Message from the Principal
Families, 

Welcome back! It's hard to believe that we are already in the second semester of the school year. I am hopeful that everyone had a fantastic break and had the opportunity to rest, relax, and spend time with loved ones. 

Second semester always brings mixed emotions. While I'm very excited to see all of the acceptance letters coming in for our seniors, I'm also saddened with the realization that they will be gone at the end of the school year. Luckily, our seniors have been doing a fantastic job of setting a positive tone for the rest of the school and leaving a legacy. 

Tonight is our yearly Nightwatch event in which our student section will participate in Silent Night. We are beyond excited to host so many 8th grade students at the basketball game and look forward to showing them what it means to be a Raider! For those of you new to Cardinal Ritter, the student section's Silent Night activity is something you've got to see for yourself. 

Academically, second semester brings about many opportunities for our students to demonstrate what they've learned. Besides the standardized assessments that take place, there are also numerous academic team competitions happening including our West Deanery SMART contest, Academic Superbowl, and more! It is also special to watch the hard work that goes into preparing for these competitions.

As always, I am thankful for the opportunity to work with your students and be a part of the Cardinal Ritter community. 

God Bless,

Steven Pelych
Announcements
Congratulations to Billy MacLeod who won our Geography Bee competition! Also, congrats to Janie Alvarez and Stella Campbell who rounded out the top 3!
AP Chemistry students experimented to determine the molar volume of hydrogen e.


BLOOD DRIVE
Cardinal Ritter, with the support of the Indiana Blood Center, is having a blood drive on Tuesday, January 15, 2019. Students who are 17 years old or older can sign up to give blood. Students who are 16 years old, may still donate, but will need to have their parent sign a consent form. Parents, teachers, and staff are also invited to participate. Please consider donating; local hospitals depend on the generosity of donors to provide this life-saving treatment to people in need.
Sign-up sheets and parental consent forms are available in the school clinic. Please note, all donors must present a photo ID and weigh at least 110 pounds. Student athletes may not donate if they have competition that day and should check with their coach about practice days. You may safely donate whole blood every 56 days. You may sign up by emailing the nurse, come to the clinic, or during lunch the week of January 7th. The deadline for sign-up is 1/14/19 at school dismissal. Students who participate will be able to count this as 1 service hour for the sick. If you have additional questions, please contact Pam Feltz RN school nurse.

Cardinal Ritter High School
1/15/2019
09:00 AM - 02:00 PM
Gymnasium 
Congratulations to our December Athletes of the Month, Elena Closser (Basketball) and Javon Rodgers (Wrestling)!
The Lady Raider swimming and diving team brought home the 2019 ICC Conference Championship for the third consecutive year.
Congratulations, ladies!

We are extremely excited to welcome Mrs. Maureen Bell back to Cardinal Ritter High School!
Mrs. Bell will be joining our already fantastic science department and teaching chemistry.
Summer Writing Workshop

Every summer for more than two decades, talented high school students (current sophomores and juniors) have been welcomed to Denison University in Granville, Ohio, for the acclaimed Reynolds Young Writers Workshop. The workshop is an eight-day residential program that incorporates small creative writing workshops, group sessions with Denison creative writing faculty and notable visiting writers, and much more.
The online application portal will open on Monday, January 7, 2019. Applications must be submitted no later than Sunday, March 3, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. The workshop runs from June 16-23, 2019. Click here for more information.
John Lorenzano Memorial Scholarship

The John Lorenzano Memorial Scholarship is now available to any 7th-11th grade student who has a parent who is a Police Officer or Firefighter. It is a $1,000 scholarship and students must possess a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Please contact Mr. Kyle Powers for more details.
Parents: PSAT results for all 10 th  and 11 th  grade students will be released the week of December 10 th . A link to access the scores will be sent directly to the email address that your student put on their PSAT answer sheet.  This link will also help you to do the items below:
  • See all your student’s scores and if they are on track for college readiness.
  • View detailed explanations of skills required to be college ready.
  • Send their scores to Khan Academy for personalized practice recommendations.
  • Search for colleges that fit your student’s needs.
  • Access your student’s PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index score used for participation in programs conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
  • Start on your scholarship and college financial aid plan.
  • Take a personality test to find majors and careers fit for your student.
  • Get feedback on your student’s readiness for AP courses.
Feel free to contact the guidance office with any questions at 924-4333 ext. 421.
Spirit Wear Sale

Between now and January 26th, get 20% off an order of $75 or more at our online spirit wear shop.
Use code SAVE20 at checkout to receive 20% off when you place your order.

Click here to shop.
Attention Parents :

All juniors at Cardinal Ritter are required to complete one day of job shadowing starting the month of November through the end of February. If you are interested in hosting a junior for job shadowing, please contact Lindsay Thomas .  You can earn service hours!
Complete Your Service Hours and Save $200 on Admission
 
There are many ways to complete the 20-hour CRHS service requirement. Check out the parent club page to learn more and sign up for events.
Schola High School Summer Program at Belmont Abbey - July 2019

Schola offers a unique opportunity to rising high school sophomores, juniors,and seniors to spend an elevating and revitalizing week engaged in a rich schedule of academic, cultural, and recreational activities centered on lively seminars discussing several of the great books of the Western world. Click here for more information.
2019-2020 Registration

Registration for 2019-2020 school year is around the corner! Packets will be given to your student during Theology class in early January. Your student's registration appointments will be noted on their packet.

