Crusader Chronicle

Today's Gospel Reading is the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel. In his homily for this Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Bishop Barron focused on the essence of the Beatitudes and on three of the eight Beatitudes. Bishop Barron starts his homily talking about happiness, which is the English translation of the Latin word "beatitudo," from which we derive the term "Beatitudes." He says that everyone wants happiness, to be happy.

Bishop Barron begins with the Sixth Beatitude, "Blessed are the clean of heart." He points out that the Latin word for "heart" is "cor", which can mean both "heart" and "center." Bishop Barron asks the question, "What is the center, the organizing principle of your life?" Whatever that center is, that is your heart. The heart of the saint seeks God.

Bishop Barron then focuses on the fifth and the seventh Beatitudes - "Blessed are the merciful" and "Blessed are the peacemakers." When we show mercy, when we make peace, we radiate mercy and peace, and God conforms us into His mercy and peace. Saints are pictured with halos because they radiate the mercy and peace of God. When we do the same, we become translucent, and God's light can shine through us.

Grant us, Lord our God,

that we may honor You with all our mind,

and love everyone in truth of heart.

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.

• Scholastic Book Fair!
• Stock's Pound Cake 8th Grade Fundraiser
• Handbag Bingo Thank You
• Lower Makefield Police Thank You
• Open House Thank You
• Looking for new Afternoon CARES Assistant
• Soup Can Drive Continues!
• Family Dinner Thank You
• Catholic Schools Week Thank You
• Planning for 26-27 School Year
• Stock's Fundraiser for Grade 8!
• New Cleaning Company
• Morning CARES Update
• 500 Club Update - January Winners!
• Reminders on Car Drop Off and Car Pick Up
• Raise Right
• New Home and School Update
• Villa Joseph Marie High School Summer Camps for Girls
• Little Mermaid Meet and Greet at Conwell Egan
• Conwell Egan 7th Grade Visitation Day
• New St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish Updates!
• FLAME Youth Ministry Service Project
• Archdiocesan Hubs Directors
• Letter from Archbishop Perez!

Thank you to Mrs. Crozier, the Handbag Bingo Committee, the 8th Grade Parents, and all the volunteers that made this year's Handbag Bingo another successful and fun event! We also want to thank everyone who donated to the event and everyone who played bingo.

Thank you to Officer Dave from Lower Makefield, who came on Thursday afternoon as we were heading to the church basement for the Laser Assembly, and thank you to Officer Tim and his K-9 partner, who came on Thursday morning as we were going to and from morning Mass. Thank you again to Captain Reeves and Lieutenant Hilghman for sending the officers to us on Mass days and any other days we ask them to come.

Thank you to Mrs. Crozier for organizing another successful Open House, which was held today (Sunday, February 1) from 12 noon to 2 pm. We met new families and potential students interested in our PreK and Kindergarten programs, as well as families interested in Grades 1 through 5. Thank you to our teachers who came today to act as tour guides and to answer questions in our classrooms. We look forward to including new families at St. Ignatius!

We are in need of one assistant for afternoon CARES. This is a paid position.

Hours available: 2:30PM – 6:00PM

(Days times/negotiable)

Accepting High School and College Applicants!

Maintain a safe, organized, Christian environment.

Assist with supervision of children, planning, and implementing activities, homework help, snack time, cleanup and more!

May help with attendance and documentation as necessary.

Please contact Mr. Meade at mrmeade@sischool.org if you know someone who is interested.

We started our soup can drive during Catholic Schools Week, and that will continue through February 13. Please bring your cans of soup to your homeroom, to the office, or to boxes for collection of soup. Thank you to all the students and families that have already brought soup!

Thank you to Mrs. Tiffany Havrilla and Mrs. Cheryl Tarallo, the chairs of this year's Family Dinner, for a wonderful evening and kick-off to Catholic Schools Week. Thank you to Home and School and all the parents volunteers who planned, decorated, set up, served food, and cleaned up for this great annual event. Thank you to Carlucci's (Capuano and Coppola families) for catering again this year. Thank you to everyone who joined us for 5:15 Mass and for the Family Dinner. We look forward to next year's dinner!

