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sharing the
It Was The Most Wonderful Time of The Year at OLGC
by Jessica Phillips
T’was the season this year at OLGC. I think we can all agree that
This year our annual Christmas show took place in the brand new
Christmas comes and goes much too fast. Before we know it our
Monsignor D’Angelico Cultural Center! Each grade took the stage
Christmas dinners and holiday traditions are gone and next thing
and sang a wide variety of traditional and festive Christmas carols.
we know, we’re welcoming the New Year. Here at OLGC we also
As in previous years, the eighth grade performed a living nativity to
have a few holiday traditions of our own. One of the most beloved
celebrate the coming of Christ the King. Another fun activity that
traditions among the younger students is Breakfast with Santa. Jolly
takes place is the 8th grade trip to see the Radio City Christmas
St. Nick himself makes a stop in our parish every year to celebrate
Spectacular in New York City! A great day that puts everyone in
the magical season, while parishioners dine on a delicious breakfast.
the Christmas spirit! Before Christmas break all of the grades had
This year the breakfast was held in the restaurant Steam just across
Christmas parties to celebrate this time of joy. By the time the
the street from our school. Another favorite of the student’s is the
final prayers were said on December 19th all the students were
Santa Shop. At the Santa Shop students were able to buy Christmas
anxious to go out and enjoy vacation. I hope everyone had a
presents for all the members of their family, from their Grandma to
Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and in the words of
the family pet. There was also a raffle where the students had the
Tiny Tim “God bless us, everyone.”
chance to win a Nativity Set, a festive blow up lawn decoration, and
The student’s from grades 1-­‐4 voted which flavor was their favorite. This is the outcome. The tudent’s from grades -­‐4 voted which there
flavor was
was atheir favorite. This is the outcome. a sNexus
7 tablet!
Once1done
shopping
classic
Christmas
by Kathy Callaghan
Our Lady of Good Counsel School
movie playing for the students to enjoy.
611 Knowles Ave, Southampton, PA 18966
OLGC grades 1-4 spoke
up
and
voted
for
their
fave
Counsel's Favorite Flavors building on
foundations of
WINTER • 2014
from O UR LA DY of G OO D COU NS EL S CHOOL
FA I T H
Yummy Fun!
Counsel's Favorite Flavors ice cream flavor. Chocolate came out on top!
215-357-1300 · www.school.olgc.org
GOOD
NEWS
photo: Amanda McKenney
writers
Vanilla Strawberry Abstain Athletics
** CYO Spring Sports Registration **
Registration is underway for CYO Spring
Sports with many sports to choose from
– track, softball, baseball, and co-ed high
school volleyball. We are looking forward to another successful spring sports
season.
** OLGC Christmas
Tournament News **
• Kathy Callaghan
• Amanda McKenney
• Michael McKenney
• Jackie Rosney
• AJ Weiland
We graciously thank
Campbell Funeral Homes
for their generous support in spreading
The Good News of Catholic Education at
Our Lady of Good Counsel School.
OLGC recently hosted its 4th Annual
5th/6th Grade Christmas Tournament.
The tournament was very successful and
was well attended by many school teams
from the area.
OLGC’s 6th Grade JV Boys Basketball
team won the Championship in the
St. Albert’s Cate Christmas Tournament.
Attached is a photo of the boys hoisting
their Championship Trophy. The team
is coached by Chuck O’Donnell and
Don Stewart, and the team members
are Michael Stewart, Liam O’Donnell,
Sean Nangle, Patrick O’Neill, Michael
Matthews, Gavin McDade, Dominic
D’Alessio, Joey LoPiccolo, and Frank
Stackhouse. Congratulations boys!
p h oto g r a p h e r s
• Sabrina DeNicola
Chocolate • Julia DeWitt
Vanilla • Rachel Kazlauskas
Strawberry • Mary Lynskey
Abstain • Jessica Phillips
• Ryan Taylor
• Jessica Webb
Chocolate S TA F F
Family Owned for Three Generations
CAMPBELL and THOMAS
FUNERAL HOME
Richboro • 215-322-5545
Contact CYO
Visit cyo.olgc.org or email OLGC CYO at
[email protected] for more information
about any of our CYO sports.
Dianne Campbell Thomas, F.D., Supervisor
Danielle Thomas Kraft, F.D., Supervisor
Parishioner
James M. Campbell Funeral Home
Lawndale • 215-745-9009
James P. Brady, F.D., Director
www.campbellfh.com
We celebrate our volunteers at our annual Volunteer Tea.
Catholic Schools’ Week
by Jessica Webb and Sabrina DeNicola
If you are new to a catholic school you will soon become familiar with Catholic Schools Week.
It is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. Catholic Schools Week
began in 1974. This year Catholic Schools Week starts on January 26, and ends on February
1. There is a theme for every year, this year’s theme was, “Catholic Schools: Communities
of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.” This theme encompasses several concepts that are at the
heart of Catholic education. The logo depicts, “the inner connectivity life that is present in our
Catholic Schools.”
At OLGC, Catholic Schools Week, 2014 consisted of open houses, mass, volunteer tea, student and faculty appreciation day. To help celebrate, every homeroom participated by decorating their classroom door with their favorite Saint. This year Catholic Schools also introduced,
“Service Day,” where students performed acts of service. OLGC students made care packages
to send to troops stationed overseas. On Monday the whole student body gathered for mass
and celebrated with our new pastor, Father Suskey. Open house consisted of, visitation of the
students’ classrooms, refreshment’s, and an opportunity for the parents to see their children in
their classroom setting. Also, parents and relatives were able to see their child’s art work that
was displayed through the halls. Wednesday consisted of volunteer tea. This is OLGC’s way
to thank all the volunteers who help make OLGC what it is today. The Performing Arts Club
(PAC) delighted our volunteers with a wonderful performance. The week ended with Student
Appreciation Day. Students were allowed to dress down for the day and were treated with a
science assembly with Klondike bars after. All of these events show the value, that Catholic
education can provides to young people and its contributions to our church, communities,
and nation.
