solemn Liturgical Service including Holy Communion

HOLY SATURDAY

1:00 PM Mid-day Prayer

Saturday, April 19

7:30 PM Easter Vigil Mass of the Resurrection

Sunday, April 20

EASTER SUNDAY MASSES

7:30 AM, 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM

(There will not be a 6 PM Mass on Easter Sunday)

Congratulations to our Second Graders, who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on Tuesday, April 1! Thank you to Mrs. Connie Liebreich, Mrs. Ficarro, and all of our Second Grade parents for preparing the students to receive the sacrament.

Father Brownholtz and our seminarians, Matthew and Jonathan, will hold an altar server training session on Thursday, April 10, from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Any child interested in becoming an altar server or any child who would like an altar server refresher course is invited to attend. The training will take place in the church and will include a tour of the church and sacristy, a lesson on all the items used in Mass, and step by step instructions on how to serve a Mass. RSVP for the training to Maria LaMantia at mlamantia@stignatius.church

The subject of school recess safety has been discussed at Parent General Assemblies, both during the current school year and the last school year (2023-2024.) In particular, it has been suggested that the Blue Canopy Door should be closed and locked during outdoor recess. The practice of leaving the door open or closed was also a topic of my initial discussion with Lieutenant Bradley from the Lower Makefield Police Department in the summer of 2023, and it was discussed again at the January General Assembly when Lieutenant Bradley came to address the meeting.

Starting the week of March 24, we have kept the Blue Canopy Door closed during both the Middle School Recess and the Younger Grades Recess. We had discussed whether a parent or a staff member should have a fob to open the door during recess for students to use the restroom or to go to the nurse's office. We decided to have a staff member use his or her own fob to open the door when needed.

So far, we have found the practice to be a smooth process. The one drawback is that the staff member who is designated to open the door needs to stay near the blue canopy, not only to be available to students who would like or who need to enter the building but also to watch the door when students are coming back out of the building. This means that one of the two staff members who are supervising recess cannot walk around and check on all of the play areas.

As we continue this new safety measure, we appeal to our parents again to sign up for lunch/recess duty so that the supervision is increased, since it is now slightly decreased with this new procedure. Please check the lunch/recess sign up by clicking on the link in the Home and School section of the Crusader Chronicle and sign up, if you are available. We continue to thank all the parents who regularly help to supervise the cafeteria and recess, and we would love to see all of you here!

This Friday, April 11, at 7:00 pm, our 7th and 8th Graders will be performing in this year's Passion Play. They have spent many hours rehearsing for this annual and beautiful play that recreates the story of the life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Everyone is invited to attend the Passion Play this Friday; see the link below to buy tickets.

Passion Play Reservations and information on how to buy Tickets:

https://forms.gle/H7DLMUAeYMFvCXDo9

Thank you to our 7th and 8th Grade students, as well as our stage crew 6th Graders, for all their work in making this show come to life. Thank you to Mrs. Mary Alice LaMorte and Mrs. Jamie Santoro for directing and choreographing the show. Thank you also to all of our volunteer Middle School parents for feeding, supervising, and otherwise helping behind the scenes for the students involved with the Passion Play.

Thank you to Mrs. Michel, the Student Council, and the Class of 2025 for creating a fun afternoon on Tuesday, April 1! Our Kindergarten through Grade 7 students had a blast playing Bingo in the afternoon, enjoying chips and drinks, and winning prizes. Thank you to all of our parents who paid for their children to participate, helping to raise money toward the costs of the 8th Grade year.

Students can begin to wear their St. Ignatius of Antioch Spring Uniforms, starting tomorrow (Monday, April 7.) Boys may wear UNIFORM APPROVED KHAKI SHORTS ONLY with golf shirts. Girls may wear UNIFORM APPROVED KHAKI SKORTS ONLY with golf shirts. For gym, all students may wear gym uniform approved shorts.