Thank you to our faculty and staff for all of their wonderful class projects and activities during Catholic Schools Week. Thank you to Home and School for the Teacher Supply Buffet, lunch for our students, the Laser Assembly, lunch for our teachers, and a Friday morning snack for our students. We had a fantastic week celebrating St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School, making cards for foster children, active troops, our priests, deacons, and seminarians, and for our parents. We went to Mass together and awarded our January Crusaders of the Month. We donated money to help veterans, and we collected soup cans for those in need. Thank you to all of our parents for all their support and time.

St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School is already planning for registration and class numbers for the 2026-2027 school year.

With emails that we are receiving from interested families daily, we are asking for your help to plan for the 2026-2027 school year.

If you are planning to register an additional child from your family for the 2026-2027 school year, please contact Mrs. Crozier at hcrozier@sischool.org as soon as possible.

This includes any new preschoolers or kindergarteners.

Thank you for your continued support of St. Ignatius of Antioch School!

We are happy to announce that we have hired a new cleaning company to clean the school Monday through Friday evenings. The new company is Extreme Clean. Extreme Clean currently provides cleaning services to St. Katherine Drexel, St. Ephrem, and St. Joseph/St. Robert.

We would like to thank our parish employee, Benny, for the cleaning he provided since September, and CYO, who will continue to provide cleaning of the gym, the hallway outside the gym, and the bathrooms outside the gym on Sundays.

We welcome Extreme Clean to our school!

This year in particular, we have had very few students coming to morning CARES. However, having only one or two students is not financially viable for the morning CARES program.

After consultation with Mrs. Crozier, Mr. Lucidi (the parish business manager), and Mr. Tapp, we have decided that we are going to close morning CARES, at least through the month of January. We will revisit the option of offering morning CARES in February. This decision has no effect on after school CARES, which will continue to be offered every day after school.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you to all of our families who have made an effort to arrive earlier in the car drop off line. We still have some cars dropping off after 8:30 am, so please continue to make an effort to drop off by 8:15 or between 8:15 and 8:25.

Please read through all these important reminders regarding car drop off and car pick up. These include additional updates due to some incidents that have occurred this school year.

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 do not signal or wave for another car to drive around your car.
• Please pull all the way forward to the farthest pair of cones or to the back of the car in front of you.
• We ask that parents do not get out of the car; if your child needs help, one of the staff members on duty can help your child to exit the car.
• Please drive into the parking lot in time to drop off your child by 8:25 am.
• It is safest for your child to exit on the right hand side of your 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.
• Please do not park in the parking lot between the school and the Antioch Center (on the side of the school where the buses pick up) to pick up your child. It is not as safe for you to walk in between the buses to take your child to your car. If you are unable to wait for the usual exit procedures above, please park on the west side of the church, in one of the spaces on the basketball court side of the parking lot, walk your child to your car, and leave from there.

***Please instruct anyone else who is dropping off your child or picking up your child about the above guidelines for both car drop off and car pick up.

Thank you once again for following these procedures to keep all of our students and parents safe.

We welcome two more new faces to our St. Ignatius of Antioch Family.

We had already introduced Nelson Reyes, our First Property maintenance supervisor, and Tara McKeever, our new Catapult teacher. We would also like to introduce Mary Ann Penge, grandmother of Marco and Francesca Monaco, who has been volunteering in the Kindergarten B classroom with Miss Lynch, and Steve Leng, a retired Pennsbury school teacher, who started volunteering this week in our younger grades STEM Classes. We welcome Mrs. Penge and Mr. Leng!

Sunday, February 1 - Open House from 12 noon to 2 pm

Tuesday, February 3 - Feast of St. Blaise with Throat Blessing at School

Tuesday, February 10 - All classes attend 9:00 Mass

Tuesday, February 10, and Wednesday, February 11 - Scholastic Book Fair

Thursday, February 12 - Confirmation Retreat

Friday, February 13 - Valentine's Day Parties for PreK through Grade 2

Friday, February 13 - Special treat for Grades 3 through 8

Monday, February 16 - Presidents' Day - NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, February 18 - Ash Wednesday - All classes attend 9:00 Mass

Friday, February 20 - Grades 1 through 8 attend Stations of the Cross at 2 pm

Please see our latest 2025-2026 School Year Calendar. We will continue to update the calendar as new dates are added or as adjustments are made. The calendar is below.

St. Ignatius School 500 Club!

Thank You ..

Over 300 tickets sold!

