Celebrating the Year of Mercy
On Tuesday, December 8th, the Church opened the Year of Mercy in response to the wishes and reflections of Pope Francis.  We invite all of you to become familiar with the Year of Mercy by watching this short Youtube reflection.
Please click here for video.

How can you open your heart in a special way this year to share mercy with those in need around you?
So many people in our lives are in need of mercy: family and friends, the poor, the sick, and the outcast. Think for a moment of the specific people God has placed in your life. How can you open your heart in a special way this year to share mercy with those in need around you? Consider getting involved in your local parish or supporting one of the many Catholic Charities service initiatives, such as the "Coat of Many Colors Drive" going on right now.
See Archdiocese of Washington website for more information  

Our 2nd parent club meeting for the school year will be held on Thursday, January 14 @ 6:30pm.  We will have a guest speaker to talk about the "The No Place for Hate" initiative here at Seton.  Hope to see you there!

Upcoming events: Father/Daughter Dance - March 5, 2016......stay tuned!

On Saturday, January 23 at 7pm, the Seton Theatre Company will proudly present "The Real Queens of Drama", a production written, performed and directed by the students. It's a play intended to share what it's like to be a teenage girl today. It is comprised of a series of skits highlighting various issues that any girl can relate to: peer pressure, bullying, stress, body image to name a few. Tickets are $5 and will be available for purchase before school and at all lunches in the Guidance Office starting Tuesday. Come out and support the Seton Theatre Company in its first production of the year!

1. The next Driver's Education class of the year will extend from January 25th through February 12th from 3 to 5:00 p.m. daily.
2. Six hours of driving will be scheduled independently with each student in addition to the above classroom time.
3. The course costs $340.00.  Tuition payments must be current in order for a student to enroll in the class.
4. The company we use is Arrive Alive Driving School, Inc., 104 Old Largo Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774, 301-350-9575

Make checks payable to Arrive Alive Driving School, Inc. Payment is due the first day of class.
Students must sign up in the Main Office by January 24th.
 

This scholarship is for High School seniors who want to major in Education and become a school teacher.   Please click here for full details and application form. More details are available on http://www.pgpsra.org/.

B'nai B'rith International is pleased to announce a call for submissions for our scholarship contest, the Diverse Minds Writing Challenge. This innovative competition, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, asks high school students in your community to write and illustrate a children's book that tells a story of tolerance, diversity or inclusion.
Students currently enrolled in the 9th - 12th grades in DCPS, MCPS and PGCPS are eligible to participate. The first place-winning individual or team will receive a college scholarship of $5,000, and B'nai B'rith will professionally publish the winning submission - making the student a published author!  Submissions placing second and third will also receive scholarships. In addition, the teacher of the student(s) who place first will receive a $1,000 stipend and the school will receive a $500 grant. The submission deadline is March 18, 2016.
For more information and details please refer to the attached flyer and visit our website at www.bnaibrith.org/diverseminds. If you have any questions please call Laura Jesser on 323-308-0195 or diverseminds@bnaibrith.org. We are excited to continue bringing the Challenge to your area and look forward to a positive response from your community.
 

Please click here to view cafeteria menu.

Seton is in need of volunteers who can help with a mailing.  Volunteers only have to stuff envelopes for us.
Volunteers can serve any of the following times and days:
Friday  January 15 - all day until 8:00pm
Saturday  January 16 - any time between 8:00am and 8:00pm
Sunday January 17 - any time from 12:00 noon to 8:00pm
Tuesday, January  20 - anytime from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm

If you are interested in helping, please email Sister Ellen Marie at ehagar@setonhs.org.
 

The Seton Theatre Company is in need of parent volunteers to help build and paint sets/props for our upcoming January production. We will be working on the projects over the holiday break. If you are handy with tools or a paint brush and would like to support our theater club, please email Jodie Johnson, the club moderator, at jjohnson@setonhs.org for more details. Any time you donate will count toward your volunteer hours. Thank you!
 

Please contact the ESHS PCO at pco.setonhs.org or visit the Parent Organization page located at www.setonhs.org > About Us for more PCO information or please click here.
 

This year we can continue our year of gratitude by taking time to thank Mrs. Leeanna Burke for her steadfast, selfless, supportive service to Elizabeth Seton High School.  Mrs. Burke has made the decision to retire at the end of this year.  We all have been touched by the dedication and devotion that exemplifies her more than 30 years at Seton. She has done just about every job at Seton, whether in her job description or not, because she wants Seton to be a home to everyone who comes here and a place of joy and happiness.  There are no words to describe what she has done, but I am sure that she will be happy just to receive back the smile that she always gives to everyone else.
As we move into this year, Seton will be conducting a search for a Dean of Academics.  Applicants can be directed to About Us-Employment on our website.

