Performers for "A Comedy Tonight": Front (kneeling): Richard Yates and Katrina Espey. Others, from left: Genie Genetiano, Jason Sage, JP Rivera, Evan Tait, Molly Hoffman, Monica Vinson, Lorene Berthelier, Anna Corazza, and Stephen Pierce. Katherine Kraemer is not pictured.

Submitted by Drama Director and English and Drama Teacher Ginnie Sutfin

Valley Catholic High School’s drama department closes out its most successful season ever with the annual drama showcase on May 30, which this year is titled “A Comedy Tonight.” The evening will feature scenes written by the drama students, as well as pieces from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the tradition of Commedia Dell Arte, and scenes from playwright Don Zolidis. The showcase will be performed by members of the drama class.

For seniors Evan Tait, Anna Corazza, Katherine Kraemer and Stephen Pierce, this will be their final performance on the Valley stage after being involved in productions since their freshman year. Seniors Jason Sage, Genie Genetiano, Molly Hoffman, Katrina Espey, JP Rivera, and Monica Vinson will join them, along with junior and French exchange student Lorene Berthelier and freshman Richard Yates. “A Comedy Tonight” is free to the public.

This one-time performance is on May 30 at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. All are welcome for an evening of laughs and performances from our talented students.

The “Be an Advocate” program offers incentives that reward the shoppers and your store!

Here’s how it works:

• When you refer a friend or family member and they join our community, they receive 500 Reward Points-a $5 value, redeemable at checkout—and your organization receives 100 points.
• When that friend or family member makes their first purchase, you receive 500 Reward Points and your organization receives another 900 points. Everyone wins—click on the Be an Advocate link on your main page to learn more and sign up.

Happy Shopping!

Congtratulations!

Valley Catholic Music School is looking to bring some additional independent contractors aboard to teach private lessons on the string bass and saxophone. If you know any professional music teachers who would like to increase their lesson load, please have them contact Sr. Juliana Monti. 

Nominated by their peers and selected by the Board of Directors for the BAC, the individuals and businesses represented were honored for their important contributions to the arts locally and regionally.

The specific award given to the music school is called “Performing Arts Educator of the Year.” The following information was provided by the City of Beaverton:

The Sisters of St. Mary, who operate the Valley Catholic Music School, offer quality music lessons to aspiring musicians of all ages and abilities, six days a week. They currently serve 225 children and adults throughout the region with their staff of 14 talented music instructors. The Sisters of St. Mary recently expanded their number of music school studios to accommodate the opening of the K-8 grade school on campus.

Two senior students, Elizabeth Shew and Katherine Kraemer, also received arts awards at this ceremony.  You can read about it here.

Please enjoy the photos taken by Sr. Charlene Herinckx, SSMO at the awards assembly:

Having trouble viewing the slideshow? Click here.

The scrip team is accepting this month’s orders until Monday, April 30th at 8 a.m.

Order your McMenamins gift cards through Scrip to use at the VCS Family Dine-Out on Monday, May 7 at the McMenamins on Murray and Allen and you will give back twice to VCS!

Columbia Sportswear promo is back! Purchase a Columbia $50 gift card and you’ll receive ONE pass to the Columbia Sportswear employee store. It is good for the buyer and four family members or friends—PLUS a PIN # for online purchases. Passes are good for one visit any time until Sept 2012. The $50 gift cards may be used at: the flagship store in downtown Portland; PDX; outlet locations; at their online store; and at their employee store.

Scrip orders will be delivered to your child by Friday, May 4. Deliveries will be made to all three school buildings; please include the delivery information on the order form. Drop your completed forms, including payment, at the VCEMS office or email your order to scrip@valleycatholic.org. Download the new 2012 VCS Scrip Form here or pick one up in the VCEMS office.

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

The 2012 Campus Music Jamboree will be held Friday, May 4, at 7 p.m. in the Valiants’ Gym.

The Campus Music Jamboree is an evening of wonderful music featuring the music ensembles of Valley Catholic Elementary School, Valley Catholic Middle School, and Valley Catholic High School.  It’s a great opportunity to experience the progression of music in all three schools on campus.

