Weekly Bulletin March 23, 2014

Transcription

1 Weekly Bulletin March 23, 2014 Despite my weekly calls for the coming of spring, the weather is not cooperating. But the good news of Saint Joseph Prep continues to transcend our chilling temperatures and biting winds. Just yesterday a Saturday, mind you I was privileged to see ALL of the following on our campus: the Phoenix Players rehearsing in Phoenix Hall for this weekend s performances; the Robotics Team regaling their competitive battles at Bryant University; and scores of student volunteers (along with our friends from Staples) doing some major spring cleaning (see details below)! On top of this, we had another group of students and faculty members on the Kairos Retreat (see photo on page 4), deepening their relationships with God and one another. This is exactly the kind of positive, meaningful engagement, the kind of full- day and whole- person experience, we are cultivating for our students here at Saint Joseph Prep. Week at a Glance Monday, March 24: Start of the Lenz and Lenz SAT Prep Course (for students already enrolled) Friday, March 28: Passage to the New World: Phoenix Hall at 7:00 PM Saturday, March 29: Passage to the New World: Phoenix Hall at 2:00 PM Thursday, March 27 to Saturday, March 22: Robotics Competition at Northeastern University Passage to the New World: Tickets are now on sale for our winter/spring musical, written by Daniel Donabedian 14, titled Passage to the New World. Performances are at 7:00 PM on Friday, March 28, and at 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 29, in Phoenix Hall. For more details about the show, see the feature story on our homepage or check out the Phoenix Players page on our website: The Phoenix Players have been in rehearsal since returning from Christmas break and they look forward to sharing this labor of love with the entire community. Tickets are $12 for General Admission and $7 for students and faculty. Visit phoenixplayers.brownpapertickets.com to purchase tickets online. The Robotics Team competed in its first matches at Bryant College in Smithfield, RI, on Friday and Saturday. After some technical and mechanical challenges early on Friday, the team responded with strong performances Friday afternoon and throughout the day on Saturday. The competition will be even more intense this coming weekend at Northeastern. Students on the team are: Daniel Donabedian 14, Nickolaos Tzigizis 15, Melahicia Virgile 15, Christopher Elize 16, Stephen Harnois 16, YiXiao (Alvin) Sun 16, Andrew Donabedian 17, Sophia Sa Ponte 17, Emily Taranto 17, Angela Marino 17, and Ruolin Zhang 17. All of the matches are being streamed live on the web at Come support our Robotics Team at Northeastern and please follow their progress online. Go Phoenix! 1

2 Quick Highlights from Last Week Our Scholarship Breakfast and Mass on the Feast of St. Joseph was a huge success! As always, our scholars made an incredible, indelible impression on our donors, benefactors, and visitors. Our generous hosts, Gerard and Marilyn Doherty, along with our courageous sponsors, the Sisters of St. Joseph, were honored and appreciated, and our student speakers received rave reviews. Please check out the feature story of this awesome event on the homepage of our website: Finally, our thanks go to our partners at Staples who provided a half dozen volunteers on Saturday for our March De- Clutter Event. They brought bright red t- shirts for our student volunteers, along with their resolve and their commitment to get the (sweaty, arduous, and muscle- taxing) job done. Our young women and men who gave up their Saturday to assist with this project were tremendous! The work involved cleaning out the large (very dusty and, some would say, rather scary) attic. The team filled two entire dumpsters with old chairs, battered desks, scrap wood, outdated texts, and antiquated decorations. Rumor has it that some of the items went back to the Roaring 20 s, but no tangible proof of that assertion was found. Scholar Highlights of the Week Rather than highlight student achievement from last week, let me put in a plug for this week. It is Crunch Time for our scholars. For students in grades 9-11, this is the final week of the Third Quarter. For seniors, there are only three weeks left in the Third Quarter. This is the time to step up and to dig deep. Push hard. Be strong. And support each other. Students, keep your eyes on the prize. Reflect on the pride and satisfaction you will feel, knowing that you did your best, at the end of the term. There is no substitute for this sense of accomplishment! It is far better than the should ve, would ve, could ve laments we have when we realize, too late, that we fell short. For students wanting a structured, focused, consistent, and quiet place to study, Head of School Study is open every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2:45 to 4:00 PM. Many scholars are taking advantage of this terrific opportunity, and they are seeing significant improvement in their grades. See Mr. Ward for details about this program. Student Quote of the Week Chapel Speakers this week included Madeline Neff 17 and Sharon King 17. Maddie shared her passion for participating in Color Guard, describing what she has learned about dedication and patience from her long hours of travel and practice. Maddie s reflection that Color Guard is both sport and art was most insightful. Sharon spoke honestly and courageously about the loss of her older cousin, Peirce. Peirce, a member of Sharon s extended family in Ireland, and Sharon always connected when Sharon s family visited their homeland. Sharon reflected on how difficult it was to hear the news but also on how blessed she felt to have such good memories. Our Quote of the Week comes from Sharon who concluded her speech saying, I no longer think of me saying good- bye to my cousin in this life; I think of him saying hello to me when we meet again in the next life. What a beautiful, touching, and faith- filled vision. 2

