Holy Spirit Halloween Festival Helps San Jose Family Shelter
catholic schools tvc . dsj . org | November 29 , 2016 19
Saint Catherine Welcomes Alumni Back
Each fall , the Saint Catherine community celebrates and remembers alumni at an Alumni Mass . Alums and parents of alums are invited to the 10:45 Mass and a reception afterward . Alumni and current students work together to serve as altars servers , lectors , choir members and ushers .
This year the Mass was concelebrated by Pastor Monsignor Jeronimo Gutierrez , and Parochial Vicar Randy
Holy Spirit Halloween Festival Helps San Jose Family Shelter
Every superhero and fairy princess was represented this year at the annual Holy Spirit School Halloween Parade and Carnival . Every teacher and staff member joined the fun too and dressed as bumblebees , Toy Story characters and every planet in the solar system .
The Student Council began the festivities by ushering the kindergarteners into a line that would snake through each courtyard and classroom . They gathered students as they went so that
by the time the 8th graders had joined the line , every zombie , ballerina , monster and pirate had been high-fived by every other student on campus . It ’ s a special tradition that ends with carnival games and treats for the whole family .
Not only fun , the Halloween Carnival is one of Holy Spirit School ’ s most popular Community Outreach projects . Whole families fill the campus to see and be seen , for fellowship and camaraderie and to help a good cause . This year ,
booth ticket sales raised a little more than $ 2,000 . The Student Council made a generous donation to the San Jose Family Shelter and had funds left over to use at their school rallies and dances .
We are grateful to every teacher who planned a booth activity , parent who baked for the cakewalk , middle-school student who served cups of “ mud ” and the countless volunteers who make our community so special each and every day .
Valenton . Current Saint Catherine students also attended , wearing their uniforms , along with their families . It was a packed house ! While alumni are regularly remembered in prayer by the students and staff of Saint Catherine , this event was an opportunity for alums to reconnect with faculty , staff and other alums . Despite the pouring rain after Mass , everyone enjoyed the morning .
Saint Francis Embarks on “ No Bottled Water ” Initiative
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The Saint Francis High School community is doing its part to curb its thirst for bottled water . Students , faculty and staff are taking part in a new school initiative to eliminate the use of plastic water bottles on campus .
As bottled water is no longer sold by the school ’ s food service , students and employees have been encouraged to bring their own reusable bottles . Water filling stations have been installed in the school cafeteria .
Campus Ministry and the science
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department worked jointly to roll out the initiative and make the school community aware of the significant environmental , economic and health costs that plastic bottles carry . Last year , 57,500 bottles of water were sold on campus , and champions behind the school-wide measure are confident that decreasing this amount of plastic waste is an important move toward helping the environment .
“ We can ’ t change the world in one day , but we can change our own little
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corner of the world ,” said Father Steve Kim , director of Campus Ministry .
The initiative is a direct response to the all-school summer reading book , “ The Sixth Extinction ,” in which humans are called “ a weedy species ,” and Pope Francis ’ challenge for all citizens of the planet to be better stewards of the environment and to combat the throwaway mentality – as laid out in his encyclical Laudato Si ’.
“ Teachers were interested in a project that could keep the issue of
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environmentalism visible on campus throughout the year , and this is a step in helping us engage with the Pope ’ s call to be environmental stewards ,” said science department chair Jen Thomas .
The attention to bottled water is in line with the many steps Saint Francis has already taken toward environmental sustainability . Recent actions include installing four electric car chargers and replacing grass fields with 200,000 square feet of artificial turf .
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In Word , Action and Costume , Saints Abound at Saint Patrick School
Students at Saint Patrick ’ s are called each day to act in the spirit of the saints , especially the Vincentian Saints . On All Saints Day students also had a chance to dress as saints . The costumed students processed in the litany of saints at the school liturgy and in many classes students creatively presented their research on the saints .
Also , in the spirit of the saints who were of service to others , the school community raised $ 560 for the Saint Patrick students celebrate All Saints Day . people of Haiti who were severely affected by Hurricane Matthew . The money will be sent to the Daughters of Charity who work directly with the people there .