The VCES Youth Orchestra, Hand Bell Team 5, Marian Singers, and Fourth Grade Violin classes will also be participating.

Students are asked to be in the Valiants’ Gym at 6:30 p.m.

**After the concert, students and parents are needed to transport all equipment and instruments to the VCES Music Room. Thank you for your help and assistance.

If there are any questions, please contact Sister Denise.

Sister Juliana has served in many capacities at Valley Catholic School for the past 41 years.  Among them, she has taught at all grade levels, developed the K-12 music curriculum, initiated both a middle school band program and a fourth-grade violin program, and served as the Fine Arts Chair.

Look for a more comprehensive story of Sr. Juliana’s service to VCS in the next issue of Spirit magazine mailed out in June.

Preparations for a special presentation and reception for Sr. Juliana is being planned; an invitation and more information will be provided soon.

Some of these courses will be taught by Valley Catholic teachers while others will be offered by other teachers from the area. Classes are for students entering grades 2 – 12 and range from 10 – 35 hours. Classes are generally limited to 10 – 12 students. 

The following classes are being taught by VCS teachers: Animal Anatomy and Biodiversity (Sarah Zinzer), Cryptography and Math Gems (Luke Waitrovich), Study Skills and Write Now (Carol Pausz). To see all the classes that will be held here at the Elementary & Middle School, and to register, see below.

Saturday, April 21, Valley Catholic School students will compete in the Oregon Music Educators Association Junior Solo and Ensemble Festival for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. Both vocal and instrumental students from Valley Catholic  Middle School will be able to compete.

VCS musicians will take on students from around the region including ACMA, Catlin Gabel, Cedar Park, Conestoga, Highland Park, ISB, Mountain View, Oregon Episcopal School, Poynter, South Meadows, Stoller, West Hills Christian School and Whitford Middle School, where the comptetion will be hosted. 

The address for Whitford Middle School is:

7935 Southwest Scholls Ferry Road
Beaverton, OR 97008
For directions to Whitford, click here.

We wish our dedicated musicians the best of luck.

Submitted by Sr. Joyce Barsotti, SSMO

The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon invite you to celebrate a special Mass with them to commemorate the closing of their 125th Jubilee on Sunday, March 25, at 2 p.m. at Valley Catholic High School on the SSMO campus. The Mass will be held in the Valiants’ Gym and a reception will follow in the Eagles’ Gym. Archbishop Vlazny will preside at the Mass and the music will be provided by students from Valley Catholic School and Valley Catholic Music School.

To print and post a copy of the invitation, please click here.

All the Sisters who live away from the Motherhouse convent will be returning home for the occasion, and the Sisters have invited all their families, friends and supporters. In addition, honored guests will include: priests and Sisters from around the Archdiocese, representatives from the families of the foundresses and the SSMO Associates, who will renew their promises at the event.

A personal invitation from the Sisters:

We have spent this past year as a Year of Jubilee for the blessings bestowed on our community over the past 125 years. We pray with confidence that we will continue to share that deep desire to be messengers of hope and gratitude as we continue to serve with joy the Church we love.

We have focused our year of celebrations by becoming more aware of our gratitude to God and to the valiant women who brought us to this year of Jubilee. We give thanks to our families and friends, to each other and to those we have been privileged to serve. We hope that many of you will join us for our Jubilee Closing on Sunday, March 25 at 2:00 p.m. in the Valley Catholic Athletic Center.

Our hearts have been enlarged, our memories enlivened and our hunger for the Kingdom strengthened. We will be more aware of our gratitude, hope, and service as we begin the new memories of God’s presence and love in our lives.

PORTLAND – It was nearly 11 p.m. before the Charisma dancers heard what they’d been waiting for all season. But finally, as their theme music played over the PA system at Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum last Thursday night during the awards ceremony, the dancers knew they had just earned another State Championship and made team history. The Charisma’s score of 78.19 easily outdistanced second place Amity at 69.64 and third place Santiam of Mill City’s score of 66.31. Grant Union from John Day just missed out on a trophy with 64.64, while Bandon earned a 61.44 and 1A Portland Lutheran received a score of 58.28.

