News

Assumption Catholic Church located at 684 Alta Vista Place, Perth Amboy, NJ will hold its Annual Ukrainian Cultural Festival on the parish grounds on Saturday, June 27, 2015  from 12 noon until 9 p.m.  Based on last year’s very successful 2000+ attendance by people from the local communities, we expect an even greater turnout this year. The festival will feature dazzling performances at 1:00 p.m. and at 3:00 p.m. in the school hall showcasing traditional Ukrainian dances. There will also be delicious homemade Ukrainian food, Ukrainian beer, delicious desserts, vendors, a church tour, live music throughout the event, a Beautiful Baskets raffle and 50/50 Money Ruffle. Admission to the festival is free. No Outside Food or Drink Allowed.  For vendors or more information call 732-826-0767 or visit us at www.assumptioncatholicchurch.net

Thirty one children of the Assumption School and Parish had First Confession on Friday, May 1, and received First Solemn Holy Communion on Sunday, May 5, 2015. Congratulations to the following, who confessed their sins for the first time and received Jesus in the Holy Eucharist our Church: Ruby Alba, Alla Babiy, Volodymyr Babiy, Daliana Barletto, Solomia Halyna Bezpalko, Sophia Ivanna Bezpalko, Maksim Bydyk, Brian Robert Daly, Maksym Deyneka, Emily Rose Ferrer, Olha Fok, Anastasiya Korkh, Marika Lazuka, Juliya Lazuka, Yean Paul Magyar, Nicholas Donovan Makar, Diana Ruth Mendez, Isaiah Nieves Jr, Angelina Oleksiv, Jeremy Antonio Olivare, Yamari Elizabeth Pacheco, Jaryd Isaias Saez, Haily Lynn Scocc, Robert Slavik, Denys Stefaniv, Ostap Tzap, Derek Henry Portacarrero Vasquez, Jason Vasquez, Ayden Justin Villamar, Lawrence Alton Waldon, Liana Olha Wowk. We are grateful to all who have assisted these children on their journey of faith. The list includes but is not limited to, their parents, godparents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, school principal, Fr. Ivan Turyk, teachers and this year's catechists Sr. Yosaphata, MSMG, Sr. Thomas, MSMG, and Miss Victoria Giordano. Thank you for helping to prepare our children for the greatest gift they will ever receive. We can only hope and pray that their parents will provide the opportunities for their children to continue to receive the Holy Eucharist at weekly Liturgy (Mass) in our church. Special thanks go to our school’s FSA for preparing a delicious breakfast for our children and their families.

The faculty and staff of Assumption Catholic School in Perth Amboy, NJ headed down the shore Friday for a retreat at San Alfonso Retreat House. Located in Long Branch, NJ, the retreat house is situated on eight acres overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The day began with refreshments followed by a Chapel Prayer Service. Following the Prayer Service, Sister Geraldine Muller, SSJ lead a discussion on Resurrection Joy: How to Sustain the Joy of Celebrating the Season of Easter. Sister read from the Gospel of Luke. The stories of the women who found the empty tomb and the two people on the road to Emaus were shared and reflected upon. Sister challenged us to ponder how the scriptures touch on our life experiences. Our session ended with time to reflect on the day and scripture readings. Everyone took the opportunity to walk the beautiful grounds and pose for some pictures. After enjoying a meal together, everyone left for the weekend feeling refreshed and renewed.

The weather did not damper the excitement at ACS this morning as 2nd and 3rd grade students boarded the bus in route to Meadowlands Environmental Center. The two classes combined and took part in a session entitled Marsh Explorers. First, students were able to use their sense of taste to determine if water was Fresh Water (found in rivers), Salt Water (found in oceans) or Brackish (found in salt marshes). Next, students used their keen observation skills to identify the weather and tides. Finally, students identified the various stages of life cycle by creating their very only cycles using sun->phragmites->grass shrimp->killifish->blue crabs->Diamondback terrapin.

Sunday, April 19 was a special day of thanks for the Assumption of the BVM Ukrainian Catholic Church in Perth Amboy, NJ as we celebrated the Liturgy honoring the 50th Anniversary of the ordination of our former Pastor Father Roman Dubitsky. The Principal Celebrant of the Liturgy was Fr. Roman and concelebrants were our current Pastor Fr. Ivan Turyk and homilist Very Rev. Andriy Rabiy, Protosyncellus of Philadelphia Archeparchy and Pastor of Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Reading, PA. In addition to hundreds of parishioners from the Assumption Parish, the Liturgy was attended by many former parishioners of Fr. Roman from St. Stephen Church in Toms River, NJ and St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, Wilmington Delaware. The reception and a concert following the Liturgy in the school hall was attended by three hundred fifty well-wishers who enjoyed a great program prepared by the school and parish kids and a variety of refreshments at the parish annual Easter Dinner-Sviachene. The capacity crowd in attendance for his Jubilee Liturgy and the hundreds of guests at the reception were witness to the love and admiration that the community has for Fr. Roman. Although Fr. Roman has accomplished so much over the years, he said that the spotlight shouldn’t be on him, “It’s a day for me to thank all of you for allowing me to answer the call to service to God and His Church on earth.” Among the letters and testimonials read in connection with that occasion was a very special greeting for Fr. Roman from His Grace Archbishop-Metropolitan Stefan Soroka of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. Once again sincere thanks to all who helped organize this wonderful celebration for a very devoted priest and to share that Easter joy with one another!

