From the Principal’s Desk

Dear Parents and Students,

Happy MAY! What a glorious time of year filled with warmth, flowers, and so many school and family activities. I think all would agree that it’s a very busy time of year. Here at Holy Redeemer School, we have been very busy and have so much to feel good about. Read on in this newsletter to see the many remarkable accomplishments from our students, teachers and parents.

One way we celebrate our accomplishments and love for Holy Redeemer is to have a Spirit Week. It will begin on Monday, May 21

st, with

a very reverent, prayer service and flag ceremony, which will take place around the flagpole. We invite all of our service men and women to attend this student-led service. Later that afternoon is our kick-off Pep Rally, filled with music, songs, and skits. Over the next three days, we celebrate with a mixture of fun-filled events including mix/match day and twin day. We end our Spirit Week with Field Day and the much-loved Parents vs. the 8

th

grade basketball game.

During this month of May, we honor the Blessed Mother and our own mothers. With this in mind, I invite you to join us on Monday, May 7

th, at

8:20 a.m. in the Mary Garden, for the crowning of our Blessed Mother.

As we wind down towards the last days of school, our teachers and students continue to stay focused on their academic curriculum and final exams. We greatly appreciate the support from parents in reminding the children that the school year is not over yet! We want a strong academic finish to this school year before enjoying the less scheduled and less demanding months of summer.

God’s Blessings,

Maria Bovich

Principal

Holy Redeemer School

Newsletter May 2012

May 1— *Summer Uniform; 8th Grade

Vocations Mass 9:00-2:30 p.m.,

Shrine; Spring Musical 7:00 p.m., FSR

May 2—School Mass 9:00 a.m.

May 3—PreK- 8th Grades Assembly:

Coyaba West African Dance (PreK-4

@ 9-9:45 a.m., Gr. 5-8 @ 10-10:45

a.m.), FSR; Spring Musical 7:00 p.m.,

FSR

May 4—Principal Appreciation Day, 4th

Quarter Progress Reports Mailed,

PreK,/1/2 Discovery Theater 10:15-

1:15 p.m.

May 7—Birthday Prayer Service;

Crowning of the Blessed Mother Mary

8:20 a.m.; Gr. 3 Fieldtrip: National

Gallery of Art 10:00- 2:00 p.m.

May 9—International Day, FSR; SAB

Meeting 7:00 p.m., Library

May 10—Gr. 5 Fieldtrip: Philadelphia

8:00- 7:00 p.m.

May 11—Gr. 3 Fieldtrip: Air & Space

Museum 9:30- 1:30 p.m.

May 14— NO SCHOOL: Pastor’s

Holiday

May 16—8th Grade Exams

May 17—8th Grade Exams; First

Eucharist Rehearsal 6-8 p.m.,

FSR/Church

May 18—8th Grade Exams; Auction

Dress Down Day, Auction Announcer:

Lannon; Band Performances 1:30 p.m.,

FSR

May 19—Group First Eucharist

Pictures 4p.m.; Group First Eucharist

Mass 5p.m.

May 20—Confirmation Gathering

6:00-7:30 p.m.

May 21—RSR Prayer Service/SGA;

Flag Memorial Service; 8th Grade

Exams, Spirit Week PEP Rally 2:00

p.m.; Choir Party 2:50 p.m.

May 22—8th/7th/6th Grades Exams

May 24—8th/7th/6th Grades Exams;

Spring Band Performance 7:00 p.m.,

FSR

May 25—Field Day, 12:30 p.m.

DISMISSAL

May 28—NO SCHOOL: Memorial Day

May 29— 7th/6th Grades Exams;

PreK/K Echoes of Nature Assembly;

8th Grade Graduation Dinner 6-8 p.m.,

FSR; 8th Grade Dance 8-10 p.m.,

Fealy Hall

May 30— 7th/6th Grades Exams;

“Bridge to First Grade” Evening Event

6:10-7;00 p.m. (Gr. 1 Room); Gr. 1-2

C&O Canal Boat Ride 10-2 p.m.;

