Crusader Chronicle

In the readings today, we have a Biblical vision of family. In both the first reading and the Gospel reading, God proclaims to us that the building block of society is the family. This Biblical statement about family, including the importance of marriage and of children, is the opposite of what we sometimes hear in modern thinking, that the individual is the building block of society. The Church teaches that marriage and family are sacred, and that they are the foundation of society.

In the Catholic Church, the month of October is also Respect Life month, when we proclaim and pray for the respect of life, from conception to natural death. We respect life in the womb, we respect life in the family, and we respect life as people age. In this October month of the Rosary, let us turn to Mary to ask for her protection of life and to ask her to guide us in nurturing the lives of our families, because our families form the foundation of society.

O Jesus, you came that we might have life—and have it in abundance. Together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, you form us in our mothers' wombs and call us to love you for all eternity.

As your most precious gift of human life is attacked, draw us ever closer to your Real Presence in the Eucharist. Dispel the darkness of the culture of death, for you are the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

​By the power of your Eucharistic Presence, help us to defend the life of every human person at every stage. Transform our hearts to protect and cherish all whose lives are most vulnerable.

​For you are God, forever and ever. Amen.

Copyright © 2024, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.

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

Fr. Brownholtz and Fr. Kennedy would like to thank all the St. Ignatius families who wrote cards for them for last weekend's Priesthood Sunday. They enjoyed receiving the cards and reading the kind words. Fr. Kennedy even said he was going to display all the Priesthood Sunday cards, just like he does with his Christmas cards.

Thank you to the Home and School Board, Mrs. Crozier, Fr. Brownholtz, and Mrs. Michel for a successful General Assembly meeting last Wednesday. This was our first General Assembly meeting of the new school year. Thank you to all the parents who were able to attend. We hope to see many more parents at our next General Assembly meeting in January!

November 12 will be our next Open House. This is for prospective families who would like to become part of our St. Ignatius Elementary School Family for the 2025-2026 school year. Tell your friends and tell your neighbors to come and see our school, talk to our teachers, and take a tour on Tuesday, November 12!

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

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!

*****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!

St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish will be hosting a Protecting God’s Children training class in the church on Tuesday, October 8th beginning at 7 pm. Pre-registration is recommended. Here is the link to register:

https://www.virtusonline.org/virtus/reg_list2.cfm?theOrgID=18461&theme=0

Walk-ins are welcome the night of the training.

Please pass this information on to any volunteers who may need to complete this training. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jayne Marcinkowski at jaynem@stignatius.church

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.

A few reminders as we start our new school year:

• 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.

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.

Our current seminarians, Matt and Jonathan, have now met all or our students. 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!

Tuesday, October 8 - Grade 8 attends 9:00 Mass

Thursday, October 10 - Grade 7 attends 9:00 Mass

Sunday, October 13 through Tuesday, October 15 - 40 Hours Devotion

Tuesday, October 15 - Grade 6 attends 9:00 Mass

Thursday, October 17 - Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Antioch - all classes attend Mass at 9:00 am

Monday, October 21 through Friday, October 25 - Fab Lab at St. Ignatius

Tuesday, October 22 - Grade 5 attends 9:00 Mass

Thursday, October 24 - Grade 4 attends 9:00 Mass

Friday, October 25 - Trunk or Treat at 6:00 pm; see Home and School section below to register

Tuesday, October 29 - Grade 3 attends 9:00 Mass

Thursday, October 31 - Halloween Parade

Friday, November 1 - All Saints Day - all classes attend Mass at 9:00 am

Wednesday, November 6 - Earth Dome at St. Ignatius

Thursday, November 7 - Half Day of School - Dismissal begins at 12:10 pm

Thursday, November 7 - Parent Teacher Conferences from 4 to 8 pm

Friday, November 8 - No School

Friday, November 8 - Parent Teacher Conferences from 8 am to 12 pm

Please use the link below for you and your family to sign up for the Family Adoration Hour.

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!

