Heartbeat
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FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S
DESK... May is the most beautiful month, or certainly one of the most beautiful months of the year. This probably is why someone many years ago dedicated May to our Blessed Mother, why classrooms all over the country have May altars, why the month ends with the crowning of her statue. Also, in the middle of this beautiful month we celebrate Mother's Day. We Catholics regard this day as a double feast: a remembrance of our earthly mother and a remembrance of our heavenly mother. During this month our students will concentrate on learning more about the Blessed Mother. We will have Marian devotions each morning, and will have our May Crowning during this month. As a family you might spend some time together each day. A prayer that you might use with your family is the Prayer to Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the United States: "Blessed Mother Mary, we turn to you in prayer for all the people in these United States. We again place ourselves in your care, in the gentle hands that cradled the Child Jesus. We ask you to make us more alive in your faith, more generous in your love, more trusting in your hope. Teach us to imitate Jesus, as you did, and always to follow Him with your courage. Mother Mary, help us to become a people who hunger for justice and who burn with compassion for those who suffer in our midst. Make us a people who cherish and defend the dignity of every human person. Free us from all selfishness and self-interest, that we truly might be the builders of the Kingdom of God. Immaculate Mary, help us to stand among the family of nations as a people of compassion, generosity, and peace. Make us a people of vision and courage who will gift this world with new life, new hope, and the unity for which your Son died. Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us to turn with confidence to you today." Amen.
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER Stacy Turner April showers bring May flowers and around here, a lot of activity as well. March and April were among the busiest months in our school this year. Grandparent's Day on April 10th went off without a hitch. It was one of the smoothest in recent memory. Families were brought together in appreciation of our wonderful grandparents. Thank you to Janice Teixeira, Lori Kretz and their crew for a job well done. The Big Event on April 12 can only be described as Fantastico! Maria Wimer, Kori Pilney and Suzi Gregg knocked themselves out to make this year's Big Event a super success. Not only did they raise a lot of money for the school, but also absolutely everyone had a blast! The room was an explosion of color and culture with Mexican fiesta themed decorations. The class projects were among the best ever. Fierce bidding among parents from other grades was a testament to the quality of the class projects. A special thanks to the teachers for their "hot" teacher project of home made and bottled salsas and Mexican accessories. Our sombreros are off to Maria Wimer, Kori Pilney, Suzi Gregg and the entire team of volunteers who worked countless hours putting together this spectacular event. Mucho gracias! In mid-April we sadly lost our beloved Father Patrick Grace. The PTG was asked to help prepare a reception in his honor following the funeral mass on April 18. Patty DiMasi, the PTG/Parish Liaison did a beautiful job organizing the food and beverages and the PTG kindly donated baked goods for the reception. My deepest appreciation to all who helped in this regard. As for the future, we have much on the horizon as the school year draws to a close. First, we have the all sports banquet on May 15 at the Masonic Lodge on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. On June 1 we will be searching for the stars at the final family fun night and Star Search. Get your little stars and starlets ready for a sparkling night. Be sure to buy your tickets and mark your calendars now for these important events. Finally, attached is the calendar for May. Be sure to make note of the many half and whole days off during the month. Have a happy and safe Cinco de Mayo.
