Administrative Update - 04/28/2020
Dear Members of the Archmere Community,
For the last several weeks, Catholics have been unable to receive communion, since churches are closed due to the pandemic. Instead, many of us have been making an act of spiritual communion, which we pray at the time of communion as part of virtual services that we watch through the internet.
For the last several weeks, Catholics have been unable to receive communion, since churches are closed due to the pandemic. Instead, many of us have been making an act of spiritual communion, which we pray at the time of communion as part of virtual services that we watch through the internet.
The prayer is:
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen. (from EWTN)
I believe that the Risen Christ is present to us in the wonderful interactions we have with others. I have had a number of conversations with members of the Archmere community recently that have been encouraging and inspiring.
The most recent mandate by Governor Carney requires that Archmere Academy's campus remain closed through the end of the school year. With this news, our dedicated faculty will continue their commitment to provide interactive and high quality remote delivery of our academic program through the remainder of the school year. Our 1:1 MacBook Pro laptop program, expert technology team, and teachers' skillsets with instructional technology have enabled us to migrate our academic experience to online. We have created a virtual course fair, with teachers making videos describing their courses to help students select their classes for the fall semester. Our admissions team has been busy assembling an engaging and interactive virtual 7th grade open house for tomorrow's event, as well as a virtual orientation for the Class of 2024 in May. You may have seen newspaper articles online or in print highlighting Archmere's engaging virtual learning program.
Now that we know more definitively what will be happening through May 31, we can extend our planning a bit further into the future. Our facilities staff and cleaning crew, appropriately socially distanced, are maintaining campus buildings and fields, sanitizing and cleaning spaces. Even though there are no students and staff on campus, there are projects that have been scheduled and are moving forward in preparation for our eventual return to campus, including the replacement of the two turf athletic fields, and the cleaning and refresh of the Manor.
The presidents of the Mothers' Guild and Fathers' Club, Mrs. Kathy Carney and Mr. Jim Prendergast '77, Mr. Jordan, Mrs. Eissler-Theil, and I joined in a video-conference last Thursday to share thoughts and ideas. Mrs. Carney and Mr. Prendergast shared that some parents have been enjoying getting together virtually for informal social gatherings. We discussed offering parent meetings by class, coordinated through Fr. Zagarella, O.Praem. and our guidance office counselors, as another way for parents to gather and share as we are all experiencing similar feelings related to the uncertainty of future consequences of the pandemic. I will meet with Dr. Jamie Wohlhagen '04, President of the Alumni Association and the members of the Alumni Council tomorrow afternoon.
Yesterday, I had an engaging and inspiring meeting with the Student Council Senior Class Officers. Our conversation focused on ways to celebrate their end-of-year traditions, including Baccalaureate and Commencement. I apologized to the group for the ambiguity of my letter of last week, which many interpreted to suggest that virtual celebrations at the scheduled May dates would attempt to replace the traditional events at the end of the year. It was my initial thought that these virtual events, particularly around graduation weekend, would be a way to mark the dates, rather than have them pass without celebration, in anticipation of celebrations in the future (potentially Thanksgiving) that would be "live" and on campus.
However, after our meeting and reviewing the survey comments which provided a consensus of opinion from the seniors, we have put together this newest working plan to celebrate senior traditions:
Today's Gospel reading for Mass concludes,
As a Catholic, Norbertine community that invites people of all faith traditions to walk the journey with us, we will never "hunger or thirst" because we have the Risen Christ, present in the Eucharist, and present in us. I pray that if our faith is strong, let us hold fast to it, and if we are in search of a deeper spirituality, let Archmere be a place where it is "fed and watered."
Sincerely,
Michael A. Marinelli, Ed.D. '76
Headmaster
Back
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen. (from EWTN)
I believe that the Risen Christ is present to us in the wonderful interactions we have with others. I have had a number of conversations with members of the Archmere community recently that have been encouraging and inspiring.
The most recent mandate by Governor Carney requires that Archmere Academy's campus remain closed through the end of the school year. With this news, our dedicated faculty will continue their commitment to provide interactive and high quality remote delivery of our academic program through the remainder of the school year. Our 1:1 MacBook Pro laptop program, expert technology team, and teachers' skillsets with instructional technology have enabled us to migrate our academic experience to online. We have created a virtual course fair, with teachers making videos describing their courses to help students select their classes for the fall semester. Our admissions team has been busy assembling an engaging and interactive virtual 7th grade open house for tomorrow's event, as well as a virtual orientation for the Class of 2024 in May. You may have seen newspaper articles online or in print highlighting Archmere's engaging virtual learning program.