90 School Families Supported 500 Club

95 Alumni and Parishioners Supported 500 Club

Coming to you back by popular demand, this club not only allows families to work hard to raise money for their school, but also provides an opportunity to win money each month!

Each ticket is $100.

tinyurl.com/sis500club2025

Winning numbers were pulled in October, November, and December 2025, as well as in January 2026. The next drawing is February 2026!

The club runs through June 2026 - that means 36 total chances to win $!!!

Each month there are 4 chances to win - prizes of $50, $100, $250, and $500.

Winners will be notified by phone/email, and winning numbers published in all of our usual platforms - church bulletin and weekly school newsletter.

Please know this will only work if we have your support -

the goal is at least (2) tickets per family.

Every gift matters and brings us closer to our school goal.

Our goal is to sell 500 tickets

This is a great way for neighbors, co-workers, alumni and parishioners

to support St. Ignatius School.

Be on the lookout for weekly published updates!

Please email sis500club@gmail.com with any questions.

Thank you in advance for your SIS support!

The fourth drawing for the SIS 500 Club was held on the morning of Friday, January 2.

Congratulations to our January winners!

$50 (#146) Daniel Keegan

$100 (#007) Bill Shouldis

$250 (#112) Andrew Horan

$500 (#032) George Hornyak

Thank you to the winners who donated back to the school.

Thank you for supporting this fundraiser and be on the lookout for future drawing winners. There are still more tickets available if you wish to purchase more, or would like to forward to friends and family to include them in the fun! Our next drawing will be in early February!

https://tinyurl.com/sis500club

Thank you to our 500 Club Committee!

The St. Ignatius School 500 Club February drawing is next! We have sold 320 numbers to alumni, parishioners and school families. It is not too late to purchase a number or two. There are 180 lucky numbers available and each number has 20 more chances to win! Please consider supporting your school. Thank you!

Please see this new information from Nicole Kloc, Raise Right Coordinator:

Thank you all for participating in the RaiseRight program this year. As you all know shipping delays may still occur this year. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.

As a reminder, I typically place orders for physical gift cards on Tuesdays with delivery through students on either Thursday or Friday of the same week. Please place your orders by 11:00 am on the date they will be submitted to ensure a timely delivery. If you need something by a specific date, please let me know so I can ensure it will get to you in time.

Local Businesses

The following local businesses are stocked regularly but may be difficult to find on the website/app. Please search them by name in the search tool. If there is a local business you'd like to see here, please reach out & I'll see what I can do to add them.

Cafe Antonio (10%)

Capt'n Chucky's Crab Cakes (8%)

Carlucci's Grill (10%)

Continental Tavern (8%)

Delorenzo's Yardley (10%)

GIANT - St. Ignatius (5%)

McCaffrey's (5%)

Shady Brook Farm (10%)

Wegmans (10%)

Local GIANT Reminder:

As we have a lot of new families to the program, I want to remind everyone if you select "Giant," you will likely receive a Stop & Shop Gift Card that is still valid at Giant food stores, however the rebate is only 4%. To receive the St. Ignatius Giant cards with the 5% discount, you must include St Ignatius in the search bar when looking for them. (See attached screen shots from my app as to what the local Giant screen looks like after typing in "St Ig").

I recommend that you save it as a favorite to avoid future mixups! If you have any trouble finding this or any other local retailers, please reach out to me & I would be happy to walk you through it.

Do you have friends/family interested in joining RaiseRight?

Send them the link below to have them join our program and start earning today!

https://tinyurl.com/SISRaiseRight2024

Thank you and have a great February!

Thank you to all of our parents who have helped with cafeteria and recess supervision. Your presence has been a tremendous help. Lunch Duty Supervision scheduling through February 2026 has been completed and was emailed to all families in Kindergarten through 8th Grade this past week through Option C. The information included Instructions for Lunch Duty Supervision, a Substitute List, as well as the 3-month schedule.

Please refer to the Instructions sheet that will answer questions on scheduling, substitutions, and swaps. If you have any questions regarding the process or scheduling, you may contact Jaimee Hynes at jaimeerocco@hotmail.com.

Please remember to notify Jaimee Hynes of any and all substitutions and swaps in order that we may properly maintain the schedule.

We thank you for your cooperation.

