News

With the Great Lent around the corner,  Assumption Catholic School teachers and administrators, came together to pray, discern and become rejuvenated in their teaching  ministry during a special retreat held at the parish church this Thursday.
The day, began with Morning Prayer led by Fr. Ivan  Turyk, followed by two presentations on the themes  “The Spirituality of Teaching“ using the Gospel of (Luke 24: 13-25) and “Repentance“ using Gospel of (Luke 15: 11-32) the Prodigal Son by Deacon Timothy Kennedy. Great and inspiring talks. Teachers were once again reminded of the role they play in students lives and what should they do to help them  exercise Christian values throughout their lives. Thanks Deacon Tim for an amazing day of spiritual creativity and professional development that truly fed our souls.

We continued celebrating Catholic Schools week on Monday with School Spirit Day and everyone wore blue and yellow: #ACSSTRONG! Our 8th graders also prepared and taught a science class in each of our younger grades and did a fantastic job! Kindergarten had a wonderful STEM snowman project that they could not stop talking about! AND today was Twin/Triplet Day: many classes wore their class shirts and had fun – but the Pre-K quintuplets took the win with their “We are the Future” matching shirts!! What’s tomorrow you ask? CRAZY SOCK DAY! Stay tuned….

Listen to these kindergarteners singing their hearts out. They did “If you’re happy and you know it” and “Yes Jesus loves me”. Even Archbishop Borys couldn’t stand still and dances with our amazing students and teachers.

ACS brand new STEM classroom. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

PK Sang a song “Look at me and say hello” to the Archbishop Borys during his pastoral visit to ACS.

We started the day with a children’s Liturgy during which His Excellency Archbishop Boris shared with us how we are all unique in our gifts and personalities. He said, just as beautiful as Assumption Catholic Church in Perth Amboy is so is God’s grace in each of our lives. It was a true honor to learn about our church’s icons and their meanings, a privilege to watch two students receive a Merit Scholarship from the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and pure joy to see our children.

The day got better when the Archbishop visited ACS! He was greeted in English, Ukrainian, Portuguese and Spanish and presented with a spiritual bouquet (filled with prayers and love), a Welcome Sign personalized with ACS’s latitude and longitude (so he can always find us), a picture of ACS (so he can remember us) and our beautiful chimes group who played beautifully.

Our day continued with a touching ceremony blessing our brand new STEM room in the ground level of our school. The room was unveiled and the middle school students were in awe of the three 3D printers, modern desks and chairs, and the innovative room! It is a true blessing for our students!

The Archbishop enjoyed lunch with the teachers (sponsored by Investors Bank), visited each and every classroom and even played basketball with the 7th and 8th graders.

When the teachers were asked to share their experience, this is what they said:

Ms. Cuff’s Pre-Kindergarten class: Pre-K enjoyed singing to the Archbishop today. He was impressed that they used sign language in each of their songs. They were eager to answer his questions and tell him all about what we do in our school. They wanted to know when he would come visit again!

Mrs. Laffy’s Kindergarten: It was such an honorable and wonderful experience for both my students and I that you were a part of our 2021 Catholic Schools Week. Thank you for taking the time not only to visit Assumption Catholic School but also the Kindergarten class. The students were so happy to sing for you! As a Catholic School teacher, it is important to give young children a solid Catholic foundation not only on academic excellence but also to provide a faith based environment. Your kindness and encouraging words today was an important part of our Catholic Schools Week. We hope you come back and visit Assumption Catholic School.

Mrs. Lombardi’s first grade class: First grade was super excited for Archbishop Borys Gudziak’s visit today! They enjoyed the visit and talking about their favorite subjects in school. They loved sharing their stories and illustrations that they were so proud of.

Miss Drayton’s second grade: As Archbishop Borys entered second grade the students’ faces lit up with excitement and intrigue. It was great to see them engage in conversation with His Excellency as they connected through similar life experiences. Students were able to ask all the questions their hearts desired which made them feel important and heard! Truly heartfelt!

Ms.Drugos’s third grade class: Excitement was at a peak when the Archbishop came into the third grade classroom and students went right up to him to greet him. They were eager to tell him about themselves and were interested in hearing about his life. He was very down to earth in answering their third grade questions (like why does he wear all black). Students were proud to show their Catholic Schools’ Week art work. Third graders were honored to meet our Archbishop.