Thank you to all of our teachers for their hard work in preparing our students to take the Terra Nova tests and for their work in proctoring the tests last week. Thank you especially to Mrs. Hastings for her help in making sure all the teachers had the testing manuals and instructions. Thank you to our parents for their support during our annual Terra Nova testing. Thank you to our students for doing their absolute best and trying their hardest on their Terra Nova tests. Our 2nd Graders took nine separate tests, and our 3rd through 7th Graders took twelve separate tests! Congratulations to our St. Ignatius community for a successful week of testing!

We continue to see improvement in our car line on most days of the week, with fewer cars dropping off in the last five minutes (between 8:25 am and 8:30 am). Thank you to those of you who have made an effort to leave your house earlier.

For the car line, please remember:

• It is safest to have your child exit on the right side of the car.
• If your child must exit the left side of the car, please instruct your child to walk directly in front of or directly behind your car toward the blue canopy. Please tell them NOT to walk around any other cars that are in front of or behind your car.
• Pull up as far as possible, especially if the cars in front of you have pulled out.
• Ask your child(ren) to be ready to exit the car.
• Do not exit the car yourself unless absolutely necessary.
• If you have not entered the parking lot by 8:29 am, please enter by the driveway between the church building and the Antioch Center and park as close as you can to the main school entrance by the statue of Mary. After 8:29 am, you and your child must come into the school office and sign in.
• Please be sure to explain the car drop off procedures to anyone else who is dropping off your child, especially if they have not dropped off before at St. Ignatius.

Thank you for your help with our car line!

For our PreK families, we will be moving the PreK Closing Ceremonies from Thursday, May 29, to Friday, May 30, due to the Ascension Thursday Holyday of Obligation. The ceremony times will remain the same.

Please click the link below for the latest 2024-2025 St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School Calendar. The attached calendar will continue to be updated as the year progresses and is subject to change.

During the just completed Catholic Schools Week, we celebrated the achievements of our students and commended the contributions made by our faculty and staff. We are grateful for the sacrifice made by families to support their children’s Catholic education and recognize that any adjustment in tuition can impact families differently. We are blessed that the parish continues to support the school financially with a significant subsidy.

We continue to invest in our teachers by adjusting their compensation levels. In addition, maintenance and repair expense as well as spending on key instructional items are driving the need for higher tuition dollars. After carefully reviewing the budget for the 2025-2026 academic year, it was determined that a $350 tuition rate increase was prudent. Considering the tuition rates for all grades Prek-8th, this translates to an average increase of 6-7%.

We appreciate your support and remain dedicated to ensuring that your children receive the highest quality Catholic education.

Please see the attached Tuition Rate Schedule and Tuition Policies memos for more information. Regarding re-enrollment for next year: current students in grades K-7 will be automatically re-enrolled with the $75 registration fee applied to the family’s FACTS account in February, unless notification is received by the school office (email sent to Helene Crozier at hcrozier@sischool.org) by February 7th. Separate instructions have been provided to our current preschool families regarding enrollment for Pre-K and Kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year.

Please read the attached letter from Dr. Andrew McLaughlin, Secretary of Education for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, regarding the Elementary Schools 2025-2026 Salary Increases.

SchoolStore

Thank you to all the families who have already participated in our SchoolStore fundraiser! Many of our teachers have received generous gift certificates from their students. If your family has not registered, there is still time, prizes are still available. The SchoolStore form is below or you may use this link.

https://www.schoolstore.net/cgi/SetSchool?secheck=1&SchoolID=0000120009

Tuesday, April 8 - Grade 6 attends 9:00 Mass

Thursday, April 10 - Grade 5 attends 9:00 Mass

Friday, April 11 - Passion Play at 7:00 pm in Church Auditorium

Tuesday, April 15 - Grade 4 attends 9:00 Mass

Tuesday, April 15 - Grades 2 through 8 Confessions at 1:15 pm

Thursday, April 17 - Holy Thursday - NO SCHOOL

Friday, April 18 - Good Friday - NO SCHOOL

Monday, April 21 - Easter Monday - NO SCHOOL

Our current seminarians, Matt and Jonathan, are visiting classrooms and even teaching lessons on their Thursday visits. We look forward to our time with Matt and Jonathan this year, and we thank them for all they have done for St. Ignatius this year!

