Heartbeat
| FROM THE PRINCIPALâS DESK... |
By Principal Bob Hamm
This month, on Ash Wednesday, we begin the liturgical season of Lent. "Lent" derives from the Anglo-Saxon word "Lenten" meaning "spring." Although occurring in springtime, Lent is hardly the Christian festival of spring; that is Easter. Lent has developed as a time of preparation for Easter - a spiritual spring-cleaning preparing to celebrate Jesus' victory over sin and death.
Lent comprises the period of forty days (do not count Sundays) before Easter. Lent ends on Holy Thursday with the celebration of the liturgy of the Lord's Supper. The number forty symbolizes completeness in the biblical tradition - the period of a generation. Jesus spent forty days being tested in the wilderness.
The season of Lent has a twofold character: primarily by recalling or preparing for baptism and by penance, it disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the paschal mystery. For these forty days, we are conscious of how we must sharpen our senses and focus mind and heart on the reign of God.
During this Lenten season let us reach out in a special way to let our light shine through us onto others. We ask that you and your family make a very special effort to be a part of our Stand Up For Kids project during Lent. Remember that every Wednesday you have the opportunity to bring in food and/or hygiene items for those children on the streets. In addition to this, we will be taking a special collection in every classroom on every Friday of Lent for Stand Up For Kids.
Let this be our prayer throughout this Lenten season:
Good and gracious God, you call your people back to you this Lent.
May this sacred season renew our desire to live fully the promises of
our baptism and to love you with a whole heart.
Through more frequent prayer, acts of charity, and fasting, may we
remember that loving You and one another is the most important thing we
can do.
In confidence, we ask these things through Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord
and Savior.
Amen.
By Principal Hamm
Mr. Rick Koca, Founder and President of Stand Up For Kids, presented another national award to Sacred Heart Academy. The award was presented during a special prayer service February 2nd.
The award, The Guardian of Light Award, is the very first of its kind to be presented by Stand Up For Kids. The award is presented to Sacred Heart Academy for their continued service to others, especially the Stand Up For Kids program. The students of Sacred Heart Academy let their light shine through service to others, so others may see that light and, hopefully, be motivated to serve others also.
We are very honored to be chosen as the very first recipients of this
prestigious award. It is because of the support of each family on behalf
of Stand Up For Kids that we are able to make a difference in the lives
of children on the streets.
Let us continue to let our light shine so that we may be a beacon of
service to our community.
Every year the International Affairs Board of the City of San Diego, together with Kyocera International, Inc., sponsors an eleven-day, all expense paid study tour of Japan for students from the ages of ten to fourteen. This trip provides students with an opportunity to gain first hand experience with a culture completely different from their own. During the ten-day tour, the students will visit many major historical sites and points of interest in Japan, spend two nights in a Japanese home, and participate in local and cultural events. The dates of the trip are July 30-August 9.
If you would like to apply for the trip for your child, you may pick up an application from Mr. Hamm. Deadline for application submission to Kyocera International is March 31st.
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THE VALUE OF A CATHOLIC EDUCATION By Hilary Grimes Do you know who you are? I mean really. More than just your name, but who you are inside. You may laugh at this question, but truthfully, most people probably could not answer. At my age, people are still discovering themselves. Who you become as an adult depends on who your friends are, what you see on TV or hear on the radio, what changes you go through in your life·and where you go to school. The things that you learn at school will last your whole life. Someone once said that childrenâs minds were like an empty slate, and they were right. The experiences that you encounter at school or home will be what fills that slate. At a public school, not all of your experiences can be good. When I attended public school, my slate was full of confusion, denial and self-hatred. All of these made me view my life as dark and depressing. But when I came to Catholic school, I started to fill my dark slate with a dash of yellow friendship, and a pinch of orange joy. Suddenly, my slate was no longer dark or dreary in the company of friends
who shared the morals taught by the Catholic Church. I was able to find
more completely who I am, and what role God plays in my life. I canât say
enough how being at a Catholic school has made a turnabout in me. Coming
to church is not just a chore or a fashion statement to me anymore. When
the priest says mass, I am inspired. I feel Godâs love working in my life.