3 Club/Activity Highlights of the Week Praying the Rosary on Wednesdays: Ms. Hughes and members of our faculty/staff join with students each Wednesday morning at 7:10 AM in our Chapel to pray the Rosary. This is a wonderful way to start the day. Especially during Lent, we encourage our young people to take advantage of this opportunity to develop their relationships with the Lord and with each other. BC Splash: Boston College hosts its annual SPLASH program on Sunday, April 5. BC Splash is an excellent way to give high school students a window into the college experience with a full day of free classes taught by current BC students. Sample courses are: Battles of the Books: Popular Fiction versus Literary Fiction and The Biochemistry of Music. Please contact the College Counseling & Guidance Office if you have questions or want to register for the event. D.R. Service Trip Benefit: The Dominican Republic Service Team Eloisa Cabello 14, Emily Carvalho 14, Alan Checo 14, Suilisa Fernandes 14, Brenna Hurley 14, Lina Saldarriaga 14, Rachel Sansone 15, Michael Martinez 16, Mr. Hernandez, Ms. Piendak, and Mr. Shiner needs our help. Donations of gently worn (or new) summer clothing, toiletries, and Spanish- or Creole- language games or books, along with financial support, are much appreciated. Please check out this link for further details: ( Student- Athlete Highlights of the Week Our spring athletic season kicked off on Monday, March 17, with various tryouts and practices. Please check with our Athletic Director, Mr. Von Euw, regarding dates, times, etc. Mr. Von Euw may be reached at x1129 or at jim.voneuw@saintjosephprep.org. Experience the joy of competing with your classmates and share the honor of representing your school. Parents Corner 2. Re- Registration: Re- Registration for the school year is now due. A mailing went home to all returning families with a Cover Letter, Re- Registration Form, and Tuition Contract. Specific dates for Re- Registration and Financial Aid application deadlines can be found at and clicking on the Re- registration Notice link. Please connect with our Business Manager, Mr. St. Pierre, with any questions. 3. College Counseling: Coffee Chat with the College Counseling Staff: These are informal opportunities for families to ask questions about the college exploration, planning and the application process. Coffee Chats are held from 7:15 to 8:00 AM. The next scheduled date is March 28. We encourage all parents and guardians who have questions about the college process, to contact Ms. Piendak at melanie.piendak@saintjosephprep.org or Ms. Pabst at elizabeth.pabst@saintjosephprep.org. 4. Class of 2015: College Essay: In the Fourth Quarter, all juniors will begin writing their college essays. This College Essay Unit will be implemented through the English Department, with assistance from our volunteer tutors and our College Counselors. Students will be writing multiple drafts, with the goal of completing a finished piece before the summer. 3

4 Weekly Class Meeting: Ms. Piendak and Ms. Pabst continue meeting weekly during an Advisory Period with all of the juniors, providing members of the Class of 2015 with the information and the direction they need to begin navigating the college process. Assumption College, in Worcester, MA, is offering a five- day, residential program in June of 2014 for rising seniors. The weeklong program will take place June 22 to 27. The cost is only is $200 for this all- inclusive experience. o Students will: Engage in classroom discussions with Assumption faculty Visit local and regional sites to see art, history and politics in action Live in a college residence hall with Resident Advisors (RAs) Eat in the residential dining hall Be taken on a road trip to Boston o Students interested in applying for this selective program can register at o The deadline to apply has been extended to this Friday, March Phoenix Family Association: The PFA met two weeks ago. Upcoming events include a Trivia Night (for fathers and father figures and daughters/sons) and a Family Cookout. For details of these and other items, check out the PFA page on our website. Here are the minutes: Students and Faculty Members on the Kairos Retreat! 4

5 Mr. Nunan s Corner Presence and Hope The readings from Sunday are as dense and rich. I will not attempt to offer an exegesis on the complex, subtle, and lengthy gospel story of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. But I will share with you two lines from the other readings that stood out: Is the Lord in our midst or not? (Exodus 17:7) And hope does not disappoint (Romans 5:5) The first quote is the essential question each person of faith (or even without faith) asks every day: Is the Lord in our midst or not? Is God with us or not? It is that simple. Jesus is here or he is not. The Lord shares our joys and hopes, our sorrows and sufferings, our triumphs and victories, our tragedies and losses or the Lord does not. The Spirit is among us or not. The context is the Israelites 40- year trek though the desert; the Church chooses this reading because through our 40- day Lenten observance, we symbolically reflect their journey. The Israelites have run out of water; they are dying of thirst; they ask Moses, Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Their grumblings echo an earlier passage from Exodus when the Israelites were trapped at the Red Sea, with the Egyptians in close pursuit, and seemingly no chance of survival. They ask Moses why he (and God) brought them on this journey, even going so far as to ask, Were there no graves in Egypt? They imply that the only reason Moses freed them from enslavement in Egypt was to bury them in the desert. We, too, may feel as if the odds are against us, as if the situation is insurmountable. We, too, may have those moments when we are simply overburdened and overwhelmed, when we wonder if it is all worth it. We, too, may find ourselves questioning God: Are you there? Are you really there? Even in the midst of this? Even when I am experiencing this? The good news for us is not only that the answer is a quiet, assuring, patient, and persistent yes. The good news for us, also, is that God does not give up on us. In fact, God accepts and understands our questions; somehow, God is present even in the midst of our accusations of God being absent. And this leads us to the second quote: And hope does not disappoint. We are called to hope in God. This is not just some kind of wishing or dreaming; it is not some pie- in- the- sky naiveté. It is real, daily, essential, and practical. It is the hope that reassures us and reenergizes us; it is the hope that gives us meaning and purpose, even when we cannot seem to find the way. And what is the proof that hope does not disappoint? Paul reminds us in the passage, Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. The Son of God lays down his life for us: the greatest sacrifice in human history, made by the one without sin, not on behalf of the perfect and the angelic, but on behalf of us, the flawed and the human. This is why hope does not disappoint because our hope is in the one who is always faithful, always loving always present, always in our midst. For people of all faiths and for so many who struggle with and search for faith may there be some consolation in these words, some comfort in this promise. We are blessed to come from so many traditions and religions, so many cultures and histories. United together, may we trust that we, too, are the hope and the presence of the Divine for each other. 5