National Catholic Schools Week was celebrated with a “bang” last week, but never have I been so moved as on Friday, when 320 children from St. Elizabeth Elementary School participated in their annual Peace Parade around our East Oakland neighborhood.

Led by their 35 member band playing “When the Saints Come Marching in,” all classes with their teachers, principal and two City Council members grabbed the attention of neighbors who, with huge grins, waved at the children and carefully read the colorful, artistic and poignant signs. Each class had selected a theme, ranging from “Live in Peace,” “Be Kind to our Earth,” “Appreciate Each Other” to “Stop the Violence,” “No More Shooting and No Guns.” The kindergartens bopped along with individually made signs showing the globe smiling at all who looked on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i0mTJTA5OM

I couldn’t help but think of the children in Connecticut and the tragedy that had befallen their “safe” neighborhood. I know our children grieved that loss; I wonder if that sparked a new determination among our Oakland darlings to convince others to make our communities safe for one another and to value each other. The children were proud, well-mannered and friendly to all. Neighbors thanked us for the influence of the school and the Sisters in our underprivileged community. I caught some of this on video and hope you, too, can celebrate peace for all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdGaihi_ZDw

Congratulations to all our Vision of Hope schools, who held many celebrations honoring the gift of Catholic education. Thank you to each one of you for making this possible for hundreds and hundreds of children. We couldn’t do it without you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR24gYBKHTw

Saint James School is benefitting from a newly formed development board that is bringing a fresh outlook along with a network of supporters who believe in the mission of Saint James and are committed to its long-term sustainability. The Board met for the first time in  November, 2010, chaired by Sheri Stuckey, a member of  the Vision of Hope Advisory Board. Sharing their  professional expertise and varied talents, the group has already spearheaded a successful major fundraising campaign and has formed sub-committees to focus on  budget preparation, marketing and more fundraising  events. The Board will play a critical role in assisting the  school to keep Catholic education affordable for inner-city youth now and in the future.

In the fall, a Halloween Hop is being planned for  October 28 at Immaculate Conception Academy’s  auditorium. Principal, S. Mary Susanna says, “If you’re in the vicinity, get your costume ready and come join us for a ghoulish, good time!”

This year the children of Saint Elizabeth have been part of a wonderful non-profit program called First Tee.

More than 50 students are learning to play golf once a week, journeying by bus to local courses. The Saint Elizabeth golfers, from 2nd to 8th grade, are learning the important lessons of the game, including respect, honesty, citizenship, appropriate dress, and courtesy.

One of the adults who accompanied the students states: “Once the kids got to the golf course, they became quiet and absolutely respectful. It was amazing. Perhaps the cause of this was their total wonder at seeing such vibrant, seemingly unending greens. Many just wanted to touch the grass — they had never seen anything like it and did not even know golf courses existed.”

Not only is the program allowing the children to learn golf, with emphasis on driving, putting, grip, posture and aim, but it is also exposing them to important values and the glorious outdoors.

What could be more marvelous except, perhaps, a hole in one?

The annual Catholic Schools Week celebration provides a fitting context for Vision of Hope (VOH) to begin a new strategic planning process. Our eight member schools find themselves in a rapidly changing environment. Economic recession, demographic shifts, rising costs, and increased competition for funding pose burdens on our schools and their families alike.

Despite these challenges, families continue to sacrifice for the opportunity to provide their children with a superior, values-based, and nurturing Catholic education. For its part, VOH is committed to partnering with its schools to ensure that the sacrifice of parents today is a worthwhile investment in the future of their children. A strategic plan will help VOH refine and update its vision, set realistic goals and objectives and identify the resources necessary to achieve success.

The opportunities and challenges faced by VOH and its schools demand that we seek new ways of not merely surviving as Catholic institutions, but thriving! We must incorporate new technology into our classrooms, adapt teaching methods to the specific needs of our students, update our teaching curricula and expand our base of financial support.

No child should be turned away from a VOH school because of the inability to pay. We must be able to support our students while attracting and retaining the best teachers and paying them fairly. The boldness of this vision must be tempered by a plan that includes realistic and practical strategies. If not, planning becomes an exercise in dreaming dreams that are never realized.

The strategic plan will be developed by a committee composed of representatives of VOH’s Advisory Board and the Board of Directors. It is our hope that the plan will serve as a framework for on-going strategic thinking and decision-making.

Strategic planning is often misunderstood as a process for predicting or uncovering a pre-determined future. In contrast, computer scientist Alan Kay once remarked, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Through this process, we seek to invent the future of Vision of Hope. This future does not yet exist – it must be created. We look forward to sharing the results of these efforts with our partners, friends and supporters. We welcome your input!

