The Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament plans various student-led service based activities throughout the school year. Together, we strive to educate our students while expanding their hearts by living, experiencing and reflecting on service to others as did Christ, our greatest teacher.
Ms. Curriero's 3rd grade class partnered with Mrs. Manzo's 4th grade class for their December service project. The service project was helping collect gift cards for Most Blessed Sacrament Church's The Giving Tree program. We are happy to report that 583 Christmas gift card requests were fulfilled by parishioners and the AMBS community! The gift cards were distributed among a group of charitable organizations that included Mercy House in Hackensack, the Little Sisters of the Poor in Totowa, Harrison House in Paramus, Expect Hope in the Bronx and the Martin de Porres Village in Paterson. Liz Harkins, who coordinated The Giving Tree program for the parish, "The challenges that some of us face, even in this area, can be heart-breaking and overwhelming. The spirit of the Christmas season is the spirit of giving. It is my hope that in the generosity we have shown to others, we have helped our neighbors to feel some of God's loving grace and mercy."
On Thursday, November 11, 2021, the Aquinas Middle School Xavier House hosted a Prayer Circle dedicated to Veterans. Xavier House is a small Christian learning community of 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Nina P., Head of Xavier House, led the prayer “Today is Veterans Day which honors individuals who served our country. As we come closer to the season of Thanksgiving, we send our appreciation to the millions of service members, Veterans, military families, caregivers and survivors who have served and continue to serve our nation“. Samantha W. led the school in the Pledge of Allegiance and Jarred L. led the school with the Anti-Bully pledge. The Christian action of the Xavier House is to support Military troops and as their service project, the students collected Halloween candy for Operation Gratitude. “The Halloween Candy Give Back Program has been connecting communities with their Military, Veteran, and First Responder Heroes each fall since 2007. Volunteers from all 50 states and Washington D.C. share a portion of their excess Halloween candy with Operation Gratitude. We then assist in distributing the candy to deployed troops, local military units, veterans, and first responders, providing a sweet opportunity for grateful Americans to thank those who serve our nation.”
The Aquinas Middle School’s Xavier House saluted the Military in May. Led by Patricia M., Head of Xavier House, they hosted various events for the school community. From May 10th through May 21st, Xavier House collected donations of wipes, protein bars, instant soup, chewing gum, snacks, mouthwash and drink mixes for the 2-113th Infantry Regiment, New Jersey National Guard. They hosted a dress down day on May 12th where students wore camouflage, red/white/blue or insignia of any Military branch. They decorated a bulletin board showcasing family members who serve/have served and honored them during daily prayers. To conclude the event, Xavier House members set up tables around school celebrating the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard and National Guard on May 26th with crafts, American flags and raffles.
Ms. G and the Transitions/Kindergarten class chose the Archdiocese of Newark's Mercy House as their service project. From April 12th through April 30th, the students collected donations of pajamas and undergarments for children and adults. The AMBS community was incredibly generous! In addition to collecting donations, the Transitions/Kindergarteners also led the school in prayer each day, by praying the Our Father, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the AMBS anti-bully pledge. They hosted a zoom Q&A for the school to watch, with Cheryl Riley, the director of Mercy House. To learn more about The Corporal Works of Mercy, the children drew their interpretations with Mr. Jim, Art & Design teacher at AMBS.
To celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, Mrs. Gall and the 1st grade class made gift bags for the Sisters of St. Joseph Villa. The school donated assorted toiletry items and activity books for the retired Sisters. The 1st graders also hosted a Zoom Q&A with Sister Rose Marie of Most Blessed Sacrament Church. Pope Francis proclaimed "Year of St. Joseph" with the Apostolic Letter "Patris corde" ("With a Father's Heart"). Pope Francis recalls the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark the occasion, the Holy Father has proclamied a "Year of Saint Joseph" from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021.
For Catholic Schools Week, AMBS students donated a can of soup to dress down for the "Souper Bowl". The students wore their favorite sports jersey. Donations went to support the St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry.
Ms. Curriero and the 3rd grade class hosted a donate to dress down day and plush raffle sale to support The Seeing Eye in Morristown, NJ. Each class also watched videos on how The Seeing Eye breeds and raises puppies to become Seeing Eye dogs, trains Seeing Eye dogs to guide blind people, instructs blind people in the proper use, handling, and care of the dogs and conducts and supports research on canine health and development. They raised $1500.00 for the puppies!
Mrs. Manzo's 4th Grade class, along with Most Blessed Sacrament Church, collected gift cards for the annual Giving Tree. In all, hundreds of gift cards were donated and distributed to a variety of charities and service agencies including Little Sisters of the Poor (Totowa), Harrison House (Paramus), Expect Hope (Bronx), St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Food Pantry (Jersey City), Community Hills Learning Center (Newark), Mission of St. Joan of Arc (Philadelphia) and NJ Courts and agencies who help shelters/halfway houses and children whose parents are incarcerated, in rehab programs or are deceased.