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, Mr. Weinert, Ms. Hensler, Mr. Spadea, Mrs. Casey

(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

Mr. Weinert - Grade 7 Homeroom, Grade 8 ELA, Grades 5, 6, and 7 Social Studies, Grade 7 Religion

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

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

Mrs. McBride - Grade 5 ELA

Mr. Seibel - Grade 8 Social Studies, STEM

Mrs. Gray - Spanish

Ms. Murray - Art

Mr. Escandon - Music

Miss Weight - PE

Please click the link below for the latest 2024-2025 St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School Calendar. Our initial calendar was shared with all of our families in May, and the calendar has been updated since then. The attached calendar will continue to be updated as the year progresses and is subject to change.

As we look forward to starting school again soon, we want to remind all families that 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!

Share your summer adventures with your St. Ignatius Community. Email pictures and places to Mrs. Crozier at hcrozier@sischool.org for others 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!

Congratulations to our September 500 Club Winners .....

The 500 Club winning numbers for September are below!

Congratulations to the following winners:

$50: Doreen Holmgren (Ticket #076)

$100: James Pearce (Ticket #032)

$250: Joe Bockin (Ticket #324)

$500: Cathleen Lupisella (Ticket #063)

There are still 64 tickets left for purchase and only 12 chances left to win - one of those may be your lucky number! See below for information on how to buy a ticket and join the 500 Club.

Thank you again to all the faculty, parishioners, friends, relatives and school families who have purchased tickets. We have sold 436 tickets so far; only 64 tickets left for the 2024 drawings! There are three monthly drawings left!

Our next drawing will be in early October so make sure you have your ticket!

There are still 12 chances to win during 2024!!

TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK:

https://tinyurl.com/SIS500club

l.com/SIS500club

• • Look What's Coming Up!

  • (Additional Details Below)

    • Home and School Attendance Dress Down Pass THIS Tuesday, October 8th
    • VIRTUS Training Tuesday, October 8th For those who need this additional training for volunteering. This session is offered at St. Ignatius. Pre-registration is recommended.
      
    • Family Holy during 40 Hours Sunday, October 13th in the church from 2-3pm. Use the SignUp Genius link below to reserve your 10 minute time slot.
    • American Cancer Society Dress Down Day Friday October 18th. Please donate to earn a dress down day for your kids! Any donation is appreciated!
    • FAB LAB! Coming to St. Ignatius the week of October 21st!
    • St. Ignatius Trunk or Treat! Friday, October 25th Registration Now Open! https://forms.gle/JrcWnwgiRgUVEwKe9
    • Earth Dome! Coming to St. Ignatius on November 6th!
    • Crusaders Care Our Fall Community Service Event! Please save the date! Saturday, November 23rd. Details to come!

    Active Registrations

    • CYO Basketball Registration is OPEN for all St. Ignatius registered parishioners! Prek-8th, High School, and Adult Leagues! Register Here: https://stignatiuscyo.sportngin.com/home
    • Trunk or Treat Friday, October 25th. $20 per car. Registration Deadline Wednesday, October 23rd. Due to space limitations, vehicle numbers will be capped, so register early to save your spot! https://forms.gle/JrcWnwgiRgUVEwKe9

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

    • Lunch Duty: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E49A8A723A7F94-50680029-lunchrecess?fbclid=IwY2xjawFKopZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUKQ6TZ0TO1ePInxGpk0ItZUcdNVUivon2OaLsbUasPrcDsA9KlLD8yvKg_aem_iNCtywKOcEnt8lM4Vte2Wg#/
    • Volunteers still needed for the following dates! Thank you!!
      • Tuesday, October 22nd (1 volunteer)
        
      • Wednesday, October 23rd (1 volunteer)
      • Thursday, October 24th (1 volunteer)

    Upcoming Event Details:

    
    

    Home and School Attendance Dress Down Pass Thank you to those who were able to attend the HSA General Assembly Meeting held last week! Those in attendance earned a Dress Down Pass for your child(ren) to use THIS Tuesday, October 8th. Please send your child(ren) in with the pass that was distributed at the meeting and make sure to follow the dress code regulations as detailed on the pass. Please contact hspresident@sischool.org with any questions.