While you are planning your summer, don't forget about our wonderful St. Ignatius of Antioch Vacation Bible School week, which is June 23-27, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. The cost for Vacation Bible School is $60 for the entire week. We welcome all students from PreK-4 through Grade 5. Registration begins in April, but mark your calendars now for the Vacation Bible School. It is always a wonderful week. For more information, please contact Mrs. Connie Liebreich, our parish PREP Director, at connie@stignatius.church

For Conwell Egan Summer Camps, please click on this link:

https://conwell-egan.org/summer-camps

St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School has once again been honored by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as a School of Distinguished Instruction. Schools of Distinguished Instruction are determined by their Terra Nova test scores. This year St. Ignatius was one of only three schools that scored 100% in the "Potential" category, meaning that 100% of the grade levels that took the test scored higher than expected, based on the InView scores. Thank you to our teachers, our parents, and our students for this achievement!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram for great photos and updates on our school activities. Email pictures to Mrs. Crozier at hcrozier@sischool.org for all of us to enjoy on our school Instagram!

Follow us @sischoolofyardley

Thank you to Mrs. Crozier for her great work in keeping our Instagram account up to date!

If you have moved, if you have a new phone number or email address, or if you have any other changes in important contact information, we need to know. Please notify the office of any changes in family or parent email addresses, mailing addresses, or phone numbers. Thank you!

St. Ignatius School provides before and after school care through our CARES program for all students in PreK-3 through Grade 8.

Please read the attached letter from our CARES Director, Mrs. Brenda Goring. New Families needing CARES, please complete the online registration.

Look What's Coming Up!

(Scroll Down for Additional Details)

• Applications for Committee Chair Positions OPEN
• SPRING UNIFORMS! Starting TOMORROW Monday, April 7th
• Passion Play! THIS Friday, April 11th Registration OPEN!
• Spring Picture Day! Wear your Sunday Best! Wednesday, April 16th
• Father Daughter Dance Saturday, April 26th Registration is OPEN!
• Spring Community Service Day. Wednesday, June 4th
• Recycling Club is collecting your TRASH!

Active Registrations-

• Passion Play 4/11- Please use this link to register for the annual Passion Play. $5 cash or check in advance or pay at the door. https://forms.gle/H7DLMUAeYMFvCXDo9
• Father Daughter Dance- Saturday, April 26th in the Church Auditorium from 6:15-9pm. $25 per pair and $2 each additional daughter. Please use this link for additional details and to register: https://forms.gle/xMGuXy426kjJWLD37
• Now accepting applications for open Committee Chair positions: To apply and see more information, please use this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6wwoNQZ1OX2NdQBbq6LJYJBO9bMTd6L0pbQDdJNrPs9eaPA/viewform?usp=dialog

Donations and Volunteer Opportunities (Up-to-date Clearances Required)

• Recycling Club is Accepting your TRASH!! Mrs. Casey is collecting old socks (mismatched is fine), Dunkin Donuts coffee bags, Entenmann's Little Bites empty packaging, Arm and Hammer and Oxi-Clean plastic pouches, Bimbo Bakeries Bread Bags (Arnold, Ball Park, Thomas, Sara Lee), Tide, Gain, Dreft plastic containers and pouches (only from pods), and can tabs for Ronald McDonald House. Collection bins are in the school cafeteria, please contact Mrs. Casey for details.
• Middle School Electives Anyone interested in running or supporting an elective for the 3rd session, please contact hspresident@sischool.org.
• The March/ April Signup Genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E49A8A723A7F94-55293712-lunchrecess?useFullSite=true#/

• Monday, April 7th: 2 volunteers
• Tuesday, April 8th: 1 volunteer
• Wednesday, April 9th: 3 volunteers
• Thursday, April 10th: 3 volunteers
• Friday, April 11th: 3 volunteers
• Monday, April 14th: 1 volunteer
• Tuesday, April 15th: 4 volunteers
• Wednesday, April 16th: 3 volunteers
• Tuesday, April 22nd: 4 volunteers

Upcoming Event Details:

Applications for Committee Chair Positions Open!

