tvc.dsj.org | November 20, 2018 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
19
Challenge Grant Announced by Recipients of 2018 Bellarmine President’s Award
Bellarmine College Preparatory
held its 40th Annual President’s Award
Dinner the evening of October 30 in the
Samuel A. Liccardo Campus Center.
The donor recognition event, attended
by 250 guests, featured the presentation
of the President’s Award, given each
year to those who have demonstrated
support to Bellarmine in a variety of
ways.
This year’s recipients, Jeanette La-
Corte and John Ambroseo and their
J2 Scholars Fund, received the award
from Chris Meyercord, president of
Bellarmine. “In their very humble way,
John and Jeanette have been incredible
supporters of Bellarmine. They always
want to help where we need it most,”
Meyercord said of the honorees.
During his acceptance remarks,
Ambroseo, a member of Bellarmine’s
Board of Trustees, announced a chal-
lenge grant from the J2 Scholars Fund.
Gifts received by Bellarmine through
October 31, 2019 will be matched up to
$500,000. There is no restriction, other
than it be a gift rather than a pledge,
and that the J2 challenge be noted by
the donor.
Prior to the event, when asked what
it is about Bellarmine that motivates
them to provide such generous support
to the school, Ambroseo’s response
was, “Our own exposure to Bell is that
it enriches the soul while educating
the mind.”
The evening included remarks by
Bellarmine senior Truman Paras who
reflected upon his time and the inspira-
tion he has received at the school, and
a singing performance by senior David
DeRuiter.
For the first time, the actual Pres-
ident ’s Award was designed and
manufactured by Bellarmine students.
Freshman Andy Apodaca, senior Va-
run Kolli, and sophomore Peter Than,
supervised by faculty member David
Dutton, utilized the school’s Maker-
space facility for the unique project.
Saint Mary Gilroy Students Honor Day of the Dead
Saint Mary School students commemorated Dia de Los Muertos with a special Mass cel-
ebrated by Father Robert Brocato at the Old Saint Mary Cemetery established in 1865.
In honor of “Day of the Dead,”
Saint Mary School (Gilroy) sixth
grade students studied in religion the
traditional Latino and Cajun celebra-
tion of Dia de los Muertos.
In addition to molding and deco-
rating sugar skulls, each student cre-
ated an ofrenda, a shrine or altar to
honor a deceased loved one. Students
decorated memory boxes and added
photos, symbols, medals, mementos
and other small objects that reflected
the interests and history of the person
they were remembering.
While not a sad time, but rather
a warm and caring time of remem-
brance, the students learned about the
cycle of life and did a write-up about
their loved ones and the objects they
chose to represent them.
The sixth grade also celebrated the
day with the other junior high classes
at the Old Saint Mary Cemetery,
which was established in 1865 and is
located within walking distance of
the school.
This field trip to celebrate Mass is
an annual event for the junior high
students as a time to reflect and re-
member their loved ones.
Holy Family School Takes on Social Justice
This trimester, Mrs. Koss begins
her Social Justice elective with Middle
School students at Holy Family School,
focusing on homelessness. The school’s
eighth graders researched homeless-
ness statics around the world, United
Stated, California and also the Bay
Area. As the reality of how homeless
people live and have become homeless
reignites with the young adults, Mrs.
Koss hopes to inspire them to not love
merely with words, but with their own
actions.
Through the trimester, the eighth
graders have already completed a cost-
of-living project, to understand that
the lack of affordable housing in the
Bay Area is the big cause for homeless-
ness. For this issue, they are currently
designing a wearable shelter, bringing
focus on how important it is for home-
less people to stay cool, warm and dry.
The eighth-grade class will also
work with the Downtown Street Orga-
nization by fundraising and donating.
A guest speaker from this organization
will visit Holy Family School and any
fundraising done in their Social Justice
Calling all Journalists!
Participate in
The Valley Catholic
Young Journalists Group
Middle School students at Holy Family School visited Village House.
class will be directly organized by our
students.
The eighth graders know the impor-
tance of their actions so they visited
Village House. Holy Family Parish
is hosting Village House this month,
which is a shelter of hope and refuge for
women who are homeless. The women
at Village House appreciated the re-
spect and kindness given to them as
they chatted and had dinner together.
Our students learned that no matter
what situation a person’s life could in
in, that all people deserve compassion.
In the next two trimesters, Mrs. Koss
will bring awareness to the racial is-
sues in the United Stated and focus on
immigration issues. Social Justice will
continue to integrate the importance of
our actions in society as real-life topics
are focused on. Again, let us not love
merely with words, but with action.
T he Valle y C atholic You ng
Journalists Group is a team of
high school journalists who are
passionate about retelling such
stories through priests, ordinary
people and religious events. The
mission is to share anecdotes of
faith and experiences of God in
people’s lives, specifically aiming
to connect with fellow Catholic
youth.
If you enjoy writing, telling
stories, and are active in your
parish, come join this group!
For more information or to share a
story, please contact Justin Chung at
[email protected].