● Ms. Sally Lee who arranged that 19 desk chairs were donated to the school.
● Recent participants in the Annual Giving Program: Mr. and Mrs. Alan L. Baer, Mrs. P. Maria Christian, Mr. and Mrs. John Doherty, Mr. and Mrs. David R. Hunsaker, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis R. Julian, Mrs. Mary Frances Kusch, Mr. and Mrs. Frank N. Lieggi, Mrs. Mary Muth, Mr. and Mrs. Quang Du Nguyen, Mr. and Mrs. Paul O'Donnell, Mrs. Regina Percival, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth J. Richard, Mr. and Mrs. Aniceto Sandoval, Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Schardt
Parent/Student Handbook:
Chapter 3, Section 8: TESTING AND GRADING
Evaluating student progress is a primary responsibility of the school. It is a task that invites a variety of evaluation methods. The primary purpose of evaluation is to determine the extent to which a student mastered the course standards. This level of achievement is determined through a systematic process. Grades can diagnose, motivate, and/or recognize excellence. Prior to the quarterly and semester examinations a special schedule is issued. Oral exams conclude the first and third quarters. The exam is conducted by the teachers in that discipline area and weights approximately 10% of the quarter grade. Oral exams provide the students the chance of thinking and speaking “under pressure.” This skill is very important in effective communication, logical thinking, and all forms of public speaking. Oral exams also provide another medium through which student progress is effectively assessed. The special Semester Test Schedule comes at the end of the second and fourth quarters. The semester exam is a scheduled 90 minute block of time. The semester exam tests the student’s ability to synthesize large quantities of materials. These examinations comprise 20% of a student’s grade for the semester. All students sit for these important exams. Student grades are monitored weekly. Any student who receives an unsatisfactory grade (C- or below) is placed on the Weekly Progress Report list and remains on the Weekly Progress Report list until a satisfactory grade is maintained
for a period of two consecutive weeks. Students placed on the Weekly Progress Report are required to attend supervised study time in the evening. The goal is to alert the student in academic difficulty so that he may improve his study habits and seek help from the available sources on campus. At these times, parental support is an effective means to assist the young man in his renewed academic focus. A student whose achievement is not satisfactory (“C-,” “D,” “F” or has dropped more than one letter grade from the last grading period) receives a Progress Report. Such progress reports are sent collated from the online grading program at approximately the midpoint of every academic quarter. Any student who receives an unsatisfactory Progress Report is placed on the Weekly Progress Report list and remains with a weekly Progress
Report until the next formal evaluation period. The goal is to alert the student in academic difficulty so that he may improve his study habits and seek help from the available sources on campus. At these times, parental support is also an effective means to assist their son in his renewed academic focus. Academic grades are certificates of achievement. They are not a system of rewards and punishment for conduct. Grading “on a curve” is not statistically valid in small classrooms. It is neither a customary nor encouraged practice at St. Michael’s. This Week’s Photos:
Living History, Science Lab, Students Working
Etiquette Point of the Week
In sports, a gentleman does not gloat over a win or sulk over a loss. A gentleman does not cross the line between aggressive play and assault. He does not deliberately harm, push, pull, or elbow another player, despite what he may see on television.
How To Raise A Gentleman, Kay West; Brooks Brothers Press
Athletics
Congratulations to the Pioneers baseball team for their recent wins!
The following games are scheduled this week:
Tuesday- Baseball vs. Flintridge Prep @ Glendale Sports Complex; 3:00 p.m.
Thursday- Baseball vs. Liberty Christian @ STM; 3:15 p.m.
Birthdays This Week:
4/6 Jonathan Tran
Homily preached by Fr. John Henry Hanson, O.Praem.
Among other things, Fr. John Henry teaches Religion and English
The first question that most catechisms open with is: Why are we here? And the answer is usually: To know, love, and serve God. This is what we are trying to do, especially during Lent. Hosea says: “Come, let us return to the Lord … let us strive to know the Lord.” And why? Because “I desire love,” says the Lord. We cannot truly love the Father unless we strive to know Him. If our “piety is like a morning cloud,” it is because we do not know Him
well. We must know Him, because we love according to our knowledge; we serve according to our love. We can serve as slaves, but those who live in the household of the faith, the Father’s house, are children. He wants us to serve with love, not with the fear of a slave. The Pharisee is a slave to his pride. He is worshiping a “God” that does not exist except in his own mind. He is talking to himself, to someone who is satisfied with self-righteousness, carrying out commands, but there is no father-son relationship. The publican is a model of filial piety; he sounds almost like the Prodigal Son: He would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but prayed: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” as compared to “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus teaches us something similar to what Hosea tells us today: Let us return, let us strive to know. If we truly knew the Father, would we ever depart from him, even in little ways? The Prodigal Son had no idea what he was leaving behind when he left his father’s house. An important theme of Lent is our return to the Father. 
Many of the liturgical readings tell us to “return,” because the Father is merciful and wants us to come back. But He has to reassure us of this because we do not know Him, love Him, trust Him enough. “Return to me with all your heart… Return to the LORD, for he is gracious and merciful.” During Lent we strive to know the Father better—to see Him a little more clearly and truly. He says, “It is love that I desire.” It is your love that I desire. We have to learn to take our Father’s desire at face value. Who is the Father to us? Is He the One against whom we sin and to whom we go to ask pardon—maybe thousands of times over the course of a lifetime. One who holds up for us the highest standards that we continually fail to meet? Is He simply the One to whom we are always apologizing? Jesus always teaches us about Him in the most uncomplicated language. Sometimes we don’t know what to make of Him. Surely we fail Him often enough, but He is also the One who invites us to His table again and again and serves us. Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, [the Master] will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them.” Now we are really confused. Mercy confuses us. Jesus tried to make it so simple for us to understand: “Do not be anxious … Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Consider the lilies
of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin… O men of little faith! Your heavenly Father knows all that you need.” The lilies of the field grow not by anxiety but by their trust in the providence of the Father. They do not grow by fear and trembling. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Are we onto something here? Are we beginning to understand? This is the image of the Father Jesus wants us to have, and the relationship—the same one for which the Pharisees criticized Him: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” And He does so again and again: He feeds us and clothes us and sets a ring on our finger—the same ring that we had cast off in our moment of infidelity. Put it back on; it still fits; it still means what it always meant: I am yours and you are mine. “Do you still not understand? To see me is to see the Father.” Can we form a true image of the Father in our hearts, one that no anxiety, failure, or pressure can break? Jesus pleads with us to do so: “To see me is to see the Father.” The Father finds His most perfect image in Christ. We must trust in Him who takes back the sinner and restores him again and again—and believe there is joy in heaven when we do return. This is the Father in whom we must believe, hope, and love. 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
● Jodie Meschuk for a safe and healthy pregnancy
● Marie Morris, sister of Mrs. Ryan, who has been diagnosed with cancer
● Those who are in the armed forces.
● St. Michael’s older priests and those who care for them.
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