Graduation - John Paul II Center

Guiding Hands to the Future
Graduation
Diocese of Allentown
Summer 2012
Graduate Brandon DeLaughter,
with Principal Mary Adams,
his father and grandmother,
and his teacher, Mary Maher,
was presented with a beautiful
quilt designed by his classmates
especially for him.
Graduate Alex Jeznach is
congratulated by his teacher,
René Berkhammer.
Spring Program
Jenna Rentschler and Charity Oswalt take
time to congratulate each other on another
outstanding performance.
On May 1st, students at John Paul II Center
performed in the always memorable Spring
Program. Each attendee of the program was
given a slip of paper thanking them for coming
and asking them to "Pay It Forward" by doing a
good deed for someone else.
The JPII
Tone Chime
Choir
performs at
the Spring
Program.
The Primary
Class performs
at the Spring
Program.
From our principal . . .
Dear Friends,
The end of another successful school
year! It seems like we just got started. We
pack so much into a school year that time
just flies by. Our newsletters are a testament
to all the activities that take place here.
As I reflect on the past school year I
can’t help but think of all the people we
encounter who assisted us in providing an exceptional program
for the most deserving children. We couldn’t possibly list every
single person that touched our lives. Even the smallest act of giving makes an impact. The impact comes in many forms such as
volunteering in the classroom, in-kind donations, assisting with
fundraisers, monetary donations and prayers. Every year our list
of friends grows more and more. Please know that we are grateful for your support and dedication to our program.
As we plan for next year we look forward to celebrating our
30th Anniversary! The school has been through many changes
over the years, changes that continue to improve our program.
One of the biggest improvements of course has been our new
facility, a blessing for which we are forever grateful. Technology
has also impacted us greatly. It has given our students the ability
to communicate better, participate in more activities with their
peers and provide another means of instruction for the teachers.
Communication among families and friends has been simplified, been more cost efficient and timely. It’s always exciting to
see the plan God has for us, how it unfolds and how we embrace
the changes and challenges that lie ahead. Please join us in
celebrating the past 30 years of success and in planning for 30
more.
Yours in Christ,
Mary Adams
Garden Tour
Students prepare Mary’s Garden for the Pennsylvania Herbal
Society’s garden tour.
In loving memory
Mike and Peter Boylan presented John Paul II Center with a
beautiful crucifix donated by the Boylan family in memory of
their beloved Aunt Josephine Chelius.
Thank You, Volunteers!
Knights of Columbus
Jamal Rios and
Jameson Parisi with
Advisory Board
member, Melissah
Jablonski.
Thank you to the Knights of Columbus Fr. Bally Council for
their $500 gift to JPII.
Page 2
A volunteer recognition luncheon was hosted by our students
honoring all of our volunteers. Students in the Secondary Class
prepared all of the wonderful food.
Special Olympics!
All of the students at JPII participated
in the Berks County Special Olympics
Track & Field Day on April 25th at
Kutztown University.
Field & Fun Day!
Students at JPII joined students from Berks Catholic
High School on May 22nd for Field & Fun Day.
Page 3
JOHN PAUL II CENTER FOR
SPECIAL LEARNING
THANKS YOU FOR SUPPORTING
This year's Legacy Gala, held on March 31st at Stokesay Castle, raised
$80,000 – a record for John Paul II Center! We are very grateful to all
of our supporters!
Halo Award recipient Msgr. James A. Treston is
congratulated by Mary Adams, principal, and Jack
Horrigan, last year's Halo Award recipient.
JPII's Tone Chime Choir performs at the 2nd Annual Legacy Gala.
