Crusader Chronicle

Every year, on the Second Sunday of Advent, we focus on John the Baptist. We hear about John first when the Mary visits her cousin, Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John, and John leaps in Elizabeth's womb in the presence of the baby Jesus in Mary's womb. The next time we hear about John, he has become a man who wears clothes made of camel hair, eats locusts and wild honey, and preaches a baptism of repentance. Although we do not know what happened to John between his birth and the Baptism of Jesus, it is safe to assume that he was preparing for the life he was called to lead, and we can be confident that God was preparing John for that life. Not only did John fulfill the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah - "Prepare the way of the Lord" - he led others to the Lord Jesus.

My wife Tina and I live in Warminster now, and we are parishioners at Nativity Parish in Warminster. This morning, our pastor, Fr. Joseph Watson, spoke about the importance of focused preparation during Advent. He talked about how important it is for us not to assume we are prepared to celebrate Christmas and rejoice in the Birth of Jesus, but to make sure we are doing all that we can to actually prepare, as we do for so many events in our lives. This Advent, we need to, in the words of Isaiah, prepare the way of the Lord, straighten the paths, fill the valleys, level the mountains and smooth the rough ways. We prepare a way for Jesus to come into our hearts, and John the Baptist has given us the example of how much we need to do, and John the Baptist shows us that we are capable of doing a great deal.

Almighty and merciful God,

may no earthly undertaking

hinder those who set out in haste to meet Your Son,

but may our learning of heavenly wisdom

gain us admittance to His company.

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.

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.

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 will celebrate the opening of the Jubilee Year with Mass at the Cathedral. That celebration of the holy Eucharist will mark the culmination of a pilgrimage of families traveling from throughout the Philadelphia region to the Cathedral.

Sunday, December 29, 2024 - 11:00 AM

(Holy Family Sunday)

Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul

18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Philadelphia, PA 19103

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/

We want thank all of our families who donated gifts for the Advent Gift-Giving Mass on Tuesday, December 3rd. Children of St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Chester and Sacred Heart Church in Camden, NJ, were the recipients of these gifts. This is a wonderful annual tradition for St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish. If you were not able to donate this year, please consider planning to donate next year during Advent.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our Feast of St. Nicholas and Christmas Tree Blessing Event on Friday, December 6, a great success! Thank you especially to Mrs. Michel for organizing the event, Mrs. Crozier for gathering supplies and decorating, our 8th Graders for helping Santa (St. Nicholas) place candy in students' shoes, Miss Murray for helping our students make individual ornaments, our Home and School Board for their support and providing refreshments, Deacon Mike for joining us to bless the tree, and Mr. Escandon for leading music for our prayer service/blessing.

We are already planning for registration and class numbers for the 2025-2026 school year. If you are a current family and are planning to register an additional child from your family for the 2025-2026 school year, please contact Mrs. Crozier at hcrozier@sischool.org as soon as possible. This includes any new preschoolers or kindergarteners.

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

Monday, December 9 - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception; all classes attend 9:00 Mass

Monday, December 9, and Tuesday, December 10 - Santa Shop In-Person Shopping

Thursday, December 12 - Grade 2 and Grade 7 attend 9:00 Mass

Thursday, December 12 - Christmas Concert at 6:30 pm

Saturday, December 14 - Cookies and Milk with Santa

Tuesday, December 17 - Grade 1 attends 9:00 Mass

Thursday, December 19 - Kindergarten attends 9:00 Mass

Thursday, December 19 - Middle School Electives - Second Session

Friday, December 20 - Last Day of School before Christmas Vacation; Homeroom Christmas Parties

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!

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!

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.

Congratulations to our December 500 Club Winners .....

The 500 Club winning numbers for December are below!

Congratulations to the following winners:
$50: Fitzgerald-Sommer Funeral Home (Ticket #350)
$100: Tara Loeper (Ticket #275)
$250: Emily Rogers (Ticket #284)
$500: Lora Ann McBride (Ticket #420)

Congratulations to our winners!

