Pink Day at St. Cornelius School
Students and staff at St. Cornelius School in
Richmond form a giant ribbon as they get ready to release 200
pink balloons during a breast cancer awareness event in the school
yard. Inside each balloon was the message, “In it for the Cure.” |
|
Celebrating Dr. Seuss
Kindergartners at St. Felicitas School in San
Leandro celebrate Dr. Seuss’ 106th birthday in honor of the
National Education Association’s “Read Across America”
Day. They enjoyed green cupcakes while their teacher, Mrs. Michelle
Thompson, read Dr. Seuss classics, “Green Eggs and Ham”
and “Horton Hears a Who.” |
Honoring African Americans
Seventh graders at St. Elizabeth Elementary
School in Oakland sit in front of a display of prominent African Americans
they created for the school’s Black History Fair last month.
They are (from left) Katherine Carrillo, Sofia Ascencio, Jessica Linares,
Elena Stenger, Victor Garcia, and Maria De Jesus Lopez. The second
graders developed a Freedom Train Scavenger Hunt while the eighth
grade provided listening stations to accompany their timeline of African
American Music. |
|
Franciscan honor
Angela Alioto, a secular Franciscan for the
past 41 years and creator of the Proziuncola Nuova in San Francisco’s
North Beach, received the Tau Award from the Franciscan School of
Theology in Berkeley, March 13. The Tau Award, named after the favorite
representation of the cross beloved by St. Francis of Assisi, is given
to a person who embodies the core Franciscan values of peace, justice,
and sacredness of creation. Alioto is a former San Francisco Supervisor
and chair of its Board. Past recipients include Bishop Emeritus John
Cummins and actor-peace activist Martin Sheen. |
A dairy lesson
Jeff Byers introduces Ellie, a 1,800-pound Holstein
dairy cow, to students at Hayward’s All Saints School Feb. 24
as part of the Dairy Council of California’s Mobile Classroom
program. The students learned about cows, recycling and gardening.
They were also able to meet Della, a two-week-old calf, and give her
a friendly touch. |
|
Acolyte installation in Rome
In a special Mass in Rome, March 7, Archbishop
Thomas Rodi of Mobile, Alabama, installs Derrick Oliveira as an acolyte,
one step on his journey to priestly ordination. Oliveira, a second
year theology student at the Pontifical North American College, is
a member of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Castro Valley. He was one
of 55 seminarians installed as acolytes that day. |
 |
|
Learning
origami
Members of the Italian Catholic Federation at
St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Martinez successfully hold
some of the folded paper sculptures they created under the guidance
and nimble fingers of Branch Chaplain and Parochial Administrator,
Father Leonard Alban Asuncion. Proudly displaying their hand
crafted birds are, from left, back row: Rosemary Cook, Jim Helberg,
Ruth Conti, Melanie Smith, Maria Catanese-Helberg and Tom Cook. Front
row: Mike Cannady, Jenna and Jackie Shikuzawa, Father Asuncion, Orlando
Conti and Paul Cook. |
Catholic summer schools, camps
Several of the Catholic high schools in the Oakland
Diocese are offering summer schools and camps, some for their students
and others open to the wider community.
Bishop O’Dowd High in Oakland is providing classes for full
academic credit, June 14-July 21. Semester and year courses, as well as
enrichment courses, are available to students from any of the nine Catholic
high schools in the diocese. Costs range from $250 to $1200. Contact:
www.bishopodowd.org
De La Salle High in Concord has week-long summer sports camps for
students in grades 6-8, June 14 and July 1. Costs range from $100 to $200
per camp. All proceeds go to the school’s Bishop Cummins Scholarship
Fund. Contact: 925-288-8100; summercamps@dlshs.org
or www.dlshs.org
Moreau Catholic High in Hayward is offering a full schedule of classes,
including study skills, writing, driver’s education, along with
math, science and other courses. Costs vary depending on the course, with
some online courses available. Contact: Ana-Hernandez-Cortez: ahernandez@moreaucatholic.org.
St. Elizabeth High in Oakland is offering a month-long (June 14-July
14) Algebra class open to all high school students. Cost is $400. Their
English class is for St. Elizabeth High students only. Contact: Roy Troper,
510-532-8947
St. Mary’s High in Berkeley is offering academic courses and
athletic activities, June 21-July 16, for students entering grades 6-9.
