Study Hall begins on Tuesday, April 9 at 2:40.  Any student who failed two or more subjects in the third quarter is required to attend.  A letter was sent describing the rules, purpose, and cost of this mandatory program. Encourage your son/daughter to do well so that summer school can be avoided.  Remember, tutoring is available in the LMC Monday-Thursday from 2:40-3:40 PM.

Year Level Assemblies took place on Tuesday, March 26.  First and Second Honors Certificates were distributed and scheduling for next year was discussed.  Remember:  STUDENTS ARE SCHEDULED IN THE ORDER OF REGISTRATION.  So register early if your child expects a seat in a specific course.

Year-End Failures: Students who fail three or more subjects at the end of the year cannot return to Marist High School for the next academic year. A student who fails one or two subjects for the year must attend Marist summer school. Please encourage your son/daughter to improve in a subject if he/she is currently failing. Use the "Year-to-date" column on the third quarter report card to help you review his/her current status.

National Honor Society Induction will take place on Tuesday, April 23 at 6:30 PM. To apply, students in junior and sophomore year who were invited must have submitted the proper paperwork to Ms. Heymer and Ms. Sorbara. This is the most prestigious honor a high school student can achieve. It requires outstanding achievement in character, scholarship, leadership, and service.  If your son/daughter is invited to join, please make every effort to attend the Induction Ceremony.

Protecting God's Children The Archdiocese of Newark requires that all students in its schools receive instruction in protecting themselves from predators and abuse. By the end of April all of our students will have received this instruction, with special emphasis on how predators approach vulnerable youngsters. The instruction involves recognizing dangerous situations and how to protect oneself.

Retreats: So many of our students have visited Esopus this year on retreat...and the enthusiasm for the Marist Brother Retreat Center continues. The kids call it "home".  This special place always offers them opportunities to see God's generosity in nature, to reflect during quiet moments, and to learn community-building skills. They love the food and experiencing the wooded environment is a real adventure for them! Over 1/3 of our Senior Class have made the Marist Encounter, a special spiritual experience form which they return filled with enthusiasm for the Marist family and renewed faith in God.

The response to the Junior Retreat was terrific! Following their beautiful Leadership Ceremony, 37 students attended the program on their day off! -- Friday March 15th. The theme was "Leadership," as we continue to prepare our juniors to be next year's senior leaders. They reflected on the gifts and talents that God has given them and on how they have changed since freshmen year. They were, as usual, cooperative and enthusiastic!  It's a pleasure to take them out. We are very proud of our juniors!!

Community Service: "Lean on Me!" The day began with prayer and reflection on the Easter/ Paschal Mystery and then Marist devoted the day to the call of the Gospel to serve the community. Juniors protected the environment with a beach clean-up at Bayonne Park. Freshmen sorted food at the Community Food Bank in Hillside NJ, an amazing agency that is responsible for getting food to so many homes in NJ. Sophomores helped at school, painting, gardening and doing some very-needed fix-up projects. Seniors visited various community sites, churches, nursing homes and other service agencies, helping in whatever way was needed. The kids will continue to reflect during their religion classes on how these experiences touched their lives and how to continue to respond to Jesus' call to "wash each others' feet." 

More service to the Community:  Our kids spent Lent collecting change for "KISS MALARIA GOODBYE,"   a project that provides mosquito nets for children in countries where malaria is rampant. Change is still coming in, so we'll let you know the grand total soon. Our kids didn't pass the giant mosquito net hanging in the cafeteria without throwing something in. Thanks to Ms. Gail in the cafeteria for her constant support and generosity with this and all Campus Ministry projects.

The rest of the year, it's PEANUT BUTTER!

Junior Parents' Night: On Wednesday, April 10th, Ms. Heymer and Ms. Eisenmenger will be hosting a Junior Parents night to help parents begin to understand the college planning process.  At the meeting you will learn all that we offer in the form of support for the college process, hear about some new policies to help the process run smoothly, and be able to ask questions or make suggestions.  We very much want to work WITH you during this process, so please join us at 6:30 PM for this informative night.

May SAT's:  April 5th is the deadline to register for the May 4th SAT's.  We encourage the Junior class to consider taking this sitting as well as the June 1st if they want a head start on the college process.  While the May sitting is not administered at Marist, there are plenty of sites nearby that will be offering the test.  The best way to prepare is to practice, practice, practice.  Use the free resources at www.collegeboard.org  or see your Guidance Counselor for other tools. 

Guidance Tips for the Spring Break: Students have been encouraged to use this break to not only rest, but to get their work in order.  This is a great time to start preparing for Finals-they're just around the corner-review notes, catch up on reading, re-read those sections that may be a bit more difficult, get ahead on end of year projects.  Let's finish this year strong!!!

College Visits:  Junior Parents!!!!  Your students have received a list of local colleges who will be hosting their Spring Open Houses in the coming months.  Please consider taking advantage of these events to get your students acquainted with the schools they're interested in, and making their interest known.  Face-to-face connections with schools can make a BIG difference in getting into the school of your choice.  Also, consider taking advantage of upcoming days off to set up an individual visit or being a student-for-a-day at college.  Contact your student's counselor for more details. 

Summer Programs:  Now is the time to investigate summer opportunities and have your son/daughter enroll.  All counselors are working with students to apply to programs.  Some are competitive, some have costs attached.  Get started looking for a meaningful way for your son/daughter to spend their summer vacation.

College Acceptance Statistics:

• Total Number of Seniors:  86
• Number of students who have applied to one or more colleges/universities to date:  76
• Total number of colleges/universities to which students have applied: 100
• Number of students who have been accepted by one or more colleges/universities to date:  45
• Number of colleges from which acceptances have been received:  90
• Total amount of scholarship/awards, grants, financial aid offered so far:  $1,863,944

Please note, these numbers are contingent upon students submitting their acceptance and reward letters to the Guidance Department.  If your son/daughter has not yet turned in their information, please have them do so ASAP.  We would like to publicly congratulate them on the morning announcements for this great accomplishment! Many of the schools will be sending out the Award Letters on April 1st, so be looking for those in the mail!!!

Easter Vacation extends through Sunday, April 7. Classes resume on Monday, April 8.  Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Activity Period is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10. Ask your son/daughter if he/she has enjoyed Activity Period thus far.

Faculty Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 17 at 7:55 AM.  Students will begin school one hour later than usual.  Busses will pick up a half-hour later. We will follow Schedule "C".

Dress Down for Athletics: As you may have noticed, our monthly dress down day supports some of our costly school activities.  This month, dress down on Wednesday Aprill 17 and donate $1.00 to defray the cost of our Athletic Program which benefits so many of our students.

Monthly Meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 9 in the school cafeteria at 6:30 pm.  Many thanks to our new members who joined us in March!  Ms. Miesnik is hoping for 10 more new parents to attend this month's meeting and to sign up to become involved. 

Go Marist Knights!!