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MISS ZAPATA IS HONORED FOR 30 YEARS Bob Hamm Recently Bishop Brom and the Diocesan Office for Schools honored those educators in our Diocese who have been in Catholic education for thirty or more years. Honored at the Mass and luncheon at the Pastoral Center was Miss Mary Zapata, our Librarian and Vice Principal. Miss Zapata has been in Catholic education for thirty-three years, and all of those years have been here at Sacred Heart Academy. During those years Miss Zapata has taught every grade level at the school except for first grade. Her favorite grade to teach was fourth grade because the children at that age still loved school, loved to learn, and loved their teacher. The first class she taught here was third grade. Miss Zapata has been Vice Principal here for fifteen years, and has been the school's librarian for five years. Her first principal at Sacred Heart Academy was Sr. Benigna, a Dominican, who was an outstanding principal and a real instructional leader who made Miss Zapata want to stay at Sacred Heart. When asked what major changes she has seen in the last thirty-three years, Miss Zapata listed: 1. Parents are much more involved in their child's education. 2. Many technological advances in education, but still the most important thing is the relationship between teacher and student in the classroom. 3. Students in many ways are the same, except they seem to have to grow up much too fast and are more aware of issues that we never had to worry about as children. Miss Zapata attributes much of the success of Sacred Heart Academy to the continued support of the parishioners of Sacred Heart, and especially the 25 years of dedication to Catholic education by Msgr. Rhatigan. When asked why she wants to continue at Sacred Heart Academy, Miss Zapata says she enjoys being a part of the Core Knowledge curriculum. She also said she feels a real sense of community as she teaches the children of her former students. Our congratulations and thanks to Miss Zapata for her thirty-three years of dedication to Sacred Heart Academy. |
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COMPUTER CORNER
Mr. Grosch The fourth quarter finds the 7th and 8th grade classes working with Adobe Photoshop and digital still photography. We will also be working with digital compression and showing the students how to make a self-extracting archive of the work. The compression allows them to send large files such as voice and graphics (photos) over the Internet or just to another computer efficiently and relatively quickly. We will also be discussing transaction-oriented processing, batch processing, and different computer related fields of study and careers. The 7th grade students will concentrate on the binary system and how computers use it. We will also examine the differences in the binary and decimal number systems. The 6th grade students will be starting to create Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. The 5th grade students are working with graphing and charting, a skill they will need next year when they work with their science projects. The 4th grade class will be creating a database and learning how to mail merge a letter. The lower grades along with their keyboarding will also be getting blasted! Math Blaster, that is. This is a fun math enhancement program in the drill-and-practice category. If you haven't taken a look at the SHA web site, check it out. I have the latest pictures from grandparents' day along with, of course, all of the students of the month so far for this year and the blessing of our school garden. Also, if any of you have any favorite web sites, be sure to send them to our school e-mail address: shaob@cox.net. I'll publish them in the last Heartbeat. Until then, happy computing.
WRITING CONTEST WINNERS: Bob Hamm In the last three months some of our students have participated in essay contests. We are very proud to announce the winners! San Diego Library Club Essay Contest: Fourth Grade: Marney O., semi-finalist Ryan I., runner up Lauren V., runner up Eighth Grade: Erin C., Grand Prize Kelly R., runner up Maria R., runner up The students were asked to write about a book that inspired them or their suggestions for an ideal library. Ryan enjoyed reading about the Wright Brothers while Lauren discussed Martin Luther King. Marney was impressed with Bible stories, as were the judges with her essay. Kelly was delighted with Stuck in Neutral, and Maria gave her two cents about the ideal library. Erin was inspired by The Bronze Bow because of its message of tolerance and peace. Each student received a $25 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. Marney and Erin were acknowledged at an awards ceremony at Sea World on April 17th. Marney was given Padre tickets for being a semi finalist. Erin was awarded $50, tickets to Sea World, and tickets to a Padre game. This is the first year that anyone from the Ocean Beach Library has won a Grand Prize. This contest involves all of San Diego County and this year there were 1,500 entries. We are very proud and excited that Sacred Heart Academy students did so well. Sierra Club Essay Contest Winners: Janielle K. and Jennifer H. Every year the Sierra Club sponsors an essay contest for all the Catholic schools in the Diocese. The topic this year was "How Do You Find God In A Tragic Event?" Both Janielle and Jennifer won top awards among the eighth grade class. Janielle wrote about September 11th events, and Jennifer discussed 9-11 and her aunt's death. These essays will now go on to another level of the contest. All the top essays from each school will be reviewed and, who knows, we might have another top writer award. Good luck! Congratulations to these students and to their teachers, Mrs. Valenti and Mr. Saavedra. We are very proud of you!