Costs begin at $150 with discounts available. Early registration deadline
is April 1. Contact: www.saintmaryschs.org.
St. Joseph Notre Dame High in Alameda has a summer program for students,
grades 3-9, that blends academics, athletics and recreation. Among the
offerings are a science camp, hoop camp for girls, and a success strategy
class for incoming freshmen whether they will attend SJND or not. Costs
vary from $125 to $450. Contact: 510-523-1526 or go to www.sjnd.org
Salesian High in Richmond is offering summer sports camps for students
in grades 4-8 at various times from June 21-Aug. 6. Cost is $100 per week.
Contact: Chad Nightingale, 510-234-4433 or cnighingale@salesian.com.
Salesian is also offering academic review classes for students from all
Catholic high schools, June 21-July 23. Cost is $400 for one class, $650
for two. Contact: Gina Cullen, 510-234-4433 or gcullen@salesian.com.
Carondelet High in Concord and Holy Names High in Oakland are
not offering summer schools this year.
An app for prayer
A new application from Ave Maria Press has helped
transform two popular mobile devices into pocket devotionals enabling
the users to meditate on the prayerful journey of the Stations of the
Cross anytime and anyplace.
The new “app,” available in the iTunes App Store, is geared
for users of the iPhone and iPod Touch. The program is based on the book,
“John Paul II’s Biblical Way of the Cross” by
Amy Welborn and Michael Dubruiel. Each station in Jesus’ walk, including
prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, the meeting with the weeping women,
crucifixion and burial, is accompanied by colorful paintings by artist
Michael O’Brien.
News of the application followed the World Communications Day address
by Pope Benedict XVI who urged priests to use the latest technological
resources along with traditional media to promote opportunities for dialog,
catechesis and evangelization.
For more information, visit the Ave Maria Press website at www.avemariapress.com.
Ave Maria Press is a ministry of the Indiana Province of Holy Cross.
School sports wrap-up
Local Catholic school athletes and teams from elementary
school to college have made news in various competitions and tournaments
in recent weeks.
The men’s basketball team at St. Mary’s College in Moraga,
which lost six consecutive times to Gonzaga University, defeated the No.
18 team to claim the West Coast Conference (WCC) championship on March
8, with a score of 81-62. With the victory, the Gaels secured an automatic
bid to the NCAA Tournament and were scheduled to play Richmond on March
18 in Providence, Rhode Island.
The boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at Oakland’s
Bishop O’Dowd High School captured Division III North Coast
Section (NCS) titles on March 5. They defeated Miramonte and Dougherty
Valley, respectively. The victory marked the second consecutive NCS title
for the girls’ team.
“Panther Pride” is at a fever pitch at St. Perpetua Parish
in Lafayette which boasts several basketball championship teams. The
4th grade boys, 8th grade boys (third consecutive title), 5th grade girls
(undefeated season) and 6th grade girls teams all earned the title of
diocesan CYO champs; additionally the 6th grade boys team (undefeated
in season play) and the 7th grade boys are champions in the West Diablo
CYO league.
The volleyball team at Piedmont’s Corpus Christi School earned
their third consecutive CYO title on Feb. 16 by defeating Assumption School
of San Leandro. With the victory, the team marked its third consecutive
undefeated season.
Around
the Parishes
The March 5 blood drive, organized at the Cathedral
of Christ the Light in conjunction with the American Red Cross, yielded
42 units of blood, which was 12 units “over what we were hoping,”
said Conventual Franciscan Father Robert Herbst, who served as site coordinator
for the drive. A good number of donors were workers from office buildings
near the cathedral complex, where posters announcing the drive were displayed,
said Father Herbst, judge and adjutant judicial vicar of the diocesan
canon law department.
Close to 100 Cursillistas gathered recently in the parish hall at St.
Ignatius Church in Antioch to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the
Filipino Cursillo Team in Antioch. Father Robert Rien, pastoral
administrator at St. Ignatius, presided and preached at the liturgy.
Vince Nims, youth minister at the Catholic Community of Pleasanton,
will perform in a Lenten concert in the parish’s St. Augustine Hall
from 7 – 8:30 p.m. on March 30. Freewill offerings will be given
to Catholic Relief Services for its Haiti earthquake relief programs.
