Submitted by VCMS Vice Principal and Science Teacher June Poling

Click here to see the results of the MS In-house Science Fair held Feb. 10. >

We recognized the top three projects at each grade level in the three categories of Chemistry/Earth Sciences, Life Sciences and Physics. Projects earning the top two places will represent Valley Catholic at the Northwest Science Expo (state science fair) in March. All winning projects will represent Valley at the 10th Annual VCMS Catholic Schools Science Fair in April.

Congratulations to the winners and best of luck at the upcoming fairs!

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Olivia Silenzi--still trying for more!

Congratulations to our Valley Catholic CYO Swim Teams for their first-place overall finish in the CYO Championship Meet!! The season recently concluded with some exceptional results. Finishing first in their individual team divisions were the cub boys, cadet boys and cub girls. Cadet girls finished fourth.

Valley has won the overall championship eight out of the past nine seasons and 15 times since 1990.

Valley had seven swimmers with individual victories in their events and one relay win.

Individual Winners:

• Olivia Silenzi (3rd grade, Polliwog): 50m Free *new CYO record, 25m Breaststroke
• Iseult McMahon (6th grade, Cub): 100IM, 100m Free, 25m Fly
• Lara Spurgeon (6th grade, Cub): 25m Free, 50m Free
• Teddy Senecal (6th grade, Cub): 100IM
• Sean Calkins (8th grade, Cadet): 100IM *tied the CYO record, 100m Free
• David Spurgeon (8th grade, Cadet): 50m Free, 50m Breaststroke, 200m Free
• Joshua Yadao (7th grade, Cadet): 50m Fly

Relay Wins:

200 medley relay (Cadet boys): Albert Buchalski, David Spurgeon, Samuel Yates, Sean Calkins

For more detailed results, click on the following links:

• Polliwog Championships
• Division 1 Championships
• All-Star Meet

Submitted by Juliette Friel of CYO Camp Howard

CYO Lacrosse is offered for first- through eighth- grade boys and girls.

First- and second-graders will play at Jesuit on Saturday afternoons—both practices and games—starting on April 14 and lasting until early June. For an informational flyer, click here.

Third- through eighth-graders will begin practices on March 12th, with games beginning on March 31 and lasting until early June.  For an information flyer, click here.

Sign ups are going on now at cyocamphoward.org - click on lacrosse!

Valley Catholic Middle School VALOR Network and Valley Catholic High School Drama Department invite you to:

Opening Night Family Reception and VIP Seating at Valley Catholic High School’s Theatre Production of :

Friday ~ March 2, 2012
Family Reception of dessert, coffee and conversation
6:00 – 6:45 pm VCEMS Lobby
Theatre Production 7:00 ~ 9:00 pm VCHS

First 50 students receive a free “Art…Watch it Live” MS/Drama t-shirt
Tickets $10 Adults ~ $6 Students
Please RSVP to jmalnati@valleycatholic.org

Submitted by VCMS Social Studies Teacher Courtney Ferrari

In order to qualify for the National Junior Honors Society, students must be among the top performers at Valley Catholic, maintaining a 3.8 GPA or higher. They must submit an application outlining their leadership skills, their record of service to the school and community, and their high standards of behavior and integrity.

Of the students who were inducted into NJHS last year, 22 have met or exceeded these requirements for a full year. They have performed service to the campus but they also work beyond the school, serving in their parishes, neighborhoods & communities.

8th graders who received one-year medals:

• Sophia Cowles
• Jennah Curfman
• William Deatherage
• Isabelle Delplanche
• Remy Delplanche
• Shivani Dhingra
• Emily Gfroerer
• Rachel Jones
• Tristan Jong
• Austin Ketterer
• Sierra Kizzier
• Ellen Koukel
• Shankar Krishnakumar
• Olivia Langton
• Ermina Lee
• Madeline McDougal
• Zaria Parvez
• Bianca Robison
• Adithya Srikanthan
• Preetha Velu
• Alexander Zdanowicz

This year, we welcome six 8th graders and 21 7th graders into the National Junior Honors Society. These students have worked very hard at Valley Catholic Middle School to achieve the required GPA.

In addition, they pursue many extra curricular activities. They play CYO and club sports, like basketball, swimming, baseball, and soccer. They play music, they dance, learn foreign languages, and participate in Math Counts, Science Club and 4-H.

On top of all this, they give of their remaining free time to their school, their churches, mosques and temples, and to the larger community. They volunteer for teachers and neighbors, at the Oregon Food Bank, the public library, and for Scouts.

