Berkshire Baseball - John Paul II Center

John Paul II Center for Special Learning, Inc.
1092 Welsh Road
Shillington, PA 19607
www.JohnPaulIICenter.org
Non-Profit Org.
US Postage Paid
Reading, PA
Permit No. 716
In this issue . . .
Walk-a-Thon, page 2
Holiday Happenings, pages 4 & 5
Tax Credits support JPII Students, page 6
Spotlight on the Lunch Program, page 7
Guiding Hands to the Future
Berkshire Baseball
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Official Publication of
John Paul II Center for Special Learning, inc.
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
bburton@johnpauliicenter.org via email.
Eric Savage, President, Freedom Auto Group
Meg Shields, Owner, Fromuth Tennis
Jackie Hoffman-Wenrich, WRFY Morning Show
W. Bradford White, Jr., Senior VP Wealth Management,
Morgan Stanley
Chester Winters, Director of Information Technology, RACC
Mary Adams, Principal
Becky Burton, Director of Advancement
Board of Directors
Ted Bassano, (Treasurer) Vice President Emeritus, RACC
Ginny Close, (Secretary)
John Dever, (Vice-Chairman) President, Bills Khakis
Virginia Frederick Dodge, Executive Producer, VA Productions, Inc.
Michael A. Duff, Senior VP & General Counsel, Penske
Gregory Eichhorn, VP for Enrollment Management & Dean of Admission, Albright College
Michael Herr, COO, Tompkins Insurance
Fr. Patrick Lamb, St. Catharine’s of Siena, Reading
Daniel Langdon, President, East Penn Manufacturing Co, Inc.
Michael J. Mizak, Jr., (Chairman) COO, SafetyCare Technologies, LLC
Kathy Nevel, Ph.D., Independent Consultant
Craig Perrotty, Sr. VP Fixed Income Sales, Virginia Sparks IBG
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.
Once again this fall, all the students at JPII had an opportunity to spend a day at the ballpark. Members of the Berkshire
Baseball team spent a wonderful September day with our
students, helping them to perfect their throwing and hitting
skills. When the day began each student was surprised to receive their own baseball glove and hat. These gloves remain at
school to be used at recess and also will be ready to go when
we return in May for another fantastic day at the ballpark!
Diocese of Allentown
Winter 2014
From our principal . . .
Dear Friends,
As I look over these newsletters it always
amazes me how much we accomplish
on a day to day basis. We pack so much
into the day so the students can receive
a program that enriches their lives.
Besides offering the academics we expose our students to a variety of experiences and give them
opportunities to focus on and strengthen their abilities. We
feel there isn’t anything our students couldn’t accomplish
without a bit of modification and assistance. Our mission
is to educate the whole child, to give them quality of life
on whatever level that may be for them. The teachers and
staff view our students as any other typical child, so why
shouldn’t they have the same opportunities. We have many
friends in the community that help accomplish this goal.
They make it possible to participate and experience so
much in our world. Sometimes the teachers come up with
the ideas and usually there is someone who helps us bring
it to fruition. Or someone else will come to us and suggest
an idea. I thank those who support our mission and share
the same vision. Together we can continue to provide a program that will develop a student to reach their God-given
potential and a life of independence.
Walk-a-Thon
A crowd of students and their families gathered at school on
October 20th to walk the grounds of our neighbors at Precious Blood Convent for our Annual Walk-a-Thon. Everyone
enjoyed sharing a fun lunch afterwards. Thank you to our
Corporate Sponsors Entech Engineering, Health Calls and
Interstate Container and to all who sponsored a student to
walk this year. Your generosity helped to raise $5,600 to support the many programs and activities of our students.
Working at JPII
As part of our Transition Program in our Secondary Class, students
are in charge of our hot lunch program every Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday. The students helping out here change each month so
that all of the students in the classs will have a turn as the year goes
on. The lunch crew is responsible for helping to plan the menu,
shop for the food, prepare the food, serve the food and clean up
afterwards. All of this is done under the supervision of Mrs. Tracey
Bobb, the teaching assistant in the Secondary classroom. This year’s
lunches have ranged from the all time favorites of pizza and soup and
sandwiches to taco salads and Chinese fare for a special treat!
Yours in Christ,
Mary Adams
Save the Date
•
February 28, 2014
Spring Hoagie Sale
•
•
April 5, 2014
Annual Legacy Gala
April 25, 2014
Dancing with the Reading Stars
• June 2, 2014
Graduation
Page 2
•
September 6, 2014
Y102 Yes I Can Run/Walk to benefit
John Paul II Center
Page 7
Thank you to our
generous supporters!
