June 4 , 2007VOL. 45, NO. 11Oakland, CA

Major milestone
More than 50 concrete field personnel gather for a final photo upon completion of the structural concrete for the new Cathedral of Christ the Light complex. They were treated to a buffet lunch and a personal thank-you from Bishop Allen Vigneron. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, framers and other tradespeople on the project also attended.
WEBCOR PHOTO

Local graduates earn honors

Local graduates were honored for academic achievement and community service during ceremonies in elementary and secondary schools throughout the Oakland Diocese. Below is a sampling, highlighting some of the most outstanding awards.

Megan Beck, an 8th grader at Christ the King School in Pleasant Hill, is one of five students in the Central Coast region of the California Junior Scholarship Federation (CJSF) to be awarded a Marian Huhn Memorial Scholarship.

Huong Nguyen, a senior at Salesian High School in Richmond, was recently awarded a Gates-Millennium Scholarship, which covers all college and graduate school expenses through to a Ph.D. Nguyen was among 11,000 applicants from around the nation; there were 1,000 scholarships awarded.

Nick Newsome, a senior at St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley, was named a winner in the Ron Brown Scholars Program and will receive $10,000 a year for four years towards his college education. He was one of only 20 students nationwide to receive the scholarship.

Alfonso Taylor, a senior at St. Mary’s High in Berkeley, is one of 15 recipients of the “Students Rising Above” award, founded in 1998 by KPIX news anchor Wendy Tokuda. The program is dedicated to providing educational resources to high school students who are overcoming staggering obstacles to pursue their education.

Cheers for CYO champs!

Over 500 girls and boys in grades three to eight competed in the annual diocesan track and field championship meet recently at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill.

Several athletes either broke or tied diocesan records. Carlyle Garrick from Transfiguration Parish in Castro Valley tied the 8th grade boys record in the 200 meter run and broke the diocesan record in the 400 meter run. In previous years at the CYO track meet, he had broken records in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades.

The 4th grade girls 4 x 100 meter relay team from St. Lawrence O’Toole in Oakland shattered the old record previously set in 1987 by more than a second with a time of 58.9. Last year the team had tied the relay record.

Christina Chenault from St. Mary in Walnut Creek set the 4th grade girls record in the 800 meters at 2:42:3, while Jeremy Williams, St. Michael in Livermore, tied the 5th grade boys high jump record at 4’8”.

Adult coaches and meet officials were also recognized at the event for outstanding contributions to the CYO program. They were Chris Walsh (Christ the King Pleasant Hill); Greg Rumore (St. Mary, Walnut Creek); LaShell McGhee (St. John, El Cerrito); Dina Bolden (St. Jarlath, Oakland); and Mark Lima (Our Lady of Guadalupe, Fremont).

Around the Parishes

Members at Antioch’s St. Ignatius Parish are going on foot patrol in the fight against cancer. A parish team will participate in the 24-Hour Relay for Life, June 23-24 at Los Medanos College. The team has already sponsored a dinner and raffle to support the event, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Cancer survivors are invited to join in the moving “Survivor’s Lap” during the Relay. For more information, contact Brian or Vicki McCoy at (925) 778-4092.

St. Michael Parish in Livermore is committed to buying and filling 125 backpacks for needy elementary school students in Livermore. Each year the parish, along with 10 other faith communities, donates over 900 backpacks to families and family-help organizations in the Livermore area.

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Around the Schools

As part of their First Eucharist service project, the second grade class at St. Perpetua School in Lafayette raised over $1,200 for Nothing But Net, an organization that provides insecticide-treated mosquito nets to people living in the poorest parts of the world. Throughout the year teacher Rita Bohling’s daughter, a Peace Corp volunteer in Niger, shared photos and anecdotes about her experiences with the class, who learned the importance of mosquito nets in preventing malaria. The students gave oral reports to all the classes in the school, made a presentation to the student council and set up a display in the school’s lobby to educate parents and campus visitors. The display included a bowl to collect donations.

Brendan Devine, a senior at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School, placed 10th in the men’s 19-21 age group at the World Irish Dancing Championships held in Glasgow, Scotland, that drew more than 4,000 competitors from over 300 dance schools.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave the commencement address at St. Mary’s College’s School of Extended Education on June 2. More than 260 students received undergraduate and graduate degrees in what was the final graduation for the Extended Education School, which is closing this year. Bishop Emeritus John S. Cummins delivered the commencement speech at the college’s 44th Undergraduate Commencement on May 26.

Jasmine Hill, senior at St. Mary’s High in Berkeley, received a $2,000 scholarship in the regional Bank of America Achievement Awards.

Kaela Farrise, 15, a freshman at Holy Names High School in Oakland, will attend the Presidential Classroom’s Law and Justice in a Democracy program, June 24-30 in Washington, D.C. Along with other high schools students from across the country she will gain firsthand knowledge about the inner workings of government and policy formation.

Daniel Huang, a student at St. Joseph Notre Dame High in Alameda, received the 2007 Outstanding Senior in French Award from the American Association of Teachers of French.

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Among the Religious

Carondelet Sister Patricia Anne Gilligan, who works at Carondelet High School in Concord, will receive a real “Cead Mile Failte” (A Hundred Thousand Welcomes) when she lands in Ireland this month. Sister Gilligan, who just celebrated her 60th Jubilee (Diamond) as a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, hasn’t been to Ireland in 40 years. Her sister, Eleanor Dolan, will be her escort.

Father George Mockel, vicar general of the Oakland Diocese, celebrated the sacrament of Confirmation on May 12 at St. Theresa Church in Oakland 26 candidates including Katherine Diamantine, a 10th grader at Carondelet High School in Concord. Father Mockel had presided at the marriage of Diamantine’s parents, and had baptized Diamantine.

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Names, News, Notes

What’s on EWTN? Coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Assisi, June 16-17, highlights EWTN’s special telecasts this month. Broadcasts include the Holy Father’s arrival in Assisi, his visits to San Damiano and the Basilica of St. Claire, and a Mass in the Basilica of St. Francis. Visit the website, www.ewtn.com, for the complete schedule. EWTN is carried 24 hours a day on Comcast Digital channel 229; DISH Satellite channel 261; and DirecTV channel 422; in Alameda on Comcast channel 30 and Alameda Power channel 26.

Mea culpa! The Oakland Athletics will play the California Angels, not the Los Angeles Dodgers, during the Knights of Columbus Days at the A’s, Aug. 4-5 at McAfee Coliseum. The price of the ticket, $20, includes a $6 donation to Mary’s House, a San Pablo-based residence for women in crisis pregnancy. For tickets and more information, contact Lou Santero at (925) 846-5124.

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