Thank you to all the families who purchased tickets, sold tickets to family and friends and the winners that donated their winnings back to the school.

Thank you also to all of our volunteers who organized, advertised, and monitored the 500 Club over the last year! We are grateful for their support of our school. Special thanks to Mrs. Crozier for a successful fundraiser!

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!

(Additional Details Below)

• Santa Shop Information packets were sent home last week. In person shopping starts tomorrow and ends on Tuesday. Don't forget your list and cash/check.
• Pajama Drive New (with tags) pajamas of all sizes are being collected TOMORROW on Monday, December 9th. Students who donate will earn a pass for a Christmas dress down day.
• Christmas Concert The St. Ignatius Christmas Concert will be held THIS Thursday, December 12th at 6:30 pm in the church auditorium. All grades will be performing!
• Cookies and Milk with Santa Join us on Saturday, December 14th from 12pm-2pm in front of the preschool (rain location in the church basement). Registration closes Tuesday, December 10th!
• Ladies Handbag Bingo Save the Date for Ladies Designer Handbag Bingo on Friday, January 31st! Registration and details to come!

Active Registrations

• Cookies and Milk with Santa Registration is open until December 10th. The registration fee is $10 per family. https://forms.gle/3FRGCDeRLme7pck16

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

• Santa Shop Pajama Drive NEW (with tags) Pajamas of all sizes will be collected on December 9th during the Santa Shop. Students who donate will earn a holiday themed dress down day pass!
• Ladies Handbag Bingo Donation Request! We are now accepting donations and gift cards for raffle baskets. Please contact Mrs. Crozier to arrange all donations.
• Middle School Electives Anyone interested in running or supporting an elective for the 2nd or 3rd session, please contact hspresident@sischool.org.
• Lunch Duty for November and December: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E49A8A723A7F94-52523443-lunchrecess/73112205#/
• Volunteers still needed for the following dates. Thank you!!
  • Tuesday, December 10th (1 volunteer)
  • Wednesday, December 11th (2 volunteers)
  • Friday, December 13th (1 volunteer)
  • Monday, December 16th (1 volunteer)
  • Tuesday, December 17th (1 volunteer)
  • Wednesday, December 18th (2 volunteers)
  • Thursday, December 19th (1 volunteer)

Upcoming Event Details:

Santa Shop In person shopping days will be held on Monday, December 9th and Tuesday, December 10th. Information packets with the day your children are shopping were sent home with students last week.

St. Ignatius Christmas Concert Please join the St. Ignatius Community for the Annual Christmas Concert. All grades, Prek3 through eighth grade, will be performing. The concert will be held in the church auditorium at 6:30 pm on Thursday, December 12th.

Milk and Cookies with Santa will take place on Saturday, December 14th from 12-2pm in front of the preschool (rain location- the church basement). Please register using https://forms.gle/3FRGCDeRLme7pck16 The cost is $10 per family. Registration closes on December 10th.

We will be collecting laundry detergent pods for The Reach Out Foundation. This organization is a drop- in center open daily for the homeless and those in need in Lower Bucks County. The Center offers showers, washers and dryers, food, clothing and emotional support. They are in need of laundry pods for their visitors. If you are able, please consider donating when you attend.

Ladies Handbag Bingo! Save the Date for Ladies Designer Handbag Bingo on Friday, January 31st! Details to come! Now collecting donations and gift cards for raffle baskets!

Important Information

Winter Uniforms Students are now wearing winter uniforms. For boys this means long pants and short or long sleeve golf shirts. For girls this means a jumper, kilt, or long pants and short sleeves or long sleeves. For gym, all students should wear sweatpants. Only the three styles of gray quarter zips may be worn during the school day.

Please note as the weather gets colder:

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

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. Here is the SchoolStore link you may use to register:

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

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 (https://www.sischool.org/home-school and https://www.sischool.org/hs-forms-and-links)

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

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.