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Nashua Catholic Regional Jr. H.S. |
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Dear Parents and Students,
We hope you all had a very Blessed and Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year. As we begin 2009, we ask for our
Lord's Blessings as we begin the second half of the
school year. With your continued support, we will strive
to provide the best possible education for your child in
the best possible values oriented and Christ-centered
environment. That is our mission and that is our
promise.
Important Notice to Parents:
Parents are reminded that the Diocesan Support Program
requires the timely identification of families who meet
the 3 minimum Diocesan Support criteria to get the
"supported tuition rate". This year the Diocese is
requesting that schools (and parents in conjunction with
their parishes) follow a more rigid timeline in
collecting information to facilitate the Support Program
(See the enclosed letter from the Superintendent of
Schools in the reregistration packet your child will be
receiving on Jan. 20). To comply with this request,
Nashua Catholic (as are our other sister diocesan
schools) is requesting that all parents who are
"re-registering" their students for the 2009-2010 school
year do so by January 30, 2009. A Parish Checklist of
all "re-registered" students from each designated parish
must be sent by Nashua Catholic to the pastors of that
designated parish by February 4. Individual Pastors will
certify that you meet the criteria for the "supported
tuition rate" and will return that information to us by
March 1. We need to, in turn, forward,the numbers to the
Diocesan Finance Office. Thus it is imperative that all
parents of current students "reregister" their children
by the January 30 deadline. Your cooperation will be
greatly appreciated.
Other Special Points of Interests for Parents:
Please read carefully:
(1) On Jan. 20 (as alluded to above) your 7th grader
will receive his/her reregistration packet. Due to the
above-mentioned Diocesan timeline, these packages must
be returned to NC by Jan. 30. We appreciate your kind
attention to this important deadline. (2) Our
registration fee has changed. For the 2009-2010 school
year, we are charging a $175 Non Refundable registration
fee. We still will maintain our "no fee" policy for
applications - please note the application form is
separate from the registration form. (3) FACTS forms for
financial assistance are available online at
www.factstuitionaid.com or through the Business Office
at NC. Please note that if you have applied to FACTS for
another school (i.e., Bishop Guertin) and paid your $20
fee, you must list Nashua Catholic on your
application to be considered for financial assistance.
(4) The Parish Student Support Form will be included in
the reregistration packets for our current 7th graders
as well as in the acceptance letters for our new
2009-2010 students. If you received parish support at
Nashua Catholic for 2008-2009, there is no need to fill
out a new Parish Student Support Form. Please note that
if your current 6th grader has received support from
another Catholic School during the 2008-2009 school
year, you must apply for the supported
rate at Nashua Catholic for the 2009-2010 school year.
Student Spotlight:
Joanna Song (7th Grade), by participating in the Junior
Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference, has been
selected from outstanding Middle Schools and Junior High
Students from across the country to be a guest at the
inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama. Joanna
will witness the Inauguration of our 44th President,
watch the Inaugural Parade and attend the Gala Inaugural
Ball. Congratulations to Joanna for being chosen for
this presitgious honor.
A Letter from the Mayor!
Her Honor, Donnalee Lozeau, Mayor of Nashua recently
sent a letter of congratulations to our two First Lego
League Teams for their accomplishments in this year's
competition. Both the Space Cowboys and Randomators were
cited for their level of design, dedication, and
creativity that went into their presentations and
overall projects. The Mayor's letter is on display in
the case opposite the main office. Congratulations to
all our First Lego Leaguers!
Important Notice from Celebrations Distinctive
Catering, Inc.:
In December, Celebrations, our food service provider,
asked us to communicate to parents the necessityof
getting your child's lunch orders in on time. We
communicated such to you via newsletter and many in
school announcements. Celebrations has now informed us
that they are no longer accepting hot lunch orders for
the month of January. If you child is to buy lunch this
month, it will have to be from the A LA CARTE menu!