Now that we know more definitively what will be happening through May 31, we can extend our planning a bit further into the future. Our facilities staff and cleaning crew, appropriately socially distanced, are maintaining campus buildings and fields, sanitizing and cleaning spaces. Even though there are no students and staff on campus, there are projects that have been scheduled and are moving forward in preparation for our eventual return to campus, including the replacement of the two turf athletic fields, and the cleaning and refresh of the Manor.
The presidents of the Mothers' Guild and Fathers' Club, Mrs. Kathy Carney and Mr. Jim Prendergast '77, Mr. Jordan, Mrs. Eissler-Theil, and I joined in a video-conference last Thursday to share thoughts and ideas. Mrs. Carney and Mr. Prendergast shared that some parents have been enjoying getting together virtually for informal social gatherings. We discussed offering parent meetings by class, coordinated through Fr. Zagarella, O.Praem. and our guidance office counselors, as another way for parents to gather and share as we are all experiencing similar feelings related to the uncertainty of future consequences of the pandemic. I will meet with Dr. Jamie Wohlhagen '04, President of the Alumni Association and the members of the Alumni Council tomorrow afternoon.
Yesterday, I had an engaging and inspiring meeting with the Student Council Senior Class Officers. Our conversation focused on ways to celebrate their end-of-year traditions, including Baccalaureate and Commencement. I apologized to the group for the ambiguity of my letter of last week, which many interpreted to suggest that virtual celebrations at the scheduled May dates would attempt to replace the traditional events at the end of the year. It was my initial thought that these virtual events, particularly around graduation weekend, would be a way to mark the dates, rather than have them pass without celebration, in anticipation of celebrations in the future (potentially Thanksgiving) that would be "live" and on campus.
However, after our meeting and reviewing the survey comments which provided a consensus of opinion from the seniors, we have put together this newest working plan to celebrate senior traditions:
- Celebrating College Decision Day: We already mentioned that the College Counseling staff is planning a month of celebrations in May. We also discussed celebration ideas at our meeting, and are working on the logistics, so more details to come.
- Celebrating Graduation Day, May 31: At 10 AM, we will "live stream" a Mass from the theater to celebrate the end of school (not Baccalaureate!) with the entire student body and their families. It is Pentecost Sunday and the end of the Easter Season. What an appropriate Mass to celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives! It will be an opportunity for the entire Archmere community to celebrate with our seniors, and be one with them in prayer. In the afternoon, from 2 to 3 PM, we invite seniors and parents to drive through the campus' Main Gates on Philadelphia Pike, down the "yellow-brick road," and receive a special "senior gift box," that includes cap and gown and some other surprises. No diplomas or awards will be in the boxes, as like the cap and gown, these announcements will be saved until the "in-person" graduation event. Seniors may decorate their cars and "parade" through the campus, leaving through the Manor Avenue lower entrance. Some faculty and staff will be present to distribute the gift boxes and capture the event in photos.
- We plan to have a "Senior Week," so that seniors can take part in the traditions of games on the quad, a tailgate in the lower parking lot, seeing teachers, having "prom," and celebrating a Baccalaureate Mass, and Commencement Exercises. The tentative dates are July 20 to July 26, with Baccalaureate Mass on July 25 and Commencement Exercises on July 26.
- If restrictions still exist in late July, we are investigating the possibility of having an on-campus "drive in" event for Commencement Exercises in that same timeframe, and then have a reunion with Mass, dinner, and dancing at the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays (surveying the class on preference and availability).
- If there is a second wave of the virus in the fall, and we are unable to congregate at Christmas, then we would plan for a class reunion experience in the Spring.
Today's Gospel reading for Mass concludes,
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst." (John 6:30-35)
As a Catholic, Norbertine community that invites people of all faith traditions to walk the journey with us, we will never "hunger or thirst" because we have the Risen Christ, present in the Eucharist, and present in us. I pray that if our faith is strong, let us hold fast to it, and if we are in search of a deeper spirituality, let Archmere be a place where it is "fed and watered."
Sincerely,
Michael A. Marinelli, Ed.D. '76
Headmaster
Archmere Academy is a private, Catholic, college preparatory co-educational academy,
grades 9-12 founded in 1932 by the Norbertine Fathers.
grades 9-12 founded in 1932 by the Norbertine Fathers.
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