In June, four Committee Chair positions will become available:
- Faculty Appreciation Chair
- Student Appreciation Chair
- Community Service Chair
- Family Events Chair

Please use this link to find out how you can apply! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6wwoNQZ1OX2NdQBbq6LJYJBO9bMTd6L0pbQDdJNrPs9eaPA/viewform?usp=dialog

Passion Play! Friday, April 11th at 7pm in the church auditorium. $5 admission in advance (cash or check) or at the door. Registration is now open! https://forms.gle/H7DLMUAeYMFvCXDo9

Spring Picture Day will be on Wednesday, April 16th. Students should wear their Sunday best!

Father Daughter Dance! Saturday, April 26th in the church auditorium. Doors open at 6:15pm. $25 includes admission for Dad and Daughter pair, $2 for each additional daughter. Dinner, dessert, games, and fun! We hope you'll join us! Use the link for additional details and to register: https://forms.gle/xMGuXy426kjJWLD37

Spring Community Service Day will be held on Wednesday, June 4th. The students will be painting planters and planting flowers, assembling self-care bags for mothers, helping to organize baby donations, and assembling snack bags for Veterans. If you would like to contribute or participate, please reach out to Natalia at 215.776.8779. More details to come!

Important Information

Spring Uniforms Students may wear spring uniforms starting Monday, April 7th. For boys this means they may wear UNIFORM APPROVED KHAKI SHORTS ONLY with golf shirts. For girls this means they may wear UNIFORM APPROVED KHAKI SKORTS ONLY with golf shirts. For gym, all students may wear gym uniform approved shorts.

OptionC If you are having any issues with logging into or using OptionC, please contact Mr. Seibel (nseibel@sischool.org).

Volunteer Clearances: Please visit http://www.stignatius.church/safe.html for information on submitting clearances or contact Jayne Marcinkowski (Safe Environment Coordinator) Email: hr@stignatius.church Tel: 215-493-3377 x212

SCRIP Program Save money on SIS tuition using the shop with scrip program! 75% of the rebates you earn go back to you as a credit on next year’s tuition bill. The other 25% funds the scrip program expenses. Go to www.shopwithscrip.com to sign up for an account. St. Ignatius’ enrollment code is C26FCDC63135. The best payment method is presto pay which enables you to receive your ecards and reloadable gift cards immediately. Download the Raise Right app on your phone to purchase ecards while you are away or even shopping in the store! All physical card orders must be placed by 5 pm the previous Sunday. If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Kloc (nicolekloc@gmail.com), Coordinator.

Visit us online For upcoming events, information, school calendar, and registration forms/ links please visit the HSA school website!

Join us for a conversation on Archbishop Perez's Pastoral Letter, Trust and Hope, where attendees will learn more about the vision for us to come together to encounter each other with open hearts to build the strongest possible Church of Philadelphia. If you want to learn more about Archbishop Perez's plan for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, then please join us on Wednesday, April 30, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the auditorium. Facilitators will guide the discussion, using PowerPoint presentations. Ample time will be provided for questions and answers.

If you plan to attend, RSVP to Joyce by calling the rectory at 215-493-3377.

You can learn more about the plan by reading Archbishop Perez's Pastoral Letter below and by visiting www.trustandhope.org

The attached letter above was sent to all families on Friday, January 10, 2025. We encourage all parents, parishioners, and interested parties to read this letter and to join us at the discussion session at St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish on Wednesday, April 30.

We include the letter in the Crusader Chronicle as a reminder but also as an invitation to read and to become involved.