Look inside for more Catholic Schools’ Week Photos!
IN
THE
by Ryan Taylor
Mr. Patrick McGhee started the forensics team two years ago, and it has become extremely successful. The team
now allows 6th, 7th, and 8th graders
to join the team for any category they
wish. Depending on which category
you choose, Mr. McGhee will give
you a script, speech, or topic that you
will perform or debate for the year.
Forensics is the perfect solution for
anyone with a fear of public speaking.
At every practice, there is plenty of
support from both adults and teammates, and they are ready to help with
any problems and give you plenty of
advice to improve.
If any students are considering joining
the forensics team or need additional
information about the team, contact
Mr. McGhee. We are always looking
for new members and it’s never too
late to join!
by Mary Lynskey
Clubs & Activities
Walking through school this year,
you’ve probably seen a few papers
saying “Forensics Team meeting.”
Well I can guarantee you we are not
investigating bodies like CSI. So now
you’re probably wondering, “what is
forensics!” Forensics is a variety of
speaking competitions ranging from
poetry to debate. In the category duo,
you can compete with a friend in
either humorous or dramatic “skits.”
In debate and exempt, you are given
either a topic or bill of which you must
argue the pros and cons. If you are
into acting, you can participate in the
categories humorous and dramatic interpretation. Just like duo, you will act
out a funny or serious script. In some
cases, memorization is an aspect to the
category. Declamation is a category in
which you are given all the time leading up to a tournament to memorize a
famous speech and perform it. Prose
is closely related to declamation. In
prose, you are given a piece of poetry
or story and you must act it out. You
do not need to memorize prose but it
helps to know most of your piece.
During the Thanksgiving and Christmas
season so many families go without a meal
on the table or a gift under the tree. That’s
why the student body and the parish
community of Our Lady of Good Counsel
do all we can so that all the families in the
Students raised $560 in the snowball challenge
area have an enjoyable holiday season. The
in support of a local Conwell-Egan family who
youth ministry does so much throughout
suffered a devastating house fire during the
Christmas holidays.
the year for the poor, but the work that
hits the heart the most is during the
Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.
The first thing that it does is its annual
turkey drive. What people do is buy a
frozen turkey and put it in a Ziploc bag
and places it in a box. Then in that box
they can place stuffing, gravy, vegetables,
and /or deserts. This year the youth ministry
photo: AJ Weiland
collected over one hundred meals for those
in need! The youth ministry also helps out
during the Christmas season. On December 8th
the youth ministry was planning to go to a local
retirement home and sing those Christmas hymns
and most of all to bring then joy. Because some of
the people there have no family to visit them, so we
bring them joy and happiness through our singing!
Sadly this year it was canceled due to a snowstorm.
Another thing that the school did for the community
photo: Kathy Callaghan
was something that we have never done before.
On December 12th, the whole student body gathered Students honored family member
veterans with stars on a Wall of Thanks.
in the gym, grade by grade, to fill a stocking for a
Thanks to all our veterans from OLGC!
local children’s hospital. All of the stockings and
toys were paid for by Mrs. Gori, with the help of donations, who started the foundation
for whom we made the stockings for. All of the stockings go to the children who don’t
have enough money to have a Christmas because of the cost of their medical treatment or
those who have to stay in the hospital through Christmas. This year the eighth grade ran
this event! Also the whole school sold snowballs for 25 cents and the more snowballs they
buy the bigger there snowman will be! The grade with the tallest snowman wins and all the
money that they collect goes to a local charity. Before the end of the contest all the grades
decorate their snowmen to their choice! It is so much fun and for such a great cause! Also
on the week of Catholic Schools Week every student will make a card, bring in some sort
of item/items, bring in a dollar and then it will be shipped out to the men fight over seas
for us in the army, because even though we say it all the time I don’t think that we can ever
stop saying thank for those that have served our country and those that risk their lives
for us every day! Even though it is not said, I know that many families in the parish
community of Our Lady of Good Counsel pray daily for those who are struggling to get
by. On behalf of my family and my fellow student body, I hope that you and your families
had a healthy, happy, and most of all sacred Christmas and New Year!
The Lord is born; let us celebrate!
Fine Arts Gala Closes
Catholic Schools’ Week
by Julia DeWitt
Catholic Schools’ Week 2014 came to a close
with song, dance and a final curtain call! The
OLGC Performing Arts Club (PAC) hosted
the annual “Be Awesome” Fine Arts Gala on
Saturday, February 1. OLGC PAC Ballroom
dancers waltzed across the stage showcasing
their talents and hard work. The PAC Chorus
sang gleefully and even signed the Beatitudes in
“Blessed and Happy,” an original piece by Mr. Bill
Monaghan. Many school musicians performed
solos and in small ensembles showcasing their
talents. Even the hallways were decked out with
assorted artwork in celebration of the evening!
Be Awesome!
2014
We thank our many volunteers at the annual Volunteer Tea
during Catholic Schools’ Week
Kindergarten Gives Thanks
A couple of pilgrims enjoying their Thanksgiving feast!
photo: Michael McKenney
OLGC Students COMMUNITY
Dead Bodies, Ew!
Classroom Patron Saints
Classrooms selected a patron saint and decorated their doors to represent their chosen saint.