Martha Elmer, Tina Halim, Rina Lim and Seong Hee Park, for sponsoring a Parent Lunch Wednesday for our students and faculty.
Mrs. Roxanna Aguilar, for buying personal pizzas and soda for the baseball team after Tuesday's victory.
The Choi, Porretta, Portka, Saglietto and Schardt families, for hosting students over the weekend.
Parent Talk by Fr. Gabriel Stack, O. Praem.
“Raising a Loving Man of God for Others.”
The focus is on the virtue of justice, rendering to others their due. Join us in the mobile classroom on Sunday, April 17th at 7:00 p.m.
Reminder to parents that students are dismissed from school this Friday, at about 4:00 PM, after the Good Friday Liturgy.
Parent/Student Handbook: Chapter 3, Sections 10 and 11 SECTION 10:
CALCULATING SEMESTER GRADES
Semester grades are calculated from three weighted factors. Each of the two quarter grades weighs 40%. The semester exam itself weighs 20% of the semester grade. SECTION 11:
STUDENTS WHO RECEIVE A SEMESTER GRADE OF “D” OR “F” A student who receives a semester grade of “D” or “F” must make up the work. A passing grade of “C” is a necessary prerequisite for readmission to St. Michael’s Preparatory for the following academic year. In order to achieve this, the student must repeat the course during the summer. This schooling can be taken online, at a local school, or with a competent tutor. To properly evaluate the summer work, the student must submit a summer school transcript and a portfolio of work completed during the summer course. Based upon this information the administration, leaning heavily on the advice of the department chair, records a grade on the transcript which represents the level of work as it compares to St. Michael’s expectations. There are occasions when the school administration will require the student to take a written and/or oral competency exam in order to better evaluate his newly-strengthened academic proficiency. While both the original failing grade and the competency grade are on the transcript, the latter is used to compute the grade point average. The student who earns two or more grades below “C” in the same semester or in combination with the next semester, seriously jeopardizes his ability to return to St. Michael’s.
Academics
Congratulations to the following students on their National Latin Exam awards:
● Joshua Aaker: Summa Cum Laude (Gold certificate and medal)
● Joseph Terlisner: Summa Cum Laude (Gold certificate and medal)
● William Warnisher: Maxima Cum Laude (Silver certificate and medal)
● James Tran: Magna Cum Laude (Certificate)
● Jake Holke: Cum Laude (Certificate)
● Michael Howard: Cum Laude (Certificate)
This Week’s Photos: Deans Fr. Claude and Frater Brendan; Fr. Victor, Latin Student and National Latin Exam winners
Etiquette Point of the Week
A gentleman does not express anger, disappointment, or frustration by throwing, kicking, punching, or breaking something.
How To Raise A Gentleman, Kay West; Brooks Brothers Press
Birthdays
April 24th: Edward Lim and Joseph Porretta
April 30th: Joshua Aaker
Athletics
Congratulations to Mr. Martin and the Pioneers for their tied game Monday and their wins on Tuesday and Thursday. The Pioneer’s overall record is 6-5-1 and their league record
is 3-1. They are currently in first place in their league. Come out to a ball game and support our team! Tuesday, April 19th: Baseball vs. Liberty Christian @ Bretheren Christian; 3:15 p.m.
Homily preached by Fr.Vincent Gilmore, O. Praem
Among other things Fr. Vincent is the Rector at JSerra in San Juan Capistrano
A week from today is Good Friday. Palm Sunday is this Sunday. Lent is coming to a close. We might ask ourselves “How did we do with our Lenten program or promise?” Our efforts at making sacrifices and doing things sets the content and tone of the season. And I suspect most of us could say we could have done better and perhaps we lost some of our initial fervor as Lent progressed. Forty days is a long time. Our effort at making Lent what it is is necessary. However, from God’s point of view our Lenten effort or progress is more like opening a door to God’s activity in our lives. The door opens to the unexpected. The very operations of grace are by their very nature unpredictable. When Mary opened the door to grace with her “Yes” at the annunciation she did not know where it was going to go and how it was going to roll out. She had no idea what was going to happen, but she trusted. She trusted in the goodness of God and opened herself up to God’s plan. A plan much more beautiful than anything she could ever have dreamt of. I think Lent needs to be evaluated not so much on the success or failure of our efforts but rather on how we dealt with the unexpected. We can plan a neat and tidy Lent, but it is in the unexpected and unplanned where the real work of Lent lies. This is where the hand of God’s grace moves. Our efforts open the door to grace, the rest is unpredictable. The real question of Lent is how did we handle the unexpected, especially the crosses, hardships and sufferings? Did we get sick or suffer some bodily pain? Were there conflicts, tensions and misunderstandings in relationships? Were there contradictions, corrections, struggles and failures that were uncomfortable? All of these things and more are what make a fruitful Lent. The unexpected embraced in humility and for what it is and not rejected is real progress.
Laying aside our programs for God’s plan is a real sign that grace is at work. “Not my will, but your will be done” is what Jesus said when faced with the greatest contradiction and struggle of His life. The laying down of His will and life as a sacrifice to His Father’s will became the price of our salvation. And so the price of our salvation is the ability to lay down our will and even our life before God’s will, and God’s will is manifested in the unexpected and the unplanned. Over a week ago several people’s lives got a high dose of the unexpected. In a freak sequence of events a JSerra graduate got pushed over a freeway overpass and fell 60 feet to his death. A 24 year old girl was to blame. She now faces 5 years in prison for vehicular manslaughter. An 18 year old boy is not supposed to die this way. The 24 year old did not plan to kill the boy and spend 5 years of her life in prison. The parents of the boy did not expect to lose their only son. But God certainly permitted the sequence of events that led up to the boy’s death – all unplanned and unexpected – nonetheless a part of God’s will and therefore what is best for the salvation of all involved. The boy already sees why the unexpected happened. It will perhaps take a life time for his parents, the girl and others involved to see the hand of God in the unexpected and tragic. For us who profess to be of the household of faith and profess belief in the will of God, we have to expect the unexpected. Our plans, necessary as they are, should always be tentative and flexible, waiting for the definitive and best plan to come from the hand of God. As we approach and move through another Holy Week, may we appreciate more and draw strength from Jesus’ fundamental attitude as He approached all the events that led to His death. “Not my will but your will be done.” We should endeavor to make His approach our approach as we face the many unexpected events of our lives that originate from the hand of God. Have we had a good Lent? The answer is in the unexpected: “Not my will but your will be done.” In publishing this homily, we hope to share a portion of the spiritual treasure by which the students are enriched every day. However, this homily may not be reproduced without written permission of the author.
Prayer Requests
● Mrs. Jodie Meschuk for a safe and healthy pregnancy
● Imminent deployment of Lieutenant Col. Peter Hebert, father of junior John Hebert. Mrs. Jaqueline Carroll, mother of alumnus John Carroll ‘77, who is close to death.
● Those who are in the armed forces.
● St. Michael’s older priests and those who care for them.
● For the repose of the soul of Henry Gernaey
● For the repose of the soul of Mary Ryan, sister-in-law of Mrs. Gloria Ryan.
Posts