Please read the flyer below and consider volunteering for the St. Ignatius Children's Liturgy of the Word. Children's Liturgy of the Word is coordinated by Mrs. Mary Alice LaMorte, who has been Assistant Director, and now the Director, of the St. Ignatius of Antioch Passion Play, which is performed by our very own St. Ignatius of Antioch Middle School students. Please help Mrs. LaMorte with this worthy and rewarding ministry.

Annmarie Flanagan is retiring from PREP at the end of June. After that she will continue with RCIA (now called OCIA). If you or someone you know (maybe your spouse) would be interested in becoming Catholic or just thinking about it, please tell him/her to call Annmarie on her cell --- 215-370-5701. The person does not have to be definite about it.

Below is a letter from the Office for Communications re:

The Jubilee of Hope in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Dear friends,

In response to Pope Francis’ call to the Catholic Church around the world, parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will begin the local observance of the Jubilee Year 2025, with the theme Pilgrims of Hope. All are invited to participate in events of the Holy Year in their homes, in their local parishes, and at shrines throughout the region, and at the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia—the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez celebrated the opening of the Jubilee Year with Mass at the Cathedral. That celebration of the holy Eucharist marked the culmination of a pilgrimage of families traveling from throughout the Philadelphia region to the Cathedral.

The goal of the Jubilee Year 2025 is to offer pilgrims in their own local area opportunities for reconciliation, indulgences, and prayerful opportunities to receive the sacraments, strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ, and enrich their lifelong faith journey.

Resources and information on upcoming events for the Jubilee Year 2025 in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia may be found here: https://archphila.org/holyyear/

Father in heaven,

may the faith you have given us

in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity enkindled

in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

reawaken in us the blessed hope

for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us

into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos

in the sure expectation

of a new heaven and a new earth,

when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,

your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee

reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,

a yearning for the treasures of heaven.

May that same grace spread

the joy and peace of our Redeemer

throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed,

be glory and praise for ever.

Amen.

This Year of Parish Revival is about falling deeper in love with the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus and following him more closely. Mirroring this internal journey with an external one is a beautiful way to connect body and soul in the pursuit of Christ.

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is not one event or a road trip—it is an exciting opportunity for American Catholics everywhere to physically embody our nation’s journey of Eucharistic Revival. Whether you are on the shores of Hawaii or in the mountains of Alaska, needing to stay close to home or deployed overseas, you are invited to be a part of this journey.

Visit: https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/plan-your-own-pilgrimage

Thank you to all of our families and students for their donations on our Dollar Red/White/Blue Dress Down Day on Celebrate Our Nation Day during Catholic Schools Week.. We collected $500, which we have sent to the Travis Manion Foundation in Doylestown. Travis Manion was a Marine who sacrificed himself and his life during his second tour of duty in Iraq in 2007, saving his fellow Marines in the process. Travis' family established the Travis Manion Foundation in his name, a group that helps veterans, as well as the families of fallen military heroes, to be empowered to help build character in future generations. St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School is honored to continue to help this local organization and to contribute to the good work of the Travis Manion Foundation.

Congratulations to the 82 Seventh Graders, including our St. Ignatius of Antioch School Seventh Graders, who were confirmed on March 8 by Bishop Deliman. Thank you to Mrs. Liebreich, our parish PREP Director, Fr. Brownholtz, the PREP teachers, and all our St. Ignatius of Antioch School teachers, for all their work in preparing all the students for Confirmation. May the gifts of the Holy Spirit continue to grow in all the Confirmandi!

Thank you to the following Handbag Bingo Business Donors:

Anej Skin Studio

Andy’s Brick Shop

Carlucci’s Grill

DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies

Jules Pizza

LaStalla

Leonardo’s

Luxe Lash & Beauty Bar

Rocco’s at the Brick

The Salt Cave

The Well at the NAC

TOPGOLF (Northeast Philadelphia)

Villa Rosa

Thank you to the following for their “Gifts in Kind”:

Meredith Barger

Brzezinski family

Megan Dougherty

Capuano family

Clancy family

Coon family

Coppola family

Crozier family

Egner family

Fucich family

Sheila Gallagher

Gonzalez family

Hosler family

Hosgood family

Kilcoyne family

Longo family

Tina Meade

Moleski family

Jill Napolitan

Pennsbury Falcon Cheerleading

Salzano family

Suann Sims

Tallman family

An extra special thank you goes out to our PreK-4, 2nd, 3rd and 8th grade families for their generous donations!