LIGHTING THE WAY TOWARD THE NEW MILLENNIUM By Kelsey Moskitis The millennium is over and has been for about a month now. Everyone was prepared for a huge blow out. People of all kinds and all types of religions were preparing in their own special way. Huge parties were being planned, the electric company was making sure everything was in order, everyone was excited. However, the Catholic Church was celebrating in a different way. We were awaiting a time for forgiveness and were waiting to see if Jesus would come again. To show that the Church was becoming prepared for the millennium, we had a Jubilee banner and closed the front doors to the church. When I first saw the banner, I thought it had an interesting look to it. There is a cross and doves in a circle around the cross. Then on the outer rim, it says Jesus: yesterday, today, forever. The cross represents Jesus and the doves represent the continents of the world. The closed doors show that there is a special place in our hearts for Jesus when he arrives again. Now is a good time to forgive. Jesus forgives everyone and brought peace
to the world. Jesus is always looking over us and there should always be
a special place in our hearts for Jesus, whether there is a millennium
or not. For Jesus is with us always: yesterday, today and forever.
By Lisa Manuccia and Stephanie Ferreira Did you know that the population of Haiti is over 6,491,000 and that the United States is 263,814,000? If each person in the United States gave one dollar to the starving families of Haiti, imagine how many mouths we could feed and lives we could save. It is a sad reality that we all must face: the people of Haiti are living in poverty as we live in luxury in the United States. Last week, Sister Kathy from Holy Childhood visited our school to tell everyone about the living conditions there. More than ninety percent of the children in Haiti are suffering from malnutrition and diseases. Sister Kathy showed a slide presentation. We saw children with sores that were covering their skin. Their houses were constructed of scraps such as tin, wood and anything they could possibly find. They walked through filthy stagnant water in the streets because there was not drainage. An average town had only two wells of water for drinking and bathing. We were saddened to hear that most children die before they reach the age of five. She told us countless stories of their suffering. Sister Kathy encouraged us to donate what we can to Holy Childhood to
help these children survive and to keep these people in our prayers. Please
join us in doing our part. Thank you and God bless!
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The fifth graders are required to do poetry folders throughout the year. They research the poet of the month, read and analyze poems, and then create their own poetry. We have some great poets at Sacred Heart Academy! Here is an example of a poem written by Shannon Moskitis after she looked at Emily Dickinsonâs work. Everyone is our Brother Everyone
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A special thank you to Miss Koch who donated two books to the library in honor of her brand new niece, Rose Elizabeth Hensel. The Golden Egg Book and The Cat in the Hat will delight young readers for years to come. I would also like to thank Miss Koch for helping me preview many of the middle school books. Many of our students are voracious readers and are always asking for suggestions for good books. Keep saving aluminum cans and 2 liter bottles and put them in the silver recycling can by the boyâs restroom. Thank you. |
On Sunday, February 13, 2000, Father Ron Hebert permitted a special collection for Sacred Heart Academy. The money collected, in the amount of $1,200 will be used to refurbish the Academyâs playground and equipment. We express our gratitude to Father Ron and those who made this special
offering.
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NOTES FROM THE OFFICE
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By Mary Zapata Thanks to all the people who bought books and to the parents who volunteered
to work at the book fair. The book fair raised $900 for the library. Also,
$744 worth of books went into classroom libraries from donations from the
book fair. Special thanks go to the following students and families for
fulfilling the library wish list: Moskitis family, Dowd family, Erin Capistrano,
Kretz family, Sam Turner, Trevor Deitz, Curtis Deitz, Robert Maasch, and
Ryan Sousa. Part of the money will be used to pay for the catalog computer
and printer that we have had on loan. I also want to get another set of
the newest Land of Enchantment (country series). Some of our books on foreign
countries had a copyright date in the 1960âs. I would like to get the new
sets as they come out so all of ours will be up to date.