    
    

    VIRTUS Training: St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish will be hosting a Protecting God’s Children training class in the church on Tuesday, October 8th beginning at 7 pm. Pre-registration is recommended. Here is the link to register: https://www.virtusonline.org/virtus/reg_list2.cfm?theOrgID=18461&theme=0 Walk-ins are welcome the night of the training. Please pass this information on to any volunteers who may need to complete this training. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jayne Marcinkowski at jaynem@stignatius.church
    

    Family Holy Hour during 40 hours Sunday, October 13th from 2-3 pm in the church. There are ten minute slots to sign up to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament during this hour. There are still a few slots open. All ages are welcome. Bring prayer books, your rosary or just sit in silent prayer. https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/70A0849AFA62EA0FF2-51386121-family

    
    

    American Cancer Society Dress Down Day Friday, October 18th. Please join Mrs. Michel and the Student Council in raising money to support the fight against breast cancer! All proceeds will be directly donated to the American Cancer Society for the October 20th Making Strides Walk. Our very own Mrs. Michel is part of a team that raises money for this event, and her team has already raised $29,000!!! Let's throw in our support and earn a dress down day too! Any donation is welcome and appreciated!

    
    

    Mobile Fab Lab: The Mobile Fab Lab (fabrication lab) sponsored and operated by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit travels to local schools encouraging students to explore careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) fields. The van transports various STEAM related equipment (laser engraver, 3D printer, CNC router, vinyl cutters, robotics equipment, and so much more)! These activities are hands-on and provide an interactive learning opportunity!

    Trunk or Treat: Registration is NOW OPEN for our Annual St. Ignatius Trunk or Treat on Friday, October 25th! (Rain Date: Sunday, October 27th). DJ! 50/50! Prizes for best-decorated cars! Don't miss it!! Cars will be allowed to enter at 5:30 and the event will begin at 6pm. NO CARS WILL BE ALLOWED ENTRANCE AFTER 6 PM $20 per car. Due to space limitations, vehicle numbers will be capped, so register early to save your spot! See the Google Form for additional details and information! https://forms.gle/JrcWnwgiRgUVEwKe9

    Earth Dome! This student assembly will be held on Wednesday, November 6th. Earth Dome is a gigantic inflatable earth balloon with photographs shot from satellites of the surface of the world. It has been used extensively across the United States to educate students about geography as well as environmental issues.

    
    

    Crusaders Care Save the date for our Fall SIS Day of service on Saturday, November 23rd. We will begin our collection of donations at the Trunk or Treat. Collection bins will be located by the blue canopy entrance during the event. Thank you!!! See the Trunk or Treat Registration Form for details. Additional event details to be announced soon!!

    Please bring any of the following items:
    

    • Diapers (size 4, 5, 6)
    • Baby Wipes
    • Laundry Detergent
    • Toothpaste
    • Toothbrushes
    • Full Size Shampoo
    • Bars of Soap
    • Deodorant

    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

    Important Information

    
    

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

    Singing and Instrumental Volunteer Opportunity First Light is the St. Ignatius music ensemble that provides music for the 9:30am Mass. We are looking to include students from 7th to 12th grade who sing or play a musical instrument in our ensemble. This is a terrific opportunity to learn more about music, play in an ensemble and accrue community hours. Participation is flexible from weekly, monthly, quarterly or seasonal. Please contact Amy Hail at amyhailqom@gmail.com or Larry Perini at lperini@verizon.net, or simply come by after a 9:30am Mass for more information.

    Volunteer Clearances: Please visit http://www.stignatius.church/safe.html for information on submitting clearances!

    For upcoming events, information, school calendar, and registration forms/ links please visit the HSA school website (https://www.sischool.org/home-school and https://www.sischool.org/hs-forms-and-links)

    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. Any questions, please contact Nicole Kloc (nicolekloc@gmail.com), Coordinator.

    THANK YOU!!!

    We want to thank all the parent volunteers who donated their time during September for lunch and recess duty!! We appreciate your continued support!

    
    

    It's never too late to get involved! Contact: hspresident@sischool.org with questions!

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.

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.

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

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 coming 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.