Mrs. Cooper’s fourth grade class: The fourth grade would like to thank Father Ivan and Mrs. Shumny for including us in Liturgy today. We have not been able to attend due to the recent pandemic restrictions and today’s Liturgy allowed us to be together as a family in our beautiful church for such a blessed event. Every time we are there we will remember the special day that Archbishop Borys visited us during CSW 2021. We know we are part of a beautiful church, a fantastic school ( we love the new stem lab). and a family where we are safe to learn and grow together.

Mrs. Lawrence’s fifth grade class: Catholic Schools’ Week could have been a huge disappointment as we fifth graders had to quarantine . . . but it wasn’t! Archbishop Borys joined our online google meet and we had a great visit. He called us by name, spoke with us and invited us to visit him in Philadelphia. Thank you, Your Grace, for making us really feel part of Catholic Schools’ Week at ACS.

Middle School:

Mrs. Garcia: It was an exciting day at ACS in celebration of Catholic schools’ week. ACS was visited by the Archbishop and our day began with a liturgy led by him. After mass, the middle school and the staff joined Father Ivan and the Archbishop as the new STEM room was blessed. It was a pleasure to have the Archbishop in our building and it was so kind of him to stop by each classroom, greet the students, and answer their questions. Although this Catholic schools’ week was not happening as planned, the surprise of having the Archbishop visit us brought great spirit to our school.

Mrs. Mieczkowski: Today we had a special visit from Archbishop Borys Gudziak. We were so in awe of his kind demeanor, his listening ear and uplifting personality. And what was the highlight?! Before he left the building he decided to join the 7th and 8th graders in a game of basketball! They have not stopped talking about it!

Mrs. Pickering: Liturgy with the Archbishop, the blessing of our brand new STEM classroom, and playing air hockey in your classroom during lunch sound like a great day for the Class of 2021. Could it get any better? Yes! While playing basketball with the Class of 2022 in the auditorium, His Grace came in along with Father Ivan and both classes played a very lively game. Everyone knew that Father Ivan was a good player, but all were definitely impressed with the Archbishop’s moves on the court. We’ve had many great Catholic Schools Week memories, but this one will last a lifetime!

Even a pandemic could not stop St. Nicholas from coming to Assumption Catholic School in Perth Amboy, NJ. During  his visit, this Christian bishop, talked to the children and listened  to their stories. He also greeted all students and staff with gifts sponsored by school’s FSA board. Just when we thought St. Nicholas forgot about us during this COVID-19 pandemic WHAT A GREAT SURPRISE his visit was! His mission has remained unchanged for centuries: to make all people and especially children  happy.
 
But who is this special visitor? DID YOU KNOW? 
 ST. NICHOLAS – Sviatiy Mykolai – St. Nicholas is known as the friend and protector of all in trouble or need.
The name Nicholas is of Greek origin and means “victor of people” – Saint Nicholas was born in the year 270 at Patara, Lycia which is now in present-day Turkey .
His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor,” Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick and the suffering.
 Because of the many miracles attributed to his praying, he is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker.
 He had a legendary habit of secret gift-giving such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him.
Dressed as a Byzantine bishop, the good saint is often accompanied by angels.
Known for his goodness and generosity, he is said to have inspired the creation of Santa Claus, also known as “Saint Nick”, which was derived from the Dutch word “Sinterklaas” which means St. Nicholas. The Dutch brought “Sinterklaas” with them when they immigrated to North America in 1621 and founded New Amsterdam on the tip of Manhattan Island (now New York City). English speaking settlers later corrupted the name, which evolved into “Santa Claus” .
 St. Nicholas died December 6 in the year 343 in the town of Myra, Lycia (now in present-day Turkey). 
Candy canes, typically associated with Christmas, are believed to derive from the crozier, the bishop’s staff, of St. Nicholas

While the start to this school year at ACS  has a different look to it amid the coronavirus pandemic, there are some school traditions still taking place that will make this school year feel a little normal. One of them took place today, where 8 grade students and their parents came out in social distance style to pray at the morning Divine Liturgy and  participate at the Blessing of Class Ring Ceremony for the class of 2021. The Rings Ceremony is one of the most memorable events for the graduating class. The rings were blessed by Fr. Ivan Turyk and presented to the Class of 2021 by the school’s principal, Mrs. Lissette Shumny. Following the Liturgy, students gathered in the school for a special luncheon and to turn each others’ rings.