Becoming an Adult at the Ripe Old Age of Elevenby Jessica Phillips

On Tuesday, April 29 our very own fifth graders at OLGC as well as our PREP students, became adults of the church by receiving the Holy Spirit, through the Sacrament of Confirmation! Each Candidate has been working so hard all year for this special day! To prepare for the Sacrament the Candidates went on a retreat to the Mother Katherine Drexel Shrine on April 4th. There, Father Suskey and Father Kilgallon talked to them about what Confirmation is and the importance of the Sacrament. Afterwards father Suskey said mass for the 5th graders.

Prior to this most memorable day, each Candidate had to choose a Confirmation name as well as an adult to Sponsor him or her. All of student in the 5th grade class at our school wrote a letter to the Bishop who would be Confirming them, Bishop Joseph Martino. In the letter the students told him a little bit about themselves, why they would like to be Confirmed, why they chose their Confirmation name, and how they prepared for the Sacrament.

As the trumpet played the Candidates, all dressed in their white robes, paraded down the aisle and into their pews. Throughout the entire mass the music was astounding. During the homily the students sat in their pews as Bishop Martino talked to them about the Sacrament at hand and asked them questions. At the end of the Mass everyone had huge smiles on their faces, especially the proud parents and grandparents. All of the hard work that the faculty, staff, and the students put in absolutely payed off! The ceremony was beautiful and all the students did a wonderful job! Congratulations to all of the Confirmandi and on behalf of OLGC thank you to everyone who made that day possible.

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from OUR LADY of GOOD COUNSEL SCHOOLGoodNews

SPRING • 2014

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.

sharing the

Our Lady of Good Counsel School611 Knowles Ave, Southampton, PA 18966215-357-1300 · www.school.olgc.org

G O O D N E W S S T A F F

writers • Sabrina DeNicola • Julia DeWitt • Rachel Kazlauskas • Mary Lynskey • Jessica Phillips • Ryan Taylor • Jessica Webb

photographers • Kathy Callaghan • Amanda McKenney • Michael McKenney • Jackie Rosney • AJ Weiland

Newly Confirmed friends celebrate their milestone.

building on foundations of FAITH

Alumni Super Hero by Mary Lynskey

Former Our Lady of Good Counsel student and graduate Cameron Conicelli saves family from fire off duty. January 23rd Cameron was on his way home from working a 24 hour shift (or more) in Gladmerry Fire Company in Lower Merion. He was taking his normal route of traffic home forty-foot road when he saw smoke coming from a chimney, Cameron said in his interview, “I thought that they just lit a fire in their fire place because it was very cold outside and heat is expensive.” But coming closer to the house he saw smoke coming through the windows and he knew what to do. He went up to the house and called 911. He heard two kids and a father in the house. He kicked the door open and grabbed the two kids and the father and took them out to his car to keep them warm. Because he had no turnout gear, but only had an air pack, he ran across the street To the Penn Wood Middle school and got the fire extinguisher. At that time two policemen and the Fire Marshal showed up and he told them what was going on, he left them to take care of the rest. After that he went home and got a haircut then dropped off the deputy’s car.

Carmen Conicelli strikes a pose in front of Ladder 2, after an interview at Southampton Fire Company.

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Just Look at the World Around You… Right Here on the Ocean Floor!by Julia DeWitt

The Our Lady of Good Counsel Performing Arts Club transformed the Cultural Center into a mystical and colorful underwater fantasyland. The Club’s singing and dancing took the audience fathoms below sea level to the underwater kingdom of Triton, Ariel’s grotto, and Ursula the seawitch’s lair! The performances of Disney’s Little Mermaid Jr. were sold out both evenings and were a smash hit for young and old alike. Many cast members were shocked as groups of small children stood in line and asked to pose for photos with them–yes, the show was enjoyed by all!

The evening wrapped up with a festive closing, an emotional curtain call and the traditional post party celebration at Maggios!

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Communionby Jessica Webb

The sacrament of First Holy Commu-nion started the day of The Last Supper when Jesus broke the bread and gave it to the twelve apostles in the upper room in Jerusalem on the feast of Passover. Luke 22: 14-20, “When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds ful-fillment in the kingdom of God.’ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’” On that very holy night, the apostles received two important sacraments, Holy Orders and First Holy Communion.

