Welcome to the February issue of On the Hill, Mary Help of Christians Academy monthly e-newsletter. On the Hill offers an inside view of life at Mary Help and all the other remarkable things that happen on campus each and every day. Read on to see for yourself the difference a Mary Help education makes...
Dear MHC Academy Family and Friends,

I know I’m telling you this a second time, but I’m just so THRILLED: we saw a 46% increase in the number of freshman applications for the ‘23-’24 school year. That is an AMAZING accomplishment, and we have our talented staff to thank for the hard work they put in daily - hard work that is beginning to see results of this caliber. 

We continue the work on our Athletics Center and the Dance Room, which are both shaping up nicely. The upgraded Dance Center is already in use daily, and our Dance teacher, Hannah Battista, is delighted with the results: “The dance studio has had a nice refresh this year. The white paint on the walls and the newly installed mirrors have given the dance program a more professional feel. The big smiles on all of the girls' faces as they entered the room after the mirror install said it all. I am thrilled that we are now able to fully utilize the space we have, work on their technical skills and practice their dances with a full view.

The girls have always come into the dance studio excited, motivated, and ready to learn, but now I feel that we have been able to provide a space for them to really grow as dancers. For this, I am so grateful.”

As we are preparing to put our new athletic equipment into place, we still have some big Athletics Center projects to complete, like installing new flooring, putting in air conditioning, and adjusting the electrical system to ensure it is robust enough to support our new machines. These projects are time-consuming, and will likely require summertime execution, so that our students can complete the school year uninterrupted by large projects. 

I am hopeful that before a year goes by, we will start to ready the Athletic Center for a walk-through session for our Board as well as other stakeholders; count yourself as a member of that group!

We started off the month of February with Catholic Schools week. At the end, we will begin the season of Lent, a time of rebirth for all of us. In the middle of these, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate the love God shares with us in Jesus, His Son. 
February is a busy month. Throughout it, let’s remember that God is near us.


Sincerely,
BUSINESS CONCEPTS
Mrs. Green's Business Concepts class created a company called "Bracelets by Blue Jays" as a way to learn about the different aspects of operating a business from inception to liquidation. The students held positions in sales, marketing, finance, labor and organization - updating sales and inventory daily. Senior Shannon Stix shared the most important thing she learned during this process. "Organization and coordination between co-workers is important to running a business." And run a business they did - the class managed to generate a profit of over $400 with all proceeds going to charity!
DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP WORKSHOP
This winter, 8th graders participated in a 3-day Digital Citizenship Workshop in McLaughlin Library taught by Ms. Bello, our library media specialist. Students engaged in a variety of activities where they explored real-world scenarios on how online media affects their lives. Some of the topics included staying safe online, managing screen time and privacy settings, and determining if posted information is credible. A sticker was awarded for successful completion of the workshop.
SEMI-FORMAL
The annual Winter Semi-Formal took place on Sunday, January 15th. The dance was open to all grades and to the guests of our students. There was plenty of dancing, food and fun with even the sisters joining in!
STUDENT COUNCIL RETREAT
"Servant Leadership" was the theme of this year's Student Council Retreat held on Friday, January 27th. Through games and activities, students were able to explore their leadership styles as well as the gifts and talents that they bring to their roles on Student Council. They prayed together taking the Gospel of Jesus washing the disciples feet as inspiration for what it means to be a servant leader. It was a great opportunity to get to know their fellow StuCo members and to be inspired for the second half of the year's activities.  
INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
The Class of 2023 hosted International Night on Friday, February 3rd. Foods from countries like the Philippines, Peru, Jamaica and Ukraine were on offer for over 150 guests. There was even a musical performance by two of the seniors accompanied by family members. What an amazing night that celebrated the rich multiculturalism of our Mary Help community!
ACCEPTED STUDENTS NIGHT
Our incoming class of 2027 joined us for Accepted Students Night on February 2nd. Families had a chance to register for classes, purchase spirit wear and meet faculty and staff (and our mascot, the Blue Jay)! We're so excited to welcome you to the nest and hope to see you soon on campus!
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
Catholic Schools Week coincided with the Feast Day of our Founder, St. John Bosco, giving us the perfect opportunity to celebrate our faith, traditions, and the Salesian charism! Based on Don Bosco's Oratory Model of Home, School, Church, and Playground, the Student Council, Campus Ministry, and Theology Department organized a range of activities from pajama day and breakfast, to adoration and confession, from a canned food drive, to playing "Are You Smarter than a Teacher?" The air of excitement and gratitude was palpable throughout the week as we prayed, played, danced, and learned more about our faith and spirituality. We love being a part of the Salesian Family!
Bagels for breakfast on Monday of Catholic Schools Week!
Newly commissioned Eucharistic Ministers
Thanking Office Mark and the North Haledon Police Department
Dressing in the theme "stages of life"
"Are You Smarter Than a Teacher?"
MARCH FOR LIFE
On Friday, January 20th, twenty-five members of our school community attended the March For Life in Washington, D.C. The group attended the rally and then joined thousands of marchers on Capitol Hill. They then went to pray at St. Peter's Church where they had a surprise meet up with Bishop Sweeney who gave the group a blessing.
FEBRUARY THEME
February brings us to our next theme, "Simple Salesian Living" with our Co-Foundress St. Mary Mazzarello as our inspiration and guide. She exemplified St. Francis DeSales' motto to "Do ordinary things extraordinarily well" but in her own way. The farm girl known as Main, did not set out to start a worldwide congregation of Sisters but taught that in order to be holy one must simply, "Do the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, for the love of God." In today's words, we might call this "Mindfulness" but in her time, as in ours, it was simply offering the ordinary things we do everyday to God and to allow Him to do extraordinary things with it. St. Mary Mazzarello, pray for us!
SPRING MUSICAL REHEARSALS
Rehearsals for the Spring Musical, "Mary Poppins" are well underway! Showtimes are:
  • Fri. March 17th at 7:30pm
  • Sat. March 18th at 1:30 pm & 7:30pm
Tickets will be available to purchase on the www.maryhelp.org website. We hope to see you there!
COMPETITION CHEER
Our Competition Team opened up their season on Sunday, January 29th at Ramapo HS winning First Place in their division. They continued their success on Saturday, February 4th winning their division again at the Wayne Valley HS Competition. 

Our second-year program is made of of 2 seniors, 4 juniors, 5 sophomores, 2 freshmen and 1 eighth grader. Upcoming competitions include :
  • Sunday February 12th at the Lyndhurst Cheer Mania
  • Saturday February 18th at the Saddle Brook HS Competition 
  • Sunday March 5th at the Welcome to the Jungle Cheer Challenge
SWIM TEAM
Our Varsity Swim Team completed their season on Wednesday, January 25th at the Garfield Boys & Girls Club where we celebrated Senior Nora Maloney! 
SENIOR NIGHTS
We will be celebrating our Senior Night for Basketball and the Dance Team on Monday, February 13th at our 4:30pm Home Game vs Ridgefield Memorial. Come out and support our Blue Jays! 

SPRING TRYOUTS
Tryouts will be held on Thursday, March 16th for Varsity Softball, Varsity Track, Varsity Lacrosse & Varsity Golf. *Pitchers/Catchers will report for Softball Tryouts on Monday, March 13th. 
MHC Academy
659 Belmont Avenue
North Haledon, NJ 07508
P. 973.850-7467
F. 973.790.6125