Diamond Sponsor:
VIST Financial
Gold Sponsor:
Freedom Auto Group
Silver Sponsors:
Dr. & Mrs. Richard Close
The Floral Studio
Dr. Frank A. Franco
Dan & Kathy Langdon
Reading Orthodontic Group
Stoudt Advisors
Bronze Sponsors:
Customers Bank
Discovery Federal Credit Union
Edwards Business Systems
Elite Sportswear
First Priority Bank
Gulati Family Foundation
Jack Horrigan
Jerlyn Foundation
Dr. & Mrs. John V. LaManna
Maggs & Associates
Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Nevel
St. Catherine of Sienna Church
Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Shannon
Dr. Edward W. Skorpinski, Allergy & Asthma Center of Wyomissing
Stevens & Lee/Griffin Financial Group, LLC
Wert Investment Consulting Group of Wells Fargo Advisors
WORLD electronics
Patrons:
Dr. & Mrs. Robert Brigham
Thomas C. Brogan
Page 4
Sal & Nanette Cutrona
Entech Engineering
Rev. Msgr. Dennis Hartgen
Mrs. Nancy Hemmerich
Michael & Kathy Herr
Elizabeth Johnson
Mike & Margie Mizak
Dr. & Mrs. Vincent J. Moffitt
Reading Box Company
Richard & Donna Reddy
Student Sponsors:
Berks Western Telecom
Parent Ginn
yC
Dolan Construction
Center has d lose speaks about what
John Paul II
on
e for her son
Firovante Group
, Patrick.
Dolores Horrigan
Immaculate Conception Church
Stella Paul
Elizabeth Rothermel
St. John Baptist de la Salle
St. Joseph’s Church
Senator Judy Schwank
Waterfall Gardens
In-Kind Sponsors:
Bernardine Franciscan Sisters
Clay on Main – Mrs. Dolores Kirschner
Rick Deemer
Dick Henry Auctioneer
John Paul II Center Advisory Board
John Paul II Center Boosters
John Paul II Center Students and Staff
John Paul II Center Tone Chime Choir
Pam Keeler
Keystone Instant Printing
Knights Rental
In-Kind Sponsors: (cont. from pg. 4)
Leadership Berks JPII Project Team
Phyllis Moser
Kate Parisi
St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish
Eric Savage
Stokesay Castle
Unique Desserts by Anne Louise
VA Productions
Auction Providers:
Austin's Restaurant
Paula Barron
Benches & Boxes
Berks Catholic
Berks Packing Company, Inc.
Berkshire Country Club
Bistro 614
Body Zone
Boscov's Travel
Suzanne Boylan
Bulova
Butler's Pantry
Monika Capozzi
Carriage House
Charming Nails
Chef Alan's
Clay on Main
Richard & Ginny Close
Cloud 9 Café
Virginia Dodge
Emotion Kayaks
Fleming's Steak House
Freedom Auto Group
French Creek Golf Club
Godiva
Go Fish
Good Eatz
Green Hill's Inn
H.O. Foose Tinsmithing Co.
Stephanie & Bill Hornberger
Isaacs
JPII Advisory Board
JPII Boosters
JPII Tone Chime Choir
Judy's on Cherry
Kupcake Kouture
Mail-N-Ship 4 U
Nathan Mayo
Tina McDonald
Sherry McNabb
Nolde Forrest Pottery
Panevino
Papillon
Vince & Mary Lou Parisi
Reading Museum
Reading Phillies
Reading Royals
Rich Reddy
Refreshing Mountain Camp
Robesonia Redware
Sorrelli
Spa @ Spring Ridge
Stokesay Castle
Sunshine Blue Skies
Ann & Lou Sutherland
Talbots
Tina's Salon
Msgr. James Treston
Unique Desserts
Urban Timber
Van Scoy Jewelers
VIST Financial
VIVA
WAVT Pottsville
West Reading Tavern
White Star Tours
Whitford Country Club
Willow Street Pictures
Wyomissing Animal Hospital
SAVE THE DATE
Lgc
THE
3RD ANNUAL
GALA
APRIL 6, 2013
STOKESAY CASTLE
Generous Donations
We are grateful to the St. Vincent DePaul Society from Sacred Heart for
purchasing a Wii system for our students to use as part of the Occupational
Therapy program.
Thank You to Neil Oswalt, member of Boy Scout Troop
#163, for installing a basketball backboard at JPII for his
Eagle Scout project.
Page 5
Spring happenings
Citizenship Awards
First Communion
Grant Grauf receives his first communion at St. Margaret’s Roman Catholic Church.
Recipients of the Pennsylvania Good Citizenship Awards this year
were (from left) Brandon DeLaughter, Michael Laser, Katie Wickel
and Jereck Oliver.
Job Skills Olympics
Hoagie Sale
Students in the Secondary Class participated in the Job Skills
Olympics hosted by the BCIU.