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LIBRARY LEARNING I am reading to students in grades k-3, the 5 books nominated for the
California Young Reader medal. The students will vote on their favorite
books in March. The 4th and 5th grade students are learning dictionary
and other study skills as well as literature appreciation. The 6th grade
students have given oral book reports on non-fiction books and are starting
research units with the topic, ãthe Enlightenmentä to go along with their
social studies. The 7th grade class is reading an award winner and will
do an author study. The 8th grade class is reading historical fiction and
doing research to go along with it.
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BBC ACTIVITIES BBC stands for Birthday Book Club. We had a wonderful response the first semester. Twelve middle school students and 35 lower grade students donated new hardback books to the library on their birthdays. The birthday book club party was held on February 18th and everyone had a great time. The next birthday book club party will be at the end of the year for those who donate during the second semester. |
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Following are some of the fascinating results found by our middle school students in preparation for the Science Fair. Some of the results will be disturbing, some surprising, but all are very interesting and can be used to improve our daily lives. No doubt, we have some budding scientists in our midst. 1. Pop Secret microwave popcorn had the largest popped corn overall,
and was also best tasting.
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TEACHER
FEATURE
By Van Thaxton
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Sacred Heart Academy
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THE NEXT HEARTBEAT
The deadline for the April 2000 Heartbeat is Monday, March 20, 2000. Please e-mail your articles to vthaxton@aol.com. Student achievements and other essays are especially welcome!
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One night each month, we hold a ãsewing circleä for the purpose of making
the handkerchief bonnets for new babies born into the Sacred Heart Academy
family. These bonnets are also available for sale in the school office.
If you are interested in joining in the sewing circle, please contact me.
It is a good way to get points for parents who cannot get points by working
at school during the day.
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The Extended Day Care program is seeking a school parent, college student,
or teen to work in the after school program from 2:45 p.m. to 4:15, Monday
through Friday. The pay is $6.00 per hour. For more information or to apply,
please see Connie Johnson after school or call 892-0664 after 3:00 p.m.
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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS NIGHT WITH THE PADRES Have you ordered your Padre tickets for the big game on April 14th? This Padre game with the Astros has been designated as Catholic Schools Night and 10,000 tickets, usually priced at $7-$8 have been reserved at a discount price of $6.00 each. Bishop Brom has been invited to ãthrow outä the first pitch. The two schools selling the most tickets and the school with the highest per capita sales will select a representative (adult or student) to go down on the field before the game and receive an autographed baseball, as members of The Padres ãBig Hitter Club.ä Participating schools will have their names in lights on the scoreboard. This can be a great fun night for families. Order your tickets NOW! The order form was in your Tuesday folder. The deadline for ordering is March 13th. Letâs have a great cheering section from SHA. SHARKS RULE! |
| THE BIG EVENT
Patty DiMasi The Big Event 2000 is right around the corner öSaturday, March 11, 2000,
to be exact. Itâs a time for parents, faculty, family and friends to get
together to enjoy each otherâs company for an evening and, hopefully, to
raise funds for Sacred Heart Academy.
CELTIC PRAYER SERVICE Come all ye oâfriends of St. Patrick. On Friday March 17, 2000 at 6:00 p.m. there will be a Celtic Prayer Service at Sacred Heart Church of Ocean Beach. It will be an evening of Celtic prayers, stories and hymns. The choir has prepared some beautiful lilting tunes for the occasion. Following the service, there will be a potluck dinner in the church hall. Please bring a dish to share that will serve 4-5 people. For more information, please call David Beckett at 224-2746 or Cia Salanger at 223-9174.
OPEN HOUSE 2000
The annual Sacred Heart Academy open house was held on Sunday, February
6, 2000. All of the classrooms were thematically designed and even some
of the teachers and students wore costumes. All of the student projects
were spectacular, but of special note was the roller coaster exhibit located
upstairs in the middle school. In teams, the students first studied physics
then went about creating their own loop-de-loop or spiraled roller coaster.
