THE GOOD NEWS IN CATHOLIC EDUCATION

February 2018

Superintendent’s Report: Karen Barreras, M.Ed.

MISSION STATEMENT

In light of Church documents, Catholic schools in the Diocese of Reno, in partnership with parents, are committed to fostering gospel values, academic excellence and life-long service in a faith-centered community.

In Catholic schools, we can proclaim Jesus’ love for each of us, not just during the month of St. Valentine’s Day, but every day. More

than a bouquet of flowers, chocolates or cards, our actions can, and do, evoke observable actions and outcomes. Whether it is kind,

dignified, respectful, and loving interactions among all in the school community, or sharing our unique time, talents and treasures, it is

wonderful to know that Jesus’ love for us permeates interactions and commitment to the theme of this year’s Catholic Schools Week.

Learn. Lead. Serve. Succeed.

Thank you to the members of the Faith Formation Committee of the Diocesan School Board who helped with

the efforts. They are Dr. JoAnn Baird, Catherine Stokes-French and Sr. Maria Ahearn. They truly enjoyed look-

ing at the posters and reading the essays. Also, each school should be commended for promoting participation in

this contest to affirm their commitment to Catholic education. It is my distinct pleasure to announce the winners

of the Catholic Schools Week essay and poster contests.

Poster Contest Winners: Honorable mention Emma Springer 3rd grade Our Lady of the Snows $15

3rd Natalia Schettler 5th grade St. Albert the Great $20 2nd Alivia Chadwick 5th grade Little Flower $30 1st Moriah Fiel 4th grade St. Teresa of Avila $50

Middle School Essay contest winners:

Honorable mention Savannah deJong 8th grade Our Lady of the Snows $25

3rd Kate Parraguirre 7th grade Little Flower $50 2nd Josie Verive-Cain 6th grade St. Teresa $75

1st Aiden Pflieger 8th St. Albert the Great $100

Bishop Manogue Catholic High School Honorable mention Dulcenea Berry 12th grade $25 3rd place Catherine Hammond 11th grade $50 2nd place Dylan Roide 11th grade $75 1st place Jason Bain 12th grade $100

While the winners are to be commended, and the

financial prizes are always appreciated, it is important to

share, not just the names, but also some of the content

of these students’ efforts.

A Bishop Manogue senior wrote, “…the goal of a Catholic education is to teach students about Catholicism and

its ideals and teachings…A Catholic education is meaningful to me because it provides us with ideologies and life lessons

that are timeless….As I read Bible passages in class, I saw that many of the individuals I read about experienced conflicts

and emotions that I was feeling. I would go to Daily Mass with my class during the week, and the sermons Father Richard

gave encouraged me to reflect on what I felt and how to deal with what I was going through….Someday, I want to send my

children to a place where they can obtain a Catholic education. This education has helped me become versatile and realize

the kind of person I want to be as I grow up and enter adulthood. I have been given the tools to change my life and others’

lives for the better. Now it is time for me to utilize these God-given gifts and opportunities to change the world for bet-

ter.”

A St. Albert eighth grader wrote, “The mission of Catholic schools is to lead children to future success through learning,

serving and leading within their communities. Attributes of success supporting this mission include a more difficult aca-

demic curriculum, promotion of the idea of helping and serving the less fortunate, and participation in diocesan and school

-wide activities…Showing love for others is key to living a fulfilled, faith-driven, and holy life, and I am encouraged to find

ways to help my community every day…The real qualities of success are determination, hard work, and most importantly,

love. Love is driven by God the Father, who guides us each day to be the best we can be, and I believe that He has given

us Catholic education to help us live incredible futures. Learning, serving, and leading are opportunities given to us by

Catholic education for us to be ready to be successful in taking on the world God has created for us with love.”

An Our Lady of the Snows eighth grader wrote, “We can use knowledge, leadership, faith and service to model

our Catholic belief to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. Catholic Schools provide both an intellectual and spiritual/emotional

foundation to work towards being loving Catholics…Being a Catholic may come with many responsibilities, but if you go

to a school where you can practice your religion every day, it can get a lot easier. Our Lady of the Snows already makes it

so that we are doing more than half of the work to be a follower of Christ…In Catholic Schools it shows us the foundation

to make our faith better. All we have to do is put in the effort and the right attitude to do it.”

