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Dear Parents and Students,
We hope you all had an enjoyable and restful Winter
Break. As we head into Spring, we have a number of
significant news items for the month of March to make
you aware of. Please check out the calendar at the end
of this newsletter. There are, however, a few events I
do want to highlight .
On March 10, representatives from Nashua North and
Nashua South will be at NC from 1:15- 2:00 PM to assist
8th grade students in answering any questions they might
have on scheduling and placement for next year.
Our Annual Fashion Show is scheduled for Friday, March
14. We hope all of you show up for this gala event and
important NC fundraiser.
Please be aware that there is no school on Good Friday
(March 21) and Easter Monday (March 24).
On Thursday, March 20, Mr Tom Cloutier, SFO, will be
performing his one-man show, 'SHUA here at Nashua
Catholic. Written by Fr. William Burke, 'SHUA (short for
"Yeshua", Jesus' name in Hebrew) tells the story of
Jesus from age 6 through his crucifixion, but it is told
from the point of view of a Jewish boyhood friend who,
after relating what he experienced growing up with Shua,
has to finally come to grips with what happened to his
friend . All parents are welcome to attend. The
presentation (if he remembers all the lines) should run
about one hour. Come and begin the Easter triduum with 'SHUA.
We are fortunate again this year to have Dr. Tom
Anastasi and Mr. Frank Rene as the producers and
directors of our annual Spring Mucical. This years
musical offering is Disney's Aladdin, Jr. Auditions have
been held, the cast is set, and rehearsals are under
way. We hope you all can make time in your busy
schedules to attend this year musical production which
is slated for the weekend of May 23,24 and 25.
March 26 Assembly:
On March 2, Mr. Mike Carroll, a graduate of the
University of Notre Dame and a professional Photo-
Journalist will speak to our Nashua Catholic students
about how opportunities sometimes arise for individuals
to really put their Catholic Faith into action. Mr.
Carroll has been instrumental in organizing and
establishing an NGO ( Non Government Organization) to
help orphans in Romania. The name of his organization is
" Romanian Children's Relief " and their website can be
found at www.rcr.org. Mr. Carroll's presentation will
begin at 9 AM and last for approximately an hour.
Parents are welcomed to attend.
Student Spotlight:
Kudos to the following members of the MathCounts team:
These students were involved in an outstanding
interdisciplinary activity that combined Math and
History. They created a beautiful "historical" quilt
which replicated quilts built during the early 19th
Century by members of the Underground Railroad. The
Underground Railroad was a network of people and places
that were used to help runaway slaves escape to freedom
in the North and into Canada. The quilts were hung
outside to give runaway slaves codified directions to
avoid capture. The above named students also agreed to
"donate" the quilt to the Fashion Show as one of the
Silent Auction items. Congratulations to these students
not only for their excellent academic work but also for
their willingness to help Nashua Catholic in our
fundraising efforts.
More Fashion Show
News:
TREATS NEEDED - Can you help?
The Families of Nashua Catholic have traditionally
amazed us with an incredible table of fruit trays and
sweet treats at the Fashion Show. If you are able to
help this year with a specialty treat, please, call the
office. Thank you!
World Language
Department News:
On Monday and Tuesday, March 3 and 4, many of the
Spanish students travelled to Margarita's Restaurant in
Nashua to view a slide show featuring Mexican culture.
After the presentation, the students toured the
restaurant to see firsthand the handmade Mexican crafts
used in the decor. Next, they watched a demonstration of
the making of guacamole and salsa casera. Finally, they
enjoyed a Mexican lunch of enchiladas, rice, refried
beans, and fried ice cream. It was an informative and
enjoyable trip.
On Wednesday, March 5, the French students participated
in the Grand Concours Francais - a national French test
sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of
French.
Next week, the Latin students will be participating in
the national Latin exam.
It has been a busy week back for the world languages
students.
Look for information concerning World Languages Week
coming up in early April.
History Department
News:
On April 4, 2008, Andrew Yourell, an 8th grader here,
will be participating in the state Geography Bee. The
bee is being held at Keene State College, in the Lloyd
Young Student Center. Should Andrew win the state
competition (and I know that he can), he will be awarded
$100, a globe, and a trip to Washington, DC, where he
will represent New Hampshire in the national finals. The
national winner will receive a $25,000 college
scholarship.
We wish Andrew good luck in the state geography bee, and
hope to see him in Washington, DC.
