tvc.dsj.org | January 22, 2019
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
15
Christmas Spirit at Bellarmine Helps Those in Need
ven as studying for fi nal exams
was occurring, students took time to
oin with faculty and staff at ellarm-
ine College Preparatory to make the
Christmas season a bit brighter for
many in the community.
or ing with the non rofi t agency,
Family Giving Tree, Bellarmine helped
fulfill 265 gift wishes, generated
more than $3,700 funds online (the
equivalent of an additional 107 gift
wishes granted), and donated more
than $3,400 in retail gift cards and
monetary contributions.
The Family Giving Tree expected to
fulfi ll 0,000 gift wishes during the
holiday season for low income youth,
teens, and senior citizens. Gifts and
donations were also provided to
victims of the Camp Fire, including
500 items and Safeway gift cards dis-
tri uted to many fi re survivors in the
Town of Paradise.
“It is a pleasure to work with the
community at Bellarmine who so
graciously supports the Holiday Wish
Drive,” says Jennifer Cullenbine, Fam-
ily Giving Tree CEO. “Each year they
collect over 200 gifts and thousands
of dollars in monetary donations to
Family Giving Tree CEO Jennifer Cullenbine
with students from Bellarmine College Prep.
benefit others. It is just this type
of consistent support that helps our
programs thrive.”
The eff ort on ehalf of Family Giving
Tree, which followed the school’s suc-
cessful Winter Warmth Drive held in
November, was coordinated through
the Bellarmine Christian Service
Program (CSP) team, led by Steve
Pinkston and Anne Maloney and CSP
staff members Shawn Descourouez
and alumni volunteer Joey Sciammas;
with signifi cant su ort received from
members of the Agape Club; Muslim
Student Association; Varsity and JV
soccer team players and coaches; and
several additional Bellarmine faculty,
staff , and arent volunteers.
Sacred Heart Robotics Teams Reaches Finals in VEX Robotics Tournament
With a fine display of technical
know-how, all three of Sacred Heart
School’s VEX-VRC Middle School Ro-
otics teams reached the fi nals at the
6th Annual Sacred Heart VEX Middle
School Robotics Tournament. The
teams had been practicing since the
summer months to solve the new sea-
son’s complicated “challenge problem”
and be ready for the competition sea-
son. They wor ed with confi dence and
independence, and mastered the new
Saint Lucy School Children Helping Children
Saint Lucy School families and teach-
ers are still smiling after December’s
“Fill a Truck” day! Saint Lucy School
partnered with the City of Campbell’s
olice e artment to fi ll not one, ut
two, trucks full of toys for children
in Campbell who were in need over
hristmas. ive ffi cers with two truc s
and one olice car with lights ashing
arrived on campus before students ar-
rived. The truck beds were open and
waiting right in the middle of the morn-
ing dro off one as the families arrived
for school. The children eagerly ran over
to the trucks to place their toy donations
inside and say hello to the Police Of-
fi cers. The students loved having their
icture ta en with the olice ffi cers
as they delivered their donations and
watched the toy piles grow!
The spirit was jovial, and our Pas-
tor, Father Mark Arnzen, joined in the
excitement. ffi cer na ear, a aint
Lucy School Alumni Parent, helped
coordinate the eff ort, which made the
connection even stronger. This was a
wonderful way to partner with the City
of am ell and off er our students a
visual for the impact that their small
donation can make, especially when
coupled with others. Principal Sue
Grover added “the spirit of giving is a
year round commitment and engaging
our students to care for those less for-
tunate as Jesus did is the best way for
them to see how every gesture makes
a diff erence.
For more information regarding Catholic Schools in
the Diocese of San Jose, please visit www.dsj.org/schools.
challenge in new and inventive ways.
The Sacred Heart VEX Robotics
Tournament hosted 44 teams coming
from all over the Bay Area, and beyond.
This year’s 6th annual event proved to
be largest the school has ever hosted,
and is now one of the major Middle
School tournaments on the VEX-VRC
calendar. Sacred Heart’s gym and new
Robotics Lab provided ample space
for the Skills Challenge portion of the
tournament; the gym allowed for two
ro otics fi elds and four teams to com-
pete at once. The day was highlighted
by tremendous energy, skillful robot
designs, and the assistance of many
amazing volunteers and supporters.
The Robotics Club, which includes
ten teams of students from grades three
through eight, will continue to compete
throughout the winter months and
into the spring. They are looking into
qualifying once again to the state and
national championships.