Submitted by VCES Parent Volunteer Laura Schultz

The evening of the Family Mass & Banquet began with a Mass in the Convent Chapel. Thank you to Sr. Denise and the Marian Singers for the beautiful music that accompanied the Mass. The dinner that followed in the Eagles’ Gym was a success due to the wonderful participation of the Elementary School Student Council, Dan Schauffler and the High School Jazz Band, and, of course, all of our parent volunteers. Laura Schultz, the event coordinator, would like to thank you all for attending and making the Family Mass & Banquet a great community event.

[Show as slideshow]

Submitted by VCHS Athletic Director Jeff Gallagher

CYO teams will be a part of the festivities on Friday night to conclude our Catholic Schools Week celebration.

At the half times of the varsity games, our CYO teams will send out team representatives from each grade to participate in a knockout competition. Prizes will be awarded for each winner.

Any CYO athlete who wears his or her jersey to the game will be given free admission to the game and a coupon for a hot dog or slice of pizza and a drink.

Valley Catholic will also thank its basketball seniors at the event on “Senior Night.”

Submitted by Lori Anne Anderson for the Charisma

After a three-week hiatus from competition, the Charisma Dancers will be back on the dance floor Saturday, Feb. 4 at Stayton High School. Far from idle, the dancers have spent their practice time since their last competition learning more of their state routine, Ghost of a Girl, and perfecting it.

According to team sources, the Stayton Competition is exciting because many of the best teams from around the state will be there, including several teams that finished in the top two from last year’s state championships and an exhibition performance by the nine-time defending 4A champion Stayton Highlights. Teams travel from as far away as Prineville and the Southern Oregon Coast to compete at Stayton. It’s also the first time this season that the Charisma will go head-to-head with other teams from the 1A/2A/3A division.

“This is a great opportunity for spectators to see a wide variety of teams,” said Coach Jessica Anderson. She also advises, “If you are planning on going to watch, get there early because it’s always a full house. Be sure to sit on the correct side of the gym to see the Charisma from the front. We are the second team to dance both rounds. The dancers have been working very hard and we are hopeful of a strong showing at Stayton.”

Stayton uses the festival judging format so it moves quickly through the 20 teams in attendance. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for first round and at 1:45 p.m. for the second round. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students each round or $10 for an all-day pass.

Submitted by Director of Campus Life Mary Donovan

Update 2/3/12: Another VCHS build-date has been added: Saturday, May 12.  Moms and daughters 14 and older, please contact Mary Donovan to sign up.  Hurry—spots are limited.

Women Build, part of Willamette West Habitat for Humanity is, according to their website, “…not about excluding men; it is about including women. Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program enables women to discover for themselves that they can build Habitat for Humanity homes with NO construction experience necessary!  Women Build brings together women from all walks of life to address the housing crisis facing millions of women and children worldwide. Women Build events have helped to construct more than 1,900 houses.” 

The organization will be holding a fundraiser at Valley Catholic School on Saturday, Feb. 11 to benefit Beaverton’s first ever Women Build, which is located in the Huntting Park neighborhood at SW Hall and Sussex Streets.  The evening will feature Stacy Allison, the first American Woman to Summit Mt. Everest, who will “… inspire you to climb your own mountains with Vision, Focus, Agility and Perseverance.” For more information on this fundraiser, please see the Women Build website or the event flyer.

Valley Catholic School will sponsor a mother/daughter build day at the house on Saturday, May 19th, the weekend after Mother’s Day. There are 12 spots for mothers and daughters (must be at least 14 years old).  See additional information here.  Please contact Mary Donovan to sign up. 

They are also holding build days on Saturdays in February and March to build a playhouse as a raffle item to raise the approximately $60,000 they need to build the house in Beaverton. The Serving Our Community Club at the high school may put together a couple of teams for this project.

Submitted by VCHS Students Hollynd Boyden and Julia Anderson

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 VCES Principal Joe Manning

Valley Catholic Elementary School fourth-grade student Ethan Tait took top honors in the 10-year-old division of the Knights of Columbus free-throw contest held at St. Cecilia School last weekend. Congratulations, Ethan! He will now advance to the next round of competition to be held on Feb. 26 at St. Matthew’s. We wish you luck as you represent Valley Catholic!