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
NEWS:
The eighth grade Physical Science students have just
completed a new Rube Goldberg Activity with the help of
an engineer from Raytheon. Each class was divided into
four teams and were required to create simple machines
using "junk" brought to class from home. Each group was
required to produce an Input, a Project Activity, and an
Output. This is called an IPO. The purpose was to bring
the creation of a Rube Goldberg Machine into our
classroom. The students were required to connect their
team's project to the next team's creation.
The activity required plenty of brainstorming, thinking
outside of the box, and communication skills. Both Miss
Brinley and Mrs. Blake reported the successful
completion of a Rube Goldberg Machine for each class.
Since this activity was such a great learning experience
for the students, individual Rube Goldberg Projects will
not be assigned to the students this year eliminating
the Science Fair from our schedule on May 13, 2008.
Summer School
Announcements:
Despite the snow on the ground, summer is coming soon!
It is time to start planning for our fifth annual SUMMER
STARS ENRICHMENT PROGRAM! Our summer Study Skills and
Junior High Success courses are open to all students who
will be attending Nashua Catholic in 2008-2009. Don't
miss this chance for a great start to the next school
year! Our courses always sell out and have waiting
lists!
Please check our website (www.ncrjhs.org) in March for
this year's SUMMER STARS program information and
registration forms!
Mr. Tom Cloutier
Needs your help:
Mr. Cloutier has finished writing a one-man play on the
life of St. Francis of Assisi which he hopes to perform
at a later date in the area schools and churches. He is
in need of a robe for his costume. He has met with the
costumer and the price will be between $120.00-$150.00.
If you are able to donate toward the robe, Jesus will be
happy, St. Francis will be hapy, and Mr Cloutier will be
both thankful and happy!!
Admissions Corner:
Applications are still being accepted at Nashua
Catholic! Our families have done a fantastic job of
speading the good word. Thank you!
Spring Open House for 5th Graders and their Families -
May 8, 2008 6:30 to 8:00 at Nashua Catholic - All are
welcome.
*Registration Notice
for 2008-09 Academic Year:
If you are a parent of a current 7th grader and haven't
yet returned your registration form(s) for 2008-2009,
please note these forms were due in the NC office by
Feb.15!
If you did not receive parish support for 2007-2008 and
would like to receive parish support for 2008- 2009,
please note the deadline for parish approval/signatures
is March 15. If you have any further questions regrading
these issues please call us at (603) 882-7011.
Congratulations to
our 7th Graders:
Mrs. Maloney of the English Department recently received
a letter and accompanying "Certificate of Appreciation"
from the Manchester VA Medical Center, Department of
Veteran Affairs, recognizing NC's 7th grade students for
their hours of creative work making Valentines for our
Veterans. The letter and Certificate can be seen in the
glass display case outside the Main Office.
Athletic Dept. News:
Wow, where do we begin? Much has happened this past
month. Our wrestling team was chosen for the 2008 NH
Middle School Wrestling Sportsmanship Award at the
recent NH State Championships. In the 5/6th grade
Granite Division, Marcel Laplante took a first place and
Evan Manns took 3rd place. In the 7/8th grade Slate
Division, Eric Dupont to 4th place. In the 7/8th grade
Granite Division, Cole Fokas took 3rd place, Zak Kemos
took 2nd place and Patrick O'Connell took first place.
The team took second place, just 6 points out of first,
at the Second Annual Mark Thibault Nashua City Meet.
Cole Focas, Zak Kemos, Alex Lyskawa, Dan McCormick and
Angelica Levesque all took third place finishes. Mike
Allard, Preston Danielson, Patrick O'Connell and John
Dobens took 2nd place finishes. Marcel Laplante, Gabe
Gosselin and Ethan Plumley took home first place awards.
The basketball teams all competed in the Annual Catholic
Schools Basketball tournament, hosted by the Diocesan
CYO Athletic Board. The JV Boys beat St. Mary of Dover,
45-34 in the first round. The boys held their opponent
to just 3 points in a decisive 3rd quarter. In the qtr
final game they went up against the varsity team from
St. Joseph of Manchester. They put in a great effort,
losing 50-19.
The JV girls lost their first round game, 26-23 to
Presentation of Mary, Hudson. The team gave a great
effort, getting to the free throw line 16 times in the
fourth quarter.
The Varsity boys' took on St. Joseph 'B' from Manchester
in the quarter final opener. NC expanded on a 10pt. lead
at half time into a 20 pt. final margin, winning 51- 21.
NC put 8 players in the scoring column.
In the semi-final against St. Joseph of Salem, NC
continued their team play for a 7pt. half time lead.
