Good Afternoon, Students, Parents, and Guardians,

I am not sure I have ever looked forward to an Easter Break more than this year. Not just because of how long it has been since we had an extended break, but it appears that all three kids at home seem to grasp the concept of an Easter Egg Hunt. Caroline has actually been practicing/teaching Brendan by "hiding" his books in different rooms and showing him how to go look for them. Between that and his ability to find his brother's shoes as they try and get out of the house on time every morning, I think he's ready. 

We have taken over the duties for my mom's side of the family in hosting the Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday morning. And while I am not nearly as creative as my dad was when he ran it, I do take pride in trying to one-up him when hiding the "golden egg" or the eggs with the adult prizes in them (adults love Wawa gift cards as much as kids love candy). Over the years, ranked, here are the best hiding spots my dad used:

3. He took the $50 for the golden egg out of an egg and taped it inside the tag of a new tree/bush planted in the backyard.

2. He tied a string around the egg, stuck the egg in the gutter, and then let the string hang out of the gutter so that someone needed to pull the string to get the egg.

1. He cut a hole in an old Nerf football, put the egg inside the football, and then proceeded to walk around the yard for 25 minutes with the ball, playing catch with me and all of my cousins, with each of us having no idea we literally had the egg in our hands. 

Everyone has their own favorite traditions and their own favorite holidays. And while I don't try and reinvent the wheel with my own little kids, my hope is that some of these memories will be similar for them, just as similar as to how my or my own high school experience may not be the same as our students, we still wish them to get the most out of it as they can, both academically, athletically/activity-based, and spiritually. 

On Wednesday, we will hold a few Holy Week activities for our students, and you will see those details below. Additionally, please be reminded that the campus is closed from Thursday-Sunday of next week. No practices or games may take place.

Additionally, please take a moment to review some of the reminders below...

Parking/Drop-Off Reminders:

Prior to 7:35AM, all students MUST be dropped off at the cafeteria doors. While we are fortunate to have a good deal of parking spaces on campus, almost every space is assigned to a student or staff member during the school day. Please do not park in any numbered spaces if the space is not yours. Should you need to enter the school building, please only utilize the labeled visitor spaces in the front parking lot. Thank you!

Attendance:

If you know your child is going to be absent from school, a Parent or Guardian must complete the Google Form found HERE, and on the school website under "Resources".

Early Dismissals must be called into the Main Office by a Parent or Guardian. A student will not be dismissed without a prior Parent/Guardian phone call.

For Early Dismissals, as much advanced notice as possible is required (24 hours is preferred). Recently, we have received a number of very late early dismissal notices (as in, parents calling as their child is walking into the office, or the child calling the parent to talk to the office as they walk out of class.) Please assist us in ensuring that we have as much notice as possible. Thank you!

Earlier this week, a letter was sent out to all Senior Families on Graduation Exercises. That letter can be found HERE.

On Wednesday, April 16th, the Campus Ministry Team will be presenting the Stations of the Cross for all students. Students will then take part in Guided Adoration and some time together with their grade with the goal being to prepare students for Holy Week, the most important week in the Liturgical Calendar. While dismissal will be at 11:30AM, this is still considered a day of school. Students who do not report to school may not participate in their sport or activity that day.

The following districts will NOT provide busing home on Wednesday, April 16th: Phoenixville, Radnor. If other districts decide not to transport, we will communicate that to you.

Finally, after-school supervision will be available until 12:30PM on Wednesday. After 12:30PM, students must exit the building if they are not actively with their sport or activity.

Parents/Guardians: If you are placing money on your student's account for lunch, it must be done the night before. Much like PowerSchool, the system updates overnight, so if money is added on in the morning, it will not appear in the account and students may not be able to purchase lunch that day.

Aramark thanks you for your help with this!

Earlier this afternoon, notifications were sent out from the Office of Student Services for students who have exceeded or are close to exceeding a certain amount of demerits, absences, or lates for the school year. Students who fail conduct or exceed the allotted number of absences or lates for the year may be required to attend discipline summer school during the first week after the school year ends. Guidelines for this can be found in the Parent-Student Handbook.

On Monday, we will be sending out a communication to any students who are in danger of failing one or more courses for the school year. This notification does not mean that a child is currently failing, but rather, is a notification that students need to focus on their grades (maybe even moreso than usual) over the next few weeks. 

Additionally, any Senior in danger of failing a course for the school year may also have a certified letter mailed home next week that will need to be signed and returned to the Main Office. 

Per the Parent-Student Handbook and Archdiocesan policy, if a student fails a course, they must remediate the course over the summer in an online program called Educere, at a cost to the student/family. Students who fail three or more courses may be considered for dismissal from Archbishop Carroll, and any Senior who fails a course may not be permitted to participate in Graduation Exercises. 