The Home and School Board

CARES is our Before and After School program for parents who are looking for child care. Please note that, if you have used CARES in the past, we have a new email address for you to use to contact CARES. Please see the document below for more information.

PLEASE NOTE: Before School CARES will not be offered until further notice. Please see the notice earlier in this update for more information.

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!

Our new parish seminarian, Camilo Andres Escobosa, will be visiting the parish and the school from September to May on Thursdays. We welcome Camilo back to our community!

• Look What's Coming Up!
  (Scroll Down for Additional Details)

  • Pretzel and Pizza for the second half of the school year starts this week
  • Scholastic Book Fair Save the Date! February 10th and 11th
  • Scholastic Book Fair Family Night Tuesday, February 10th. Join us for a Villa Rosa raffle, treats and prizes!
  • 7th and 8th Grade Cupid's Kicks Dance on Friday, February 13th
  • President's Day No School Monday, February 16th
  • Pancake Breakfast Save the Date! Saturday, March 14th

  Registration:

  • 7th and 8th Grade Cupid's Kicks Dance https://forms.gle/pU3VVFSNs9Ne8m737

  Volunteers

  No volunteers needed at this time. Thank you for your continued support!

  
  Donations

  No Active Collections. Thank you for your continued generosity!

  
  

Welcome to Summer@Villa—Villa Joseph Marie High School offers arts, athletic, enrichment, leadership, and STEM camps for girls entering grades 3–9. Our programs provide a welcoming, confidence-building environment where girls can explore new interests, develop skills, and build lasting friendships.To register, visit https://www.vjmhs.org/summer

St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School was once again honored by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as a 2024 School of Distinguished Instruction. Schools of Distinguished Instruction are determined by their Terra Nova test scores. In 2024, 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!

Thank you to our Beef & Beer raffle donors:

Mlodzinski Family

ANEJ Salon (Jena Salzano)

McCaffreys

Amy Stewart Skincare (Emily Stewart)

Home & School Board

St. Ignatius School Staff

Villa Rosa (Capuano, Coppola, Capuano)

Longwood Gardens

Sky Zone

Cramer’s Bakery

Fucich Family

Karen Schmidt

St. Ignatius School Recycle Club

Wegmans

Yeti Donor Families (Files, Palumbo, Hosler, Clancy, Van Wert, Morris, Little, K & C Capuano, Sheddon, Shoudis, Balerno, K & J Wolf, Kelly, McCormick, McAteer, Moleski and Jones)

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.

SOUPer Bowl Sunday

🥣Hosted by FLAME Youth Ministry. Help Us Tackle Hunger in Our Community!

This SOUPer Bowl Sunday, FLAME Youth Ministry is leading a service project to prepare the dry ingredients of homemade soups for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. We invite all parishioners to support this effort by donating items through our Amazon Wishlist.

🏈What We’re Making

🍗 Chicken Noodle Soup

🥕 Hearty Vegetable Soup

🥔 Potato Soup

🛒How You Can Help

Donate ingredients by purchasing items from our Amazon Wishlist.👉 Visit the Wishlist:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3HOKSK2DGAMK1?ref_=wl_share

📅When

SOUPer Bowl Sunday

February 8, 2026

❤️One Bowl Can Make a Difference

Your generosity helps provide warmth, nourishment, and hope to those in need.

Thank you for supporting FLAME Youth Ministry’s outreach!

God may be calling you to something beautiful.

Interested in Becoming Catholic?

Our parish has an active Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA/formerly RCIA)

Whether you are:

● Unbaptized

● Baptized in another Christian tradition

● A Catholic who has not completed the sacraments of Confirmation or Eucharist

…we welcome you to explore the Catholic faith with us.

�� Location: St Ignatius Antioch Center

�� For more information, contact Rectory 215-493-3377

Email: ocia@siparish.org

Thank you to all of our school families that donated gifts for the annual St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish Advent Gift-Giving Mass on Tuesday, December 2! We appreciate your generosity and the generosity of all the St. Ignatius parishioners. All gifts donated benefit the children of Sacred Heart Parish in Camden and St. Laurence Church in Upper Darby. Check out the photos of this event on Instagram at sischoolofyardley, courtesy of Mrs. Crozier.