Members of the 2012 Charisma team are: Norimi Funatsu, Captain Molly Hoffman , Karina Jaroch, Captain Leah Klaas, Danielle Lomartire, Captain Patricia Nguyen, Mariah Stokes, Serena Stoiantschevsky, Captain Clarissa Tolan, and Naoko Yamawaki. The team is coached and choreographed by Jessica Anderson and Megan Hoffman.

“Megan and I were so pleased with the way the girls danced on Wednesday night. It was their best performance of the year. Everything was just the way it was supposed to be, even the fishhook formation that had been a bit off all season. It just all came together at the right time at the right place. And then when they danced on Thursday they were even more brilliant. Back-to-back perfect performances at State—it just doesn’t get any better than that!” said Coach Jessica Anderson. “It was magical.”

The Charisma’s elegantly eerie contemporary-style “Ghost of a Girl” routine was danced to “The Lonely” by Christina Peri and “Stay” by Jorane and featured a voice-over inspired by the Hughes Mearns poem “Antigonish.” The Charisma were introduced with the words “Dance your reality in a world beyond the obvious. Can you see me? Am I invisible because you ignore me?” followed by the sound of footsteps.

“We rocked the house this past week. I couldn’t have asked for a better team,” said senior captain Leah Klaas.

The Charisma dancers become the first team in their 1A/2A/3A division to earn three consecutive dance championships since the OSAA instituted the six-class system in 2007, and become the first three-peat team among the small classification schools since Santiam did so in 1993-1995.

“The girls on this team have been so consistent all season, but they really stepped it up for State. Charisma 2012 is a team that understood their challenges and worked together to achieve their goals. They have been an absolute pleasure to coach,” said Anderson. “Megan and I are so proud of our dancers.”

The Charisma will lose seniors Hoffman, Klaas, and Stokes to graduation and Norimi Funatsu and Naoko Yamawaki will return home to Japan. “State is always bittersweet because it is the last time the dancers will perform Ghost of a Girl and it’s the last time that the 2012 Charisma is together as a team. It is so hard to say goodbye to them at the end of the season, especially this team since they were so connected. Thank goodness so many Charisma alumna come back to support us whenever and however they can,” said Anderson.

The coaches are already thinking about and planning for season 2013. “Even with all the chaos of State, or maybe because of it, my creativity seems to be on overdrive. I get some of my best ideas for the next season during the State Competition,” said Anderson. “Of course our goal is to keep improving and to keep on winning dance championships. But over the last year our competition has been working at closing the gap. We can never become complacent and take our success for granted. Each season we must start from scratch and work hard to remain at the top,” said Anderson.

The Charisma will have five returning dancers for next season and are actively seeking new members to fill at least five, if not more, open spots on the roster. The Charisma is scheduled to attend the Thunderbird Dance Camp in July and prospective members are encouraged to participate in dance camp and to get a feel for what dance team is all about. The coaches will provide more information about evaluations and information on joining the Charisma as it becomes finalized.

“Being on dance team gives these student athletes an opportunity to express their creativity, challenge themselves to set and achieve goals and learn life lessons,” said Anderson. “The Oregon dance team community is such a positive environment. The coaches of the DDCA are all committed to making competitive dance team accessible and beneficial to all the dancers who participate,” said Anderson.

The Charisma dance team has become recognized for developing well-trained dancers that are competitive at every level while maintaining high academic standards. While the success achieved by the Charisma is apparent from the championship banners hanging in the gym and the awards in the trophy case, the coaches would like to see participation numbers increase.

“I would really like to see the dance program at Valley Catholic grow and evolve. We lose 50% of our team nearly every year. I’d like to reduce that number to no more than 25%. We would welcome a larger team in the future. Valley has the largest student population of any of the schools in our division, yet we are almost always the smallest team on the floor, while tiny Portland Lutheran with a student body of less than 100 has a team of 13. Amity danced more than 20 and will have 11 seniors on their roster next season. There are so many more competition opportunities for elementary school, middle school, and JV dance teams now. There is even a championship competition for middle school and JV teams each year in April. Those feeder programs can really enhance a school’s varsity team. I would love to see dance participation numbers increase to the point that Valley Catholic would also have competitive JV and middle school teams in the near future,” said Anderson. “The Charisma make magic on the dance floor with our usual ten dancers, but I dream of how we could be even more innovative and more creative if we had even a slightly larger team to work with.”