In part, a Little Flower seventh grade student wrote, “In public school you get no religious teachings. You don’t

get to learn about the Catholic faith or any faith. My grandma is Catholic, but I don’t get to see her that much. Whenever

we go see her though we always go to church. That was the only time I got to go to church before I started going to Little

Flower. Along with going to church each week we also get to take religion class. During these times I have gotten to know

the Catholic faith better. Everyday I’m at Little Flower I feel like I am getting to know God’s will and getting to know God

better as well. I still don’t know everything about the Catholic faith, but every day I am learning more…Every memory I

make at Little Flower is a good memory and I cherish it. Not only have I learned book smarts, but I have also learned to

be a better person…all the teachers and staff members are willing to help you. They are some of the nicest people I have

ever met and always do the right thing. Little Flower lives the Catholic Schools’ motto and they help others live it too, in-

cluding myself. Little Flower isn’t the only Catholic school that fulfills this motto. All Catholic schools do. I think this is a

great motto that Catholic Schools thrive to achieve. Because Catholic Schools Learn. Serve. Lead and Succeed.”

A St. Teresa of Avila sixth grader wrote, “School is a big part of every child’s life, and having a school where you

learn, serve, lead, and succeed is very important. However, what sets my school apart from the rest is how it helps serve

me in ways other schools cannot. My school allows me to blossom and flourish, but most of all, learn more about me; My

beliefs, my goals, my values…My school helps me succeed in every way possible. I am challenged in my education, given

opportunities I wouldn’t normally have, and am able to lead and serve my community. I’ve shadowed at other schools, and

all I’ve seen is pushing and shoving, shouting and yelling, and people not getting along. But at my school, we work togeth-

er, we make happy memories, and because of that, I love my school, and I would never want to be anywhere else.”

2018 Catholic School’s Week Mass

Students from all of our Catholic Schools attended our Mass this year, Celebrated by Bishop Calvo and concele-

brated Fathers Chuck Durante, Tony Vercellone, Honesto Agustin, Jacob Carazo, Nathan Mamo and Richard

Kayizzi

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Bishop Manogue Catholic High School | www.bishopmanogue.org | (775) 336-6000

During Catholic Schools Week, we attended Mass at St. Rose of Lima along with representatives of the Diocesan Elementary Schools. It was a wonderful opportunity to spend time with our partner schools bonding over our shared faith. After Mass, we celebrated the winners of the Catholic Schools Week Poster & Essay Contest. We are so proud of our winners.

Interact Club , a subsidiary of Rotary, is putting on a warm clothing drive throughout the month of Feb-ruary to benefit Anderson Elementary. This club aims to deal with relevant issues in the community. Anderson Elementary is a Title I school. This means all the students live within one mile of the school and walk to school in addition to having food resources provided. We are so proud of our students for joining together to help those in need.

Even with all the academic and athletic success of our winter sports, the winter athletes had time to participate in a service project last week. Every athlete that participates in a winter sport met at BMCHS to pack boxes full of food for the Food Bank. We cannot believe how thoughtful and caring our ath-letes are! On top of their busy school and sports schedules, they took the time to help our community. Great job!

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Our Lady of the Snows School 1125 Lander Street, Reno, NV

775-322-2773 www.ourladyofthesnowsschool.org

Love is a word that translates across all countries, cultures, ethnicities and age groups. It is some-

thing that is present in all aspects of our lives. We, as Catholics, learn that it is something that we can and

should incorporate in all aspects of our lives. Of course we love our parents, our siblings, and our ex-

tended families, our friends, and even our pets. We are taught that our love, both giving and receiving,

needs to go beyond that. We have a responsibility to our Church and our God to go the extra mile and

spread our love wherever we find it needed.

Some examples of spreading our Catholic love at Our Lady of the

Snows is all collection monies from our Wednesday mass being donated to

worthy causes and charities. We donate to:

Empowerment Project for Homeless Teens.