Please remember to get your hot lunch orders in a month
ahead of time. For example, January's hot lunch form had
to be in by December 23 as we previously announced.
February's hot lunch form will be accepted until January
27. This process is necessary for Celebrations to
plan their hot lunch program efficiently and
effectively.
A Special Invitation from the Theology Department:
You are cordially invited to attend
A Celebration of the Liturgy and the recognition of
Parents, Grandparents, and any others who nurture our
students
9 AM, Thursday, January 29, 2009
Nashua Catholic Regional Junior High School
A light reception will follow
Please join us for a tour of the new computer room
News from the Math Department:
We completed our second test in the Catholic Math League
contest in December. Congratulations to all classroom
winners and to the following students who placed in the
top three school wide for each test.
Math 7
First Place Sarah Wallace, Emily Murphy and Marie
Morrier
Second Place Phillip McDuffee and Shannon O'Donnell
Third Place Katherine Lambert
Prealgebra
First Place Marc Dupont
Second Place Parthiv Patel
Third Place Marcel LaPlante and Brian Wells
Algebra 1
First Place Emma Brooks
Second Place Sam Fordin,Greg McCutcheon & Michelle
Indelicato
Third Place Jennifer Dai, Connor Popik & Yiran Buckley
Nashua Catholic's scores are in the top ten in the
country for both the Algebra 1 and Pre-Algebra
competitions and we are ranked 14th out of 65 teams in
the Math 7 competition. We are so proud of all the great
work your students are doing! Way to go! Our next test
date is February 5th.
NC MathCounts is BACK!!
We are excited to once again bring our students the
opportunity to join the Nashua Catholic MathCounts Team.
We are grateful to Mrs. Meg Noah for her continued
leadership and for spearheading this mathematical
"adventure". Please encourage your students to check out
this great opportunity described in the following "news
release" which they will receive in their math classes.
All students and parents are invited to participate in
the 2008-2009 NCRJHS MathCounts Team Pumpkin Pi. This
year, we are hoping that more parents can be actively
involved in coaching the students between now and the
competition in February. Information about our
activities last year are available at http://www.mathcountsnh.com.
Briefly:
Pumpkin Pi is the NCRJHS MATHCOUNTS® team. MATHCOUNTS is
a 25-year-old nationwide program to encourage interest
and involvement in mathematics among intermediate school
students. Each year about 500,000 students participate;
many say it is the one of the most memorable experiences
they had as a middle school student. The mission of
MATHCOUNTS is to increase enthusiasm for and enhance
achievement in middle school mathematics. All NCRJHS
students are invited to participate in Pumpkin Pi.
Regular attendence at meetings is strongly encouraged,
but not required for participation or selection on the
team to represent NCRJHS.
The program includes the:
MATHCOUNTS Club and
Annual Competition.
Competition is just one aspect of MATHCOUNTS;
participation in the club does not require participation
in the competition. A more important aspect is the
development of math skills so that bright students have
the tools to solve complicated problems. This is often
the first time that students get concrete evidence that
they are exceptional. Being first is not important.
Learning to do your best under pressure is important.
This benefits students throughout school and life.
Success at the competition involves five parts:
1. Learn the math concepts used in MathCounts problems.
2. Learn the 4-step approach to problem solving, and
about the different types of strategies.
3. Learn the Competition Components and Competition
Rules.
4. Attend meetings to do the warm-ups and work-outs,
problems similar to the competition.
5. Practice, practice, practice. (Successes in many of
the competition components arise simply from how fast
you can do the problems accurately.)