The Charisma dancers and coaches “thank everyone who supported the team this season on our quest to make team history with a third straight championship. Dance has a very long season and we couldn’t do it without the support of the school, parents, fans, community, and alumna dancers.”

Sophomore captain Patricia Nguyen commented “Even with all the countless hours of practice, we couldn’t have done it without the support from our coaches and family. We love you!”

Complete results of the 2012 OSAA Dance / Drill State Championships can be found on the OSAA website along with archive video of every performance from each team during the four day state competition at OSAA.TV.

Keep up to date with all the Charisma news by liking the Valley Catholic Charisma Facebook page. Students interested in joining the Charisma for season 2013 should contact the coaches or a current team member.

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March 14 (7:20-7:50 a.m. and 2:30-3 p.m.)

March 21 (7:20-7:50 a.m. and 2:30-3 p.m.)

April 4 (7:20-7:50 a.m. and 2:30-3 p.m.)

**Please don’t send the bottles into school with students of any age. Adults may also deliver wine with attached donation form to any school office or the auction office (located behind the convent).

What is the wall of wine?

Submitted by Auction Coordinator Sharla Tinsen

The word has spread—in less than a month, one lucky winner will receive $5,000! Purchase your tickets now for a chance to win one of five great raffle items:

• $5,000 VISA gift card
• Subaru/Diamondback Power Bicycle
• Resort and Spa Package
• $500 VCS tuition credit
• 4 GB Android Tablet

Has your student sold 10 raffle tickets yet? 

For every 10 raffle tickets sold, your family will receive a gift card from a variety of favorite places including: Jamba Juice, Peets Coffee, and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Does your child need help selling them? Here some questions you might want to ask when selling tickets:

“I am selling raffle tickets to support my school. The raffle plays a key role in raising funds for our school. Tickets are only $10 and you don’t even have to be present at the auction to win! The grand prize is a $5,000 VISA gift card. So how many would you like to buy?”

“I am asking family and friends to help support the great education I receive at Valley Catholic. No calories, no gimmicks, just a $10 raffle ticket and a chance to win five great prizes. Are you interested in buying a few?”

“I am selling raffle tickets to help support my school. My goal is to sell 10 tickets and I have sold eight already. Will you help me reach my goal by purchasing two raffle tickets?”

Click on these links for instructions and info or a raffle order form.

Thank you for your participation in this very important fundraiser for our school!

We would like to thank the entire Valley Catholic community for all their support with the Equipment Across Continents clothing drive that took place during February. We loaded a long-bed pick up truck full of boxes and bags of clothing and equipment. These items are now being taken to the organization to be distributed to the children in need. Thanks!

Raffle Order Form

Parent Information

Submitted by VCMS Principal Jennifer Gfroerer

On Saturday, Feb. 25, Valley Catholic Middle School hosted its 45th Annual Speech Tournament. This year, over 450 contestants from 28 area private schools participated  in this speech competition that helps young people find their voice and convey their talents through the fine art of verbal expression.

For each category there are four awards – first place, second place, third place, and honorable mention.

In eighth grade, the first place winners also receive a scholarship to the Catholic high school of their choice within the Archdiocese of Portland.

Each of the eighth-grade scholarship winners presented their elocution speeches at the awards assembly following the tournament to a crowd of about 1,000 people.

Valley Catholic Middle School students performed well at the tournament, earning 10 of the 28 trophies (photo above).  For a short history of the speech tournament written by VCMS parent Jill Lovely, click here.

Congratulations not only to the winners listed below, but to every student who participated in the tournament.  We hope they had fun and gained more confidence through this experience.

Submitted by English Teacher/Dept. Chair and NHS Advisor Brenna Brown

Once again, National Honor Society will host a Red Cross blood drive on Tuesday, March 13 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Bloodmobile will be situated in the high school’s back parking lot.

