News

Rolling down a great big hill, planting seeds for new dill plants, and hiking were among the activities that the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade ACS students experienced on a recent trip to Deep Cut Gardens and Tatum Park in Middletown, New Jersey.  After a short bus ride down the Garden State Parkway, students found themselves enjoying a day in the great outdoors.

Students were welcomed to the gardens by a resident plant expert and she then shared the history of the gardens. Next, 2 groups were formed. The first group went with the guide where they learned about different types of plant reproduction. The other group went on a self – guided tour of the garden grounds. During their exploration of the gardens the group came across a large hill that called to them to roll down it to their hearts’ delight. They continued exploring the greenhouse, the rockery, and vegetable garden.

When each group had completed both activities, they sat at either the koi pond or at picnic tables in the garden area for lunch. Lunch was followed by a trip to the playground in Tatum Park. Mrs. Lojko led everyone on a very long hike through the trails of the park. By the time the day ended, everyone was ready to take a nap. Luckily, the happy group had a short ride back to school. Many students admitted to going to bed early after their busy day.

The Class of 2012 recently attended the Diocese of Metuchen’s Teen Outreach program titled Because I Am Worth It. Students from Cardinal Mc Carrick High School and Mount St. Mary’s Academy welcomed eighth graders from all over the diocese with enthusiasm and shared with them about why they need to be careful about choices they make as they enter the world of dating.

Following the teens’ presentations, Pam Stenzel, internationally known chastity speaker, was introduced and for the next forty – five minutes captivated the attention of her audience of eighth graders about the physical and emotional risks of getting involved with sex outside of marriage. When she was finished speaking, she remained with the students and spoke to them individually.

The members of the ACS Class of 2012 came away with excellent information and hopefully will always remember, Because, I am Worth It as a good reason for practicing chastity as they move into the world of dating.

Mr. David Roman, the owner of David’s Big Size Pizza in Roselle, donated enough pizza dough so that all the Fourth Grade students could make their own pizza.  Ady Roman then demonstrated how to stretch the dough and dress the pizza.  The pizzas were baked and given back to the student so they could cut them into eighths.  The students then had to make an equivalent fraction before they were allowed to finally eat their pie.  For some it was very hard not to take a bite out of the pizza first, but, they had been working with fractions for weeks now and they accomplished their task very quickly. The drooling ended almost before it began.   What fun!

Did you know that the Ladybug was really named for Our Lady?  It’s true!  During the Middle Ages, farmers prayed to The Blessed Virgin because pests were destroying their crops.  The ladybugs came and ate the pest and therefore were named Our Lady’s bug, which was shortened to Ladybug.  

On April 25, 2012, the garden club ordered 1500 ladybugs for students to observe.  A very special little bug delivered containers filled with the insects to each class.  Then, right before dismissal, all grades met on the playground to free their bugs.  Students, teachers and parents joined in the release.   What fun it was to see everyone enjoying nature up close.

Every Wednesday during Lent, students in Pre-K through Grade eight participated in the Divine Liturgy and Stations of the Cross. On March 28 the Sacrament of Penance was available after these devotions. Then on Holy Thursday, "The Living Stations of the Cross" were enacted by the 6th, 7th and 8th graders, during a whole school Spirituality Day. The school children concluded Holy Week by leading the singing of the Good Friday Vespers in English, along with Choir Boyan who sang the Ukrainian responses.  At the end of this service, during the procession with the Most Holy Shroud, the girls in grades K, 1 & 2 had the privilege of portraying the angels who accompanied our Lord to His burial.  Many school families and alumni attended the Good Friday Services and Veneration of the Shroud.  Throughout the remainder of Good Friday over 30 Altar Boys and Sodalists returned to Church in order to pray and keep vigil at Our Lord's Tomb.  ACS is truly grateful to be able to offer such a wealth of spiritual opportunities to the children under our care!

George Washington, Ben Franklin, Shirley Temple, and even Mark Twain could have been found walking through the halls of ACS recently. That is because the students in the Classes of 2012 and 2013 came to school dressed as these historical figures. They were part of their Living Wax Museum project.

Back in February Mrs. Lojko and Mrs. Pickering introduced students to the steps of completing a research paper. Students were taken step by step through the process of researching and writing a detailed paper on a particular topic. In this case students chose historical figures found in American History to research. As this part of their project finished, they were next introduced to the second part of the project. Each student would present the life of their person as that person. They came to school dressed as the person and presented to both classes as that person.

Students invited the other classes to come and learn about these important people in history through their Living Wax Museum. Seventh and eighth graders had prepared posters with the name of their person and five important facts related to their life. Then they held a pose just as if they were wax figures in a museum.

As the day drew to a close many students observed that the museum figures did a really good job. Some of the classes were figuring it out as to when it would be there turn to be part of the museum. Congratulations to the Classes of 2012 and 2013 on the completion of your research project!

Fourth grade really uses all their technology.  The pictures show the students joining a live web cast from California via Discovery Education.  They were able to see Jaimie Hyneman and Adam Savage the hosts of television's Mythbusters as they answered questions sent in from various schools around the country.

Measuring show that you don't have to be tall as a tree or have a really long tape measure to estimate considerable heights and distances. With estimating tricks, a surveying tool and some simple objects, kids can become measuring experts. Fourth Graders use fraction tiles to learn by hand the meaning of each fraction's size in comparison to another.

Students in Mrs. Shumny’s first grade class recently spent some time studying the five senses. To get an idea of the importance of eyes, the students did an experiment that challenged them to see things differently.

Each student tested how well they were able to catch a ball with both eyes and then with just one eye. Students also learned how a blind person is able to read. They first learned about the Braille System. Then they practiced writing their name in Braille. At the end of class the students had a little better understanding of the importance of sight as one of the five senses that we use every day.

The results are in! After the Student Council and the Class of 2012 were finally able to count all of the pennies donated to our technology fund, we received a total of  25706 pennies. The winning class for this contest was Sister Maria’s class. The second graders with only twelve students in their class contributed $45.47 in pennies. Great job second grade!  In case you haven’t figured it out, our technology fund now has $257.06 to add to it!