Thanksgiving
Thank You to the following businesses for their support:
•
•
•
•
•
Stokesay Castle for once again donating all of the profits
from their New Year’s Eve bash again this year
All those that supported New Horizons through the Bon
Ton Community Days program
Entech Engineering, Health Calls & Interstate Container
for being corporate sponsors for JPII’s Annual Walk-aThon in October, along with the hundreds of individuals
who sponsored a child to walk this year
Freedom Auto Group for providing Walk-a-Thon t-shirts for all the staff
and students
Bill’s Khakis for donating 10% if the profits from
Consumers from New
their Holiday Warehouse Sale to JPII
Horizons sold coupon
booklets at Bon Ton’s
Community Days
Halloween
John Paul II Facts
2013 – 2014 School Year
School Age Program
• 42 students
• Ages range from 3 to 21
• 4 classes (Primary-6, Intermediate-10, Secondary-19,
Multi-disabilities-7)
• 4 Full-time teachers, 7 Teacher Assistants
• 25 boys, 17 girls
• 13 Down Syndrome, 9 Autism, 20 MR/Multi-disabilities
• 11 Catholic, 31 Non-Catholic
• 12 Berks Co. School Districts, 2 Lancaster Co. School Districts
• 29 Caucasian, 8 Hispanic, 5 African American
• 12 students supported by school districts
• Tuition is $18,000 a year
• Distributed $163,000 in scholarships this year - $98,900 through
Educational Improvement Tax Credit and $64,100 through
Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit
• All families received financial aid excluding School district paid
students
Adult Program (New Horizons)
• 24 consumers
• Age ranges 21 to 60
• 11 men, 13 women
• 20 supported by SAM, 3 supported by MA, 1 supported by
Lancaster Co.
• Ratios are 1:3, 1:6, paid according to ratios of staff to consumers
• 3 live in group homes, 21 at home with family
• 1 Director, 7 direct service workers
• State licensed program
Page 6
Once again, the entire
school and many guests
celebrated Thanksgiving
together with a HUGE
feast prepared by the
students. Many of our new
Board members were able
to join in the festivities
this year. Everyone enjoyed
turkey, stuffing along with
all of the trimmings!
Each year at Halloween, the students parade next door to Precious
Blood Convent and enjoy a Halloween treat with the Sisters there.
Tax Credits support
our students
Pennsylvania offers businesses two innovative ways to
contribute to JPII by allowing them to designate certain
dollars that they are already paying in state income taxes to
provide scholarships for our students. This means that if
your business pays certain state income tax, your donation
could end up costing you NOTHING! These two programs
are EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program)
and the OSTC (Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credits).
Listed below are the businesses that are helping the students
at JPII through their participation in these programs for the
2013-2014 school year. For more information on how your
business can help a child today, please contact Becky Burton
at 610-777-0605 or bburton@johnpauliicenter.org
JPII has a new Board
of Directors
In October, JPII incorporated and
formed a new full governing Board of
Directors. To each and everyone of them
we say “thank you” for sharing their time,
treasures and talents with the students of
JPII. For a complete listing of our Board,
please see the back page of this newsletter.
EITC:
East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Entech Engineering
First Priority Bank
J.P. Mascaro & Sons
VIST Financial
OSTC:
Cambridge-Lee Industries, LLC
Customers Bank
Freedom Auto Group
Page 3
Breakfast with Santa
Tone Chime Choir
One of the most anticipated days of
the holiday season at JPII is the annual
Breakfast with Santa that the Knights
of Columbus #8726 from St. Ignatius
Loyola put on for all the students of JPII
and New Horizons. That day everyone
is treated to a fantastic meal along with
given a special gift by Santa himself!
Dancing with the
Reading Stars
Patrick
& Jackie
practice with
their instructor, Debbi
Silas, from
the Yocum
Institute.
The JPII Tone Chime Choir performed at the Y102 Toys for Tots
Breakfast.
Christmas Program
Y102’s Jackie Hoffman-Wenrich, who is a member of JPII’s Board of Directors, will be dancing in Dancing with the Reading Stars on April 25th at
Stokesay Castle with Patrick McCullough, a student in JPII's Secondary
Class. This event is a fundraiser for the Yocum Institute, who provides both
the Art Therapy and Creative Drama programs at JPII.
This is just another example of the wonderful activities that our students are
involved with in the community. At JPII, we focus on our students abilities,
rather than their disabilities!
Once again this year, there was standing room only for the
Annual JPII Christmas Program. Under the direction of Ms.
Cindy Long, this year’s program, “With our Hands” was a
smash hit!!! The students delighted everyone there with songs
and dances to new and old holiday tunes. Each year, it is harder
to tell just who enjoys the show more; the students performing
or the family and friends that have come to watch!
4
The th Annual
Primary Class performing Rock n Roll Snowmen
LEGACY
GALA
Don’t miss out on a Wonderful Evening of fun and entertainment. Come help us honor Mike & Margie Mizak
for their continued dedication to our students while we
celebrate the many accompolishments of everyone at JPII.
The auction items this year are amazing – there is something for everyone!
Be sure to send in your reservation soon because last year
we sold out! Each year our Gala just keeps getting bigger
S ATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2014
and better. For ticket information, please contact JPII at
STOKESAY CASTLE
610-777-0605.
Students in the Secondary Class performing to Ugly Christmas
Sweater
Page 4
Intermediate Class dancing to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for
Christmas”
Page 5