We would like to congratulate the new deacons who were ordained in June for the Archdiocese. The seven men include, from top left: Charles H. Cappelli; Thomas G. Cipolla; Declan J. Cole; Alexander B. Cross; (from bottom left) Dominic W. Mirenda; Jude Ugochukwu Opara; and Griffen T. Schlaepfer.

Special congratulations to Griffin Schlaepfer and Jude Opara. As you know, Griffin is a member of St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish, and Jude served as a seminarian at St. Ignatius of Antioch. Let us pray for all of our seminarians, our new deacons, our priests, and our bishops.

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.

From CatholicPhilly.com:

"The newly appointed directors of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s five missionary hubs gathered for the first time Oct. 21, meeting with Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center. The gathering follows the Sept. 29 announcement of the missionary hub initiative, a multiyear effort to strengthen outreach to those who feel disconnected from the Church. Each hub integrates pastoral, educational, and charitable ministries to serve the unique needs of its surrounding community.

Each hub is led by a parish pastor and supported by a team of five trained individuals, including the newly named directors (pictured from left to right below):

• Josh Bean serves at the Missionary Hub located at St. Katharine Drexel in Chester and is a member of St. John Fisher Parish in Boothwyn.
• Jeffrey Shields directs the Hub at St. Matthew in Philadelphia and belongs to Our Lady of Hope Parish in Blackwood, N.J.
• Archbishop Perez
• Nina Marie Corona leads the Hub at St. Isidore in Quakertown and is a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Doylestown.
• Mike Hajdak oversees the Hub at St. Alphonsus in Maple Glen and worships at Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in Plymouth Meeting.
• Lauren Joyce directs the Hub at St. Ann in Phoenixville and is a member of St. Norbert Parish.
• Brian McCarthy, chief Strategy Officer for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

The initiative was shaped by nearly 100 listening sessions held earlier this year, during which more than 15,000 Catholics across the region shared their hopes for the future of the Church.

For more information, visit TrustAndHope.org."

The attached pastoral 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 consider becoming involved.

Archbishop Perez issued a new letter that explains the next steps in the Trust and Hope Initiative. That letter is attached below.

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

Pope Leo canonized seven new saints on Sunday, October 19. The seven new saints are:

The first two Catholic saints from Venezuela:

José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, considered the “doctor of the poor" (bottom row above, far right)

María del Carmen Rendiles Martínez, a nun and founder of the Sister Slaves of Jesus (bottom row above, middle)

And:

Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, an Armenian bishop and martyr killed in 1915 during the Ottoman genocide (top row above, second from left)

Peter To Rot, a lay catechist from Papua New Guinea, martyred during the Japanese occupation in World War II (bottom row above, far left)

Vincenza Maria Poloni, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona (top row above, far left)

Maria Troncatti, an Italian Salesian missionary known for her work among the Shuar Indigenous people of Ecuador (top row above, second from right)

Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer, former Satanic priest converted to Catholicism, promoter of the recitation of the rosary, and founder of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii (top row above, far right)

We rejoice with all the saints in heaven as we celebrate these seven new saint brothers and sisters!

We would like to thank Celina Mirarchi from BucksIU, our Fab Lab instructor during the week of January 12. Ms. Mirarchi was wonderful with all of our Grades 1 through 8 students, guiding them in new knowledge, creativity, and technology. See the photo above or the attachment below to see all the activities which our students enjoyed!

Thank you to all of our Room Parents for organizing and leading such wonderful Classroom Christmas Parties this year. Thank you to all the families who donated food, paper goods, and craft items to the parties. It was a wonderful send off for all of our students!

Thank you to all our parents and students who supported the 8th Grade Candy Cane Fundraiser. Your generosity is appreciated!

Thank you to all of our students and families who donated to Catholic Relief Services on our Donation Dress Down Day on December 18. We collected $710 on that day. Special mention to Sloane Hynes, who collected money over the Christmas Break by selling hot chocolate. Sloane donated an additional $150 to bring our total to $860! We appreciate everyone's generosity in helping Catholic schoolchildren in Ghana.

Thank you to Santa Claus, who joined Fr. Brownholtz and visited our PreK through Grade 3 classrooms on December 16! It is always a joy to welcome Santa Claus to St Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School. If you have not seen the photos of Santa's visit, please check out our Instagram account.

