News

We heard a lovely story of a Catholic teacher who was teaching the Pharisee and the Publican. In the manner of many primary school teachers she summed up by repeating the main message. To her horror she heard herself saying, “And so, children, aren't we all pleased that we are not like that Pharisee who….”

Students, you can read the Pharisee and the Publican by clicking on it here. Which is the Pharisee and which is the publican (referred to as a "tax collector") in the picture? What was wrong with the teacher's remark about the too-proud Pharisee? Check back here for the answers next week.

8th grade students and their families will make an important decision soon. Those considering Catholic high schools have indicated the schools they are interested in and will take the required entrance exams.

ACS 7th and 8th grade students saw video and slide presentations from diocesan and independent Catholic high schools. The students were given literature, folders, and small gifts to help them remember the presentations. 8th grade students can choose a school to visit as "freshman for a day."

See our list of local Catholic high schools with contact information and websites.

The November test results will come back in January. Then, a decision must be made because registration is already in February!

No, they didn't misbehave!

Actors Rebecca Castro and Alexander Mosko, ACS '04, along with Marissa Castro, ACS class of '08 have prominent roles in the St. Joseph High School Theatre Company (SJHSTC) presentation of the famous play, "The Diary of Anne Frank."

Anne's diary contains the thoughts and feelings of a teenage Jewish girl during WWII. The diary was written while hiding from ruthless Nazi’s who were looking to harm Jews. She hid in a small attic for an incredible 25 months with her family and other refugees.

A famous quote from the play shows her optimism even during the terror of the times. She wrote, "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."

Performances are November 8, 9, and 10 at 7:30 PM and November 11 at 3:00 PM at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen.

Alexander is the St. Joseph High School Thespian president and Rebecca is secretary.

It's a play truly worth seeing.

"The school children have come back to a beautifully restored church," says Father Roman, Assumption Church pastor. "For most of the summer, the church was filled with huge scaffolding! All of the artwork was painstakingly restored or re-gilded, the walls were painted, a new confessional was built, and a decorative wall treatment was done for the Stations of the Cross," he added.

A film of dirt collected in the 30 years since the last major renovation; just from normal use. Restorers use a special cleaner that removes dirt but preserves the artwork. Gilding is either painted on, or done with incredibly thin sheets of real gold; so thin that light goes through it!

The renovations are being done in preparation for the 100 year Jubilee of the Assumption parish in 2008.

A new confessional was built

A decorative treatment was added for each Station of the Cross.

Icons were cleaned and re-gilded.

Do you know what a mural is?
Do you know what a vestibule is?
You will if you look them up in the Picture Dictionary !

Check out the new picture of Easter eggs (pysanky) in the Picture Dictionary. These masterpieces were done by a former ACS student, Mr. Charles Patulak, ACS '73.

Hey, even we goof up once in a while! We thought there were nine parables depicted in stained glass in the church. We found another one. Guess where? In the baby's crying room! It's called, "The Great Supper." Look it up under Parables and you can read it. It's a good one.

Jacqueline Somogyi, ACS '05 – a junior at Mother Seton Regional HS, took the SAT's as a sophomore last June and scored 2300 out of a possible 2400. Jacqueline traveled to Paris, France this past summer to take French language and literature courses.

Paul Rosato, ACS '06 – a freshman at Cardinal McCarrick High School is part of the Music Ministry.

Alexander Mosko and Rebecca Castro ACS '04, and Marissa Castro, ACS class of '08 – have prominent parts in "The Diary of Anne Frank" with the St. Joseph High School Theatre Company (SJHSTC), Metuchen, NJ. The show dates are November 8-11, 2007.
More details on this soon!

Alex was recently inducted into the St. Joseph High School French and Art National Honor Societies (NHS) and is a soloist in the Liturgical Choir there. He was recently invited to be an apprentice in the professional Ukrainian Dance Company, "Syzokryli" from New York City.

ACS builds confident, happy, and successful children!

If you know of any ACS graduates excelling in high school, please write to the webmaster on the Contact Us page. Note their name, achievement, date of graduation from ACS, the high school that they are attending, and any other information that may be of interest.

Update October 8, 2007 – "The playground coating is postponed until spring," says Mr. Baralecki. "The suppliers could not get us the coating in time, the weather is changing, and leaves are beginning to fall. No problem, the cracks are all filled and we'll complete the job in the spring," he added.

October 2, 2007 – Weeds and debris have been removed and the cracks have been filled; now the playground is ready to be coated. "Weather permitting, we plan to coat the entire playground on Saturday, October 6," says Mr. Peter Baralecki, Holy Name Society (HNS) vice president and project chairman.

Mr. Charles Boyko, co-chairman of the project offered, "Not only will the newly-coated playground have a nice, smooth jet-black appearance, but if a child falls, any scrape on the knee will be a bit less severe." The coating will also reduce future cracking and help the asphalt pavement to last longer according to Mr. Boyko.

The men of the Assumption parish Holy Name Society (HNS) do many good works around the church and school.

Mr. Baralecki added in closing,"Several HNS members who attended ACS all remember how much fun we had playing here!"

Thank you to the Assumption Church HNS!

Mrs. Virginia Di Stefano and Mrs. Helen Mosko recently passed into eternity. Mrs. Di Stefano volunteered for many years as our school librarian and was very active in the PTA. Mrs. Mosko served as PTA president, taught 3rd grade at ACS from 1971-1974, and also volunteered as a librarian.

In Ukrainian it is customary to say, "eternal memory." ACS remembers and prays for its benefactors!

Check out the new photos under the Links. The students' favorite photo has got to be the one on the School Closing and Weather page! Check out tomorrow's forecast for Perth Amboy while you are at it.

Oh BTW, do you know what a "fresco" is? You will if you find it in the Picture Dictionary.