Chef’s club Final Feast

May 31— 7th/6th Grades Exams; 8th

Grade Class Trip

Important Dates

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Pre-Kindergarten

Aranza Martinez-Reza

Camila Martinez-Reza

Kindergarten

Madelyn Gore

Cicely Kirages

Anastacia Popil

Grade-1

Alyssa Burgos

Abram Cutler

Ian Cutler

Agata Czaja

Colin Doyle

Grade-2

Yasmin Alami

Callie Cooper

Timothy Furlong

Allison Keen

Matthew Morris

Amanda Ramlogan

Kiran Varghese

Grade-3

Zoey Bender

Stephen Ennis

Grade-4

Jun Soo Chung

Ruth John

Ella Lannon

Grace Magill

Thomas Parsons

Grade-5

Terrell Bent

Carlo Pizzano

Andrew Gardner

Caitlyn Weeks

Eleasa Woodson

April RSRs (Respect, Spirituality and Responsibility)

Grade-6

Kaitlyn Griffith

Eric Hotakainen

Alex Kephart

Peter Russo

Megan Suhr

Grade-7

Maeve Ballantine

Gina Chung

Natalie Harrington

Kelechi Oparaocha

Sarah Plotts

Grade-8

Margaret O’Brien

Indira Persaud

Samuel Tavares

Holy Redeemer

Giving Tree

Thank you families

for your generous contributions to our

teachers’ “wish lists” and the school:

The Derdeyn Family– Alpha Smart

The Milligan Family— Choir Hymnal

The More-Hudson Family— Pass the Popcorn Game, Active Learning Center

The Schnurr Family— Computer Ink

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

Tuition: Tuition is due the first of the month. Please enclose tuition payment in the white tuition envelope and return to school. There is a $25 late fee for payments received after the 15th of the month. There is a $25 fee for returned checks. Hours Program: Each family is required to give 15 hours of service by March 31, 2012. Remember to log your volunteer hours in the hours notebook that is located on the podium near the art display case.

Questions/comments please contact Kathleen Walton at (301) 699-3427 or holy-redeemerhours@yahoo.com.

HRS Interpreter: Any school, parish or School of Religion function for which an interpreter is required, should be arranged with 2 weeks notice. Please contact Mary Chute O’Meara @ omearama@adw.org.

Progress Reports: 4th quarter progress reports will be mailed on May 4th.

Lost & Found: As the school year closes, please check to see if you are missing any coats, sweatshirts, hats, gloves, scarves, etc. There are many unclaimed items in the lost & found. 7th Annual Silent Auction

The 7th Annual Silent Auction

was a huge success. From Hot Hawk

Items and Travel Get-A-Ways to

Sports, Art and Themed Baskets, there was something

for everyone.

Thank you to Julie Weeks and the Silent

Auction Committee for making this fun-filled event

possible, and to the Holy Redeemer Community for

donating your time, talents and many wonderful items.

Don’t forget to save the date for the next Silent

Auction— April 19, 2013.

Spring 2012 Talent Show

On Wednesday, April 25, Holy Redeemer School witnessed exceptional bravery and talent! From singing and dancing to piano playing (including the Chinese piano) and a poetry reading, the talent was impressive. Students in Grades 1-8 performed at the highest level to the enjoyment of fellow students, teachers, administrators and of course, parents. It was a most enjoyable afternoon. Once again, our students were bright shining stars. Thank you to all the students who participated and to our wonderful audience.

mailto:omearama@adw.org

3

Principal’s List

Grade 4: Caitlin Cullinane, Nicholas Daniel, Joseph Harrington, Madeline Hille, Joshua John, Mary Keane, Sophie Kim,

Ella Lannon, Corina Miko, Nicole Miko, Natalia Rincon, Christian Rindal

Grade 5: Ryan Bishop, Shivika Gaind, Alyssa Heintzelman, Carlo Pizzano

Grade 7: Jasmine Batacan, Michael Davis

Grade 8: Connor Buchanan, Alexis Donovan, Margaret O’Brien, Destiny Oparaocha, Julia Pedersoli,

John-Paul Perrotta, Elizabeth Trioano, Noah Waldron

First Honors

Grade 4: Rebecca Bisrat, Jun Soo Chung, Ruth John

Grade 5: Maria Beckert, Jillian Buchanan, Katrina Hresko, Nikhil Jain, Beverly Udegbe, Mira Varghese, Caitlyn Weeks

Grade 6: Charles Butler, Eric Hatakainen, Megan Suhr

Grade 7: Douglas Tschiffely

Grade 8: Johnathan Schnurr, Samuel Tavares, Kathleen vonStein

Second Honors

Grade 4: Brianna Canaval, Shariah Cyrus, Ruth Furlon, Claire Giunta, Peyton Macy, Grace Magill, Thomas Parson, Ian