Community Care Chest

an orphanage in Rosarita Beach, Mexico

and

Casa de Vida

All of these causes and charities show our love for others in our community and beyond. There can be

no doubt that our loving donations are doing God’s work and showing Him our love for Him as well as

for others beyond our immediate families.

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St. Albert the Great School, 1255 St. Albert’s Drive Reno, NV 89503 (775) 747-3392 www.stalbertcatholicschool.org/

ST. ALBERT THE GREAT CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Learning to Know, Love, and Serve God

At St. Albert the Great Catholic School, Love is present in many ways. We aim to treat staff and stu-

dents as more than just that; our goal is to make everyone feel more like a family. When times get

tough, families unite as one, with the guiding force of Love to work through whatever problem they are

facing. That’s what we do here at St. Albert’s.

The teachers are here to do more than just teach subjects like reading, writing, and math. They

take a genuine interest and care in each and every one of their students, with the goal of helping to

shape individuals that will grow up to be faithful members of our society who treat others with kind-

ness, Love, and respect. Teachers and staff pray they can make a difference in students’ lives by acting

as Jesus did, showing good examples of faith, and treating each individual student as a child of God.

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Page 9 Little Flower School Different Where It Counts

1300 Casazza Dr. Reno, NV 89502 (775) 329-2931

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St. Teresa of Avila Catholic School, 567 South Richmond Ave. Carson City, NV 89703, www.stts.org

This year, because Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day are on Wednesday, February 14

St. Teresa School will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Fat Tuesday in a big way!!

Red and White free dress, games, food, crafts

Good times had by all!!

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Holy Child Early Learning Center Reno's Oldest

Early Education and Childcare Center

Programs

Infants | 8 weeks – 1 Year | “Butterflies” | The infant program at Holy Child Early Learning Center is designed to promote the development of secure attachments while providing flexibility to meet the individual needs of each child. Social and emotional development for infants revolves around a daily routine of feeding, toileting/diapering, and play times. Individual attention is accomplished during these routines of personal care, all of which offer opportunities for ini-tiating enjoyable language, experience, and social interactions.

Young Toddlers & Older Toddlers | 1 Year to 2 Years | “Dragonflies” & “Ladybugs” | Toddlerhood is an incredibly im-portant time in your child’s development. It is a time when language, social, cognitive and physical skills are growing at an exponential rate. Toddlers are constantly learning and use all of their senses to explore the world around them. Our teachers help to encourage their curiosity by providing a safe, loving and active learning environment. We teach through what children do best: Play! By combining planned activities and open-ended experiences, toddlers are allowed to move at their own pace and learn through discovery.

Young Preschoolers | 2 Years | “Crickets” | The preschool years lay the foundation for the rest of a child’s educa-tion. It is at this time that a child’s self esteem is most significantly shaped and the time when their relationship to school and learning is also shaped. When children are engaged and having fun, they are learning. Our preschool program is pro-cess oriented and focused on three centered learning – Children learn best when they are wholly engaged – mind, body, and emotions. We provide experiences and activities that involve a child’s active participation. Process oriented – The process (vs. product) is at the heart of our efforts with children. Lots of wonderful creations will come home with your child, and you may have no idea what they are. The magic is in the process.

Preschool – Younger Kids | 3 Years | “Honey Bees” | Our preschool class is designed to prepare three-year-olds for pre-kindergarten. There is a strong focus on the development of social/emotional skills. Raising an eager learner is the goal, and it can be achieved through play and day-to-day activities.

Preschool- Older Kids | 4 Years | “Love bugs” | Our preschool class is designed to prepare four-year-olds for pre-kindergarten. There is a strong focus on the development of social/emotional skills. Raising an eager learner is the goal, and it can be achieved through play and day-to-day activities.

Pre-Kindergarten | 4-5 Years | “Fireflies” | Our pre-Kindergarten class is designed for four and five-year-olds. There is a strong focus on the development of self-regulation skills. The goal is to prepare children to enter kindergarten with the skills and behaviors necessary to be successful in future learning.

Holy Child Early Learning Center, 440 Reno Ave, Reno, NV 89509 holychildearlylearning.org

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