Giving Matters Newsletter Fall 2013

Paul M. HattenhauerBoard Chair

Welcome to the New School Year

What a great time to be a part of the MACS system! We have so many things to celebrate – from the opening of the new Christ the King Catholic High School facility, to the new one-to-one computer application being used at Our Lady of the Assumption Middle School, to the awards and achievements received by our high school students each year.

This year the MACS Education Fund gave $325,000 to all nine schools; $232,925 for principal grants and $92,075 to Grants for Educational Excellence. To help our children achieve academic success, 32 grants were awarded to 48 teachers for innovative programs in a wide range of subjects including, but not limited to art, foreign language, physical education, and STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math). These grants were funded by the financial contributions of generous families like yours.

Our hope is to award each school more money through the principal and teacher grants for next school year. This year, our Bridge to Excellence Annual Giving Campaign (AGC) goal is $500,000. Every family will receive a letter in the mail requesting a donation to the MACS Education Foundation. Please thoroughly read the appeal and prayerfully consider supporting the MACS Education Fund. Gifts can be made by returning the reply card in the mail or going to http://macsedfund.org/donate.

Grants for Educational Excellence Recipients Announced

The Diocese of Charlotte announces the recipients of MACS Education Fund Grants for Educational Excellence for the 2013-2014 school year.

Click here to view the grant recipients.

 

Grandbuddies

The Most Wonderful Thing Ever!

Most of the time, the stories on the news are so negative, filled with things that are so upsetting and discouraging… especially when it comes to kids or nursing homes. The trouble kids are getting into these days, or the lawsuits people are filing against homes for the elderly, seem to be their favorite topic. So many good things are happening all the time and I just wish they could report on those!

One such story should be shared to all! Students from the MACS system visited the residents of Plantation Estates Retirement Community and adopted a ‘grand buddy’ that they would get to know through multiple entertaining and educational experiences throughout the school year.  The students had a very specific list of questions which they asked in a very polite and adorable interview. An instant relationship was born between the children and their elders… a very beautiful thing.

 

Welcome to the New School Year

What a great time to be a part of the MACS system! We have so many things to celebrate – from the opening of the new Christ the King Catholic High School facility, to the new one-to-one computer application being used at Our Lady of the Assumption Middle School, to the awards and achievements received by our high school students each year.

This year the MACS Education Fund gave $325,000 to all nine schools; $232,925 for principal grants and $92,075 to Grants for Educational Excellence. To help our children achieve academic success, 32 grants were awarded to 48 teachers for innovative programs in a wide range of subjects including, but not limited to art, foreign language, physical education, and STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math). These grants were funded by the financial contributions of generous families like yours.

Our hope is to award each school more money through the principal and teacher grants for next school year. This year, our Bridge to Excellence Annual Giving Campaign (AGC) goal is $500,000. Every family will receive a letter in the mail requesting a donation to the MACS Education Foundation. Please thoroughly read the appeal and prayerfully consider supporting the MACS Education Fund. Gifts can be made by returning the reply card in the mail or going to https://charlottediocese.thankyou4caring.org/MACSEducationFoundationDonations.

AGCAs we begin the new AGC, I would like to introduce you to Heather Moeller, the new Director of Development for Catholic Schools. As a product of the MACS system, Heather is a modern day example of Paul’s prophetic words in Galatians 6:7

 

Be not deceived . . . for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

 

Heather grew up in the St. Patrick’s and St. Mark’s parishes, attended St. Patrick’s school, and after spending several years teaching and working in development, Heather joined us in May to lead our fundraising efforts for the MACS Education Fund. Please join me in welcoming Heather to the MACS school family.

 

Thank you again for providing the MACS system with the best programs, the best teachers, and the best spiritual development.

 

Have a great school year,

 

Paul M. Hattenhauer

Board Chair

Grants for Educational Excellence Recipients

 

GEERecipients include:

Charlotte Catholic High School

Greg Tucker: $2,500 to fund an engineering lab

Christ the King High School

Kimberly Antolini and William Fountain: $4,550 for the ALEKS math program

Lisa Daidone: $3,200 to establish the fine arts program

Holy Trinity Middle School

Yvonne Adamou: $1,576 for the religion program “Battle of Faith”

Mireille Bellotti: $2,317 to purchase iPad minis for the foreign language program

Beth Robinson: $1,253 for Microsoft-Surface Windows 8 Pro for the fine arts program

Kelly Ann Wilson: $2,500 for ALEKS, a web based assessment and learning platform for mathematics