Phillips, Ashley Ramlogan, Juan Rincon, Catherine Troiano

Grade 5: Abigail Cohen, Gregory Ewing, Olivia Matheson, Martha Philipos

Grade 6: Jacqueline Bielec, Breah Cyrus, Natalie Folwer, Claudia Giunta, Kaitlyn Griffith, Colin Keane, Tyler Missick, Cheyenne Parks, Paul Rozario, Alison Snider

Grade 7: Maeve Ballantine, Christopher Brunk, Gina Chung, Makayla Czan, Gabrielle Evans, Hannah Gardenhour,

Matthew Gardner, Brian Gorman, Natalie Harrington, Lauren hill, Francis Oparaocha, Anna Pizzano, Harli Reising,

Julianna Renzi, Catherine Rindal, William Song, Coleman Witte

Grade 8: Christopher Gagnon, Ryan Saladino, Charles Wagner, Amanda Woodson

Most Improved

Grade 1: Marisol Dobson, Johnathan Hille, Ryan Missick, Nicholas Weeks

Grade 2: Marlyne Anaya, Allison Keen, Rachel Muzakir

Grade 3: James Marzolf-Miller, Neel McCormick, Jean Seka

Grade 4: Rebecca Dobson

Grade 5: Andrew Gardner, Chase McCarter

Grade 6: Alexander Kephart, William Winterson

Grade 7: Jesse Umstot, Patrick Whelton, Coleman Witte

Grade 8: Basha Cyrus, Indira Persaud

Extra Effort

Grade 1: Alyssa Burgos, Ian Cutler, Maggie Holland, Colin Doyle

Grade 2: Yasmin Alami, Cheyenne Parra

Grade 3: Olivia Heath, Tiffany Song, Cheyenne Umstot

Grade 4: James John Thompson

Grade 5: Jada Batacan, Clayton Strathman

Grade 6: Breah Cyrus, JaMia Reese

Grade 7: Lauren Hill, Charles Magnetti, Julianna Renzi

Grade 8: Hope Micallef

Third Quarter Awards

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Students and Teachers Witness History

On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, eager

students and teachers at Holy Redeemer School

looked to the sky with great anticipation.

Discovery—the world’s most travelled space-

ship—was scheduled to fly over the Greenbelt

area before landing at Dulles International

Airport. Students cheered when they finally

caught a glimpse of the space shuttle. What a

spectacular view!

Fourth Graders Celebrate Maryland Day

On Monday, April 23, the 4th grade

celebrated Maryland Day. They spent the entire day celebrating their home state. Each student chose a famous Marylander to research. On Maryland Day, they came dressed as their person and presented their research to the class. The day also included a guest speaker from the Maryland Historical Society, a “Colonial Maryland” feast, colonial games, and crafts.

Holy Redeemer Catholic School Student’s Essay Wins Big

Fourth grade student Ella Lannon from Holy

Redeemer Catholic School has been selected as the District 9 essay contest winner by the Maryland Municipal League (MML) for the contest, “If I Were Mayor, I Would…”

Over 2,000 entries were submitted this year; 248

from Prince George’s County schools. Each year, the MML and the Maryland Mayors’ Association (MMA) invite fourth grade students throughout Maryland to participate in this statewide essay contest. This year, students are asked to include ideas for reaching out to all community members. The contest gives students a chance to creatively use grade-specific language arts skills and civics/social studies knowledge.

In her essay, Ella wrote that if she were mayor, she would focus on safety issues, helping the environment and creating more areas for recreation.

She went on to write, “I would like to improve my community’s environment to make it a healthier place to live. I would like to have a community litter pick-up day twice a year. I would also have a town-wide tree planting day. I would also have more recycling bins in public places. I would use more recycled materials in my community such as recycled papers in town offices and ask the community to bring their own bags to stores.”

All student winners will be recognized by

Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown, and receive a Governor’s Citation, an award plaque at a special recognition ceremony at the Maryland State House, on Tuesday, May 15 at 1:00 p.m. An Annapolis Harbor boat tour has also been arranged for the winners, their families and teachers immediately after the awards ceremony.

CBN Essay Winners

Congratulations to Callum Walton

and Jonathan Schnurr. They were

the winners of the Catholic

Business Network’s Essay Contest. Callum’s

essay on St. Joseph and Jonathan’s essay on

St. Patrick were both selected.

Congratulations, Callum and Jonathan!

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Girl Scout Amanda Woodson

Visits the Nation’s Capital

On Thursday, April 26, eighth-grader Amanda

Woodson had the chance to attend “Take Our Daughters

to Congress Day” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

This educational event allows only six selected Girl

Scouts to travel to Capitol Hill and spend the day with a

U.S. Congresswoman to learn about our federal

government system.