St. Callistus Parish in El Sobrante was one of 76 parishes across
the U.S. to receive a grant from OPC, an Oregon-based not-for-profit publisher
of liturgical music and worship resources. The parish received $1,000
which they requested toward the purchase of a piano. Since the OCP Parish
Grants began in 2001, more than 500 churches have been awarded grants
for liturgy and/or music.
back
to top
Around
the Schools
Two students from Oakland’s Holy Names High
School were recently recognized for service to others. Taylor Marie
Lyons, a senior, was inducted into Alameda County Women’s
Hall of Fame. She completed several hundred hours of service to youth
through her work at the Boys and Girls Club in Oakland, McCullum Youth
Court and as a Girl Scout. Last fall, Lyons received the Jefferson Award
for community service and was honored at the Breaking Bread for Social
Justice Dinner sponsored by the Legal Clinic at the Cathedral of Christ
the Light in Oakland. Karla Baires, also a senior, was presented
the Jefferson Award for outstanding community service during a
March 10 assembly on campus. Baires has dedicated hundreds of hours to
a variety of non-profit organizations since her first year at Holy Names,
including Alta Bates Medical Center, St. Martin de Porres Regional School
in Oakland, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant in Berkeley and the Oakland Animal
Shelter.
The Annual Lenten Charity Drive is underway at De La Salle High School
in Concord. For the 13th year students have added a bit of friendly
competition to their Lenten observance with the Spartan Charity Challenge.
Classes seek to outdo one another in generous donations to local and global
causes. Funds collected this year will be distributed to five charitable
programs: an Eritrean village with which DLS has been “twinned”
for many years; the De Marillac Academy in San Francisco’s
Tenderloin district where DLS students are tutors; Lasallian ministries
in India and the Philippines; and Lasallian ministries in earthquake-ravaged
Haiti.
Donors, foundation representatives and other invited guests will gather
March 25 for the dedication of the new student center at Oakland’s
Holy Names University. Located on the ground floor of Brennan Hall,
the new center cost nearly $1.8 million and features classrooms, faculty
offices, wireless lounge space, an advanced technology support center,
and a student services area.
back
to top
Names, News, Notes
“Like A Swarm of Bees,” the final novel
by the late Sister Carol Anne O’Marie, a member of the St.
Joseph Sisters of Carondelet and author of the popular series of Sister
Mary Helen mystery novels, is now available for purchase. The 300-page
book chronicles her community’s early Sisters and their mission
and expansion in America. Cost is $12 plus postage and handling. For more
information contact A Friendly Place, where Sister O’Marie served
as co-director, at 2298 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 451-8923.
Catholic Charities of the East Bay (CCEB) provided free health
and well-being services including blood pressure checks, glucose testing,
food stamp information and assistance for those at risk for becoming homeless
during a special health day March 5 at its site in Oakland.
VOLUNTEER ALERT #1! Are you people-oriented? Do you have a flair for organization?
Are you interested in architecture, history, or art at the Cathedral
of Christ the Light? The cathedral is looking for volunteers to serve
in a variety of posts including the information services desk, as docents,
and behind the scenes flexing their administrative skills. For more information
contact Leo Keegan at docent@ctlcathedral.org
or visit www.ctlcathedral.org.
VOLUNTEER ALERT #2! Casa Vincentia, a residence for homeless pregnant
women in Oakland, is seeking volunteers for a variety of roles, including
accountant, grant writer, landscaper, and fundraiser. For more information:
(510) 729-0316 or casavincentia@yahoo.com.
Two free informational sessions will be held next month in Fremont on
the naturalization process. Organized by the San Francisco Field Office
of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the sessions
will help educate immigrants and their families about the new naturalization
test and a variety of educational resources and materials available from
the agency. The sessions will take place at the Fremont Family Resource
Center, Pacific Room, 39155 Liberty St. on April 15 at 10 a.m.; and at
the Fremont Main Library, 2400 Stevenson Blvd. on April 24 at 1:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Sharon Rummery at (415) 844-5250.
Need help with a spring cleaning project? The Berkeley-based Multicultural
Institute, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Province
of St. Barbara (Franciscan Friars), can help connect homeowners who
need help with day workers who need a job. Day workers, male and female,
are available for hire seven days a week at $12 – 15 per hour. Jobs
include construction, gardening, set-up, and painting. For more information,
(510) 847-8714 or http://mionline.org.
back
to top
home
|
