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January is the start of a new year and the start of many new and exiting things at PMA. Sophia Bellia, '19 won the second round of the Lion's Club Speech contest, Shakira Henriquez, '18 rocks at basketball, while honors biology had a hands on lesson in diffusion. Approximately 30 students and staff left for the March for Life in Washington D.C. and the end of the month kicks off Catholic Schools Week.
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| Preparing for the Walk for Life |
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Campus Minister, Mr. Stanton, preparing posters for the March for Life, with students.
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PMA Theology teacher, Mrs. Richards shares below how she incorporated January's work of mercy into her
Theology
classes:
I love the works of mercy that campus ministry is promoting among the PMA community because it begs the question, "What can we do to imitate Christ?"
Clearly being a voice for the least among us, the vulnerable pre-born is one way. Educating others on the beauty and sanctity of all human beings is a vital part of spreading the gospel of life.
In addition to the works of mercy, I was also encouraged by the recent push for differentiated instruction in our classes and asked the juniors if they wanted to participate in a debate about abortion. The debate is usually done this quarter, but the majority of students wanted to move it closer to the annual March for Life in D.C.
Students chose what side of the argument they wanted to be on and chose their debate teams accordingly. They explored the basic stages of human development, when life begins and learned the facts about the abortion procedures along with the Supreme Court decisions that made abortion legal in the United States. Each debate team did a lot of preparation and research and all said it was a great experience because they learned things about the topic they never knew before. All students were taught to always speak with compassion, understanding, and respect. I was very proud of how they handled themselves and how they treated each other.
The theology department is all about bringing Christ's truth to others, not forcing our personal opinion on other people. Communicating the truth about respect for human dignity can be a daunting task if we have not prepared ourselves. God alone has the power to change hearts, but He needs us to be the messenger of His truth.
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| Shakira Henriquiz: Tournament Team |
During Christmas break, the varsity members of four local girls' basketball teams competed in an two day basketball All-Tourney called Christmas Hoops Classic: PMA, Notre Dame Cristo Rey, Academy of Notre Dame Tyngsboro, and Greater Lawrence Technical School, who hosted the first ever basketball tournament.
Congratulations to PMA junior, Shakira Henriquez, who was chosen to be part of the All-Tournament team.
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| Sophia Bellia: Lions Club Youth Speech Contest Winner |
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L-R: Yvonne Xi, '19, Ms. Susan Viscosi and Sophia Bellia, '19
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As a sophomore at Presentation of Mary Academy, I am honored to be moving on to the district level of the Lion's Speech Contest. I first got interested in this speech contest after learning about it in English class when my teacher offered five extra points on a quiz if we participated. The topic this year was "Being Politically Correct: Is it taken too far?" After being given this topic we were to write a speech that was between 5 to 8 minutes long answering this question. The first round of competition was at the Nevins Memorial Library in November. There were four competitors there and two would then move on to the next round. Yvonne Xi was chosen to represent the Lawrence Lions Club and I was chosen to represent the Methuen Lions Club. The second round of competition was in the beginning of January. In this round only one of us would move on to the District Competition. That evening Yvonne and I delivered our speeches and waited eagerly for the results. After being nominated the winner, I was glad that I could enjoy that evening with my fellow classmate who as an international student took on the challenge of this speech contest. I am delighted that I was able to enjoy that evening with Yvonne Xi. I would also like to thank Ms. Viscosi for giving us the opportunity as our coach to participate in this event. This experience has been amazing and I encourage more students to get involved and see what it is all about. I look forward to representing PMA at the district level in early February.
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| Diffusion Lab with Mrs. MacGregor |
Honor Biology students are determining wh
ether solutes diffuse through a membrane. The membrane being used is dialysis tubing, the same tubing used in kidney dialysis to remove cellular waste from patients in renal failure. The solutions the students are testing include a starch solution and a glucose solution. Use of indicators, such as Lugol's Solution and glucose indicator strips aid the students in a visual determination of the permeability of each solution and weight measurements help with quantitative data to support their hypothesis.
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Joan Anderson, PMA French teacher, is spearheading a school trip to Quebec City February 3-5. Over 40 students, staff, and, chaperones will be touring the city, eating authentic Quebec cuisine, and experiencing famous landmarks. The attendees will be tobogganing in front of the Chateau Frontenac, dog sledding, visiting
Bonhomme
and the Quebec Winter
Carnival
, watching the
Carnival
Parade, snowshoeing, visiting Ste. Anne
de
Beaupre
Cathedral, touring the
Beaupr
Coast and
visiting
Montmorency
Falls.