Amanda had the opportunity to work with

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee for the day. She

learned about Congresswoman Jackson Lee’s job, staff,

and issue profile. She also had the chance to meet

Senator Nancy Pelosi! Amanda had the privilege of

attending a special lunch reception in the Democrat dining

room and a de-briefing session with Members of

Congress and public policy staff from GSUSA.

Way to go, Amanda!

Congratulations to the 2012 Americanism Essay Contest Winners

Level 1

First Place: Sophia Kim, Holy Redeemer (HR)

Second Place: Ruth John (HR)

Third Place: Caitlin Cullinane (HR)

Honorable Mention: Catherine Troiano, Joshua John, and Brianna Canaval

Level 2

First Place: Sophia Wagner, HR

Second Place: Andrea Martinez, Martin Luther King and Eric Hotakainen

Third Place: Clayton Strathman, HR

Honorable Mention: Olivia Matheson, Beverly Udegbe, Alexander Kephart, and Charles Butler, HR

Level 3

First Place: Keristen Keifline HR

Second Place: Trevon Duvall, MLK

Third Place: Seneca Bradley, MLK

Honorable Mention: Coleman Witte, Amanda Woodson, Macrae Derdeyn, HR

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Holy Redeemer School Business Partner of the Year

Chef Monica Thomas

In 2010 Certified Personal Chef Monica Thomas “adopted” Holy Redeemer School as part of the White House initiative, Chefs Move to School, creating a Chef’s Club after-school program for 4th through

8th graders. Meeting twice monthly, the children explore food and nutrition through hands-on cooking

sessions. The word “Yuk” has been banned and if after tasting something that isn’t to their liking, the kids

may say, “That’s not my cup of tea!” The inaugural year (2010-2011) was a success and as a result,

participation this year has increased by a whopping 30% for a total of 48 enthusiastic children. Four

parents and a grandparent routinely volunteer as Monica introduces new foods such as quinoa, bison, and

fresh ginger along with healthier ways to cook familiar ones.

Owner of Tailored Taste Personal Chef Service, Monica has been putting delicious, homemade

meals on the tables of busy folks in the D.C. area for nearly eight years. Since 2008, she has served as

president of the Capital Chefs Chapter of the US Personal Chef Association (2009 Chapter of the Year)

and as a Local Exchange Coordinator for Women Chefs and Restaurateurs. She also volunteers annually

for the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance fundraiser, Turn Up the Heat with Women Chefs.

Holy Redeemer School Volunteer of the Year

Mrs. Nancy Garner

Nancy Garner has been volunteering at Holy Redeemer School since her oldest son Joe began

kindergarten in the year 2000. Because Nancy has two sons, she got involved in the CYO sports program

as soon as her boys were eligible. Nancy and her husband Ben coached Tee Ball together and enjoyed it

so much that Nancy also coached intramural basketball and intramural, rookie and JV boys soccer. Nancy

was Secretary of the Holy Redeemer Home and School Association from 2005 to 2008. She initiated and

manages the Buddy System. This program pairs new school parents with experienced Senior Buddies to

facilitate the transition to the school. Nancy works full time as an information technology project manager at

the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and so, has a knack for all things computer-related.

She facilitated the donation of 16 laptops and flat screen monitors from the Federal Government for the

school’s computer center. She created and maintained Home and School Association Website and the Boy

Scout Troop 740 website, and was the Tiger Cubs Secretary. She started (and moderates) the parent

list-serve that allows Holy Redeemer parents to communicate about school or other parental interests. For

several years Nancy has been on the committee of the parish’s Annual Harvest Bazaar. She assisted with

Holy Eucharist Day of Reflection by helping to teach the children how to make loaves of bread. She helped

with the Ice Cream Socials, school field trips, and field days when she had the opportunity. In 2007 Nancy

suggested adding a silent auction to the Taste of Holy Redeemer fundraiser. She solicited local and

national companies for auction items. Since then, Nancy has been on the committee of this now-annual

event, which has become the school’s largest fundraiser, and social affair. Husband Ben is currently

coaching the varsity boys baseball team, and has also donated much of his time and talents (such as

managing the painting of the school interior). Nancy feels blessed that she has had the time and the

opportunity to be able to participate in these activities in support of the school and parish. She has truly

enjoyed working with her fellow volunteers and cherishes the friendships that she has made.

Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You