For the first time, a combo ACT/SAT practice test will be offered at Seton on Saturday, January 16th from 9am-12:30pm.  If your daughter is a sophomore or junior and is interested in taking the practice test, please have her bring the attached form and the $10 registration fee to Mrs. Wilson in Guidance by January 13th. Participants will receive math extra credit. If you have any questions, please email Amanda Lawhorne at alawhorne@setonhs.org.

Please click here to download form.

In keeping with our objective of empowering our girls, Seton Diamonds Club has secured Annapolis Defense and Security to conduct "Fight Like A Girl", a 2-part self defense workshop focused on teaching women and girls what they should pay attention to in their surroundings and relationships, as well as things they can do to protect themselves. In addition to the lecture, they will do a 2-hour demonstration class where instructors will teach maneuvers that can be used in the event of danger. We will break these sessions up into 2 separate days. The breakdown of the program is as follows:

Classroom Portion (Friday, January 29, 2016, 3-5pm):
(Approximately 2 hours)
Roommates & new friends
Dorm Life
Parking areas & common spaces
Social Settings
Red flags in unhealthy relationships
Date rape
Trusting your senses
Discussion of strikes, elbows, kicks and how to use your voice as a tool
 
Hands on Portion (Friday, February 5, 2016, 3-5pm):
(Approximately 2 hours)
Basic strikes
Basic knees
Basic elbows
Heel palm strikes
Reverse elbow strike
Weak & strong spots
Striking do's and don'ts
Car drills - trunk release, how to disable a light/signal when in a trunk, how to stop an abduction when you are in your car.
 
Here is a link to a news story done on the program:

http://annapolisdefense.com/women-only-fight-like-a-girl/

The cost per student is $55 (normally $125). Because we have a very large group this year and there is a limited student to instructor ratio, we will need to do this on a first come/first serve basis. Once slots are filled, the workshops will close. If you are interested in having your daughter participate, please print, sign and return the attached waiver and consent form along with payment (checks made out to ESHS; Diamonds Self-Defense in memo) no later than Friday, January 15. We must have both forms AND payment in order to secure your daughter's spot.

Thanks for all of your support,
Jodie Johnson, Club Moderator

Forms:
Seton Diamonds Self Defense Permission Form
Self Defense Waiver

Historic Prince George's County Rotary Club Foundation
2016 Post-Secondary Scholarships
SCHOLARSHIP TO BE AWARDED: One (1) Post-Secondary Scholarship of $2,500 to a high school senior.
Eligible applicants must reside within Prince George's County, be a graduating high school senior, and be enrolling in an accredited US college, university or technical school for 2016-2017. The HPGC Rotary Club Foundation Scholarship Committee will review all applications for qualified applicants. The front-runners will be interviewed by the Scholarship Committee prior to the final selection.
Scholarship funds will be sent to the academic institution of the winning scholar to cover tuition, room, board and books.
Please click here for full details and application form.
Please note the closing date for applications is January 20.

The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH) invites students to participate in our annual Irish History Essay Contest.  The LOAH is a group of Roman Catholic women  dedicated to fostering Irish heritage and traditions as well as "making a difference" in the world through Catholic Action projects and charitable donations.  This essay contest provides students nationwide with an opportunity to polish their competitive essay-writing skills. Five national awards will be announced on March 31st 2016 and winning essay writers will receive cash prizes ranging from $100 to $1000.

The 2015 - 2016 topic is "The Involvement of Women in the 1916 Easter Rising."  The contest rules include:

Essays must be from high-school students
Essays should be between 750 and 1,500 words
Essays must be received by February 8, 2016
Detailed rules, writing guidelines, style requirements, submission instructions, and judging criteria are explained in the attached documents. I will forward all submissions to our National Historian for consideration on February 15, 2016.  
Please click here for Information and please click here for rules and instructions.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.ladiesaoh.com/.  If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Dorothy Reed at dreed@prattlibrary.org or 410-925-1800.

The  Seton Crew Team is campaigning on the "RallyMe" site for a much needed new/gently used boat. Please see below details of the site and how to donate.

The Seton Crew RallyMe fund raising site can be accessed at the link below:

https://www.rallyme.com/rallies/2307/roadrunners

For this type of fundraiser to be successful, everyone involved, both rowers and parents need to get the word out in every way possible.  There are several options for sharing the Rally via email and Social Media.  This should be shared early and often.  Don't limit yourself to who and how you share, friends, family, acquaintance's, co-workers  (if that's an option) complete strangers and even businesses.

Once on the site the Rally can be shared easily to several Social Media sites and email by simply using the "Share This Rally" buttons shown here in the red box.  Click the button logon and share away.

If you wish to receive text alerts from Seton then please text SETONHS to 84576. You will receive a confirmation text, please complete the requested details.

If you wish to refer to past issues of Parent and Student Announce please click here.