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December 10, 2013
catholic schools
Bellarmine Jesuit community superior
pronounces final vows
By Brian Adams
Bellarmine College Preparatory
All Saints Day liturgy had additional
significance for members of the school
community as Father Christopher
Nguyen, SJ pronounced final vows as a
Jesuit at the Nov. 1 celebration.
During the ceremony, Father Nguyen, who has been a Jesuit for 23 years
and who was ordained a priest in 2001,
reaffirmed his “first vows” of poverty,
chastity and obedience, and promised
willingness to be available to the Church
wherever needed.
Student body, faculty, staff, family
and friends witnessed his pledge of
commitment and service to God, to
the Church, and to the communities
he serves. His parents and four of 10
siblings attended the liturgy, held on
the Bellarmine campus.
Also in attendance was Father Michael Weiler, SJ, Provincial of the California Province of the Society Jesus, a
Bellarmine alumnus of the Class of 1972.
“I wanted students to witness this
and see the role they have played in my
life, and the role priests have in their
lives,” said Father Nguyen when asked
why he chose to pronounce his solemn
vows at Bellarmine where, since 2011,
he has been Superior of its Jesuit community, and is also a member of the
school’s Campus Ministry team and a
chemistry teacher.
In the Jesuit Order, one’s first vows,
Father Christopher Nguyen, SJ pronounces
final vows during All Saints Day Liturgy at
Bellarmine College Preparatory. (Photo by
Bellarmine student Ashwin Chalaka)
made after completion of the two-year
novitiate, are an offer to God; a promise
to enter the Society of Jesus.
At that time, the Society agrees to
walk with the Jesuit as he lives out
vows he has made to God, and after a
number of years of training, experience
and discernment, it confirms the individual’s decision and promise, through
the celebration of final vows, which occurs only after an invitation to do so is
extended by the Society.
“I’ve always known this is my life,”
Father Nguyen said. “I want to be a
Jesuit, and the responsibility of always
being available has been there.”
LEARNING MATH -- Third grade class at Resurrection Elementary School (Sunnyvale)
use their iPads during a rotation model for the Saint Katherine Drexel Initiative. They
are using a new app called “ST Math” which “helps each student move along according
to their own level and ability, playing fun and engaging games,” said teacher Claudia
Rodriguez-Hall. “They are in groups as we have an iPad ratio 1 to 3 in the lower grades,
so while the teacher works in small groups or one-on-one with other students, we have
one group working on iPads,” she added.
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he Valley Catholic
Presentation students gain insights
from field trip to Google
Students from Presentation High
School’s new Women in Computer Science Club got a close-up look at life as a
computer programmer when they took
a recent field trip to the Google campus
in Mountain View.
Arille Jeriza Virrey, a 2008 Presentation graduate who is an Enterprise
Operations Coordinator at Google,
hosted the afternoon, which began with
a video conference with three female
programmers at the Google campus
in Boston.
These engineers were not much
older than many of the students, so
the girls felt comfortable asking questions, and guest speakers shared their
experiences. Students learned that this
is a field that welcomes collaboration.
“I had always imagined the field to
be boring, stationary and individualistic,” said Presentation sophomore Stuti
Vishwabhan. “I was surprised to learn
that the field is quite exciting, especially
for girls like me who love problemsolving and analyzing information,
and it’s collaborative as you work with
others in coding.”
Students also learned that a love
of technology may be combined with
another field, such as medicine or psychology, in a single career. “Technology
Presentation students do video chat at
Google. (Photo by Nicole Ralston)
is rapidly changing the way any career
is built,” Vishwabhan said.
“The engineers gave insight about a
normal day working at Google, with the
cool lounges and ‘micro kitchens,’” said
Presentation junior Sara Stith. “They
also talked about their current projects,
such as integrating tablets into elementary school classrooms to help children
learn. I thought it was really cool that
they were involved in the community
through their jobs.”
Saint Francis High School food drive
delivers 500 meals
Saint Francis High School (Mtn.
View) students served their local community in November by providing 500
Thanksgiving food boxes to local needy
families.
The Service Club organizes the
annual food drive which is a schoolwide effort. Students contributed more
than $21,000 this year, surpassing the
school goal. The club purchased food
at wholesale prices and each family
received 18 different food items for
Thanksgiving, as well as a gift card to
purchase a turkey.
Club members praised more than
100 of their peers who gave time after
school as they filled boxes with packaged and canned goods.
“This event raises awareness to the
fact that just because we live in this
area, not everyone has food. There ar ?)?????????????????????????????t????)?????5????????????)Q?????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????()M???????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????()???????????????????????????????)????????????+?q]??e?????????????? I% ?????)???????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????)??????t??????????-?????9??????q%?)?????????????????????!???)
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