RULES FOR TEENS From an Ann Landers Column, Submitted by Julie Davidson 1. Do not hurt your siblings or your peers, even if you think they deserve it. You will regret it later. 2. You are going through a lot of changes, both physically and emotionally. Don't be afraid to ask someone for help. 3. As a teen, you will be given more choices in life. Try to do what is right. You know what that is. 4. Your parents have advice to offer. Keep in mind that they have experience you don't. Do not reject everything they say just because they are your parents. 5. Don't let anyone make you feel insignificant. Love yourself. 6. Think before you speak. Words are easy to say but hard to forget. 7. Violence is never acceptable. Nothing good can come of it. 8. If you show others kindness, the same will be done for you. 9. Drugs and alcohol will not make pain go away. They will only make things worse later on. 10. You have a lot of years ahead of you. What happens to you now counts. Don't mess up your future. THANK YOU
Thank you to 7th grade parent, Sheilah Dofflemyer for all the time and effort you put into making the 7th grade class project seasonal flags. You contributed over 150 hours in experimenting, planning and then teaching and coaching the students. The flags were beautiful and the kids had a great art class as well. Thank you Sheilah.
By Jay A. Davis We don't possess, we live in harmony. We are only here for a short period of time according to eternity. What we hold as our possessions, as I believe, are not possessions but we coexist with them in honor to their creator, and their creator honors us by providing greater creations. Have you created lately? |
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8TH GRADE PROFILES We save some of the best for last. This month we feature Ms. Jacobs' and Mrs. Alsheikh's first grade class. These young students put on their thinking caps and completed the following sentence: "If I were a teacher, I would... Clearly some saw the benefits of good old-fashioned hard work: ...make the kids write a lot and bring homework home. Kendall ...teach them math and phonics. Jacob ...make them do lots of homework and make them do all the work all by themselves. John ...give the kids five pages of homework and I will let the kids be very smart. Sean ...teach the kids to read and how to do math and to spell words. And if they were bad, I will tell them to turn their cards to yellow. Jacqueline ...let the class do art and give the class a lot of homework. Kristen Some believed that the most important subject should be FUN: ...help children and I would take them on field trips and do fun things and play games. Hailey ...play beanbags with them and draw and dance and I would give them one page of homework. Caitlin ...give them no homework until the second day of school and we would watch a video on Monday and Friday. Tristan ...let the kids play all day long. I would not give them homework and they would always get free dress. Daxton ...not give homework. I would let them do whatever they want to do. And there would be no time outs. Nick Others support strict discipline in education: ...send the bad kids to turn their cards and make them do 3 pages of homework. Tom ...only let the good kids go to computers and not the bad kids and they would have to stay in class. Louise ...give the bad kids detention and give out planet projects. Jeffrey ...not let the kids make paper airplanes. And if they did a mean thing, I will send them to detention or give them a time out. Olivia ...punish the bad kids and give them detention and make them stay after school and they couldn't play. Jared ...make the bad kids have time-out outside and they would have no homework. Breezy Still others had a sense of balance: ...let the class stay at recess extra long and if they were bad I would make them write their names 100 times. Beau ...make a couple of half days and make the bad kids miss all of recess and lunch. Clark ...not let them make spitballs and the bad people will get to do lots of work. And the good people will get extra recess. Sydney ...let the good children have a toy after school and the bad children wouldn't get anything. Leone And finally, a cross-cultural approach to education: ...make them do 100 pages of homework and make them run to Mexico and back. Jason I. 8TH GRADE PROFILES Van