7th graders inducted into NJHS on February 13th:

• Martyna Adamiec
• Victor Agostinelli
• Lakshya Bakshi
• Michael Boss
• Rikhia Chatterjee
• Kiara Cober
• Claire Delplanche
• Rebecca Finn
• Neha Hazra
• Joanna Hoang
• Zoe Landi Fontana
• Binh Luu
• Anthony Nosack
• Mary Oehler
• Hailey Pausz
• Natalie Schur
• Amin Tabrizian
• Grace Tanner
• Michelle Tong
• Christian Walker
• Nicholas Zhang

8th graders inducted into NJHS on February 13th:

• Annika Filip
• Samantha Louie
• Suhani Patel
• Peter Seger
• Sagar Trika
• Andrew Voigt

NJHS Oath
I pledge myself to uphold the high standards of the National Junior Honor Society
To which I have been selected
I will be true to the principles for which it stands;
I will be loyal to my school;
And will encourage high standards of
Scholarship, Citizenship, Service, Leadership and Character.

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Submitted by VCMS Principal Jennifer Gfroerer

The speech tournament is a traditional event that brings nearly 1,000 contestants, parents, and teachers to our campus. As part of the middle school program, all seventh- and eighth-grade VCMS students are required to participate because we believe public speaking is an essential skill to teach to our students.

Sixth- and fifth-grade students are invited to participate but they are not required. However, it is a great time for their parents to earn some service hours while seeing the tournament in action.

No matter what grade your middle school student, we would really appreciate your help. The snack and food sales at the tournament eliminates the need for other fundraisers/sales (candles, wrapping paper, jog-a-thon, etc.) and this can only happen with parent help.

There are several main areas where we need help. All hours spent working at the Speech Tournament count as required service hours for Valley Catholic Elementary School (as stated in the VCES handbook). In some cases, it is possible to work several jobs this day and receive up to eight hours of service.

Please click here to see the descriptions of jobs for speech tournament.

Submitted by VCMS Principal Jennifer Gfroerer

The speech tournament brings nearly 1,000 contestants, parents, and teachers to our campus. As part of the middle school program, all seventh- and eighth-grade VCMS students are required to participate because we believe public speaking is an essential skill to teach to our students.

Sixth-grade students are invited but not required to participate. However, it is a great opportunity for sixth-grade students to earn some service hours while seeing the tournament in action if they are not contestants.

There are several areas where we can use student help. All hours spent working at the Speech Tournament count as required service hours for their religion class.

For specific information on jobs and how to sign up, click here. >

Submitted by VCES parent Laura Kuhner

Interested in raising funds for your child’s school while doing everyday shopping? You can buy your grocery, restaurant, movie, coffee house cards, and much, much more!

Although we are no longer selling at the Scrip table, the Scrip team is now accepting orders on the last Monday of each month. This month orders can be submitted until Monday, February 27 at 8 a.m. Drop your completed forms including payment off at the VCEMS office, or email your order. Download the new 2012 Scrip form here or pick one up in the VCEMS office.

For more detailed information about the Scrip program, click here.

Thank you so much for your continued support to the Scrip fundraising program!
The Scrip Team

Submitted by VCES Principal Joe Manning

At the beginning of Lent, we will unveil our new Stations of the Cross prayerful meditation walk in the new building. We have two beautiful sets of the Stations of the Cross that will be displayed and used to help our students understand Jesus’ passion. One will be displayed throughout the wings of the building. Beginning from the chapel, our students will be able to walk the Stations through the K-2 wing, upstairs to the 3-5 wing, through the Middle School wing, and then back down past the music room and computer labs to the chapel. There they will find the other set of Stations displayed on the chapel’s walls.

Parents will be welcome to take the Stations of the Cross walk on March 8 at our parent prayer service or on March 22 before or after our coffee & doughnut social.

We look forward to offering this opportunity for prayer and connection to our faith to our students and families.

Submitted by VCS Parent Analizza Lambino

Save the date for our 2nd VCS International Festival – May 19, 2012

Let’s celebrate our cultural diversity at VCS and save the date for our 2^nd campus-wide International Festival – Saturday, May 19, 2012, 2 – 5 pm! There will be lots of exciting things to learn about different cultures especially with participation from the Elementary, Middle, and High School communities! Similar to last year’s International Festival, this year’s event will have the following components: tabletop presentations, cultural presentations, multi-cultural prayer service, and potluck.

We are looking for points of contact for each of the various cultures, so if you are interested to represent your culture, please contact Analizza Lambino. We would like to see as many cultures as possible represented, especially in the tabletop presentations – one table per culture (or group of cultures). 

We are also still looking for volunteers, so if you would like to help make this event happen, Elementary School parents please register here.  Middle and High School parents please email Analizza Lambino to express your interest in helping.