Congratulations to the 5th Grade Class and Mrs. Brizzolara for leading this service project! They collected an incredible $2869.00 for Thanksgiving Baskets. Shout out to the 4th Grade Class for being the homeroom with the most donations - enjoy your ice cream party! Given the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic, Most Blessed Sacrament Church transitioned from the Thanksgiving Food Baskets that had long been its tradition, to instead, collecting supermarket gift cards to support the various charities the parish has served in the past. Between the parish community and the children/families of the Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament, more than $7,000.00 in gift cards were collected and distributed to service centers and shelters in our area.
Congratulations to Mr. Quintilian and the 8th Grade Class for a spook-tacular service project! For a $5 donation, students received a goodie bag with a Halloween themed pencil and a small bag of allergy-free candy. The 8th Grade Class made a $587 donation to the MBS Restoration Fund.
Our With One Voice Character Education Committee planned for and organized a student activity day with fun and games called the Village Project. Our students were charged an entrance fee which supported the work of Eva's Village in Paterson, NJ.
As a school, we participated in Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl Collection. The students raised $863.86 in collections and came together with Catholics around the world to practice prayer, fasting and almsgiving—and by doing so we help lift families and communities out of poverty and put them on a path toward resilience, prosperity and stability.
As a school, we hosted a Holiday Toy Drive for patients at St. Joseph's Hospital Paterson. Over 85 toys were donated to this event.
November 12-16 our MBS Parishioners & school hosted a Thanksgiving Food Drive. Together we filled over 80 boxes to give to those in need. Thank you all from the MBS community for coming together on this service project!
We participated in the Rice Bowls program. AMBS students joined nearly 14,000 faith communities in 180 dioceses around the U.S. in prayer, fasting and almsgiving this Lent. Together, we served our brothers and sisters most in need around the world while forming families and faith communities in global solidarity.
Through CRS Rice Bowl, we hear stories from our brothers and sisters in need worldwide, and devote our Lenten prayers, fasting and gifts to change the lives of the poor. Each day of Lent, individuals are invited to use the Lenten Calendar—included with every CRS Rice Bowl—to guide their Lenten almsgiving. These daily almsgiving activities—for example, give 25 cents for every faucet found in your home—help families reflect on the realities of our brothers and sisters around the world and how they can be in solidarity during the Lenten season.
As a school, we participated in Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl Collection. The students raised $863.86 in collections and came together with Catholics around the world to practice prayer, fasting and almsgiving—and by doing so we help lift families and communities out of poverty and put them on a path toward resilience, prosperity and stability.
We also participated in the American Heart Association's Hoops for Hearts, a national education and fundraising event where the kids learned the value of community service and become empowered to contribute to their community's welfare and raised $1800.000.
Students and Staff tackled Hunger and participate in our Souper Bowl by wearing their favorite team jersey over their uniform and by bringing cans of soup. Students created sculptures with the soup cans with their prayer partners and subsequently over 640 cans were donated to area food pantries.
As a school, we also hosted a Holiday Toy Drive for Oasis Safe Haven for Women and Children. Two SUVS and one car were filled with toys donated from our students and staff.
AMBS hosted a Halloween candy collection called TREATS FOR TROOPS for a non-profit called Operation Gratitude. We sent boxes of Halloween candyto men and women serving in our military. Thank you so much for all who participated!
November 13th-20th our MBS Parishioners & school hosted a Thanksgiving Food Drive. Together we filled over 80 boxes to give to those in need. Thank you all from the MBS community for coming together on this service project!
We hosted a "Heart and Soul Dance" Tuesday, October 24, 2017 1:45-2:45 for students. All proceeds benefited the Oncology and Hematology Foundation. Students collected items to make care bags for chemotherapy patients at St. Clare's Hospital.
We hosted a Halloween candy collection called TREATS FOR TROOPS for a non-profit called Operation Gratitude. We sent over 150lbs of Halloween candy to men and women serving in our military. Thank you so much for all who participated!
Together as a school community we collected over 4 boxes of books to be donated to support CUSP- Catholic Urban School Partnership.
Prayer Partners from 2nd grade and Joseph House hosted a fundraiser to support Syrian Refugee Children through Catholic Relief Services www.CRS.org Parents and students from 2nd grade had a 1 day sale Pop Up Sweet Shop! We sold icepops, candy-grams, tickets for our Valentine's Dance & Lula Roe Valentine leggings. The sale brought in $1,100. Our Love for Syrian Refugees Valentine's Dance Party on 2/14/17 brought in an additional $1,400. Together as a community we raised and donated $2,500 to CRS.
During Catholic School's Week, our service was dedicated to the homeless. Neumann House helped to lead this endeavor by collecting footwear for It's From the Sole throughout the winter. Our collaboration with It's From The Sole was a great success! We collected over 165 pairs of shoes, coats and made 150 blessing bags for the Homeless. Founder of It's From The Sole, Andre McDonnell came to inspire us to help the homeless and give back to those in need.
Please check it out at www.itsfromthesole.org.
Transitions & 4th graders hosted a Halloween candy collection called TREATS FOR TROOPS for a non-profit called Operation Gratitude. We sent 5 boxes of Halloween candy, toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste to men and women serving in our military. Thank you so much for all who participated!
November 14th-18th our MBS Parishioners & school hosted a Thanksgiving Food Drive 2016. Together we filled 81 boxes to give to those in need. Thank you all from the MBS community for coming together on this service project! Special thanks to all the students of Neumann House for the extra helping hands.