News

The Feast of Epiphany is a liturgical event that is celebrated every year on January 6th. 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 Epiphany, people traditionally attend a prayer service where the priest blesses regular water into holy water – a “Blessing of the Water” ceremony. On Friday, January 6th, 2012, the staff and students of ACS celebrated Epiphany with a prayer service after their weekly Liturgy.  The service was conducted by the school administrator and pastor of the Assumption Church, Fr. Ivan Turyk. After the blessing of the water ceremony, Fr. Ivan  walked around the school with a small group of students and blessed each room with a sprinkle of the newly blessed holy water.

Christmas is a time of Santa and holiday traditions. Here at ACS we also have a family tradition. Our sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students have been working to research religious holiday traditions that are connected to their own ethnic background. Students worked in groups or individually gathering information for the entire Christmas season to create a poster, prepares an oral presentation and bring in a prepared holiday food from that country.

On Wednesday, December 14, the students from these grades gathered to hear the presentations and share in an ACS holiday family meal. This allowed students to try foods that they may not have been familiar with. Volunteer parents came to help set up the beautiful buffet of wonderful ethnic foods. Also joining the students were the administration and other faculty members.

Students left with a new understanding of how although we are different, we are all the same. We all celebrate the birthday of Jesus with similar traditions and tasty treats.

By Samantha Shumny – S.C. Secretary

On December 10, 2011 the ACS Student Council sponsored a Movie Day for all ACS students. Council members had a wonderful time setting up the auditorium and preparing snacks for movie watchers to enjoy.

Students had a choice of two different movies. The first showing was The Muppets Christmas Carol. There were about 25 students present for the morning session. The afternoon session was Polar Express, attended by around 30 students. Everyone was given a choice of a drink and snack at intermission.

This was ACS Student Council’s first big project. They were excited to host this fun event. It was such a success that they are already planning their next Movie Day.

The Assumption School Auditorium was packed to the rafters with parents and grandparents that had come to see and hear the 2011 PreK-8 Christmas Program. Every student was standing tall, singing loudly and smiling at the crowd. There were lots of Christmas songs that covered all interests and the clapping from the audience demonstrated their appreciation. All students in the school were very excited about being up on the stage singing for their families. Thank you to all who attended, our students, our teachers, and of course Music Teacher Miss Anna Lawrence.

Today, the Fourth grade class performed the 12 Days of Christmas in New Jersey.  Keeping up with the Social Studies curriculum, they read  interesting facts about  the history of New Jersey, from it's involvement in the Revolutionary war and pirates, to the five light houses that keep our shore safe for ships.  They sang about  horses that are bred and raced in New Jersey, dogs that are trained to help the blind, as well as the state bird and state tree; the goldfinch and red oak. Students howled like the wolves that live on the Lakota wolf reserve and read about the Jersey Devil. They read about Thomas Edison and his inventions and the best blueberry pie in New Jersey's diners.  I bet they will even try to find Captain Kidd's treasure this summer.  What a fun way to learn about the state the students live in.

Winter fun has begun in our classroom. The Terrific Third took a new bodily-kinetic approach to learning spelling this week when we wrote our spelling words using shaving cream! Each student was given a pile of “snow” to practice spelling each of their words in a new manner. The results? A great smelling classroom and smiles all around!

At the beginning of December, our Glee Club and select Chimetteers under the direction of Mrs. Lawrence performed at Raritan Bay Medical Center’s Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in the main lower lobby. A big thank you goes out to all students, teachers, and parents who helped make this event memorable.

As the Christmas holidays are upon us, I would like to thank everyone in our school for their hard work. Thank you to FSA and to everyone who contributed in one way or another to make all of the events this year so successful and memorable. A huge well done and thank you to everyone who helped organize and supported the School Christmas Bazaar. Thank you to everyone who came forward to help – we couldn't do it without you! The buzz of the children loving it was fantastic!

Today was a very special day for the Class of 2012. After Divine Liturgy Father Ivan blessed the rings that represent the hard work and accomplishments of the students. Each student was filled with excitement as they anticipated their own special moment at which they were given their ring.

At the conclusion of the ring ceremony they posed for many pictures showing their new rings. Following the pictures, the Class of 2012 and their invited guests went downstairs for a small celebration. They were treated to an assortment of bagels and muffins. They also had a chance to spend some time with family.

Upon returning to school, the eighth graders went from class to class following the tradition of having someone “turn” their ring for luck. This year the class will have their ring turned 112 times. If, during their quest to get 112 turns of their ring, the ring should come off their finger they will have to start all over.

Now that they have their rings, they are truly the leaders of the school. While these rings represent their accomplishments, there is still much work to be done. We hope that God blesses them in their remaining time at ACS.