THANKSGIVING FEAST:

Doreen Conrad and Jourdan Boskovskvi's kindergarten class enjoyed a Thanksgiving lunch prepared by parent volunteers at Dwyer Hall at Immaculate Conception Church. The lunch reinforced the facts the students had learned about the first Thanksgiving.

ALL SAINT'S DAY MASS:

Dressed as saints, Gretchen Hermann's and Nancy Palmer's second grade class explained their chosen saints to the school community during a Mass to celebrate All Saints Day.

KINDERGARTEN FIELD TRIP:

Doreen Conrad's and Jourdan Boskovski's kindergarten class traveled to Abbott's apple farm for their field trip. The students enjoyed a hayride, picked apples and visited farm animals.

FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS CELEBRATED:

On Oct. 2, the Feast of St. Francis was celebrated by Msgr. James McCloskey at a Mass at which IC parents, families and parishioners were invited. Fifthe graders served as altar servers and readers and also presented the gifts.

SOCCER TOURNAMENT:

On Oct. 3, IC hosted the first annual Frank Lisi Soccer Tournament. The tournament was open to Pre-K through sixth grade students and included students from other Catholic schools in the area.

KINDERGARTENERS CELEBRATE "SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY": The kindergarten class of Doreen Conrad and Jourdan Beardsley celebrated "Special Friends Day" on April 3. The student's treated their grandparents and other family members as their special friends by singing to them and serving them fresh fruits and bagels. The students then invited them back to their classrooms where they were introduced to everyone and the teachers read letters the children had written of why their family members are special to them. They were also given flower pots to be taken home.

FOURTH GRADERS ENACT THE PASSION PLAY OF JESUS:  On April 7, the fourth grade class of Doreen Kabot and Lorrie Williams depicted the last days of Jesus before his crucifixion. Narrated by Kabot and Williams, the Passion Play of Jesus was presented to the school, parents, grandparents and siblings.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION SCHOOL HOLDS GRAND FINALE ASSEMBLY FOR THE MERCEDES BENZ RAFFLE: An assembly was held at the school on March 6 with special guest Julie Boeheim, Syracuse University's basketball coach Jim Boeheim's wife in attendance. Also present were OTTO, Syracuse University's mascot; the Geico mascot; Little Ceasar's mascot; Lori Myers, manager of the local Geico office and three team members of the U.S. Paralympics. Students wore blue and white clothing and bronze, silver and gold medals to show their school spirit. A $7,500 check, part of the proceeds from the car raffle, was presented to the Coaches vs. Cancer organization. The eight students who sold the most tickets won an opportunity to attend Manley Field House on March 9 to watch the S.U. basketball team practice and to enjoy a special pizza party with the team afterwards. Teachers were also given an "airliner," an interactive tablet used with the schools' Smartboard computer equipment. Chris Longo, computer teacher, was presented with a digital document camera.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION STUDENTS RECEIVE DICTIONARIES: The Syracuse Elks Club #31 donated dictionaries to each third and fourth grade student at Immaculate Conception School on March 18.

KINDERGARTENERS ENJOY BEACH-THEMED PICNIC:  The kindergarten classes of Doreen Conrad and Jourdan Beardsley enjoyed an afternoon of "sunshine" with a beach-themed picnic. Parent volunteers transformed Dwyer Hall into a sandy oasis. Each student brought a beach towel and wore sunglasses while enjoying hamburgers, hot dogs, baked Sunchips and blue Jello. The children also played beach volleyball and were entertained with face painting activities.