The project was completed by a trip to Knotts Berry Farm where the students
participated in an educational program through the park. Of course the
trip would not be complete without a sampling of the fantastic roller coasters
at the park. Knotts Berry Farm educational instructors were astonished
to see how well our middle school students knew the answers to so many
of the physics questions.
GCP UPDATE Be sure to continue to swipe your Vons and Albertsonâs store club cards
each time that you make a purchase. Each time that you swipe, Sacred Heart
Academy earns money. If you do not have a Vons or Albertsonâs club card,
please pick up an application in the school office.
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The annual Sacred Heart Academy Spaghetti dinner and Spaghetti Sauce Contest was held on Saturday, February 4, 2000 at the Masonic Temple. The first place winner went to one of the Lionâs Club members. Second and third place winners were our very own Linda Small and Patty DiMasi, respectively. Congratulations ladies! Music and dance group Sonudo Switch entertained a huge crowd of all ages and Dottie the Clown painted faces and made balloon toys in the outside tent. The annual event, which is sponsored by the Peninsula Lionâs club, netted over $4,000 and will benefit Sacred Heart Academy and the Blind Recreation Center equally SHA plans to use the funds to refurbish the school playground and equipment. A special thanks goes to Linda Small for her
dynamic efforts in organizing this event and for her donations which include
the bar and the clown. Thanks too to the Andrade family for donating the
outside tent again this year. There are numerous sponsors to thank as well.
Finally, a special thank you to all of the families who prepared spaghetti
sauce, obtained donations, purchased tickets and attended the event.
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Kristine Kretz, a SHA 4th grader, is a member of San Diego's Juvenile
Team del Sol. It is a synchronized skating team with 16 to 24 skaters performing
intricate footwork in circles, lines, blocks, wheels, and intersections.
It combines the beauty, elegance and difficulty of freestyle skating with
the advantages and excitement of a team sport. The Juvenile team won the
gold medal in the Pacific Coast Championships in Oregon last month. They
are on their way to the USFSA National Championship in Detroit, Michigan
on February 29th. Congratulations and good -luck Kristine and Team del
Sol!
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Congratulations! Ann Bauer, Devonâs mom (5th grade), has been chosen
to continue in the selection process for the San Diego Padresâ Public Address
Announcer position. She is eligible to participate in a second round of
tryouts at Qualcomm Stadium today, Tuesday February 29 at 5 p.m. Good luck
Ann on your continued success!
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SPECIAL INTENTIONS
Next time you're talking with God, please ask Him for some special attention
for these members of our Sacred Heart Academy family:
Brendon Andrade - Fourth grader, son of Kelly and Steve and
brother of Leslie in fourth grade and Allyson in second grade. Brendon
has leukemia.
Marilyn Stroud - Mother of Erik in third grade and Brett in
fifth grade. Marilyn has cancer.
Jack Machado - brother of Lillian Montano (parent of kindergartner
Aaron Montano) who has cancer.
Dear students and parents at Sacred Heart Academy,
I thank you for your prayers for me while I was undergoing chemotherapy. I have completed all of my chemotherapy treatments and there is no sign of the cancer. I am a Southern Baptist living in Waco, Texas and know how powerful prayer can be. I am convinced that the Baptist-Catholic combination in prayer has worked.
Thank you again.
God bless you.
Thelma Hamm
Sue
Colvin comes to us from Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she attended Kean
College. During high school and college, she worked as a sales assistant
for a large department store in the accessories and jewelry department.
Her talents were recognized early on and she was offered an assistant managerâs
position at the store. ãI almost accepted the position, but decided to
follow my heart and go into teaching.ä Mrs. Colvin knew early on what she
wanted to do in life. ãI remember when I was a little girl, I would play
school with my dolls and somehow I always knew that I would work with children.ä
And work with children she has. In all, Mrs. Covey has been a teacher for
24 years, 22 of which have been at Sacred Heart Academy, much to our delight.
ãEspecially since I do not have my own children, I enjoy the energy and
spontaneity of the third graders all day. Then I go home to a peaceful,
quite home. I truly have the best of both worlds!ä Indeed she does.