As part of SAIC’s ongoing mission to help our community, the 6th grade accompanied the 8th grade to the San Francisco Food Bank on November 24, 2010. For THREE hours, we worked on taking broccoli (and then beans) from enormous boxes and packing them into smaller boxes to send to other agencies around the city. The students all worked as a team by doing their individual jobs of taping up boxes, running the empty boxes to the workers, while others were cleaning up as we went along. All of these duties were done with efficiency and accuracy. Without having to tell them where to fill in, each student worked together to complete each task.

Upon our returning to the school, I asked the students how this field trip related to our Religion classes. Here are a few of the comments:

…“when you are in religion class, you mostly talk about helping people and that is what we did today” – Santiago Fonseca

..“We were helping others the way our church helps those in need.” – Jessica Gonzalez

…“as followers of God, we give our time to volunteer for the community.” – Jennifer Reyna

…”we are taught to help others and to be humble. This is exactly what we did. We helped others and we are humble about what we have.” – Mariah Badilla

…”we helped people today, like Jesus did.” – Alex Bajana

They were also asked how this field trip was different from others they have been on. Also, there is seldom a time when the 6th and 8th grades are together. Some of the comments are as follows:

“The 6th grade got a chance to see how the 8th grade works together.” -Tatiana Quiroz

“This experience was different because we helped people instead of going to a museum. I liked that! “ – Angelica Chukwedebe

“It was different because this field trip wasn’t only for our benefit, we helped others.” – Gerardo Lopez

Thanks to the hard work and effort of the 6th and 8th grade classes. With our help, the SF Food bank was able to pack 4 tons of broccoli to be delivered to the different agencies around San Francisco. Each one of us can make a difference!

            St. Frances X. Cabrini Elementary School chose Janice as their student of the month because of her unwavering determination and her commitment to her education. An eighth grader at Cabrini, Janice has a variety of activities in which she is involved. A student at the school since the third grade, Janice believes that the most invaluable lesson that she has received during her time at Cabrini is to appreciate what you have in life.

            It seems that Janice has quite a lot to appreciate in her thirteen years of life. She excels at math (her favorite subject), with geometry being her specialty. The eighth grader credits principal, Mrs. Sarmiento, with instilling in her the love of math. According to Janice, Mrs. Sarmiento makes learning math fun and joyful.

            Janice also really enjoys the arts. She loves to paint in her spare time, reads fiction with relish, and is also a musician. Janice plays the flute, the saxophone and enjoys singing. She would like to become a musician or a veterinarian when she grows up. The staff at Cabrini are all so proud of Janice, and according to Mrs. Sarmiento, “Janice is a wonderful young lady who is striving to do her best in school. She works to improve herself and her brother, and she is committed to learning all aspects of life: academics, spiritual and instrumental. She is a go-getter and is doing a great job.” Clearly, Janice’s determination and perseverance have paid off as the leaders in her community loudly sing her praises.

            An intelligent and hard-working young woman, Janice is excited to be starting high school in the fall. She will be attending St. Anthony’s High School in the fall of 2010, and is even looking forward to attending summer school so that she can get a jump on her classes. Her goal is to do extremely well in school and make it into honor classes. Outside of her ambitions for her high school career, Janice also dreams of traveling to Mexico.

            Due to the unconditional support and nurturing that Cabrini provides through their enriching learning environment, Janice has developed into a positive and confident young woman who will clearly excel at whatever she decides to do. While acknowledging the guidance given to her at Cabrini, Janice credits her mom as being her inspiration. She admires her mother because she says her mom struggled through a tough childhood, but is a survivor who has always believed in her daughter.

            Just as Janice’s mother invests in her daughter’s future by sending her to a quality school, Vision of Hope invests in our communities’ future by funding vital programs at Cabrini. This remarkable young woman is the product of caring individuals coming together to further the education of our potential future leaders. Janice is proof positive of what happens when youth has access to quality education.

            Incredibly bright and outgoing, Samantha constantly amazes those around her. An obvious extrovert, she radiates positive energy and is a delight to all. A quick-witted young girl, Samantha has a great sense of humor and takes great pleasure in making others smile and laugh.

            A student at Sacred Heart Elementary school since kindergarten, Samantha will be entering fifth grade in the fall of 2010. According to her principal, Sister Maria Elena, “Samantha was chosen not just because she is a hard working student but also because of her willingness to help with any project and her eagerness to share one of her talents — she plays the guitar at all of the student body and family Masses.”  She started guitar lessons of her own accord, and Sacred Heart loves hearing her play at school Masses.

It is extremely apparent to those surrounding Samantha what an incredible asset she is to the Sacred Heart Elementary School community.

            In addition to her love of music and playing the guitar, Samantha also enjoys playing softball. Too young to join the school team, she plays softball at her local park, but is really looking forward to joining the school team next year. She is also excited about playing for her local Recreation and Parks Department team this summer. She would also like to travel to Paris, France, and possibly Canada. She really wants to go to Canada to try their bacon.