Recently, ACS hosted a very special visitor at our school. Last Tuesday, Bishop Hryhoriy Komar, Auxiliary Bishop of Sambir-Drohobych  Eparchy (Ukraine) visited our school. His Excellency graciously met with Mr. S and Fr. Ivan  to discuss the status of our school. Later, the Bishop toured some  classrooms and was very pleased with the impressive intelligence and  behavior of our students. The children, as always, represented our school very well.

The Knights of Columbus are a charitable, Catholic fraternal organization, deserving of their own accolades and recognition for their service to community, but on Saturday, March 22, they were the ones doing the honoring.
 
At their Annual Shield Awards and Dinner, the San Salvador Council 299 honored members of the local Perth Amboy Police and Fire Departments, as well as Catholic school teachers and community volunteers.
 
Assumption Catholic School had quite a fine representation at the dinner.  Alumni Brian Lopazanski and parent of current students Katie and Nathaniel Perez, Michael Perez were honored for their work in the Fire Department. Our school, represented by Father Ivan Turyk and principal Michael Szpyhulsky, was honored for our volunteer work.  Students who participated in and won the basketball free throw contest sponsored by the Knights were on hand to receive trophies and certificates.  Awards were handed out by Ed Troche, parent of alumni Christopher Troche, who, it is worth mentioning, will soon be graduating from the US Naval Academy.
 
The shining star of our school for the evening, was the recipient of the Teacher of the Year award, Melanie Lawrence.  Mrs. Lawrence has been teaching at Assumption Catholic School for over 30 years.  For six of those years, she even served as principal.  As she drew inspiration from some of her own teachers – she can trace back her love of poodles to stories her third grade teacher told about her own pets (does that scenario sound familiar to anyone?), and it was a seventh grade teacher that encouraged her to refine her writing skills (did you know she usually writes her junior drama plays herself?) – so too does she inspire generation after generation of students at ACS.  Her love for education and dedication to the Assumption Catholic community shows and inspires in almost everything she does, from her teaching, to her many after school groups, and her volunteering at church.
 
No matter what you may do with your life, whether you are a fire fighter, a teacher, or something else entirely, it is always the hope that you pursue your dreams not for the recognition, but because it helps you live a fulfilling, and happy life.  But sometimes, the recognition is nice.  Congratulations to all the 2014 honorees!

Today, the kindergarten class  at ACS have a great deal of fun while learning  about St. Patrick and  the Holy Trinity. Legend says that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the "Holy Trinity" to the Irish people during his teachings. The Holy Trinity is the concept of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: three separate entities forming one God. Kindergarten students  learned  what a shamrock is, and that St. Patrick used them in his teachings. They  made some great ornament crafts this year for the holiday.

It's always nice to hear that our graduates are doing well in their high schools. The Middlesex County Vocational Technical High School, Perth Amboy campus has always welcomed our students. Click on the link below and see how well our recent graduates Anthony Ciko and Jacob Cordova are doing at the MCVT High School. In the third picture down, under the title "ET Wins" see if you can recognize the two proud ACS grads who took first place in an electronics expo! http://www.mcvts.net/Domain/15

If you were near ACS on a recent Friday afternoon, you would have seen middle school students sitting on the edge of their seats. They were waiting for the finals round of Team Jeopardy to finish. After two previous rounds of competition, it was time to find this year’s champions.

To start the competition, teams of three were made up consisting of a students from sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. They were assigned to a classroom for the first round of the competition. Teachers had the same set of statements used for each round. The top two teams in each class went on to the second round. Finally, at the end of the second round, there was one team from each class that played well enough to make it to the final round. Congratulations to the top three teams: Elena Z and her team Daliana B, and Tyler G; Katherine P and teammate Jonathan B, and finally, to Eliza A, Jillian P, and Vincent D.

In the end there could only be one championship team. So, after three competitive rounds, this year’s Jeopardy winners were Team Katherine and Jonathan! Congratulations! It must be noted that all teams did a great job throughout the competition.