If you would like to donate, please email me to schedule a specific time. Thanks to those of you who have given in the past and to those who will give on the 13th.

As a side note, we exceeded our previous goal of 30 units by one little pint. Perhaps in response to this, the Red Cross has increased this drive’s goal to 45 units, so I encourage you to consider donating on the thirteenth.

Science Fair Schedule:

We would like to introduce Equipment Across Continents, and tell you how you can all take part in this February clothing drive.

Equipment Across Continents has partnered with Coaches Across Continents to provide new or gently used sports equipment and clothing to children in developing countries all around the world.

In the US there are over 42 million youth athletes who participate in sports each year. But in worldwide, there are over 1.2 billion people living on less than $1 per day that will never be able to buy sports equipment or clothes even though they enjoy it as much as we do.

So here at Valley, we are hoping to gather any old sports equipment or clothing and donate it to Equipment Across Continents.

During the month of February, there will be boxes in each of the schools for donations.

Donations can range from running shoes, cleats, t-shirts, shorts and even equipment such as soccer balls or basketballs.

Starting next week there will be boxes for donations to be collected in, so please help and support all the children who cannot afford the equipment they need to enjoy their favorite sport!

Thanks!

Submitted by VCS President Bob Weber

Joe Manning, who has been serving as the interim Principal for the Elementary School since July of 2011, has accepted the full-time position as our Elementary School Principal. I have been thrilled with the effort and performance of Joe since he assumed the interim role and delighted that he has agreed to take on this full-time appointment. Please join me in congratulating him and thanking him for his service to our campus.

Below is the copy of an article that will be printed in the Jan. 20 issue of the Catholic Sentinel celebrating Catholic Schools Week.

Valley Catholic Names Elementary Principal

Valley Catholic School in Beaverton announced this week its appointment of Joe Manning to the Principal position at the elementary school on campus. In July, Manning was named as the interim Principal of the K-5 school and has served in that capacity until the VCS Board of Directors and President Bob Weber made his appointment to the full-time status official this week.

“We are so pleased to have Joe join our administrative team,” said VCS President Bob Weber. Valley Catholic is a PreK-12 school system with grade level divisions for 9-12, 6-8, K-5 and preschool students.

Weber continued, “His passion for Catholic education and his care for our students is known to all who have the privilege of working with him.”

Manning is a 2005 graduate of Gonzaga University and credits his mission-minded approach to the relationships he built there and to his education, especially his Masters of Education degree through the University of Notre Dame through a program called the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE).

In addition to summer coursework on campus and a series of online classes, ACE is a two-year immersion program that trains students in a service-through-teaching model. The student is not granted any preferences for where to work; ACE assigns the future educators to teach in schools known as under-resourced and in need of support.

“I taught at St. Malachy, a PreK-8 school in south central LA,” said Manning. “After experiencing the circumstances there and witnessing the strong desire of the students to have stable teachers who will stay with them, I knew I would have a lifelong interest in Catholic schools.”

After the program ended, Manning returned to his hometown of Ridgefield, Wash. to be near his father who remained in poor health for several years. Seeking work close to home, he took a position at Valley Catholic Middle School in 2007 as an English teacher and immediately started looking for ways to build community in that capacity.

“I got involved with coaching the CYO track team, assisted with the high school cross country program and served as an announcer for the home basketball games.”

Joe Manning helps 5th grader Sofia Deatherage prepare to read the morning announcements.

Manning talks about his interest in leadership from a young age and his knack for wanting to take on tasks that others find difficult or aren’t willing to do. He was content with his teaching career at Valley Catholic when the elementary principal job became vacant at the end of the 2010-11 school year.

“It wasn’t a gut reaction to inquire about the job. I listened to myself, and to others around me, and tried to discern if I was being called to help with this need.”

Manning said he is grateful to serve in this role, but most especially to be able to do it in the context of a faith community. “We have so many opportunities to build community among our faculty, staff, students and parents. Our faith unites us.”

Audition times may be reserved by contacting Mrs. Mannen at 503-718-6499.  For more information contact Claudia Thomas or Melinda Mannen.

For more photos, please visit Joe Cramer’s website.

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