Thaxton Jenna M. First up we have a thirteen-year-old native San Diegan named Jenna, whose friends call her Jenn. Let's see what's up with Jenn. HB: May I call you Jenn? Jenn: Sure. HB: Thank you. How long have you been at SHA, Jenn? Jenn: About three years. HB: Really? Do you have any brothers or sisters at our school? Jenn: No. I have a brother named Mike, a senior at St. Augustine High School. He is the most influential person in my life. HB: Influential? In what way? Jenn: He's always been there for me. He gives me advice and courage and the knowledge of what to expect in high school. HB: What will you miss most about SHA when you leave? Jenn: My friends. HB: What will you NOT miss? Jenn: The tests and homework. HB: Good thing they don't give tests and homework in high school. Speaking of high school, where will you go next year? Jenn: Maybe OLP, unless my family moves to Colorado. HB: That would be quite a commute wouldn't it? As far as the future is concerned, what do you want to do after high school? Jenn: I want to be a writer, journalist or a reviewer. HB: Will you come back and edit the Heartbeat for us? Jenn: ... HB: Moving on. What do you like to do for fun? Jenn: Hang out with friends, chat on line, talk on the phone and go to the movies. HB: What was your favorite movie? Jenn: A Night's Tale and The 2002 Lord of Rings. HB: What about a favorite book? Jenn: The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. HB: What other favorites do you have? Jenn: I like studying literature and speed ice-skating. I like Kix cereal and Pepsi. HB: Speed ice-skating? Wow! What about music? Jenn: I like just about everything. HB: What else can you tell us about yourself? Jenn: My favorite vacation was to La Casa del Zorro in Borrego Springs. I also want to mention my special friends Lauren, Monique, Nicole, Maria and Erin and Apolo Anton Ohno. HB: Can't say I have ever heard of Apolo Anton Ohno. Is he in the space program at NASA? Jenn: ... HB: Moving on, what advice will you give your kids someday when they are in the 8th grade? Jenn: Just be yourself. Never give up in what you believe and don't be shy. HB: Good advice and good luck.
Ross H. Recently I sat down with thirteen-year-old Ross, more affectionately known by his friends as "Ross." Following are excerpts from our fascinating interview. Heartbeat: Where were you born, Ross? Ross: San Diego, California. HB: A native San Diegan, huh? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Ross: I have two brothers: Blake, 21 and Todd, 19. HB: How many years have you been at SHA? Ross: Nine. HB: Nine? That's a long time. When you leave next year, what is it that you think you will miss most about SHA? Ross: Seeing my friends each day. HB: What is it that you will NOT miss? Ross: It's not that I won't miss something but I'm looking forward to a bigger experience. HB: Bigger than SHA? Well, where do you plan to go next year? Ross: High Tech High HB: That is bigger! Any college or career dreams just yet? Ross: I don't know where I want to go yet but I do hope to have as much fun in college as my brothers. HB: Amen to that. Any special plans for graduation? Ross: Not at this time. We just went to the Florida Keys. That was sort of a graduation present. HB: It sure beats the 8-track player I got. What about this summer. Any plans there? Ross: Sailing, golfing and maybe another trip somewhere. HB: You enjoy traveling, do you? Ross, looking back on your years at SHA, how would you like to be remembered? Ross: Being good at sports and nice. HB: I see. So, Ross, what do you like to do for fun? Ross: Play sports. HB: Sports, huh. Do you have a favorite? Ross: Basketball. HB: Ah, hoops. Great sport! What about a favorite subject? Ross: PE. HB: That makes sense. Any other favorites? Ross: Cereal, Root Beer, and Metallica music. HB: Metallica, is that a salsa band? Ross: No. HB: Do you have a favorite book or movie? Ross: To Kill a Mockingbird and The Matrix. HB: I can see why you might say that. Where do you like to travel? Ross: Hawaii and London. HB: Jolly good. Now, Ross, I want you to think about the future, many, many years from now. What advice will you give your 8th grade child? Ross: I'm not going to have any kids. But if I do, I'll tell them to always be respectful of others. HB: Excellent. Thank you Ross for this most respectful interview.