Congratulations to three of our 7th Graders, who competed on Saturday, October 26, at the annual Nazareth Academy/Holy Ghost Math Competition! Thank you to Hayden, Annie, and Beatrice for competing, and thank you to Mrs. Casey for continuing to coach our students and prepare them every year for this competition.

Thank you to the Lower Makefield Fire Department for conducting a surprise fire drill on Tuesday, October 8. The Fire Department was impressed with our students and their response time to the drill. All of our students were out of the building and lined up in one and a half minutes!

Thank you to the Lower Makefield Department for returning to St. Ignatius on Tuesday, October 15, for a special visit to our PreK through Grade 2 classes! Our students were taught about fire safety and had an opportunity to walk through the fire truck.

Thank you also to the Lower Makefield Police Department for their visit to our students in PreK through Grade 2 this past week. Our students had the opportunity to meet their police dog and to learn more about safety in the community. The Lower Makefield police officers make frequent visits to our campus, sometimes to monitor traffic but more often to walk through our school building so that they are familiar with the layout of the school and so that our students feel very comfortable with police officers, especially in knowing they are here to help us.

Please pray for all of our police officers, firefighters, and first responders, in gratitude for their service and sacrifice. Please ask our Lord to keep them safe.

The Recycle Club would like to thank all the families who turned in items.

Your support of our Club generated gift cards to be used throughout the school.

The gift cards have been used for Reading Olympic Books, the Faculty Wish List and Beef & Beer Raffles. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Thank you all our St. Ignatius School Homework Book Sponsors!

We appreciate your support and thank you for providing homework books for some of our students.

Ry Max Construction, LLC (Demolition Specialist)

Rymax@RymaxConstruction.net

Ken and Melissa Komar

ARO Construction Inc. (Finish Carpentry)

aroconstruction@live.com

Adriano and Priscilla Oliveira

DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies

Located in Yardley, PA and Robbinsville, NJ

Matt and Genna Longo

CG Orthodontics Specialists

Located in Yardley and Richboro

FitzGerald-Sommer Funeral Home

Located in Yardley, PA

At the General Assembly Meeting on Tuesday, March 19, Greg Lucidi, the St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish Business Manager, led a presentation and discussion of the budget for the 2024-2025 school year. The attached document was distributed as a hard copy at the General Assembly Meeting, so we wanted to share it with those parents who could not attend the meeting.

The 2024-2025 St. Ignatius of Antioch Faculty and Staff list is below.

PreK-3: Mrs. Azara

PreK-4: Ms. Tabeek

PreK-4: Mrs. McBeth

PreK aides: Mrs. Garcia, Mrs. Stasse, Ms. Herbine, Mrs. Morrison, Mrs. Beck

Kindergarten: Ms. Dionne

Kindergarten Aides: Mrs. Morrison, Mrs. Garcia, Mrs. Beck

Grade 1: Mrs. Edwards

Grade 2: Mrs. Ficarro

Grade 3A: Mrs. Montemarano

Grade 3B: Miss Lynch

Grade 4: Ms. Schmidt

Middle School: Mrs. Michel, Ms. Hensler, Mr. Spadea, Mrs. Casey, Mrs. McBride,Mr. Seibel, Mr. Meade

(See below for specific Middle School teaching assignments)

Art: Ms. Murray

Music: Mr. Escandon

STEM: Mr. Seibel

PE: Miss Weight

Spanish: Mrs. Gray

Learning Support: Mrs. Hastings

Librarian: Mrs. Casey

Director of Advancement - Mrs. Crozier

Administrative Assistants - Mrs. Perini, Mrs. Chapuis

Health Room Nurse - Mrs. Kriger, RN (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday); Mrs. Barnette-Eckenrode, RN, CSN (Wednesday); Mrs. Petrillo, RN (Friday)

