The Spartan Advance is a digital newsletter intended to promote the events and activities of Immaculata High School’s Office of Advancement. Please send us any news and announcements, so the Office can share them with our Spartan family of alumni, students, faculty, parents, and friends. All content submissions are subject to editing and may not be used in their entirety.

SPARTAN SPOTLIGHTS

Spring Luncheon Tickets Available NOW!!

Two time-honored traditions – the Immaculata Fashion Show and Basket Auction, and the Immaculate Conception School Tricky Tray – have joined forces to create the most anticipated social event of our school year: The Spartan Spring Luncheon on Sunday, April 21! Get your tickets NOW before they sell out – there are only 400 seats available!

Baskets valued at more than $25,000 will be raffled off, with prizes from designer bags, outdoor furniture, jewelry, electronics and more. Our littlest Spartans, our ICS Kindergartners (Immaculata Class of 2036!) will join seniors from Immaculata’s Class of 2024, walking the runway in the height of today’s fashions. You, grandma, grandpa, family and friends don’t want to miss that sweet photo opportunity, so get your tickets today!

There’s nothing better than being there, but if you can’t make the luncheon and still want to be a part of the basket raffle action, good news! Those who can’t attend in person can obtain raffle tickets in advance and deposit them in our special Drop 'N Go hours from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Saturday, April 20.

Don’t delay – get your tickets for the Spartan Spring Luncheon here.   

We hope you, your family, and friends will join us as we bring together two of the most beloved traditions of our Immaculate Conception Parish schools. It’s going to be more than twice the fun!

Congratulations to our Spartan Athletic teams who competed in championships this past weekend. 

Our inaugural wrestling season concluded with two wrestlers at 40 or more wins, two with 30 or more, and three with 20 or more victories. Three Spartan wrestlers participated in NJ State Championships in Atlantic City, including Derek Sutphen, Mason Tettambel, and Nate Keller. Coach Rodney VanNess shared, "It was a great experience for our young Spartans feeding off of each other’s energy, and a great start for our program. We are proud of you and there is more work to be done!"

Congratulations to Spartan swimmer Colleen Bull, placing 4th in the 200 Free Style and 3rd in the 200 Free Style. Our 200 & 400 Free Style Relay team also competed at Finals, including Caitlyn Baum, Colleen Bull, Nikki Harkins, Kennedy Ruschetta, and Maia Minakas. Zachary Kusch placed 4th in the 200IM, breaking his own school record over the weekend. Zachary also place 3rd in the 100 Breast Stroke.

Immaculata Fencing participated in their first-ever Meet of Champions. Stella Kemecsei, Tessa Krehley, and Sofia Caruso participated in the ladies sabre. At the end of the tournament, Stella, Sofia, and Tessa found themselves ranked #23, #35, and #36 in the entire state of New Jersey. Jack Falcone represented Immaculata in mens foil. Winning two of his five bouts, Jack finished the season ranked #28 in New Jersey. Coach Chris Castellano shared, "This was a very exciting and historic weekend for Immaculata, and this has been the first chapter of what promises to be a huge story in Immaculata's future."

Wrapping up the weekend, congratulations to our boys 4x400 team of Aidan Van Doren, Andrew Hilke, Anthony Kowalski, and Jayden Capindica. The boys all ran personal records at the Meet of Champions for an overall time of 3.33, beating the previous school record by 9 seconds!  

We are #SpartanProud of our winter sports student-athletes.

Make an Impact on State Funding for Catholic Schools

The New Jersey Catholic Conference is asking for our help in advancing two critical funding increases for nonpublic schools - for school nursing services and transportation - in the state’s 2025 budget. 

The funding for nursing services has not kept up with the additional legislative requirements that a school nurse must perform, including the administration of certain medications and their role as first responder in a school emergency. Urge Governor Murphy to support an increase in Nonpublic School Nursing Services to $150.00 per pupil to cover the increased cost of nurses’ salaries and the cost of other requirements imposed by the Legislature. 

Nonpublic school transportation continues to be problematic for many students, with the result being that parents receive aid-in-lieu payments instead of transportation. Aid-in-lieu for parents at the current rate does not help in getting our students to and from our schools. Urge Governor Murphy to raise the per-pupil statutory ceiling for nonpublic school transportation to $1,300 per pupil in order to have bus routes run for the majority of our students.

It’s important that we make our voices heard now, as the Governor advances his budget and the Legislature considers action.

Write or call:

The Honorable Phil Murphy Governor of the State of New Jersey The State House

P.O. Box 001

Trenton, NJ 08625

Phone: (609) 292-6000

Email: https://nj.gov/governor/contact/all/

SPARTAN CASH RAFFLE TICKETS NOW ON SALE

The Spartan Cash Raffle is one of Immaculata High School's major fundraisers. It is a great way for parents, alumni, past parents, and friends to support the school, while also getting a chance to win a big prize. Winning tickets will be drawn at the Jazz Supper Club on Thursday, May 2, 2024, with a chance to win a Grand Prize (35% of gross ticket sales), second place (10% of gross ticket sales), or third place (or 5% of gross ticket sales).

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

The cast, crew, and pit band are hard at work on our 2024 production of Godspell. The opening night curtain rises tomorrow Friday, March 8th, and performances continue on 3/9, 3/15, and 3/16. Tickets are available for all shows at https://ihsmd.booktix.net/

This month's Spartan Advance was curated by Rich Rau IHS '89, Director of Advancement; Michele Blandino, Director of Admissions; Stacey Mezzacca Geary IHS '91, Marketing and Communications Assistant; and Sue Beardsley, Advancement Assistant. Have an idea or news you think should be shared in the Spartan Advance? Let us know at news@immaculatahighschool.org.

Immaculata High School

240 Mountain Avenue

Somerville, NJ 08876

908-722-0200

www.immaculatahighschool.org