Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 3:00 PM

Hi! My name is Christine Savela and I am the PTA President. I have three daughters here: Kinley in 5th Grade, Kallie in 3rd, and Kambry in 1st. I want to briefly share with you some information about the PTA, what we do, your role and how you can keep us with us all year.  The PTA is here to support the mission of our school. We run numerous events and activities to enhance the educational, social and spiritual experience at St. Ann’s. We conduct fundraisers that allow us to fund in whole or in part: assemblies, field trips, clubs, special in school activities like field day and hot chocolate day, after school events like Trunk or Treat, Family Karaoke, and Dances. We provide funds to assist with school initiatives like new water fountains, cafeteria tables, white boards, and more. You can find all of our events for the year on our PTA Year-at-Glance on the PTA page on the school website. 

Hello Saint Ann School Families and Teachers! Can you believe the first week of school is almost done already?? We hope all of your students have had a fun start to the school year and enjoyed getting to know their teachers and classmates. Thank you to everyone who attended and volunteered at our End of Summer Picnic. We had a fantastic turnout and some great helpers who made the night such a success. We hope you all enjoyed it. Attached, find our monthly newsletter. Read on for lots of fun PTA updates and events! If you haven't heard, the new cafeteria tables are in and it has added so many additional seats for our kids. With your fundraising help at the end of the last school year, the PTA was able to fund the new cafeteria tables for the school!

Dear Saint Ann Families, We are keeping a close eye on the air quality due to the smoke from the wildfires in Jackson and Canada. Forecasts indicate that conditions should improve overnight and we are hopeful that tomorrow will be better. We will continue to hold indoor recess until the outdoor air quality improves. We closed the outdoor air ventilation dampers in our HVAC units, so that outside air is not introduced to our buildings overnight. The air in our buildings will continue to be circulated throughout the night and during the day tomorrow. We will follow the recommendations received from the Diocese of Trenton: 1-All outdoor activities should be avoided. Outside recess periods, outside lunch periods, field days, etc. should remain indoors until such time as the air quality improves. 2-All students should be allowed to wear masks, on a volunteer basis, if the family believes necessary for their student(s). Thank you for your patience during this situation.

Easter is a time associated with new life, flourishing, and hope. As we find ourselves in the midst of this season of rebirth, Saint Ann School is getting ready to move in a different direction with its leadership. As we return from Easter break, Mrs. Ameriquin Laccetti will be stepping up as our new "Building Leader" for the remainder of the school year with direct support from our Pastor Father Dela Cruz, our Superintendent Dr. Vince Schmidt, and the Diocesan office. This will afford the parish a chance to conduct a formal search for a Principal during the spring and summer while keeping a day-to-day leader at the school who knows our families and staff and has at heart the well-being of our students and the success of our institution. We will resume our school year with renewed strength and focus and we will navigate what's ahead together as a school community. As we look forward to ending the school year on a positive note for all our students, we thank Mr. Chiaravalloti for his dedication to our program since his arrival and wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors.

Saint Ann School is partnering with Saint James School of Red Bank to raise funds for the Share Uganda Charity. One of our former teachers, Ms. Shields, often participates in volunteer work and this year she has the opportunity to travel to Uganda and help facilitate the Sanyu Project, a self-sustainable sanitary towel project for girls in Uganda's rural areas. Ms. Shields, along with Dr. Lisa Collins and Dr. Janina Moereke, will be traveling to Kaaso, in Southern Uganda to establish this project and find a solution for young women to be able to receive an education. In order to support this cause we will be having a dress-down day on Friday, March 24 for a $2 minimum, with all money raised being donated to Share Uganda. As we support Ms. Shields with our constant prayers, we are happy to put our faith into action with this service project. Thank you Miss Shields for this great opportunity to be citizens of the world! For more information about this project visit www.shareuganda.co.uk

Saint Ann School is excited to announce an important adjustment being made to the schedule options of our Prekindergarten Program, beginning in the 2023-2024 academic year. After much discussion and research, it has been decided that next year (2023-2024 SY) the PreK 4 program will move to a full day for ALL enrollees and will have options of 4 or 5 days a week. We will also transition students away from nap time within the first two months of school. This change will allow the program to continue its preparation for kindergarten and also better integrate the students into the whole school. More information about this change will be available shortly. For any questions or concerns please contact the school office at 609-882-8077, ext. 213 or 214.

Saint Ann School Families, Saint Ann School Christmas festivities have begun. Below are some important key dates for the next few days. We look forward to seeing many of you at the Christmas Pageant tomorrow. You will also notice we have some special “dress up” days the last week before break. As always, if you have any questions please reach out to us. Wednesday, December 14 – 12:30 pm: Pageant Dress Rehearsal – Families are welcome to attend but understand that this is a rehearsal and stoppages/corrections will take place as necessary. Wednesday, December 14 – Pageant 6:30 pm: the Evening performance is “dress-up”. NO tee shirts, jeans of any color, sneakers of any type, workbooks, or shorts. Students may dress in Christmas colors, or jewel-tone shades and prints. Some sections are reserved for students, please be cognizant of seating arrangements prior to taking a pew. December 15: Picture Retakes & 8th Grade Cap & Gown Pictures December 19-22: Christmas Spirit Dress. For more information about the dress code, visit our website. December 22: 12:00 PM Early Dismissal: NO ASP! December 23-January 2: Christmas Break! We wish all of our SAS families and students a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

What a day! Tuesday, Nov. 29, Saint Ann School and all Catholic grammar schools in the Diocese of Trenton joined with other organizations worldwide to participate in one global day of giving. To all those who made our Giving Tuesday campaign a success – thank you! If you didn’t get a chance to pledge your time, prayers, or financial contribution yesterday, our campaign is still open. Just click HERE to donate! Once again, thank you for your support! We cannot wait to see how your contribution to our Giving Tuesday campaign will help our school! #CatholicSchoolsHaveItAll

We are delighted to announce that the Saint Ann School Drama Club is returning for the 2022-2023 school year! The Drama Club is open to all Saint Ann School students in grades 2-8. Stage crew is open to students in grades 6-8. A parent/student information meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov 30, 7:00-8:00 pm in the SAS Cafeteria. The purpose of this meeting is to introduce the program to parents and students, discuss future plans, and answer questions. This is not a drop-off event, students should be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Please e-mail [email protected] with questions.

On November 29th more than 9,000 Catholic school students in the Diocese of Trenton will participate in Giving Tuesday, a global day celebrating philanthropic generosity and the act of giving back. Among them, Saint Ann students will receive a smartwatch-shaped paper wristband prompting them to complete random acts of kindness, such as donating coats to the needy, sharing prayers with the family, or volunteering to pick up trash in their community. Imagine if we have 9,000 Faith leaders (like You!) match the children’s generosity with a donation to support Catholic education. 100% of the money raised will go back to your school! With a gift of any size, YOU can help support Catholic schools now and in the future. Please show school spirit by showing our students that you support Catholic Education! Click HERE to pledge NOW or visit www.leadinfaith.org

On Friday, November 11th, Saint Ann School will be having a special prayer service for Veterans Day. The students will be honoring and mentioning by name all of those Saint Ann’s family members who have served our country and will also be praying for our troops, past, and present. Did you know that SAS has a bulletin board dedicated to military family members? For more information please see the Military Recognition Board flyer on our website or simply click HERE. Should you need any information about the prayer service or Military Board please get in touch with Mrs. Karen Meagher at [email protected] to submit the name of your loved ones.