If Parents/Guardians have any questions on a student's grade, they should be reaching out to the teacher directly.

A registration fee of $225 for the 2025-2026 school year was billed to your FACTS account on last week (grades 9-11). Spring sports and Spring ACTS was billed  March 12, 2025.  Please log into your FACTS account to view your balance, payment due date and to make a payment. Athletic and Activities Fees can be found here .

The financial aid application for the 2025-2026 school year is now available online by logging into your FACTS account.  Applications must be submitted prior to January 31, 2025 to be considered for financial aid.  We are asking all current families to complete an application.  If you currently receive financial aid and/or scholarships you will need to complete an application in order to receive aid and/or scholarships for the 2025-2026 school year.

The tuition and fees schedule for the 2024-2025 school year can be found here. 

Please ensure that your account is current by logging in to your FACTS account .  Our tuition policy can be found here: 2024-2025 Handbook.

If you have any questions regarding your tuition account (charges, credits, etc.), please log into your FACTS Account or call FACTS at 1-866-441-4637 . You are able to make a payment, view your balance, payment schedule, payments made and charges/credits to your account.  Any other questions or concerns please contact Trish Dudas at tdudas@jcarroll.org or 267-667-4874.

 Seniors are reminded to please send to Guidance your college acceptances and scholarship offers. We do need to collect this information. The names of your scholarships will be printed in the Graduation booklet.

 Congratulations to the senior class for already earning over 37 million in scholarships!! We are so very proud of you and your accomplishments! You are closing in on one of the highest totals we have ever had, so keep turning in your information and let's see how far you can go!

Seniors who will be playing at a DI or DII school in the fall were sent information on requesting their final amateurism certification. That information can be accessed here.

Congratulations to junior Christopher Dellaratta who was awarded the Rensselaer Medal! This award has been given since 1916 to one student in a given high school and recognizes that student's strength and success in the fields of math and science. Chris is our first student to receive this honor. Well done Chris!

Each quarter, the Guidance Department publishes a Newsletter. You can find the 3rd quarter edition here. These Newsletters highlight general information for all students, specific recommendations for each grade level, and contain mental health resources. This newsletter was also emailed earlier this week to all students.

The Diversity Club is asking students to bring in items for children at BrynMawr Hospital as part of the "Angel Basket" activity. You can find the details on this flyer, and the baskets can be found on a table outside the chapel.

PACAC, the Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling, is hosting a huge college fair at Villanova on May 21. The registration for this event is now open. You can access that here. There are typically well over a hundred colleges that attend, so it is a wonderful and local opportunity to meet admissions reps and find out about these schools that you might be interested in attending.

Each year St. Denis holds a Fun Fair and they are always in need of volunteers to help out. If you would like to volunteer for this good cause, please review this flyer for information and registration.

Juniors were emailed information regarding free practice SAT & ACT tests offered through The Princeton Review. Once a student takes the practice test, they will receive a report outlining areas of strength/weaknesses. This is a great opportunity to get a feel for those tests and it can help to decide which one to take "for real" and send to colleges. If you are considering signing up to take the SAT test, Carroll is a testing site for the May 3 test. Students register through their CollegeBoard account.

The Howley Foundation is now offering scholarships for our seniors to help with the cost of college. This is a wonderful opportunity and we are grateful to the Foundation for partnering with us. This information was emailed to the seniors, but you can access the flyer HERE.

We receive on-going information regarding summer programs that colleges & universities sponsor. These programs are great ways for students to delve deeper into an area of interest and gain experience on a college campus. We often email students with this information, but you can see the list of all the programs HERE and click on the links to read all the details and access the applications. This list can also be found on our website.

Students ages 16-18 have the opportunity to attend a free summer program at Manhattan University that combines baseball and writing. This was emailed to students during the week, but the information can be found here.

Due to a number of families missing the deadline, the Graduation Shop for the Class of 2025 has been reopened and will remain open until April 27th. There will be no more orders accepted after April 27th.

Please click HERE to access the offerings!

In addition, the pre-order shop for graduation flowers and other items is open and can be found HERE.

Note: Boys Tennis plays their home matches at Upper Main Line YMCA.

NOTE: The Campus is closed to all students from Thursday, April 17th through Sunday, April 20th. No practices or games may be held during this time.

This year's Carroll CAFE Auction will be held online! The auction will run from April 7th through the 13th. All information can be found HERE. Please take a moment to browse potential items as they are added, participate in the 50/50 drawing, or to honor or thank a teacher or staff member!

...On behalf of the Faculty, Staff, and Administration here at Archbishop Carroll, I wish you and your families all a happy, restful Easter. Please take time with loved ones, rest, and maybe turn in any late work, and we look forward to gathering back together again after the break!

Sincerely,

Mr. Gennaro