6 ARCHDIOCESAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS RECEIVE NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON AWARD
Monday, November 26, 2018
On Monday, October 1st the United States Department of Education (USDOE) announced that 349 schools across the country would receive its prestigious Blue Ribbon School designation. Those 
awards were presented during ceremonies held in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 – Thursday, November 8, 2018.
Only 49 of those chosen for the honor were non-public schools. Eight of the 49 were parish or regional elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, including: Saint Katharine Drexel Regional Catholic School in Holland (Bucks County), Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School in Doylestown (Bucks County), Saint Jude Catholic School in Chalfont (Bucks County), Saint Joseph-Saint Robert School in Warrington (Buck County, Mater Dei Regional Catholic School in Lansdale (Montgomery County), and Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School in Maple Glen (Montgomery County).
Saint Jude School will hold a celebration of its Blue Ribbon designation by wearing their special Blue Ribbon t-shirts to school. The Blue Ribbon Award Saint Jude School received will also be prominently displayed in the church sanctuary as all students, faculty, staff, alumni, community, and special guests enter for a Mass of Thanksgiving. Students in Saint Jude’s fifth grade class will lead the school community during the Mass by taking the roles of readers, gift bearers, and cantors. As a way to celebrate the school’s achievement, and also as a way to give back to its community during the Mass, students will present food items collected by grades Pre-k through eighth for the school’s baskets to be donated to families in need. Immediately following Mass, as they return to school, each student will be treated to a Blue Ribbon cookie. Each homeroom will have a “Blue Ribbon Door of Pride” on display. Guests in attendance at the Mass will be invited a special reception and to tour the school for a Blue Ribbon open house. After lunch, students will join with their grade buddies (older students and younger students paired together) and work together on a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) project making “Blue Ribbon Rockets,” which will include testing them outside, weather permitting, as well as making a “Blue Ribbon Buddy” craft with and for one another.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
9:00 a.m. (Mass)
1:00 p.m. (Grade Buddy Activities)
Saint Jude School
323 West Butler Avenue
Chalfont, PA 18914
(Bucks County)
Founded in 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students' academic achievement. Since the program's founding, the U.S. Department of Education has bestowed this coveted award on more than 8,500 of America's schools.
Note: For information about Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit www.aopcatholicschools.org. For a complete list of 2018 National Blue Ribbon Schools, please visit https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/