Dear VCES Community,

Welcome to the third quarter. It is hard for me, and I am sure for many of you, to believe that we have entered the second half of the school year. Report cards were sent home with students on Thursday, so please make sure you check backpacks and ask your students to share their report cards with you. Students who had guests at Grandparents & Special Friends Day were also provided a card to send to their guests to thank them for joining them on January 22. Thank you to the SSMO Foundation Staff for their work on these beautiful keepsakes!

I want to take this opportunity to thank both Sr. Denise and parent Laura Schultz who played key roles in coordinating and orchestrating last weekend’s Family Mass and Banquet. It was a terrific evening due to the hard work, dedication, and preparation of both of them. I want to thank them for pouring their hearts into making it a meaningful community event. It was a great way to start Catholic Schools Week.

We enjoyed a variety of activities to celebrate Catholic education and the things that make our school special. One highlight for me was the opportunity to share some information about my former school, St. Malachy School, in South Central Los Angeles. As I told our students about the realities of urban Catholic schools on Monday, using St. Malachy as my example, I was amazed by the insightful reflections shared by our students and the depth of their questioning. The next day, through our Free Dress for $1 Day, we collected nearly $600 to benefit the school. On Wednesday, our students wrote letters to St. Malachy’s students. I look forward to delivering our monetary gift and sharing some information about our school when I visit Los Angeles during spring break.

Finally, as Catholic Schools Week winds to a close, I want to share with you a great reflection on what makes Catholic education special. Please click here to read a short narrative written by one of my former classmates. I hope you will find it to be a thought-provoking and insightful reflection, as it speaks to the core of what we offer in our Catholic schools.

May God’s peace be with you,

Joe Manning
Principal

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Monday
Recess Supervisors: MaryBeth Wolfe, Maria Cober, & Peter James

Tuesday
Early Dismissal – 2:05 p.m.
Recess Supervisors: Natalia Gurhiy, Joanna Beale, & Loc Nguyen

Wednesday
Prayer Service (4F) – Convent Chapel – 9:35 a.m.
Recess Supervisors: Laura Kuhner & Ken Mann

Thursday
Recess Supervisors: Laura Schultz & Venu Meenege

Friday
Applications for New Students Due – School Office – 4 p.m.
Recess Supervisors: Valerie Stecher, Ivo Peev, & Nirusha LeMouel

Saturday
Father-Daughter Dance – 3:30 to 6 p.m. – VCES Cafeteria

Submitted by Middle and High School Personal Counselor Kelsey MacIntyre

The Respect Rallies will be held next Wednesday, Feb. 8 and Thursday, Feb. 9 in the Valiants’ Gym.  Seventh- and eighth-grade students will have their rally on Wednesday from 8 to 11:20 a.m.; the freshmen rally will be on Thursday from 8:45 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.

The Respect Rally is an interactive experience that allows students to work together in order to learn how to make self-respecting choices, create healthy relationships, set and strive for goals, and end cycles of disrespect in their world. This program was originally designed for girls but in recent years was modified to reach out to boys as well. As a result, a group of our teachers and students were trained to be leaders in 2009 by the founders of the Respect Rally. Since then it has become a mainly student-led program.

The past two years we have provided the experience to seventh- through tenth-grade students. This year we will have a rally for the seventh- and eighth-grade students and another one for the freshmen. Another change we made this year (and the reason the sixth-grade students won’t be at the middle school rally) was to host a “rally/retreat” at the sixth-grade Outdoor School. High school students went to Camp Howard the night before and hung out with the sixth-graders, and then led the retreat in the morning, ending it around a reflective bonfire.

The rallies are really meant to teach students awareness. We want to help them realize that there is disrespect all around them and they have the power to put a stop to it, so we teach them skills to recognize and combat this disrespect. My hope is that the rally will help them to care about one another and stop to think before they act in a way that could hurt someone else. I also hope this brings them a sense of self-respect.

Read the latest update on Valiant winter sports!

Feb. 1, 2012 Update from VCHS Athletic Director >

Submitted by ES and MS Science Teacher Stephanie Shields

Portland State University Science Outreach volunteers spent an afternoon in seventh grade science on Jan. 31. The four volunteers are all part of a science based graduate program at PSU and volunteer at schools in the area. The program is designed to excite students about science. These volunteers were great role models to our students and showed them that they can continually learn science even as adults. The presentation consisted of studying electrons and the relationship to the light spectrum as well as movement of electrons (resulting in static electricity). Overall, the afternoon was very interactive and we are very thankful to our volunteers who gave up their afternoon.