Janielle K. Now I'd like to introduce fourteen year old Janielle K. who was born in Chula Vista, California. HB: Good morning Janielle. Do your friends call you Janielle or Jan? JK: They call me Jeo or Janny. Only Ally calls me Janny. HB: Can I call you Janny? JK: No. HB: Fair enough, Janielle. Do you have any brothers or sisters? JK: I have two sisters: Taylor, 10 and Lauren, 4. I am the oldest. HB: Me too. Bummer isn't it? JK: Not really. HB: Anyway, how many years have you been at SHA? JK: All nine years, baby! HB: Cool! Sounds like you enjoyed it. What will you miss most when you leave? JK: The people and my friends. HB: By people, as opposed to friends, you are referring to...? JK: ... HB: Okay. What will you NOT miss about SHA? JK: I will definitely not miss the uniforms and other weird rules! HB: Weird indeed. Where do you plan to go next year, if you know? JK: Point Loma High School. HB: I think a lot of kids from your class are going there next year. What about after high school? What college or career plans do you have? JK: I'm not sure what college but I want to become an interior designer. HB: Very cool. Any special plans for graduation? JK: No but my grandparents are taking me on a cruise in the Bahamas as a gift. HB: Well that sounds like a pretty great graduation plan to me. What about this summer? JK: Going to Florida, cruise in the Bahamas, San Francisco, Oregon and hanging out with my friends. HB: My, that is quite a summer you have planned. It sounds like four summers! What do you like to do for fun? JK: It is always fun to just hang out with my friends and I like to play volleyball. HB: Speaking of volleyball, is that your favorite sport? JK: Yes. HB: What is your favorite subject? JK: History. HB: What other favorites do you have? JK: Pizza and Coke. Pepsi is gross. I liked the movie The Faculty and the book A Child Called It. HB: Do you like music? JK: Yeah baby! HB: For instance...? JK: Linkin Park, Ozzy, Godsmack, anything rock, basically. I also love Sully Erna from Godsmack and Chester Bennington from Linkin Park. HB: Lincoln Park? Isn't that located under the Coronado Bridge? JK: ?!?!?!? HB: What advice do you think you will give your kids when they are your age? JK: Try your best and make sure you don't slack off. HB: Very good Janny, I mean Janielle. Good luck next year at PL. Go Pointers! *** Next month we'll hear from Nicole Sousa and Patrick Oberg. If your 8th grader has not been contacted to be profiled in the Heartbeat this year or if he or she missed their deadline and would like to be included next month, please call Van Thaxton 222-5604 right away. Thanks. |
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NEXT HEARTBEAT NEXT HEARTBEAT The deadline for the next Heartbeat is Friday, May 17, 2002. Please e-mail your article to vthaxton@aol.com.
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KUDOS If you wish to send KUDOS, please complete this form; submit it along with your check made payable to SHA PTG in the amount of $10 per message. IT MUST BE TURNED IN BY THE HEARTBEAT DEADLINE DATE ABOVE. Name:________________________________________________________ Phone:______________________________ Message: (100 characters max / $10 per message) |
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8am Mass-6th grade Stand Up For Kids food/hygiene item collection |
8am Mass-7th grade |
8am Mass-8th grade Noon Dismissal |
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8am Mass-5th gr. |
8am Mass-4th gr. |
8am Mass-6th gr. Stand Up FOr Kids hygiene/food collection day Royal Blazers Uniform Sale - 2:30-5:30 - school playground |
8am Mass-7th gr. |
No School |
First Communion Party |
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MOTHERS DAY |
8am Mass-5th grade PTG Board Mtg. 8:30am |
8am Mass-4th gr. 8th Grade Graduation pictures |
Stand Up For Kids hygiene/food collection day Sports Banquet - Masonic Hall |
8am Mass-7th grade |
8am Mass-8th gr. Noon Dismissal |
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8am Mass - 5th grade Stand Up For Kids Chili Dog Lunch |
8am Mass-4th gr. 2nd grade to Beauty and the Beast |
8am Mass - 6th grade Stand Up For Kids hygiene/food collection day |
8am- ALL SCHOOL MASS |
8am Mass - 8th grade "Families" 11am Noon Dismissal |
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Memorial Day No School |
8am Mass-4th gr. |
8am Mass-6th grade Stand Up For Kids food/hygiene item collection May Crowning - 2pm - Memorial Garden
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8am Mass-7th grade 5th grade to Sea World
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8am Mass-8th grade Noon Dismissal |
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Sacred Heart Academy
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