Welcome to the March 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,

Here we are in the house of Our Lady…celebrating the month of St. Joseph. At the start of the month, we remember him as “The Worker.'' St. Joseph is the example that physical labor can be a means to achieving all that God has in store for us. We have been working for the future of MHC Academy! Specifically on:

  • Robotics Center: The Robotics Center is now complete, and we are grateful that God provided generous donors in many of you to fund it and do the hands-on work to make it happen.
  • Athletic Center/Dance Room: We have been working on our new Athletic Center and we are currently upgrading our Dance Room. They should be complete this summer. 
  • Promethean Panels in every classroom: We have installed two of these panels so far, and we have funds earmarked to complete this project over the next three years. 

Improving our physical campus is especially appropriate during Lent, when we do the work to improve our souls. As we continue to develop our relationship with God, our efforts to develop our school and all that it offers our students seems a particularly good fit. May this Lenten season see you deepening your relationship with Our Lord, doing the spiritual work to accomplish that and to realize the future God has in store for you.

Sincerely,
ITALIAN CLASS
Mrs. Cillo's classes are having a fantastic time learning about the language and culture of Italy. The students in Italian 4H wrote letters to the Mona Lisa as they have been studying the Renaissance and in particular, Leonardo da Vinci. They learned that at the Louvre Museum the Mona Lisa has her own mailbox and she receives letters and flowers from admirers.

Meanwhile in Italian 3 class Junior Lily Cacciola's "nonna" (grandmother) came to visit! The students practiced their Italian while learning how to make Sicilian almond cookies. How beautiful to see our students so excited and growing in their love for the Italian culture and language!
ENGLISH I HONORS CLASS
Marking Period 3 finds our English 1 Honors class unpacking the connection between equality and justice. After reading and writing opinion pieces on the value of To Kill a Mockingbird, students engaged in a jigsaw approach to the novel – reading, creating storyboards, and presenting specific sections. After, during a film study, students will track Atticus Finch’s hero’s journey. This will be complemented by reading Just Mercy: A Story of Redemption and Justice by Bryan Stevenson, a true account of one man’s journey to fight for the wrongly convicted.

In culmination, these Honors students will complete a DBQ on Equality, which requires students to read, analyze, and assess a variety of inter-connected documents to answer the question “In what manner does equality reflect the ideal of justice?” in an essay. This multi-faceted unit challenges the students to view this important question from multiple angles and through the lenses of multiple literary genres: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, editorial cartoons, and speeches.
FORENSICS GRAND TOURNAMENT FIRST PLACE
At the Forensics Grand Tournament help at DePaul on February 25th, each student of our Forensics Team performed skillfully and represented us beautifully!

Meghan Rydell brought home her second trophy for Forensic performance. As a freshman, she brought home a fifth place trophy for Original Oratory. This time, as a senior, she earned third place in Extemporaneous Speaking. 

Likewise, Lillian Kopacz earned her second trophy. Last year, she earned second place in Dramatic Performance, which led to competing in the National Tournament in D.C. This year. Lillian won first place in Dramatic Performance and Mary Help has the trophy to prove it! She is headed to Nationals in Louisville, KY on Memorial Day weekend. We are so very proud of this dedicated team! 
WINTER CARNIVAL
The National Honor Society and the Math Honor Society hosted a Winter Carnival on February 11th to benefit OTARY - a teen outreach program run by Catholic Charities. The event included a prayer service, carnival games, food, and prizes. Young people of all ages and their families were invited to participate. Great job, ladies!
OPEN HOUSE COMING UP
Our Spring Open House is coming up on Thursday, April 27th! Be sure to spread the word and share the great news of all the exciting things happening at Mary Help. Our Class of 2027 is quickly filling up! Guests, please pre-register at www.maryhelp.org/ohreg/
SALESIAN LEADERSHIP RETREAT
The Salesian Family is at its finest on the Salesian Leadership Retreats. Representatives from 10 high schools in the Eastern Province come together to deepen their experience of Don Bosco's Oratory: A Home that Welcomes, A School that Prepares for Life, A Parish the Evangelizes, and A Playground Where Friends can Meet. Students interact with one another in activities and prayer moments while also getting to know other branches of the Salesian family, sisters, brothers, priests, cooperators, youth ministers, teachers, and young adults. We hope our participants come back on fire for their faith and with a desire to serve their school communities.  
SOPHOMORE RETREAT
"Beauty, Truth, and Joy," the motto of Mary Help of Christian Academy is also the theme for the Sophomore Retreat. Students participated in activities, reflections, and moments of prayer to discover the beauty that lies within them, the truth about each other, and the joy of friendship. One teacher remarked, "My girls cannot stop talking about how wonderful the retreat was. There is such a great feeling of trust and honesty within my classroom today." When our students open themselves up to the movement of the Holy Spirit, beautiful and amazing things can happen. 
MARCH THEME
The month of March moves us into a reflection on Economic Solidarity and keeping in mind what Pope Francis said, "I ask you to ensure humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it." What a great reflection and inspiration for us during this time of Lent. In Lent we focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; part of that is to remind us to keep our mind and hearts on God and then to give back to others in need. Our Salesian inspiration for the month is Blessed Albert Marvelli, a young man who kept this spirit of serving others throughout the whole year, not just during Lent. An active leader in the Salesian Oratory and Catholic Action in Italy around the time of WWII, Albert gave his time and attention to the poor in his area. As a young adult who earned his degree in Civil Engineering, Marvelli ran for and was appointed alderman of the Town Council specifically so he could make sure that those most in need were looked after. Marvelli never became a priest or a religious and did not marry. As a single person he looked to the needs of others before himself. In what ways can we look to help others this Lenten season? How can our prayer and fasting remind us of our need for God and then inspire us to give of our time, talent, or treasure to others? 
CHAPEL CONCERT PERFORMANCE
On Saturday night, March 11, Mary Help of Christians Academy students Lillian Kopacz, Michaela Shin, Giuliana DiBenedetto and Emilia Cabaero performed selections from Mary Poppins for a Chapel Concert at Don Bosco Prep. The concert entitled MUSIC OF THE THEATER featured Ensemble Bella Luce & a string trio from Quartetto D'Archi Giovanni Battista Pergolesi of the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy. 
WINTER SPORTS SUMMARY
All of our Winter Sports are wrapped up! We celebrated our Varsity Competition Cheer Seniors on Sunday, February 12th at the Lyndhurst Competition and our Varsity Basketball Seniors, with our Varsity Dance Team Seniors on Monday, February 13th at our Home Basketball Game vs Ridgefield Memorial. Congratulations to all of our Seniors for a wonderful Winter Season!
Basketball: Karli Orosz (Manager), Molly Ursich, Lilly Susen, Kaitlyn Raleigh, Olivia Fanning
Dance Team: Sarah Mecka, Makiyah Matthews, Lea Cabaero, Ellie Cipollone
Competition Cheer: Gabriella Fromm & Shannon Rose Stix
BASKETBALL RECOGNITION
Congratulations to Senior Olivia Fanning for being recognized in The Record for the Girls Basketball North Jersey All-Groups teams for Non-Public B. Way to go, Olivia!
SPRING SPORTS TRYOUTS
Spring Sports tryouts were held on Thursday, March 16th. This spring we are excited to continue to have Softball, Track, Lacrosse and we will also be adding Golf! Seasons open on April 4th. Let's Go Blue Jays!
MHC Academy
659 Belmont Avenue
North Haledon, NJ 07508
P. 973.850-7467
F. 973.790.6125