Salem came out of the locker room in the second half to
take a 2 pt advantage having out scored their opponent
18-9. NC put the clamps on defensively holding Salem to
only 3pts in the fourth qtr. and scoring 8 pts
themselves in helping solidify a great defensive battle
to win, 33-30.
In the championship game, NC ran into a hot shooting
squad from Manchester, St. Joseph 'A' came out flying to
take a 12- 2 first quarter lead and never looked back,
winning 66- 46. NC kept the game in reach but could
never get closer than 5pts in the 3rd qtr., thanks to
the 3pt shooting of Jon Kiskinis (2 treys) and the
offensive rebounding of Marlen Mahandraratnam (6pts) and
Austin Saremi (4pts). Ben Petersen threw up 11pts (3-
treys) in the 4th qtr to make the score respectable.
The Varsity girls went out to a 20 pt lead against Villa
Augustina in their quarter final game and never looked
back. Their full court pressure was too much for the
team from Goffstown. All 12 players made it into the
scoring column for the Lady 'Cats in a 52-21 win.
In the Semis, NC outlasted a well coached quintet from
Dover winning 49-28. NC again used their up- tempo style
to wear down their opponent and cause 32 turnovers. NC
held St. Mary to just 2 pts from the free throw line in
a decisive 4th qtr, while scoring 13 pts themselves. NC
went to the line 23 times compared to just 15 for St.
Mary for a 9-5 point advantage.
In the Championship game, NC pulled off a 42-17 win over
rival St. Joseph of Manchester. The Lady 'Cats took a 12
pt advantage into halftime and stretched it out to 17pts
after 3qtrs. NC continued their up-tempo play and wore
down their opponent, holding the Lady Bears scoreless in
the 4th qtr. NC forced their opponent into 25 turnovers
and also went to the charity stripe 13 more times for a
10-2 pt differential.
Nashua Catholic now moves on to the Regional Tournament
hosted by the Diocese of Boston on April 4-6. Please
visit www.nhcyo.org for complete tournament results.
The NC Cheerleading team begin their tournament season
this weekend at The Winter Spirit Invitationals held at
Bishop Guertin High School. They go to the NH State CYO
Tournament on March 29th.
Intramurals-We're going to try and fit in some
volleyball and floor hockey in the coming weeks, at
least until our spring season begins. Students should
listen to after school announcements and watch the
cafeteria bulletin board for specific dates and times.
Spring sport sign ups will begin next week at lunch
time. We encourage students to sign up as to give the
coaches and idea of numbers for planning purposes.
Baseball tryouts will be March 17 & 18 for 7th grade
boys and March 19 & 20 for 8th grade boys. A final cut
will be made on Wednesday March 26. Times for all
baseball tryouts are 3-5pm here at NC. Softball tryouts
will be March 17 & 18, 5-7pm each day for all girls
trying out. Golf will begin, we hope, when the good
weather finally comes. We plan to get going the week of
April 14th. Track for boys and girls will begin work
outs on March 25th and continue each day after school.
Job opening; we still need coaches for our track team.
If you or someone you know is interested please contact
Mr. B here at school. 882.7011 or rbsnlt@ncrjhs.org
Development News:
Fashion Show is in full swing. We have over 100 students
participating this year! It is shaping up to be another
fabulous evening. Mr Gratiano & Co., with the help and
efforts of Ya Mama's Restaurant, will again be serving
pasta along with desserts and soft drinks. There is
still time to make a donation to the Silent Auction.
Mrs. Parolin has already received some great gifts
including Red Sox /Yankees tickets. We have an offer for
a condo at the beach for a week this summer along with
many other items from gift certificates to theme baskets
(Martini, football tail gate). We have some great theme
baskets from our faculty and administration, not to
mention a donation from the school Math Counts Club.
(They got together and made a quilt, on display in the
gym lobby) The JV boys basketball team got together a
cash gift as well. All great ideas. Please contact Mr B
or Mrs Parolin if you have any questions about donating.
Mr B could use some strong bodies setting up the runway
and tables on Thursday, March 13th, starting at 8am to
completion. Please give him a call if you have an hour
to help.
NC March Calendar:
6 School Mass 9:00 ALL are welcome!
7 Early Release 11:30a.m.
14 *****Nashua Catholic Fashion Show and Silent
Auction****
15 F.A.C.T.S. Aid Sheet Due in to Office
17 Baseball Tryouts
21 Good Friday - NO School
24 Easter Monday NO School
APRIL 2008
1 Grades Close
7 -15 Terra Nova Testing
8 Report Cards - Parent Pick-up
18 Spring Fling Dance
28-2 Spring Recess
God Bless,
Thomas Kelleher
Principal |
