St. Gabriel Parish School serves a variety of purposes, including the academic, social and physical development of the students. However, the primary purpose of our school is religious. We exist for the purpose of evangelization and catechesis, that is, the proclamation of the Gospel and formation of the entire school community of faith. Our school offers a complete Catholic religious education program and makes every effort to develop the faith in all the students so that they may live a full Christian life.

St. Gabriel Parish School admits students of any race, color, nationality or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to the students. St. Gabriel Parish School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, nationality or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, its admission policy or in any school-administered program.

St. Gabriel Parish School endeavors to accommodate students learning needs, as the school's resources & capabilities reasonably permits. The school reserves the right to decline admission or impose reasonable conditions of attendance where indicated under individual circumstances.

Registration in our parish is required prior to school registration. Students coming from another school must have a transfer slip. Catholic students who are NOT members of our parish are admitted only with permission from the pastor of their parish, pastor of St. Gabriel Parish and if space is available.

Parents of children entering Preschool, Kindergarten and First Grade must have the following documents at the time of registration:

- birth certificate

- baptismal certificate {if baptism was not at St. Gabriel}

- social security number

- health immunization records

Children entering Kindergarten must be 5 years of age by September 1; children entering First Grade must be 6 years of age by September 1

Non-Catholic students may be admitted to our school under the following conditions:

- permission of the Pastor is obtained

- adequate facilities and space are available without denying admission to eligible Catholic students

- parents/guardians agree in writing to permit their children to attend Religion classes and relgious functions that are a part of the school program

- parents/guardians commit themselves in writing to accept and promote the philosophy, goals, objectives and regulations of St. Gabriel Parish School.

- parents/guardians agree in writing to assume responsibility for all financial obligations.

How to Register

Contact the school office at 610-532-3234 x115 to request a registration/information packet or if you have any questions about our registration process.

Tuition Policy

Introduction

The mission of St. Gabriel Parish School is to provide affordable, quality Catholic Education for the children of St. Gabriel Parish and the adjacent parishes that do not have a school. The cost of running the school is primarily funded by tuition that is paid by parents/guardians of the students. However, tuition alone is not enough to cover all the expenses of the school. The parish subsidizes the school in an effort to reduce the burden on the parents/guardians and to make this education available to more families. The school relies on this supplemental funding that comes from parish collections. Effectively, the parish community is helping to provide this Catholic Education for your children. Therefore, it is extremely important that parents/guardians fulfill their obligation to pay tuition on a timely basis.

2009-2010 School Year Tuition

Tuition Rates for Grades K-8	Full Tuition	Installment Payments [10]
One Child	$2,500.00	$250.00
Two Children	$4,200.00	$420.00
Three or more Children	$4,400.00	$440.00
Non-Catholic [cost per child]	$4,400.00	$440.00
Non-Member [cost per child]	$4,400.00	$440.00
Tuition Rates for Preschool	Full Tuition	Installment Payments [10]
Two Days	$1,150.00	$115.00
Three Days	$1,250.00	$125.00
Five Days	$1,450.00	$145.00

 Members of Holy Spirit Parish in Sharon Hill and St. George Parish in Glenolden are eligible for the regular tuition rates.

Schedule of Tuition Payments

Tuition can be paid in full or in 10 monthly installments. For the installment method, tuition payments are due on or before the 15th of each month from June of the prior school year through March of the current school year The first three [3] payments must be made before September 1, 2009 in order for your child[ren] to receive an Admission Card. No student will be admitted to the school without an Admission Card.

Method of Payment

Payments can be made by check, money order or cash. Checks and money orders should be made out to St. Gabriel School. Tuition payments can be mailed to the Parish House at the following address:

St. Gabriel Parish House, 233 Mohawk Avenue, Norwood, PA 19074

Non-cash payments can also be sent to school with your child. For St. Gabriel parishioners only, payments can be dropped in the collection basket at Mass over the weekend. In choosing either of these methods, please make sure the payment is included in an envelope that is clearly marked "Tuition" and the family name.

Registration Fee

In addition to the tuition, there is a non-refundable Registration fee of $150.00 per family that is payable in two installments of $75.00; one in April and the second one in May of the prior school year. This fee indicates your committment to send your child[ren] to the school.

Lunch Fee

The Lunch Fee for the school year 2009-2010 will be $75.00 per family. This fee covers the stipend paid for adult supervision for the students at lunchtime. We ask that this fee be paid by check or money order no later than Wednesday, September 2, 2009. Please make checks or money orders payable to "St. Gabriel School". Please feel free to mail it in or drop it off at the school office. The summer hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Late Payments

If, for any reason, a parent/guardian is unable to make a scheduled payment, please call the Tuition Coordinator at 610-586-1225 Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This communication is important in order for the School Administration to better manage the collection of tuition and to prevent any collection action.

If a parent/guardian is having financial difficulity which would prevent them from making more than one payment, it is imperative that they contact Fr. Verruni to discuss the situation.

If payments are missed and there has not been a call to the Tuition Coordinator by the 15th of a given month, then the following collection action plan will be implemented.

 

Two [2] missed payments	Certified Letter
Three [3] missed payments	Phone call from Tuition Coordinator
Four [4] missed payments	Suspension of student[s]

Additionally, it is imperative that all financial responsibilities be current in order for students to participate in field trips/class trips, graduation exercises, and/or receive their report card.

Tuition Assistance

BLOCS {Business Leadership Organized for Catholic School]

BLOCS is a program organized by business leaders to assist parents/guardians in paying tuition for their children to attend Catholic School. They administer their funding through a Pennsylvania state law that allows companies to designate state tax dollars to an edcuational instituition.

Parents/guardians interested in applying for BLOCS assistance should go to the BLOCS website at www.BLOCS.org and download the application.

Food Vouchers

St. Gabriel Home and School Association sells gift cards from Acme, Pathmark, Giant and ShopRite. These gift cards can be purchased in various denominations at the face value of the card. There is no fee for purchasing the gift cards. For every $1 spent on a gift card, a 4% or .04 cents credit is earned toward tuition. For example, if one purchases $100 in Acme gift cards one can earn $4 to be used toward tuition. The amount is recorded on a receipt that can be redeemed as credit toward tuition.

Gift cards can be purchased by anyone and the credit can be assigned to a school family.

Food Vouchers can be purchased on Thursday mornings from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in the Parish House or from a designated seller.

Scrip

Another opportunity to earn tuition credit is through the Scrip program. Like the Food Vouchers, this program allows one to purchase gift cards for which one will earn a percentage of the face value of the card to be used toward tuition. This program offers gift cards from a wide variety of retailers ranging from restaurants to gas stations to clothing stores. The percentage that is earned ranges from 1% to 7% depending on the retailer that is providing the gift card. The amount is recorded on a receipt that can be redeemed as credit toward tuition.

Scrip can be purchased by completing an order form and sending it to school with your child. The order forms are typically accepted twice a month and the gift cards are available the week following the order.