Friday, September 16, 2005

Catholic & Montgomery Academy Partner Together for Hurricane Relief



Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School and The Montgomery Academy have partnered together to bring teacher supplies to temporary schools in rural Mississippi. As communities begin the long and difficult rebuilding process, schools need the basic supplies for their classrooms and teachers. The following items are needed to reestablish schools in Harrison, Jackson, and Hancock Counties of Mississippi:

Pens, Pencils, Markers, Chalk, Erasers, Dry-Erase Boards,
Dry-Erase Markers, Paper, Copy Paper,
Construction Paper, Colored Paper, Hand Sanitizer,
Staplers, Staples, Paper Clips,
Push Pins, Hole Punchers, Rubber Bands,
Index Cards, File Folders, Pocket Folders,
Envelopes, Stamps, Legal Pads,
Binder Clips, Tape, Tape Dispensers,
Labels, Legal-Sized Paper, & Poster Board

This relief effort began as a result of a conversation between Montgomery Catholic’s Middle School Principal, Anne Ceasar, and her brother, Dr. Joe Olmi, who is a School and Child Psychologist and an Associate Professor of School Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Olmi works with the USM Teacher Training Program helping future teachers in the area of Mental and Psychological Training. Since the disaster, he has been debriefing 160 USM student-teachers in the surrounding counties on what to expect when working with the children and their post-disaster behavior while helping to set up temporary schools.

Donations may be dropped off starting with tonight’s MA vs. Catholic football game and continuing through Friday, September 23rd at the Montgomery Catholic Middle School located behind our high school building at 5350 Vaughn Road and at The Montgomery Academy Upper School Campus located at 3240 Vaughn Road.

On Saturday, September 24th, the donations will be delivered to Dr. Olmi at the Teacher Field Placement Office at the University of Southern Mississippi and distributed to schools in Harrison, Jackson, and Hancock Counties, Mississippi. For further information, contact Montgomery Catholic’s Development Director, Mary Kelley, at 272-7221, ext. 15 or Montgomery Academy’s Communications Coordinator, Jennifer Henig, at 272-8210, ext. 256.