CARES - Mrs. Goring

Assistant Principal - Mrs. Michel

Principal - Mr. Meade

Mr. Spadea - Grade 5 Homeroom, Grades 6 and 7 ELA, Grades 5 and 8 Religion

Ms. Hensler - Grade 6 Homeroom, Grades 5 through 8 Science, Grade 6 Religion

Mrs. Michel - Grade 8 Homeroom, Grades 5 through 8 Math, Grade 6 Social Studies

Mrs. Casey - Grades 4 through 8 Math Honors, Library

Mrs. McBride - Grades 5 and 8 ELA

Mr. Seibel - Grades 5, 7, and 8 Social Studies, STEM

Mr. Meade - Grade 7 Religion

Mrs. Gray - Spanish

Ms. Murray - Art

Mr. Escandon - Music

Miss Weight - PE

*****A Reminder Regarding Phishing Scams******

We will never request funds via email or text message from Fr. Brownholtz, Fr. Kennedy, Mr. Meade or any of our administrative staff, especially from a third party source. If someone tries to trick you into purchasing any gift cards through an email or text message, it is ALWAYS a scam. Important rule of thumb, when in doubt… ask someone before responding!

Here are a few reminders about the procedures we follow as students arrive at school each day:

• Kindergarten through Grade 8 students who arrive at school between 8:00 am and 8:15 am will go to the Gym and wait until they are sent to their homerooms.
• All Kindergarten through Grade 8 students should arrive at school by 8:30 am.
• PreK-4 students must be walked to the PreK building between 8:15 and 8:30 am.
• PreK-3 students must be walked to the PreK building between 8:30 am and 8:45 am.

Please read these procedures for car drop off and car pick up.

Kindergarten through Grade 8 car drop off:

• Please stay in the drop off line and do not drive around the car in front of you.
• Please wait until the car in front of you pulls forward before you pull forward.
• We ask that parents do not get out of the car; if your child needs help, one of the staff members on duty will help your child to exit the car.

Kindergarten through Grade 8 car pick up:

• Please park in one of the parking lanes between the church and the playground.
• Please wait near the lines of cars until your child exits the school building and comes to you.
• When all your children have come to you, please take them to your car and wait.
• Please wait until the school staff member gives the signal for your line of cars to pull out and drive out of the parking lot before starting to drive away.

For Pre-K drop off and pick up:

• Please use the long parking lanes between Reading Ave. and the big field behind the Pre-K building.
• Please leave the lanes with cones at the end of the lane empty for parents to drive out once they have walked their Pre-K students to the Pre-K building.
• Please take extra care as you are driving, parking, and leaving after Pre-K drop off and pick up.

Please follow these procedures for PreK drop-off and pick-up:

Upon arrival, please pull into the “Pre-K parking lot” which is directly across from the golf course and to the far left of our campus. The entrance to our parking area looks directly straight back to the yellow door of our Pre-K building. Please pull all the way forward in the designated parking lanes, leaving exit lanes empty and available. Exit lanes are marked with cones to indicate that cars are not allowed to park there. Park your car and walk your child to the Preschool yellow front entrance (“map area”).

For safety purposes, our parking area is a ONE WAY zone. All cars should exit via the

driveway to the farthest end of our campus. No car should ever back-up to exit. There is NO PARKING along the grass leading up to our building nor in the main parking area

in front of the big school. Please pass this information along to anyone who may do

drop-off or pick-up for you.

Parking Lot:

For the safety of ALL, it is imperative to abide by the arrival and dismissal procedures

stated above. All cars must enter, pull all the way forward down the designated parking lanes of the

preschool lot, and exit via the farthest driveway. We appreciate your support with this.

Please see the map below as a visual representation of the guidelines above.

Please see the attached letter below for more information on pre-school, including parking guidelines, drop-off times, and other important information.