And now, a Fashion Show Request
We know that these are tough economic times and we
regret that we're "asking" for financial assistance at
this time. However, parents, this is the time of the
year when we begin to think about the student Fashion
Show in March. For anyone "new" to the show, in past
years through the generosity of our friends, families
and alumni we've been able to offer excellent items
during the auction portion of the Fashion Show and I'd
like this year to be just as terrific. If you have
access to or would like to "donate" anything to our
auction it would be most appreciated. In the past we've
had items as large as family vacation weeks in both the
mountains and at the beach, TD Banknorth Garden luxury
box tickets, Red Sox/Yankees tickets, Patriots tickets,
theater tickets, wine baskets, dining gift cards, "theme
baskets" and so many other wonderful items. Nothing is
too big or too small as many times we "group" items into
theme baskets which are also very popular. Some people
have offered hand-crafted items which we truly enjoy
offering as well. We can promise you a great time while
watching your children stroll the "runway" and we hope
to make this year's auction as memorable as it has been
in the past. Thanks so much in advance for all your
assistance. Please email Mrs. Parolin at jparolin@ncrjhs.org
or Mr. B at rbsnlt@ncrjhs.org with questions or donation
ideas.
News from the English Department:
Happy New Year! As we near the end of the second
quarter, the 8th grade literature classes are wrapping
up their study of "A Christmas Carol" and the short
story and beginning to explore the third quarter
delights of drama and poetry, including a re-telling by
Bernard Evslin of the epic poem by Homer, "The Odyssey."
Some seventh graders, as part of their short story unit,
have written and illustrated original short stories
which they will be sharing with their peers. The seventh
graders will also be studying plays and poetry in their
third quarter literature classes.
This year's spelling bee will take place during study
hall, in Room 406, on January 22, 2009. This competition
will be conducted by Mrs. Pinsonneault and Mrs. Maloney.
The winner of the school competition will be
representing Nashua Catholic at the Nashua Area Spelling
Bee to be held at the Elks Lodge, in Nashua, New
Hampshire, at 1:00 P.M., on Sunday, March 8, 2009. Last
year, our school winner, Avvin Radakrishnan, won at the
regional and state levels and went on to compete in
Washington, D.C.! The following seventh and eighth grade
students will be participating this year: Ted Allen,
Philip Mansfield, Troy Nikander, Jake Noury, Anji
Radakrishnan, Katherine Swallow, Emma Brooks, Joey
Campanella, John Dobens, Alex Flinn, Jon McQuarrie, and
David Swallow. The English department wishes all of
these fine competitors the best of luck.
The Writers Club has been meeting on Tuesdays, in Room
406, from 3:00-4:00 P.M. We have met three times so far,
with a membership, at times, of 14 students. Scheduled
meetings during January are 1/6, 1/13, and 1/20. Our
meetings so far have involved writing opportunities and
exercises. We have written plays cooperatively,
constructed stories related to an image, and responded
to a guided imagery selection. The meeting on January 6
will involve using words cut from magazines to create
poetry. If any of this sounds intriguing to you or your
student, come join us. Serious writers are always
welcome.
Athletic News:
Winter sports teams are full swing into their respective
seasons. The wrestling team is competing in the newly
formed MVC Wrestling League out of Massachusetts. They
have a quad meet on Friday, Jan 9th. We have Hollis
Brookline, Milford and Keene Middle schools coming in to
participate; it should be a great afternoon of middle
school wrestling. Matches begin at 3:30.
The basketball teams are coming together. The varsity
teams played over Christmas break and showed great
potential for a play-off run. All four teams are in
action Wednesday, January 7th against Applewild School.
The boys travel to Fitchburg and the girls play here at
NC.
The cheerleaders spent the break learning their routine
for the up-coming tournaments.
Intramurals: We are in need of more bowlers. We need
twelve (12) bowlers who are committed to coming every
week in order to make this work. We will bowl on
Wednesday starting January 7th. There is a cost of $150
associated with this activity. Fee covers 10 weeks of
bowling, shoes and transportation to Merrimack 10 Pin.
(parents are responsible for pickup) Starting Tuesday,
January 13, we'll begin our table tennis/ping pong
league. Watch for sign-ups at lunch with Mr B. We'll
play after school 3:15-4:30p.
Development News:
The Father Daughter Dance is Saturday, January 17th.
