tvc.dsj.org | February 5, 2019 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Monarchs Team Up for Service
By Cassie Snow ’19
This past holiday season, the Arch-
bishop Mitty winter sports teams
contributed greatly to our community
with their generous acts of service. In
the weeks leading up to Christmas,
four winter sports teams led drives
or campaigns to help members of the
community near and far.
The wrestling team came together
to write cards for those serving the
country overseas, bringing them some
holiday joy and showing appreciation
for the soldiers’ selfless service to the
country. This experience allowed them
to reach out to service men and women
who otherwise might not have heard
from many people in the states. It was
humbling for the team as they realized
the sacrifices those serving the country
make every day and how blessed they
are to get to spend the holidays around
family and friends.
The men’s and women’s basketball
teams also spent time in service this
holiday season. In late November, they
gathered to spend an afternoon making
sandwiches for a local shelter, which
greatly helped the shelter prepare for
some of their busiest and most crowded
weeks of the year. Shelters experience
a huge increase in numbers during
the holiday season, and at times it can
be hard to keep up with the demand.
Through the work of the basketball
programs, the shelters were able to
ensure everyone got food, and no one
was turned away. This was a huge help
to the shelters and was greatly appreci-
ated by everyone who relies on these
locations for meals, especially during
the holidays.
The women’s soccer program also
put on a toy drive and collected toys for
the Lucile Packard Children’s hospital
in Palo Alto. I helped lead this drive
because I have experienced having a
family member sick and in the hospital
during the holidays, so I know what a
big difference something like a toy or
stuffed animal can make. I wanted to
do what I could to make things just a
little better for the children that would
15
be calling the hospital “home” for the
holidays. As a program, we were able
to bring in almost 200 toys, stuffed
animals, and games, as well as more
than 100 friendship bracelet kits for
the kids. Since the hospital has no
funding for toys, they rely solely on
donations to supply their playrooms
with toys, games, crafts, activities, etc.
Knowing that we could contribute so
greatly to those in need was a truly
wonderful and fulfilling feeling, but it
also humbled each and every one of us.
While we are extremely blessed to
go to a school like Archbishop Mitty,
we sometimes forget that there are
people not far from us struggling and
in need of our love, support, prayers,
and service. These service projects
definitely opened our eyes to the im-
portance of service and gave us amaz-
ing opportunities to give back to those
in our community who need love and
compassion. These experiences not
only taught us the importance of giv-
ing back and serving the community,
but also opened our eyes to how much
certain groups rely on our service in
order to thrive.
Saint Lucy School Pre-Kindergarteners Experience Their Five Senses
Saint Lucy School Pre-K students learned
about the five senses.
During a week entitled, “All About
Me,” Saint Lucy School Pre-K students
learned about the five senses and how
these individual capabilities help us
everyday. They use their senses to
gather, explore and interpret infor-
mation at the daily sensory station.
Touch and feel bags allowed children
to manipulate unseen objects to evalu-
ate texture, size, and shape. A tasting
station allowed students to experience
the tastes of sweet, salty, sour, and
bitter. Going outside to experience the
sound of the world allowed children
to focus on particular sounds and how
they make us feel or call us to action.
Smelly jars provided students with an
opportunity to experience different
smells and try to identify them. Some
smells may be very familiar and others
may be brand new to many.
Students also were asked to think
about how they would feel if one of
their senses was missing a they partic-
ipated in partner trust walks. The trust
walks also helped them build trust,
friendship and understanding. They
discovered how much they have to
rely on each other to be safely guided
through the classroom and how as a
guide you have the job of keeping your
classmate safe.
Pre-Kindergarten Director Nicole
Quinn added, “It was a great real-life
application for them to understand
how important and powerful their
senses are as well as what it would
be like to lose one of those essential
senses. They were all very excited to
join in the activity and all students
volunteered to be either a trust guide
or walker.”
Bellarmine Football Team Recognized for Volunteerism
The 2018-2019 Bellarmine College
Preparatory JV Football Team is being
honored for its outstanding volun-
teerism by Via Services at the 24th An-
nual Via Ball, taking place February 9
at Villa Ragusa in Campbell.
The student-athletes and their
“team mom” volunteer coordinator,
Jennifer Packard, will be recognized
as Community Partner of the Year
by Via Services, a private, indepen-
dent non-profit dedicated to helping
children and adults with disabilities
and special needs achieve greater
self-sufficiency and lead richer lives
through its programs.
The Bellarmine JV football team
has volunteered at Via Services camp
sessions as well as at the organization’s
events, including its Fall Festival and
Via Ball. “They are an amazing group
of young men,” said Leslie Davis, vice
president of Advancement and Sales
at Via Services. “They have exempli-
fied service above self and incredible
empathy, hard work, and dedication
to our population of special needs
children and adults.”
Such volunteerism is a hallmark of
the Bellarmine experience, including
its athletics program through which
teams routinely serve together con-
tributing in excess of 1,000 hours of
service to the community each year.
Participate in The Valley Catholic
Young Journalists Group
The Valley Catholic Young Journalists Group is a team of high school
journalists who are passionate about retelling such stories through priests,
ordinary people and religious events. The mission is to share anecdotes of
faith and experiences of God in people’s lives, specifically aiming to connect
with fellow Catholic youth.
If you enjoy writing, telling stories, and are active in your parish, come
join this group!
For more information contact Justin Chung at [email protected].