CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
tvc.dsj.org | January 16, 2018
17
Committed Fourth Grade Students Make Their Vincentian Marian Youth (VMY) Promise
Mrs. Begley, fourth Grade Teacher at Saint Eliza-
beth Seton School, is leading a group of committed
fourth Graders to fi nd a deeper and joyful way to live
their Christian faith and the Vincentian mission. We
constantly look for ways to help our students grow in
their relationship with God and the Blessed Mother, as
well as incorporate Saint Vincent’s charism of serving
the poor and needy, with humility and selfl essness.
A commissioning ceremony with 14 of our students
took place during morning assembly. When joining
this national VMY group, a promise is made to serve
those most in need. Two sets of words summarize the
purpose of VMY: “To Jesus with Mary” and “To Live,
to Contemplate, and to Serve.” Through this journey
of Christian living, each young person is given the op-
portunity to envision his/her life as part of God’s proj-
ect, as a call to mission and as a testimony of Christ’s
presence in our hearts and in our midst.
The Vincentian Marian Youth (VMY) Group came
about following the apparitions of Our Lady of the
Miraculous Medal to Saint Catherine Labouré, in July
of 1830. Its purpose: “To form members to live a solid
Mrs. Begley, fourth Grade Teacher at Saint Elizabeth Seton
School, is leading a group of fourth Graders to fi nd a deeper and
joyful way to live their Christian faith and the Vincentian mission.
faith following Jesus Christ the evangelizer of the
poor. To live and pray like Mary, with simplicity and
humility, taking on the spirituality of the Magnifi cat. To
arouse, animate and sustain the missionary spirit of the
association, especially through missionary experiences
to those who are poorest and to youth.”
Our 14 students made a beautiful promise before
faculty, staff and the school:
“We thank you Jesus for loving me and send-
ing your mother Mary to journey with us on earth.
With the help of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, and before our school, we
promise to continue to live as part of the VMY, in
the spirit of Mary’s ‘yes’. We want to live in the world
with our whole heart, caring for those who suff er. We
want to recognize God in all of creation – especially
in people who are poor. We want to serve others with
a loving and humble heart. As a sign of our promise
we welcome the VMY pin as a link of hope between
Mary and us. May Mary support us in our call to walk
each day toward Christ and our sisters and brothers
who are poor.”
A VMY pin was presented that is now worn daily as
a symbol of their promise. Our VMY group meets twice
a month and service projects have already begun. Early
next year they will lead a school-wide service project
and plan to show others how best to serve those most
in need in our community.
3D Design at Saint Lawrence Elementary and Middle School
Fifth grade students at Saint Law-
rence Elementary and Middle School
have been busy learning and creat-
ing in their 3D Design course. The
students are coached by a parent vol-
unteer, John Schmitt, and are almost
fi nished on their 10-week journey of
design. Over the course the students
have been “introduced to the most
modern tools in 3D design, and have
been learning fundamentals of de-
sign while pursuing their individual
projects.
Each fi fth grader has a favorite toy,
character, food they can choose to
design, and through that individual
project they are highly engaged to
learn and build,” said Mr. Schmitt.
From imagining and planning to de-
signing and creating, the fi fth graders
have truly enjoyed participating in the
3D Design class, and are excited for
their fi nished projects.
According to Mr. Schmitt, “at the
end of the class, each student is given
a 3D print of their project as an arti-
fact to remind them of their progress.
3D design is a skill that’s essential in
careers in engineering, movie-making,
games, architecture, and more.”
The students will showcase their
fi nished projects to their Saint Law-
rence Community, and will hopefully
be taking the skills and memories of
this class with them as their educa-
tional journey continues!
Fifth grade students and parent volunteer,
John Schmitt at Saint Lawrence Elementary
and Middle School’s 3D Design course.
Saint Christopher School Table for 32
Students in Mrs. Aldridge’s and
Mrs. Federwisch’s seventh grade pre-
algebra classes at Saint Christopher
School explored the concepts of maxi-
mum, minimum, area, and perimeter
by designing two holiday dinner tables
for their classes. One design needed
to seat all the students at a rectangu-
lar table and be able to hold the most
amount of food. The other rectangular
table still had to seat all the students,
but it had to be designed to have the
least space on top.
This small group, interactive task
resulted in rich mathematical discus-
sions as students critiqued each other’s
reasoning, debated the meaning of
“rectangle,” drew diagrams, and
eventually persevered toward a solu-
tion. The whole class modeled their
solutions by plotting out the “tables”
on the playground. This push towards
problem-solving versus “recipe-follow-
ing” math is one of the hallmarks of the
school’s STREAM program.
St. Christopher School
Kindergarten through 8th Grade
Join Us for
STREAM Open House
January 31
8:30am - 10:30am
Schedule a Private Tour today!
www.stchris.us • (408) 723-7223
Seventh graders at Saint Christopher School
explored concepts in their pre-algebra class.
2278 Booksin Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125