IMMACULATE CONCEPTION REGIONAL SCHOOL
ACCREDITED BY ADVANCED
Marc Valentine
Principal
Spirituality, Discipline, Academic Excellence
11/5/2014
Dear Immaculate Conception School Parents,
Our short week was certainly filled with many accomplishments and wonderful learning opportunities.
The school week started on a high note with our celebration of All Saints Day. The fourth grade students
were outstanding and looked great with their costumes and posters. A special congratulation goes out to Ms.
Yahm and Ms. Ayres for having the students prepared. It was a moving celebration of our Catholic faith.
Please feel free to join us for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception Mass which will be hosted by the sixth
grade on December 8th.
Two ICRS students will be printed in the November 10th edition of the New Jersey Herald. Two essay
submissions from the “What’s Your Anti-Drug” contest were chosen from among 1,500 candidates
throughout Sussex County. Congratulations to Grace M., Kassandra G. and Ms. Sowden for this distinction.
Ms. Sowden and the students of ICRS were also recognized by Vantage Learning Corporation for
tremendous academic growth in writing performance and assessment. Students improved their writing
benchmark scores by 82% and were one of the top performing schools in the United States. Keep up the
great work!
Our students had several extended learning opportunities this week. Second and third graders
visited the Longo Planetarium at County College of Morris. The students "visited" the stars where they met
and learned about constellations, nebulae, several different types of stars; and were treated to a trip through
a black hole. The students were excited to learn more about their place in space. Ms. LePera said that the
second grade particularly enjoyed learning about Betelgeuse. Students in grades 5 through 7 spent time
learning about Henry VIII in their language arts and social studies classrooms. The lessons culminated in a
trip to the Shakespeare Theatre in Madison, New Jersey. Following the production students participated in a
question and answer session with the actors and director.
Wallkill Valley Rotary members recently visited the third grade at Immaculate Conception Regional
School to donate dictionaries. As part of their service to the community Rotary donates the dictionaries to
local third graders. Our students were very excited to see all the information in the dictionaries, along with
65 Church Street ~ Franklin ~ NJ ~ 07416
Phone 973-827-3777 ~ Email info@icrsschool.com ~ www.icrsschool.com
the definitions. Learning literally exploded in the third grade as a result of the volcano projects. Thank you to
Ms. McKeever and Ms. Balchunas for making learning come to life for our students.
The 4th Grade travelled to Waterloo Village in Stanhope. The students went on a guided tour of
the original 1800's Morris Canal village. In Waterloo Village, the students visited the Smith Store, the
general store that carried all the essential goods that could not be made or grown by the residents
themselves. The Post Office and Apothecary (Pharmacy) were also located here. The tour then went on
to visit the Blacksmith shop, the Grist Mill, and the Seamstress's shop. Our last stop in the village was
at the Rutan Cabin, an original cabin built in the 1700's in what we know of as Wantage, near High
Point mountain. Students had authentic learning experiences from the 1800s which included making
home spun wool and churning butter.
After lunch, students went on the guided tour of the recreated Lenni Lenape Village. The
students learned so much about our Native American people who first settled in New Jersey. We
learned about how they hunted, dressed, ate, and celebrated. We visited a long house, shot corn cobs
into a basket, learned some Lenape language and heard a wonderful legend about Sassafras.
We had a great time, the weather was gorgeous, and our students were complimented many times for
their behavior, their great questions, their outstanding ability to shoot corn cobs, and their genuine
respect for each other, the guides and the land we shared while we were there. The main guide,
Jacklyn, told the kids, "You Rock!!!!!!"
Thank you to the faculty for providing these wonderful learning opportunities and for taking learning
beyond the walls of your classroom. Please enjoy this extended weekend and I look forward to seeing you all
upon our return to school. God Bless!
Sincerely,
Marc C. Valentine
65 Church Street ~ Franklin ~ NJ ~ 07416
Phone 973-827-3777 ~ Email info@icrsschool.com ~ www.icrsschool.com