News

To commemorate the bicentennial of the birth of Ukraine’s greatest poet, Taras Shevchenko, the Assumption Catholic Church in Perth Amboy, NJ announces its 2014 Taras Shevchenko Essay Contest for all parish children and Assumption Catholic School students in grades 3-8. The contest’s theme, “ Why even today, Taras Shevchenko is still considered Ukraine's Greatest Hero” aims to promote learning and awareness of Shevchenko’s legacy by those less or not at all familiar with his life’s work. We encourage ACS students and parish children to submit their own written essay.

Essay Requirements: 1) English or Ukrainian; 2) up to two pages in length- 500-word limit; 3) typed in 12 pt. font or in neat hand writing.

Submission: The essay must be send to the church or school email: assumptionchurch@verizon.net or ACSschooloffice@gmail.com. The hard copy can also be given either to Fr. Ivan or the school’s principal Mr. S.

Deadline: The essay has to be send by Friday, February 28, 2014

Awards: Winners will receive a monetary gift: First prize – $200, Second prize – $100, Third prize – $50

It is time to learn and practice our multiplication facts! The Terrific Third graders are hard atworking learning their multiplication facts. We have been busy singing multiplication songs, practicing timed drills and playing partner games of “Circles and Stars”. There is no doubt thatthe TerrificThird is working hard to meet Mr. S.’s challenge of knowing their times tables quickly and efficiently!

ISSUE: Governor Christie’s Fiscal Year 2015 Budget will be announced in February.  There are several items that could impact nonpublic schools and that will assist nonpublic school students and their parents.

OUR POSITION: The New Jersey Catholic Conference and the New Jersey Network of Catholic School Families has continued to support increases in nonpublic school aid in the Budget in order to assist students and parents in nonpublic schools.  The three areas in order of importance are as follows:
1.    An increase in nonpublic school nursing services aid to $90.00 per student and the removal of language in the Governor’s Budget which limits the per-pupil amount to $77.20.
2.    An increase in $20.00 in nonpublic school technology aid to restore the program to $40.00 per pupil.
3.    An increase in the amount needed for initial examination and classification for students having specific learning difficulties.
ALL OF THESE AREAS ARE EXPLAINED IN DETAIL IN THE ACCOMPANYING FACT SHEETS FOR EACH PROGRAM.  

ACTION: Email or call the office of Governor Chris Christie to ask that he include these increases in the nonpublic school accounts in his Fiscal Year 2015 Education Budget.  
        
You may contact Governor Christie’s office as follows:

Email the Governor – http://nj.gov/governor/contact/
Call the Governor’s office – 609-292-6000

This Action Alert should be repeated periodically between now and the issuing of the Governor’s Budget in mid-February.  Please be persistent in your efforts to provide much-needed assistance for nonpublic schools and their parents. 

During the last two weeks, the seventh and eighth graders at Assumption Catholic School have been researching information about jobs of the future.  Students have been examining and exploring jobs that currently don’t exist, but will exist five, ten, or twenty years from now.  Their research and discoveries have been amazing! Our children have studied topics like vertical farming, innovations in technology, and the future of engineering and architecture.  In addition, part two of this project required them to contact a company in their field, share their research with them, and ask them if their company/organization is in the planning staged of creating any of these innovations.

Keeping this amazing discovery in the classroom was simply not an option!  On Thursday, January 16th, 2014, we would like to cordially invite you to our “Jobs of the Future Expo.”  Our students will be displaying their projects, and sharing their presentations.  We have also extended an invitation to companies they contacted as well as to local officials.  We would love for you to join us in celebrating their hard work.

At 5:30 pm, coffee and desserts will be provided and student will get ready to present promptly at 6:00 pm. Here at Assumption Catholic School, we pride ourselves on being a family and celebrating our accomplishments as a community.  The amount of time and research our students have invested into this project definitely calls for a celebration! Should you need to contact us regarding this event, please do so at lshumny@gmail.com or leaving a message at the school office (732-826-8721). We hope you can join us!

Spiders, butterflies and scorpions were live on display at ACS on Thursday, May 30. Insectopolis, a student educational program, came to visit the school to inform the students about the insects, their habitats, and how to respect these creatures.  Some of the insects were held so brave students could touch them, although few of the teachers were interested in holding any critters.  Maybe next year Mrs. Bernstein will hold Rosie, the tarantula.

The Great feasts of the Eastern Catholic Churches are all observed with special hymns, special icons, and often, special rites. We may think immediately of the blessing of palms on Palm Sunday, the blessing of foods on Pascha, the exaltation of the Holy Cross on that feast or the blessing of grapes on the feast of the Transfiguration. The most solemn of these festal blessings, however, is the Great Sanctification of Water on the Feast of the Theophany. The Feast of Theophany is a liturgical event that is celebrated every year  on January 6th at the Assumptiin Ukrainian Catholic Church in Perth Amboy, NJ. Over the course of 2000 years, it has evolved to commemorate one of the most significant events in Christendom – the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the river Jordan. During Theophany, people traditionally attend a prayer service where the priest blesses regular water into holy water at the “Blessing of the Water” ceremony. This year,  after the blessing of the water ceremony in the church, Fr. Ivan  walked around the school with a small group of students and blessed each room with holy water and offered a classroom blessing to students and staff.

Walking into ACS auditorium on Thursday, December 19, 2013 provided any visitor with a feeling that they were in a hall filled with excitement, and it was! The Classes of 2014, 2015, and 2016 were busy playing the roles of travel agents. The rest of the students from ACS, led by their teachers, walked around learning about what it might be like to visit various countries at Christmas time.

While it has been a tradition for ACS middle school students to research Christmas customs; there was a big twist in how presentations took place. In addition to regular presentations using traditional posters, this year animotos and glogsters were added to presentations. Glogsters.com is a form of technology in which an on line poster is created to view and in this case, to accompany the traditional poster. Animotos are 30 second videos created by the students to give a commercial feel to their presentations.

The culminating activity was a luncheon that gave everyone the chance to try holiday foods from places like Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Italy, and Jamaica. By the end of the afternoon our travel agents were tired, happy, and full from all of the delicious foods they had eaten after a morning of marketing their countries to teachers and students.

The classes of 2018 and 2019 were busy at work this Christmas Season! The students put their math, writing and art skills to use by creating beautiful works to adorn ACS’ hallways.  Students used symmetry and patterns to create low­flying doves of peace,  honed their coloring skills by creating stained glass mosaics and perfected their writing skills by describing gifts they would bring to baby Jesus.  Together the two classes created a magical Christmas wonderland in our hallways.

An angel named Grace came to the third grade classroom this Christmas Season to help remind us all of the importance and true meaning of the season, the Birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Grace spread her “angel dust” throughout the classroom leaving important messages such as “be kind”, “share”, “care” and “patience”.  The children really enjoyed spending time with Grace and reading about the Birth of our Savior.

Throughout the marking period, all 55 students completed a five part research project.  Each student presented their research on a country currently in turmoil and compared it to the hardship described in the novel.  They were also required to select one area of the United Nation and research what implications it has on the world.  The portfolio ended with each student’s personal letter to the United Nations.  The project quickly took on a fun, yet competitive edge and a contest was developed to determine which students had the most effective writing pieces!  This entire endeavor encompasses what real learning is about – student growth and giving back to the world God created for us! Winners of PBL Contest: First Place: Katherine P., Second Place: Steven M. , Third Place: Eliza A. and Arjun P – Way to go!