            Samantha has a strong passion for art and loves to draw. Her favorite medium is pencils, and her favorite things to draw are cartoons. One of the career paths she is considering for her future is becoming a cartoon artist. However, with a variety of skills and talents, she acknowledges that she might also like to become a veterinarian, a musician or President of the United States of America. This is a girl who dreams big, and Sacred Heart Elementary encourages Samantha to achieve her goals by providing a solid Catholic education.

            A friendly and gregarious hard worker, Samantha looks up to many people in her life. She mentions her second grade teacher and her mom as the two most influential people in her life. She says her teachers are always very supportive of her, and they have helped shape her into a wonderful young person.

            Samantha credits her mom as being her role model because her mom always listens and is always there for her. Her mother has done  an unbelievable job raising this strong-willed and confident young girl. Samantha believes that the most important lesson she will take from her time at Sacred Heart is to treat others the way you want to be treated.

            Sacred Heart Elementary school has done an amazing job nurturing this young girl, and her potential is boundless. Because of the unconditional love and support that both Sacred Heart and Vision of Hope have provided for Samantha, her future is clear and bright. It is apparent that this young lady will continue to impress and astound her peers and authority figures. As lucky as Samantha is to attend her quality school, Sacred Heart is just as lucky to have an amazing individual like Samantha as part of their community.

            Although Ever has only attended Santa Teresita for a year, he has already endeared himself to his teachers and principal. A third grader, Ever loves going to Santa Teresita School, and it is obvious that he is loved as well. Santa Teresita principal Sister Mary Catherine describes him as an incredibly friendly young man with a bright and bubbly personality.

            Ever always wants to broaden his horizons, and the thing that he says he likes best about Santa Teresita is, “learning a lot of different things.” His teacher, Mrs. Rodriguez, depicts Ever as, “a very bright, articulate leader who is not afraid of doing new things and is extremely well-mannered.”  He is clearly a joy to have in the classroom, and currently he is on the honor roll.

            This smart young man loves math and playing math games. He says his favorite parts of math are multiplication and division. As well as being a great student, Ever is devoted to his favorite sport: baseball. He loves playing baseball, especially the running, and when he grows up he wishes to become a professional baseball player.

            An avid Dodger fan, his favorite player is Matt Kemp. Ever plays left field for his little league team, ‘The Padres’ and cannot wait until he can try out for the professional leagues. Although he adores baseball, Ever finds time to serve his community. For the past year he has been an altar server at his parish.

            Like so many other children, Ever is patiently awaiting his summer vacation. He is really looking forward to attending the summer camp right across the street from his school. According to Ever, at camp he will get to, “do a lot of fun stuff like arts and crafts and playing games.”

            He is also hoping that his dad will take him to Seaworld this summer. The conscientious, intelligent young boy loves dolphins and whales and would like nothing better than to get to see them up close. Ever considers his dad to be his role model because his dad takes him fun places and they love spending time together.

            Santa Teresita has clearly done a wonderful job in providing this young student with a quality education. Vision of Hope and Santa Teresita work collaboratively to give young students like Ever the best in education. When we invest in youth, our whole community benefits. Thanks to Ever’s family and his school, he is turning out to be remarkable!

            An astoundingly smart and talented young boy, Saul impresses the adults around him with his knowledge of technology. Sister Lisa Marie, on the St. Elizabeth’s elementary school staff, even called the SEE third-grader, “a wiz at technology.” Saul remains humble, and does not even attempt to boast about his abilities.

            An incredibly social child, Saul’s favorite activities all revolve around playing with his friends. He loves playing kickball, tag and soccer with his friends. Sports seem to be an integral part of Saul’s life. When he grows up, Saul desires to become either a professional basketball player or an artist. In addition to his love of sports, Saul also really enjoys drawing.

            A student at SEE since kindergarten, Saul feels that his school has really instilled in him a love of learning. His favorite teacher, so far, was his kindergarten teacher because he felt that she really understood him. Saul describes himself as, “friendly and nice,” and it is apparent that his friends are very important to him because he mentions his friends at school and his neighborhood playmates quite a bit.

            As well as being outgoing and loving his friends, Saul loves roller-coasters. Saul is most looking forward to going to Six Flags theme park and traveling to Mexico to visit his family. He is very excited about the birth of his new baby cousin. Very close to his family, Saul is a calm and unpretentious young boy. He exudes a tranquil demeanor, and it is easy to see that he will ride out the ups and downs in his own life with a peaceful manner.

            Saul is most inspired by his mother. He sees his mom as his role model because she has always been there for him. Hopefully, Saul’s community will provide Saul with a similar level of support. With such unlimited encouragement, the future is boundless for Saul.