It sounds like an exciting trip and we will display all of the pictures in the February edition of ePathways.
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On Friday, March 3, PMA will be hosting a Career Day for our students. We are looking for individuals who would be interested in sharing their school, career and life experiences with our students.
The morning will be split into three 50 minute sessions. If you, or someone you know is willing to volunteer his/her time, please fill out the form on our website using the following link.
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| 11th Annual Spring Gala and Legacy Evening |
Save the date for PMA's social event of the year! The 11th annual Spring Gala Legacy Evening on Friday, March 31 at the Atkinson Resort and Country Club. The evening includes
a silent and live auction, dinner, recognition of our Legacy Award recipients, games, raffles and a lot fun.
Ticket information will be available soon. For event information please contact Sarah Previte Hamilton, '81 at shamilton@pmamethuen.org.
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Save the date: PMA's Bidding for Good online auction is March 17-30. The funds raised by the online auction help support student programs and our tuition assistance program.
If you would like to donate an item for the online or live auctions please contact Sarah Previte Hamilton, '81 at
shamilton@pmamethuen.org. Examples of items to donate are:
-Gift certificates
-Tickets
-Bottles of Wine
-Time shares
-Jewelry
-Electronics
-Purses
-Etc.
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18 students chaperoned by Mr. Klayman, Mrs. Zygmont, and Mrs. McGuinness went to Mount Snow in Vermont on December 22, the first day of Christmas Break, for a day of skiing and snowboarding..
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Students relaxed during Pajama Day the Friday before mid-term week.
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Or download a printable 2016-2017 school calendar here
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Catholic Schools Week
January 30 - February 3
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Grandparents Day
Wednesday, February 1
12:30
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Rivier Feast Day Celebration
Wednesday, February 1
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Quebec City Trip
February 3-5
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Interact Valentine's Dance
Tuesday, February 14
Interact Club will be hosting it's 17th Annual Valentine's Dance at the Methuen Senior Center
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Travel Opportunity for PMA Families.
Don't miss this opportunity of a lifetime!
Current students and their families have the opportunity to travel abroad on a dream European vacation.
PMA is leading an 8 day trip to Lisbon, Seville and Madrid
in June 2017
Spots still available!
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PMA Guild
Pampered Chef Fundraiser
It is time again for the Pampered Chef fundraiser. PMA gets 20% of all sales received.
In the past we have raised over $3,500 by sharing these great products with friends and family. We know we can do it again.
Orders must be submitted and paid by
February 12, 2017.
Use the the link below to place your order online:
(The link is case sensitive)
*Direct Ship is available for any order, and makes it easy for people who live further away to participate.
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Yankee Candle Fundraising Drive
The 2016 Yankee Candle Drive is over. Don't worry if you didn't get your catalog order in. Yankee Candle has committed to help PMA all year long.
Anytime you shop online they will make a donation to our school. Visit
www.yankeecandlefundraising.com and enter group #99896054 in the "start shopping" box.
Thank you for your support!
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GoodShop
Hands down, online shopping is the easiest way to shop. Through GoodShop, you can donate back to PMA, in the comfort of your own home, office, or wherever you online shop. Goodshop has partnered with
over 5,000 stores to offer you daily online promotions and coupons. Plus, they give a percentage of your total back to your favorite non-profit. That could be us!
Before you shop, quickly set up a user name and password and don't forget to assign Presentation of Mary Academy, Methuen, MA as your non-profit of choice! Everybody wins! Happy shopping.
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Amazon Smile
You can support PMA every time you shop online at Amazon.com! Especially now with all of your Christmas shopping.
Through the Amazon Smile program, Amazon will donate 0.5 % of your purchase to PMA. It's that simple. Just make sure you select Presentation of Mary Academy - Methuen, MA as your charity of choice. Or click in the link below to to be taken directly to smile.amazon.com in support of PMA. Doesn't that make you want to smile?
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The Annual Fund is Underway.
The 2016-17 Annual Fund is underway. Money raised through this fund help support student programs, athletics, and allow us to offer tuition assistance to deserving families.
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