The students in our Secondary Class were hard at work making
hoagies for the Spring Hoagie Sale.
Celebrating
Pysanky Eggs
Students from LaSalle Academy as well as Jackie Hoffman from Y102
joined students at JPII to make Pysanky eggs.
Page 6
The students celebrated John Paul II Day
with a special performance by the Donut Man
shown here with Sue Kaczmarek, liturgical
music coordinator..
Spring happenings
Visiting with LaSalle
Spring Dance
JPII students and
alumni dance the night
away at the Spring
Dance, put on by the
Council for Exceptional
Children Association
of Alvernia University.
Pictured is Liz Miley.
JPII students went to see the students at LaSalle Academy's
performance of Cinderella and meet the stars afterwards!
Scholarship Award
Jameson Parisi is the
proud recipient of this
year's Bishop's Scholarship Award.
Pinewood Derby
Members of Boy Scout troop # 222 at the Pinewood Derby
May Crowning
Mass at St. Ignatius
On May 2nd, students participated in Mass at St. Ignatius.
All of the students honored the blessed mother by crowning
her with flowers in Mary’s Garden.
Page 7
Spring happenings
Primary Class Trips
The Primary
Class visited
the Lehigh
Valley Zoo,
the Hands on
House, and the
Easter Bunny
as well as area
playgrounds.
Intermediate Class Trips
The Intermediate
Class took trips to the
Mohnton and Shillington playgrounds
as well as the Lehigh
Valley Zoo.
Secondary Class Trip
With the money they raised in both hoagie sales, the Secondary Class was able to fund their trip to the Baltimore
Aquarium.
Page 8
Spring happenings
Multi-Disabilities Class Trips
Students in the Multi-Disabilities Class visited the Easter Bunny.
The Secondary and
Multi-Disabilities
Classes enjoyed a day
at the park together.
New Horizons Outings
Consumers in the New Horizons program spent lots of time outside in the garden and playground enjoying the fresh Spring air.
Page 9
John Paul II Center for Special Learning
1092 Welsh Road
Shillington, PA 19607
www.JohnPaulIICenter.org
Non-Profit Org.
US Postage Paid
Reading, PA
Permit No. 716
In this issue . . .
End of Year Celebrations, page 1
Special Olympics & Field & Fun Day, page 3
Spring Happenings, pages 6–9
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John Paul II Center for Special Learning
www.JohnPaulIICenter.org
This newsletter is published for friends of John Paul II Center. If you have
any questions regarding any of the information in this publication, please
contact Becky Burton, Director of Advancement, at 610-777-0605 or
[email protected] via email.
Advisory Board
Mary Adams, Principal, John Paul II Center
Michael J. Boylan
Becky Burton, Director of Advancement, John Paul II Center
Brooke Cortese, Director of Special Education Programs, Diocese of Allentown
Mary Deemer, Advancement Office, John Paul II Center
Richard Deemer
Shane Derenzo, Realtor, Century 21 Park Road
Michael Herr, Chief Operating Officer, VIST Insurance, LLC
Melissah Jablonski, Director of Marketing, Berks Encore
Meggan Kerber, (Adv. Brd. Vice Chairman)
Marketing Director, Toscani Events by VIVA
Michael J. Mizak, Jr., (Adv. Brd. Chairman)
Kathy Nevel, IT, Carpenter Technology
Maureen Parisi, JPII Boosters President
Dr. Richard Reddy, Dentistry
Mike Reinert, Berks Sales Manager, TV 69
Eric Savage, President, Freedom Auto Group
Barbara Ann Shotwell, Ast. Director-Office of Stewardship & Development, Diocese of Allentown
Turie Sotzin, Vice President Community Banker, First Priority Bank
Rev. Msgr. James A. Treston, Pastor, St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish
George R. Violand, CLU ChFC, Violand & Associates
Honorary Members
Sister Francis Bisland, CPS
Honorable Arthur Grim
The late Senator Michael A. O’Pake
To provide a quality individualized academic, social and
religious program for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities or related special
education needs in a safe, nurturing, Christian environment that acknowledges the dignity of all learners while
challenging them on a daily basis to develop their talents
and reach their God-given potential.