Thank you to Mr. Escandon for preparing all of our students to perform and to prepare us to celebrate Jesus' Birth with our annual Christmas Concert. It was a wonderful evening for all who joined us.

Thank you to Mrs; Michel, Mrs. Crozier, Mrs. Perini, and Mr. Perini for all of their help in making the concert a success. Thank you to all of our homeroom teachers and Ms. Murray and Mrs. Hamacher for helping with the preparation and the supervision of our students on the night of the concert. Thank you to Mrs. Michel and the 8th Grade for bringing the Nativity Story to life, and thank you to the Files Family for allowing their baby Leo to play the role of the baby Jesus.

Thank you to Mrs. Nicole Kloc and Mrs. Jen Wiggins for another amazing Santa Shop this year! Thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped staff the shop. Our students absolutely love the Santa Shop and the opportunity to buy gifts for family and friends. We look forward to next year's Santa Shop!

Thank you to all the parents who helped with our annual Cookies and Milk with Santa on Saturday, December 6, which included hot chocolate, cookies, balloons, crafts, games, soft pretzels, snow, and pictures with Santa. Special thank you to Mrs. Dougherty and Mrs. Kasper for organizing and chairing this event! Thank you to Mrs. Nancy Pawar from Balloon Art by Nancy for the Christmas balloon display, and thank you to Colonial Farms for the hot chocolate and cookies! Don't forget to check out the photos from this event on Instagram at sischoolofyardley, courtesy of Mrs. Crozier!

Guess the amount of candy in the jar?

There were 1351 pieces in the jar.

Winner John Wojtowicz (KB)

Raffle Basket

The Raffle Basket Winner was the Tallman Family!

Thank you to St. Nicholas himself, who visited St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School on the morning of December 5. St. Nicholas left candy and other treats in the shoes of all of our PreK through Grade 2 students. St. Nicholas, thank you for praying for us and for always treating us around your feast day!

Thank you to everyone who came and helped at the annual Crusader Cares Day on November 22. Students, staff members, and parents worked together to make 250 snack bags for Caring for Friends, 250 meal bags for Trenton Soup Kitchen, 60 Thanksgiving bags for Neighbors in Need, collections of diapers, wipes, and laundry detergent for Cradle of Hope, and boxes of grocery items for the ERA Food Pantry. Thank you to all of our families who donated to make this day and these donations possible. A warm round of appreciation to the chairs of this event - Mrs. Fronheiser, Mrs. Hynes, and Mrs. Fogelstrom! Thank you to McCaffrey's, Giant, ShopRite, and Wegmans for their donations.

Thank you to Mrs. Crozier, the Home and School Board, and all the parents who helped make Trunk or Treat another successful evening. This is always a great event for our students, parents, grandparents, and alumni!

Three teams of female students from Grades 6 through 8 competed in the annual Sciathlon at Villa Joseph Marie High School on Friday, October 17. Our girls competed well, and it was a great experience. Thank you to Mrs. Hamacher for recruiting our teams and for organizing the St. Ignatius participation in the competition. Thank you to all the parents who drove their daughters and stayed to cheer them on. Thank you to Mrs. Michel for attending the competition and supporting our students. Thank you to Mrs. Jeanne Frawley (President of Villa Joseph Marie and St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School Alumna) and the faculty and staff of Villa Joseph Marie for hosting all the students who competed.

Thank you to the Fire Department for visiting PreK and Kindergarten in October. We love our local police and firefighters and pray for their safety. We appreciate the time the Fire Department took with our students and the gifts they brought for everyone!

Thank you again to the Lower Makefield Police! Chief Kelly and Captain Reeves visited our Home and School General Assembly last Wednesday night and shared with us their vision for community outreach. Thank you to Lower Makefield Officer Pat for greeting our students as they walked to Mass on Friday for the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, stayed for the entire Mass, and joined us for the blessing of our new American flag. Thank you to Deacon Mike, who is himself a retired police officer, for leading the blessing of our flag. We appreciate the support of our police!

On Sunday, September 21, Fr. Brownholtz was honored by the Little Sisters of the Poor at their annual fundraising gala. Father received the St. Jeanne Jugan (founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor) Award, along with two other Archdiocesan awardees. Fr. Brownholtz was recognized for his many years of support for the Little Sisters of the Poor and their work with children and the elderly, celebrating Mass for the Sisters regularly, and promoting their ministries. Congratulations, Fr. Brownholtz!