On Saturday April 26th, 2014 the third grade of Our Lady of Good Counsel School and our PREP children made their First Holy Communion. Half of the students received communion at 9:30 while the other half received theirs at 11:30. Both masses were presided by Father Suskey and Father Kilgallon, and they were both served by OLGC’s own altar servers, some of whom were siblings of the first commu-nicates. The third graders looked angelic in their suits and dresses.

Before Communion, the third grade had a retreat to help them become closer to God and learn about the sacrament. Some of the students’ mothers, Jennifer Marr, Heather Milano and, Amy Albin helped create plaster molds of the first communicates hands as a keepsake of their special day. The hands were wrapped and given to the students at the retreat. In his homily Father Suskey mentioned how the students have set an example for everyone in the church by showing how joyful they were receiving the sacrament of First Holy Communion.

Sacraments

Hugs & Kissesby Sabrina DeNicola

Grandparents are a wonderful combination of love, happiness, laughter, kind deeds, and great stories. National Grandparents Day is observed on the first Sunday of September after Labor Day, but at Our Lady of Good Counsel School, we honored our grandparents on Tuesday, April 29th. The students arranged special activities to share and celebrate with their grandparents.

When the enthusiastic grandparents arrived in the morning, they were greeted by an abundance of delectable cakes, doughnuts, muffins and fresh coffee. Then they were directed to their grandchildren’s classrooms. The grandparents were introduced to their grandchild’s teachers and friends. Most of the grandparents spent time with their grandchildren in their classrooms sharing creative stories, humorous poems and additional projects, while others enjoyed an entertaining show hosted by some members of the Performing Arts Club. All the students were grateful to have a day at school to show their appreciation for their grandparents and by the happy smiles on their faces; we knew they enjoyed our thoughtful gestures.

Whether we refer to our grandparents as Grandma and Grandpa, Nonna and Nonno, or Mom Mom and Pop Pop, we are truly blessed to have them in our lives. As children, we will always remember the nurturing relationships we form with our grandparents and forever treasure all the joyous memories. We love and cherish our grandparents not just on Grandparents Day, but everyday, either here on earth or with Jesus in Heaven.

OLGC’s Annual March Madness Tournamentby Ryan Taylor

This past March, Mrs. Acker organized OLGC’s annual 3 on 3 March Madness basketball tournament. The tournament was held in the Monsignor D’Angelico Cultural Center and featured boys and girls teams from 5th through 8th grade.

This event is always one of the highlights of the school year and this year was no exception. The Cultural Center was packed with parents and students cheering on their favorite teams. There were four different brackets, 5th-6th grade boys, 5th-6th grade girls, 7th-8th grade boys and 7th-8th grade girls. Teams were created by Mrs. Acker and each team was assigned a diffferent color. In some cases, it looked like the teams had put more effort into customizing their colorful jerseys then into practicing for the tournament.

Each of the four divisions played their own single elimination, bracket-style tournament, with teams competing in 12 minute games. All games were officiated by CYO Board Members Ken Woodring, Mike Esbensen or Greg Campbell. The eventual winners from each division were:

5th-6th grade boys: Alex DeWitt, Gavin McDade and Maguire Sholette5th-6th grade girls: Casey Benson, Ashley Hanson and Deirdre Harney7th-8th grade boys: Justin Bates, Andrew Gonzales and Sean Kearney7th-8th grade girls: Molly Fleming, Christina Haub and Sam Hawe

A Special “Thank You” to Mrs. Acker for organizing the tournament and to all the volunteers who helped with the games and the snack stand. La

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OLGC 4N6…Consistently on Top!The OLGC forensics team placed 2nd over all at the Holy Ghost Prep forensic speaking tournament, 3rd overall at LaSalle, and brought home a slew of awards from Archbishop Ryan!

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Care Packages for the TroopsThese care pacakge will be enroute to our troops giving service to our country. Thank you to all the students who brought in the supplies to make this possible.

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Crowning of MaryThis year’s May queen, Katie Matthews, leads the school in honoring Mary by placing a crown of flowers on her head.

May ProcessionThe graduating Class of 2014 begins May Procession by leading everyone into Church.