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 Today we begin Catholic Schools Week. At our Masses we will have students from St. Joan of Arc School participate at Mass and speak after Communion. We have a wonderful school here in our parish. As a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, the National Education Association has recognized us as an exemplary school. The award acknowledges and validates the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in striving for - and attaining - exemplary achievement. What a wonderful honor to have achieved this honor! I strongly encourage our families to take a look at our school and see if this might not be a good fit for you and your family. Not only do we provide an academically excellent education and safe environment, but we also form our students in the Catholic Faith which is at the heart of what a Catholic school is all about. Father Arena and I both go into the school each week and teach your children. I am always amazed at the knowledge of the students, especially in the area of religion. Even the kindergarten students can tell me much about the Faith. One of the important missions of the Church is to pass on the Faith to the next generation. I am so happy that we are doing it so well here at St. Joan of Arc School. A special thanks to Sister Eileen, our faculty and staff, our students, and to all the parents of our school. St. Joan of Arc School is a place where we can be especially proud! God bless you all. Father Al P.S. Please take a moment to view the commercial running this week promoting St. Joan of Arc School. Click here 
 We are still accepting nominations for our Parish's Pastoral Council. Please remember the deadline is January 31st.
There are five seats open on St. Joan of Arc’s Parish Pastoral Council. Each position will serve a three year term. At this time, we ask you to consider volunteering to serve or nominating a candidate to fill these Council positions. More information and a nomination form can be found on our website here.  Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week, which is January 29th - February 4th, 2017. The theme for the National Catholic Schools Week 2017 is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.” Schools typically observe the annual celebration week with Masses, open houses and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members. Through these events, schools focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation. Registration for 2017-2018 School YearSt. Joan of Arc - Elementary & Middle School Registration for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year at St. Joan of Arc will be held during Catholic Schools Week. PreK for 3 and 4 year olds (full day option available for 4 year olds), as well as full day Kindergarten to 8th grade registrations begin on January 29th from 10 am -1pm in the school cafeteria. School tours will be available. Come and see what our nationally recognized 2016 U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School has to offer you. For more information, please visit the school's website or email Deb Rizzotto. Give your child the gift of a Catholic school education. High School Registration Information: Bishop McDevitt High School: Visit Website Lebanon Catholic High School: Visit Website Supporting Our Catholic SchoolsAre you a CPA or Tax Professional?
The St. Joan of Arc School is in need of your assistance to help us educate local businesses about the state's Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC). This program provides generous business tax credits in return for tuition scholarships at St. Joan of Arc School. Please volunteer to help tomorrow's youth by contacting Jason Pennypacker (email). Our students thank you! Do you own a business or know someone who does? Instead of handing over your business taxes to the state wouldn't you rather exchange the tax burden today into an investment in tomorrow's youth right here in Hershey? If making a difference appeals to you then you need to learn about the state's Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC). This program provides generous business tax credits (up to 100% credit) in return for tuition scholarships for eligible students at St. Joan of Arc School. Please email Jason Pennypacker to learn more about the program and stop throwing your tax dollars away. Our children thank you!  This week's message from Father...
Just a few comments, explanations and updates about what is going on in the parish: 1. Thank you very much from all the priests in the rectory for the cards, goodies and gifts over the Christmas Season. I have tried to get a thank-you card out to each individual but if I missed anyone inadvertently, I am sorry. We are very grateful for your kindness to us and now that all the cookies and food and candy is gone we can get back (or start!) getting healthy again. 2. In the past month or two, I have been receiving phone calls from an individual who has been filling up my voice mail (not a parishioner and I have been dealing with the situation). If anyone has tried to get through to me and I haven’t responded, it is probably because my voice mail was full or in deleting many voice mails at one time I may have accidently deleted yours. Please forgive me. We are working on this. 3. We are meeting with the Diocesan Building Committee and the College of Consultors (I am a member) at the end of this month and in early February to get final approval for the renovation of the convent. I will give you an update on all this in mid-February. 4. Once again, a great big CONGRATULATIONS to our school on receiving the National Education Association’s BLUE RIBBON award. What an honor! We will talk more about this during Catholic School’s Week at the end of the month. Lots of good and exciting things happening at our parish! I encourage everyone to get involved in some way here at the parish. There are many opportunities to serve. Father Al  Still thinking about a New Years Resolution? With a new year comes the tradition of “New Years Resolutions”. It’s not too late to adopt one yourself! May we suggest SIMPLIFYING your life with our parish Online Giving Program. You can save yourself time by enrolling and scheduling your tithing and other offerings to deduct electronically from your checking account or credit card. Our program provides you full control of your account - at any time - by logging onto our secure website. This convenience allows you to change the amount and frequency of your gifts when it suits you.
In addition to being a good steward of your finances by tithing to the church regularly, you will also be stewarding our natural resources by eliminating the printing of the offertory envelopes that are mailed each month. If you have questions or would like to help enrolling in the Online Giving Program, please contact Jackie Abel at (717) 533-7168 ext. 121 or email: jabel@stjoanhershey.org Thank you for your generous Stewardship to our parish!  Anyone who is interested helping, in any way, with the efforts to support our Sister Parish in Tarasse, Haiti is invited to a meeting on Monday evening, January 23rd at 7:00pm in the Rectory.
You can read more about Our Lady of Lourdes, our Sister Parish, on our website here  Holy Hour for Life: An Hour Of Prayer With Exposition Of The Holy Eucharist. In an effort to unite the Diocese of Harrisburg in prayer, the Respect Life Office invited parishes to host a Holy Hour on Respect Life Sunday, January 22nd. An hour of Eucharistic Adoration and prayer for the sanctity of human life in observance of Roe v. Wade will be held in the Church at 2pm.
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