Here is our faculty and staff for the 2025-2026 school year:

PreK and Kindergarten:

Mrs. Azara - PreK-3

Ms. Tabeek - PreK-4A

Mrs. McBeth - PreK-4B

Mrs. Beck, Mrs. Garcia, Miss Herbine, Mrs. Morrison, and Mrs. Stasse - PreK aides.

Ms. Dionne - Kindergarten A

Miss Lynch - Kindergarten B

Grades 1 through 5

Mrs. Edwards - Grade 1

Mrs. Beck, Mrs. Garcia - Grade 1 Aides

Mrs. Ficarro - Grade 2

Deacon Rich Malamut - Grade 2 Religion

Mrs. Montemarano - Grade 3

Ms. Schmidt - Grade 4A

Ms. Moore - Grade 4B

Mrs. Link - Grade 5

Mrs. Casey - Grade 4 and 5 Math Honors

Middle School

Mrs. McBride - Grades 6 through 8 ELA

Mrs. Hamacher - Grades 6 through 8 Science

Mrs. Michel - Grades 6 through 8 Math, Religion 8.

Deacon Rich Malamut - Grades 6 and 7 Religion

Mrs. Casey - Grades 6 through 8 Math Honors.

Mr. Meade - Grade 6 Social Studies

Mr. Seibel - Grades 7 and 8 Social Studies

Enrichment Classes

Mr. Seibel - PreK through Grade 8 STEM

Mrs. Gray -PreK through Grade 8 Spanish

Miss Murray- PreK through Grade 8 Art

Miss Weight - PreK through Grade 8 PE

Mr. Escandon - PreK through Grade 8 Music

Mrs. Casey - Library

Learning Support

Mrs. Hastings

Administrative and Support Staff

Mr. Meade - Principal

Mrs. Michel - Assistant Principal

Mrs. Crozier - Admissions and Advancement Director

Mrs. Chapuis and Mrs. Perini - School Office Administrative Assistants

Mrs. Kriger and Mrs. Petrillo Health Office Nurses

Mrs. Goring and Mrs. Crozier - CARES Directors

Congratulations to the St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School Class of 2025, who graduated this past Wednesday, June 4. We are so proud of their many accomplishments, and we wish them God's blessings as they enter high school! Congratulations to all of their parents, and thank you to all the teachers who have guided them along the way. Thank you especially to Mrs. Michel for guiding them through 8th Grade this past school year. Many blessings to the Class of 2025!

Thank you again to Mrs. Fogelstrom for coordinating our Spring Service Project, where our students and parent volunteers wrote cards and gift bags for veterans, as well as gift bags for mothers who are being helped and supported by Legacy for Life.

Please see the letter below from the Commander of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, thanking our St. Ignatius family for our contributions and the video message we sent them to thank them for their service.

We would like to remind all families about the required vaccinations, dental exams, and medical exams for all students in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Please read the requirements below:

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has mandated that all children entering Kindergarten or First Grade present documented proof that the following immunizations have been received:

DT (Diphtheria/Tetanus) - 4 doses - one after the fourth birthday

Polio - 3 doses MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) - 2 doses - one dose after 12 months Hepatitis B - 3 doses - last dose after 6 months 11

Varivax (Chicken Pox) - 2 doses (or documentation of live disease)

After the basic series of 3 Oral Polio Vaccine, Diphtheria and Tetanus, boosters shots are due between four and six years of age. For students entering 7th grade, one dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap) is required if it has been more than 5 years since the last tetanus immunization and one dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) is also necessary. Please inform the school nurse/health office, in writing, when boosters are given. Other immunizations may be required. Students who do not have proof of immunization will not be permitted to attend school at St. Ignatius of Antioch School until those records are given to the school nurse

Immunization Policy from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

The policy of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia with respect to vaccinations, requires all children to be vaccinated against a wide variety of diseases. Exceptions are not granted, except for medical reasons. Click here for the Immunization Policy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Dental Exam and Physician Exam Reports are required for students entering Kindergarten or any student entering from out of state. Subsequent examinations and forms are required from the Dentist in grades 3 and 7 and from the Physician in grade 6 (scoliosis exam is also due at this time.)

Please see the forms attached below for dental and medical exams.

During 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.