tvc.dsj.org | March 6, 2018
CATHOLIC
SCHOOLS
17
Author Oliver Chin Visits Saint Victor School
With the Lunar New Year right
around the corner, Saint Victor invited
author Oliver Chin to share his work
and experience as an author. Oliver
Chin is the writer of 20 books includ-
ing the highly popular “Tales of the
Zodiac” series, in which a new book is
published each Lunar New Year. Mr.
Chin has increased the representa-
tion of Asian American characters in
media since he founded Immedium,
a San Francisco publisher of lively
multicultural children’s picture books.
This independ ent book publisher has
published nearly 50 books since 2005,
including the original stories of the
“Octonauts” (hit animated TV series).
At an assembly with students in
Kindergarten through fifth grade, Chin
presented this year’s book, “The Year
of The Dog” as well as “The Discovery
of Ramen: The Asian Hall of Fame.”
Before reading “The Discovery of
Ramen,” Mr. Chin asked the audience
for suggestions on where to get the best
ramen in town. Many hands shot up.
Students were eager to share the name
of their favorite ramen restaurant. Mr.
Chin involved the audience by asking
the students to make sound effects.
During the question and answer por-
tion of the presentation, one student
asked Mr. Chin why he chose to write
about ramen. Oliver Chin responded
that in his research he was unable to
find any book about ramen that was
written in English. The book centered
around characters that travel back in
time to learn about the history of the
popular soup.
After the presentation, students who
purchased one of Mr. Chin’s books
were invited to the library for a book
signing. The author spoke briefly with
each student as he signed his/her book.
Students walked away from the experi-
ence with smiles and could not wait to
show their personalized books to peers
and parents. Oliver Chin’s visit will cer-
tainly be a highlight of this school year.
Saint Lawrence Elementary and Middle School Returns to Walden West
Science Camp has been a staple of
Saint Lawrence Elementary and Middle
School for decades. The week is spent at
Walden West Camp and is filled with
community building, hands-on learn-
ing and social teaching practices. This
year, the sixth grade students prepared
for their camp since the start of school
in August! They promoted and ran
fundraisers such as selling ice cream,
and running non-uniform days, to raise
the amount needed for the entire class
to attend. They prepared in their class-
rooms with lessons on environmental
awareness, God’s Creation and more.
The week of February 5 finally ar-
Day in the Life:
Archbishop Mitty High School LIFE Team
This spring, we
asked three graduat-
ing seniors to share
a day in their life as
they participate in
one of the Campus
Ministry programs at
Archbishop Mitty High School. This first
entry comes from senior Nickhil Tekwani,
who participates in LIFE Team. The reflec-
tion is part one of a three-part series:
It’s 6 p.m., and we’re talking about
moments where we’ve seen God’s love
in our lives the past few weeks. I’m
in LIFE Team, the Campus Ministry
leadership group at Archbishop Mitty
High School, and we’re gathered for our
monthly meeting in the chapel.
We start off these nights with what
we call “hearts on fire” moments, where
we talk about any points in the past
couple weeks where we’ve felt God’s
love through our interactions with oth-
ers. The term “hearts on fire” refers to
Luke 24:32, “They said to each other,
‘Did not our hearts burn within us
while he talked to us on the road, while
he opened to us the Scriptures?’ ” This
scripture recounts the road to Emmaus
story. The “hearts on fire” mindset refers
to the human response to God’s pres-
ences in our lives and serves as a guide
to building a strong community both
in Campus Ministry and in our greater
Archbishop Mitty community.
LIFE Team is a Campus Ministry
leadership group which includes several
hundred seniors. Students participating
in the group help with liturgies, retreats,
morning assemblies, and all other en-
deavors of Campus Ministry.
Sharing “hearts on fire” moments
and dinner as a community is followed
by breaking into groups to work on
projects. Student leaders work on their
talks for an upcoming retreat, prepare
posters and finalize logistics for upcom-
ing Lenten activities, and sign birthday
cards for Mitty students. At AMHS,
LIFE Team is committed to having every
student receive a handwritten birthday
card during the religion class closest to
his or her birthday. When we’re work-
ing on these projects, we share the goal
of lighting as many people’s hearts on
fire as possible. Whether it be through
retreat preparation or a particularly
memorable birthday card, we are cul-
tivating an interconnected, faith-filled,
and loving community on campus. And
all of this happens in one, two-hour-long
Tuesday-night LIFE Team meeting.
rived, and the students rode off in the
school bus with their bags packed and
hearts eager for the experience.
According to Middle School Science
Teacher Mrs. Varnau, “sixth graders
spent the week at Walden West Science
Camp, learning about how everything
is interconnected in an outdoor school
environment. With Epic Journeys like
starting with a view of Santa Clara Val-
ley on top of a mountain and ending
by looking for tiny invertebrates in a
creek, students experienced life with
the ecology in mind.”
Their adventure was also filled with
the surprise of letters from home and
from teachers, which arrived during
their week stay to encourage their
learning and comfort them. It is safe
to say science camp was a huge suc-
cess again this year for the students
at Saint Lawrence Elementary and
Middle School, and will definitely be
a highlight they remember.
EXPERIENCE A MONARCH MOMENT
THIS SUMMER!
Our Summer Program faculty and coaches invest in every moment knowing
these years are the most important for the future of your child. Our academic
and camp experiences are available during June and July for students in
first grade through high school. Camp prices start at $170.
ONLINE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN.
More information is available online at
www.mitty.com/summer-program
or by calling the Summer Program Office
at (408) 342-4200.
A R C H B I S H O P
S U M M E R
P R O G R A M