Appointments will start later in the month of January and we will collect the following materials at that time:
  • Completed registration paperwork (Please complete paperwork before the appointment.)
  • Schedule for next year with a parent signature
  • $150 registration fee

Parents, we would love for you to attend the appointment with your student if possible. Please call the guidance office to RSVP if you plan to attend. If you would like to attend, but need a different time, please call us in the Guidance Office at 924-4333 ext. 420. 
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CYO Girls' Volleyball
Any parent interested in coaching cyo girls volleyball, please email Mr. Powers

Registration is available on the cyo website ; cost of playing is $45 and checks can be made out to Cardinal Ritter High School. The season begins at the end of January.

Check out the different programs offered by the Center for Leadership Development (CLD). If your student participates in many of these programs, they can be eligible to earn college scholarships!
Junior high students can participate too!
https://cldinc.org/
International Healthcare Abroad Program

Help, Learn, and Discover is an international health care volunteer program that provides high school seniors and undergraduate students with the opportunities to shadow a variety of health care professions while volunteering to build homes for rural communities in Ecuador. In the Help portion, students will fundraise money to bring down to Ecuador that will go directly toward building homes alongside the disadvantaged community. Over the past 14 years, HLD has fundraised over 1 million dollars. The Learn portion is an optional health care experience. Students are able to learn clinical skills and shadow in surgeries in their field of choice. The last part of the program allows students to travel around the beautiful country of Ecuador and participate in activities such as tubing in the Amazon, waterfall rappelling in the rain forest, and horseback riding at the base of a volcano!
All program details can be found at ecuaexperience.com .
For any questions please email Nikyta Davis at  ndavis@ecuaexperience.com.
Indiana State Tax Credit Scholarship Program

Want to better understand the Indiana State Tax Credit Scholarship Program and how you can earn a 50% credit on your state taxes? Check out  this podcast featuring Superintendent of Catholic Schools Gina Fleming and Betsy Wiley, President and CEO of the Institute for Quality Education, interviewed on Catholic Radio’s Faith in Action program. 
Notre Dame Pre-College

Through our summer scholars  program, students may choose from 22 courses in a variety of fields, perfect for sophomores and juniors who want to explore their passions and interests while earning college credit. 
Our Little Ways of Prayer

Our Campus Ministry team wants to pray for you! If you or someone you know is in need of prayers, submit a prayer request and every other week the Campus Ministry team will be praying for the needs of our community. Click here to submit a prayer request.
Amazon Smile

Don't forget to select Cardinal Ritter High School as your charity of choice at smile.amazon.com  and a portion of your sale will be donated to CRHS!
Your Kroger Plus Shoppers Card can earn rewards for CRHS!  

Support CRHS every time you shop at Kroger! Log in to your Kroger account and click " My  Account" at the top of the homepage to get to your Account Summary page. Click the "Add  Card " button under " Plus Card  and Alt ID(s)." Type your 12- or 13-digit  Kroger card  number into the " Plus Card -or-Alt ID Number" field. This number is at the back of your  Kroger Plus card . Then you can click on community rewards on the side bar and type Cardinal Ritter High School into the search space. CRHS will earn money every time you swipe your Kroger Card.
College Counseling Corner

The Washington Youth Summit on the Environment (WYSE)
This one-week, exciting Summit is designed exclusively for high-achieving high school students and will be held on the campus of George Mason University, just outside Washington, D.C., from June 23 to 28, 2019. You can learn more about this opportunity by clicking  here .
Notre Dame Pre-College
Summer 2019 Programs

Click here for dates and details.
New Scholarship Opportunities

The following links are scholarship opportunities specifically available for minority students:
Many colleges and universities offer free  Diversity Fly-In Programs  in the fall semester to top underrepresented, first generation, and/or diverse students. Attending one of these programs can demonstrate strong interest in an institution and potentially help one’s chances of being admitted. For more information about these upcoming opportunities, please follow this link .
Marion County Seniors

The CICF scholarship application portal is OPEN! Plan to set up an account and apply! Please note, all La Plaza scholarships are also on this site.

The link to the CICF Scholarship Application Portal can be accessed here . The portal closes on February 5, 2019.

Here is some more information regarding the scholarship.
SCRIP Information
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR ONLINE ORDERING

1. Go to  shopwithscrip.com  and create an account. Our organization code is FE97AB26258L.
2. Once your account is created, click on "Shop" and browse the hundreds of products available
3. After your order is complete, choose your payment method - either check or PrestoPay. You DO NOT have to use PrestoPay to order online. If you choose check, just send your payment in with your student on Monday morning. 
4. Look for your order to come home on Wednesday or Thursday-unless you ordered ScripNow (e-certificates) or Reloads. Those will be available as soon as the order is processed on Monday if you pay by check, or almost immediately if you pay with PrestoPay. 
5. Click here for more detailed instructions.
Cardinal Ritter Mission Statement
Cardinal Ritter is a Catholic high school entrusted by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the parishes of the West Deanery to provide, within a college preparatory curriculum, the highest standards of academic excellence to students of diverse socioeconomic, racial, and religious backgrounds. Cardinal Ritter challenges its students to grow spiritually, intellectually, athletically, and artistically. The Cardinal Ritter community values and fosters the unique intellectual, cultural, social, and physical gifts of each student. As followers of Christ, we encourage our students to share their gifts and talents in service to others.
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