Tickets are now available, $15 in advance, $17 at the
door.
Catholic School Night in Manchester: The Manchester
Monarchs are sponsoring a Catholic Schools Night at the
Verizon Center on Saturday, January 31st 7p. Tickets are
$12 pp. (kids normal price). To reserve your ticket(s)
email or call Mr B with your name and number of tickets
you want. It is the plan of the Monarch's to seat us all
together. rbsnlt@ncrjhs.org 882.7011 x 212.
Breakfast Served at NC:
As of Jan. 5, NC will serve breakfast in the cafe from
7AM to 7:40 Am at the a la carte table. Breakfast will
run from monday through thursday. Various items from
bagels to cereals to fruits and juices will be available
for modest prices. Most items will be available for
$1.00; muffins and cereal (with milk) will cost $1.25.
Nashua Catholic's Admissions Corner:
Step-Up Day for 6th Graders - January 23, 2009 8:00AM to
2:30PM
Registration is underway now for our 2009 Step-Up Day
for interested Sixth Grade Students. This is an
outstanding opportunity that allows students a chance to
get to know Nashua Catholic by walking through the day
as a junior high student. It's a day of exploration and
discovery with a chance to make new friendships. Call
603-882-7011 to register today.
Principal's Coffee for 6th Grade Parents at NCRJHS
We ask our parents and friends to help us "call by name"
all those who may have interest in the values and
academic level we try to maintain here at Nashua
Catholic. Now is the time to call for placement on the
Nashua Catholic 2009-2010 Admissions List. Please
mention to family, friends and work colleagues with 6th
grade students our invitation to the Nashua Catholic
Principal's Coffee on Step Up Day, Friday, January 23,
2009 from 9:00 -10:30A.M.. Your efforts are the spirit
of Nashua Catholic.
Note: If you have a 6th grader in public school, please
request an application from Mrs. Kirkwood mkirkwood@ncrjhs.org
- so your student's name can be placed on our mailing
list.
Our Second Annual Admission Leads Raffle is now
underway!
WIN $200 Toward NC Tuition!
*No tickets to buy!
*Recommend Nashua Catholic
*All Applications received between October 1, 2008 and
April 30, 2010 listing you as the recommending family
will earn you a NC Raffle ticket.
*No limits
This is NC's way of thanking you for being GREAT!
Grandparents' Day
We as the Nashua Catholic Family will be recognizing
Parents and Grandparents during our Catholic Schools'
Week Literagy. We would like to send the Grandparents a
special invitation and also get an idea of the interest
in their coming. Please send the names and addresses, as
well as, comments on interest to Mrs. Kirkwood mkirkwood@ncrjhs.org
as soon as possible. Thank you.
Club Activities
Hat and Mitten Drive:
The Garden Club, once again, sponsored the NC Hat and
Mitten Drive. Dozens of beautiful handmade and purchased
hats, mittens and scarves graced the Nashua Catholic
lobby for the month of December. They have all gone to
great homes through Marguerite's Place and the Nashua
Soup Kitchen. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the
many families who who warmed hearts, as well as, hands!
Nashua Catholic Calendar
January 2009
l 9 Winter Celebration Dance 6 - 9
16 2nd Q Grades Close
17 Father/ Daughter Dance 7:00 -10:00
19 No School
20 3rd Q Classes Begin - Registration forms handed out
to 7th Grade Students for 2009-2010 school year.
23 No School - Step-up Day for 6th Graders
Catholic Schools Week - January 25 - 30
26 Report Cards - Parent Pick up
29 School Mass - Honoring Parents and Grandparents -
9:00 AM
30 Registration forms due back to Nashua Catholic for
2009-2010 8th Grade Students. Please be prompt.
February 2009
1 Acceptances for the 2009-2010 School Year to be mailed
by this date.
5 School Mass All are wlecome. 9:00
16 No School President's Day
23-27 Winter Recess No School
God Bless,
Thomas Kelleher
Principal
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