Our Lady of the Assumption School

Tammy Harris and Scott Kent: $5,000 to fund hands-on technology work

Anna Kiefriter and Vicki Neumann: $4,000 to fund “Behind the Scenes” in the music program

Mercedes Linares and Tammy Harris: $4,991 to fund smart technology to aid foreign language learning

St. Ann School

Katie Buckley and Kristen Ochsenhirt: $3,268 for “Leap into Leveled Literacy” to benefit the English, literature and writing program

Jennifer Coughlin: $890 for “Raising the Bar with Jr. Great Books” for the library

Celene Little and Lisa Horton: $6,000 to fund “HearBuilder” to improve auditory processing

Annmarie Mancusi: $2,000 to fund “Growing Minds: A School Garden” for the science program

Julie Thornley: $1,208 to fund “Enriching the Mathematical Mind” for the math program

Ellen Wentz and Anne-Marie Young: $2,914 for the learning support tool “Movin’ and a Groovin’ in Pre-K: Strengthening our Gross Motor Skills”

St. Gabriel School

Nancy Chiarelli: $788 to fund “The Wilson Language Program” to aid literacy and reading

Patty Martin-Wong and Kelli Dumser: $3,240 to fund “The First Tee” for the physical education program

Trina O’Connor and Aimee Cescon: $3,263 to fund a Learning Support Lending Lab

Marion Scherger, Sue Cornish, Michelle Boyle and Robin Markham: $3,972 for “Learning with Legos” to aid the literacy and reading program

Nikki Warren: $780 to fund “Multiplication Madness” for the math program

St. Mark School

Rachel Angell, Terri Miller and Linda Dunn: $2,950 to fund “BrainPop” to aid the English, literature and writing program

Janet Batres: $1,390 to fund “CAFÉ Program: Engaging all students in daily Literacy Assessment and Instruction and The Daily 5: fostering literacy independence”

Rebecca Dunn: $2,000 to fund “Plant and Share” to aid the social studies program

Rebecca Dunn and Linda Dunn: $3,621 to fund “Lego Education” to aid the learning support program

Carole Watson and Crystal Carney: $3,325 to fund “Read Naturally” to aid the learning support program

St. Matthew School

Deirdre Cristante and Sarah Dennstaedt: $4,436 to fund a Literature Listening Library

St. Patrick School

Amy Davis: $270 to fund technology for “Artsonia” in the fine arts program

Michele Llaneza, Lynn Polian and Julie Roberts: $5,030 to promote innovation with iPads

Miriam Olynick and Emily Muano: $4,838 to fund “Using 21st Century Technology to Minimize Writing Anxiety” to aid the English, literature and writing program

Also: $1,500 to fund the literary and reading program with integrated reading with MacBook Air and iPad technology

 

An additional $232,925 was awarded to the schools through principal grants. For the 2013-2014 school year, MACS Education Fund’s Annual Giving Campaign Bridge to Excellence hopes to raise $500,000 to continue supporting our schools.

The Most Wonderful Thing Ever!

Most of the time, the stories on the news are so negative, filled with things that are so upsetting and discouraging… especially when it comes to kids or nursing homes. The trouble kids are getting into these days, or the lawsuits people are filing against homes for the elderly, seem to be their favorite topic. So many good things are happening all the time and I just wish they could report on those!

One such story should be shared to all! Students from the MACS system visited the residents of Plantation Estates Retirement Community and adopted a ‘grand buddy’ that they would get to know through multiple entertaining and educational experiences throughout the school year.  The students had a very specific list of questions which they asked in a very polite and adorable interview. An instant relationship was born between the children and their elders… a very beautiful thing.
GrandbuddyFollowing the interview, the intrepid reporters transformed a blank hard-cover book into a beautiful memoir for each resident! The students were so creative and told the stories just as they were told, picking up on every little detail the grand buddy mentioned as they sat at their feet and listened. The children even illustrated old memories that the residents shared and drew pictures of them as kids!
As I was looking over one elderly gentleman’s book, I told him, “How amazing! As these kids grow and learn the history of WWII and Pearl Harbor, they will ALWAYSthink of you!” They created something that will be treasured forever by our senior citizens and their families. The children won’t understand until they are older why the ‘Silent Generation’ gets a little teary-eyed at the thought of such a wonderful gift.
In a thank you note, one ‘grand buddy’ wrote, “Dear little ones, it is so exciting to think about you-my new friends! Thank you for coming to see me and making my life a joy for a little while.”
These children created a new memory that will stay with us forever.
Thank you,
Becky Dinello
Activities Director of Plantation Estates Retirement Community