Dear Friends of St. Francis,

 

Even though the Summer Session started earlier this week, the still and quiet of the campus continues to remind me of the significance of summer.

 

Summer should be a relaxing and fun-filled time because students and families need a break. There ought to be moments to pause, to set aside the hectic pace that accompanies each school year so that we can recharge and reconnect with loved ones. I have found that it is the relationships in our lives that are most important and it is these relationships that will ultimately enrich us. So I encourage you to take time, and I mean consciously create precious time, to connect with your God and tend to your spirituality. Take those opportunities to actively engage with your children, your parents, and your friends. Be joyful! The days are longer, the sun shines brightly here in Southern California, and it gives us all new-found energy. Use this energy! Put the Franciscan virtues you learned from your time at St. Francis High School into action - be humble, foster brotherhood, serve others, and always give thanks. We all need to remind ourselves that we are continuously called to nurture our relationship with God and with one another - what better time than summer?

 

The summer solstice marks the longest period of daylight in a given year. There are holidays, festivals and rituals that are focused around this solstice. I pray that you and your loved ones will enjoy a summer that captures the spirit of the summer solstice - time for joyous and festive gatherings as well as time for quiet prayer and reflection.  I will continue to remember you, dear friends of St. Francis, in my prayers and daily Mass throughout the summer. May our Lord bless you and watch over you as you enjoy the summer, travel safely and take time to rest and renew.

 

Yours in Jesus and Francis,

 

 

 

 

 

Fr. Tony Marti, OFM Cap.

President

 

For the past two years, St. Francis has been exploring the next step in technology and education. Extensive research was conducted, interviews with technology integration specialists were held, multiple school site visits were made, and the Board of Directors created a Technology Subcommittee in order to guide the initiative.  These efforts were critical in positioning St. Francis to move seamlessly toward a more inquiry/project-based learning environment to enrich the students and to prepare them more effectively for the future. Ms. Sunita Saxena, the St. Francis Technology Coordinator, stresses that, "The goal of incorporating technology into our classroom is not to be fashionable, but to make learning more meaningful for the students. It requires that we find different ways to deliver instruction to meet the needs of the 21^st Century learners."

 

One of the first components of this plan involved the creation of a Model 21^st Century classroom, which included an interactive white board, class set of iPads, as well as a new computer projection and sound system. Freshman Religion classes, under the direction of Mr. Mark Fredette and Mr. Joe Kim, were the first to explore and benefit from these new instruction tools. In just a few months, Mr. Fredette reports, "The kids love using the Extron board - we were able to incorporate it in a timed map competition. This competition when compared to previous years' results shortened the learning curve to at least one third. This was one example of a learning activity that used to take students 45 minutes and produced mixed results.  With the new technology, virtually the whole class learned and mastered the concepts in 15 minutes".  Freshman Cameron Wheeler observes, "When using the iPad to study for a test about the Middle Eastern countries and their geographic locations, we used a Middle East Map quiz game online to study. Then each side of the classroom competed to see who would finish the game first. From then on the map was practically burned into my memory".  This Model Classroom will provide the blueprint for the most visible part of the St. Francis technology plan. The current construction of a new classroom wing that will house three 21^st Century classrooms is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013.  Ultimately, all of our classrooms will be retrofitted with these 21^st Century learning tools.

 

In May, faculty members were issued iPads and in September we will begin 18 months of ongoing and extensive professional development that will facilitate the transition to an inquiry/project-based learning environment. All of this will prepare our teaching community for the rollout of our 1:1 program in which every student will use iPads on campus to access textbooks on-line, and for classroom activities and projects. This program will begin in the fall of 2014 with the classes of 2017 and 2018, and will be followed in the fall of 2015 with the classes of 2016 and 2019.

 

While this is a major step for St. Francis High School, and most certainly will meet with twists and turns along the way, we are confident that our due diligence over the past two years will result in success. Look for more detailed information as this initiative moves forward.

 

Fr. Peter Banks has known many transitions in his life. He left Ireland, where he was born in 1945, and later joined the Capuchins. His first assignment after his ordination in 1973 was at St. Lawrence Parish in the inner city. Years later he was moved to the country, to San Lorenzo Friary as guardian. He has served the Province as Novice Master, Vocation Director, and Minister Provincial. Fr. Peter returned to Watts in 1997. "I am now forty-four years in the Order, and I feel more at peace than ever. God puts us in a position where we can touch so many lives. One time I came back from Ireland and was feeling lonely, but this little girl came running up to me, hugged me and said, 'Fr. Peter, I missed you so much.' God spoke to me through this child. When I walk the streets of Watts, everyone says hello. As the people in Watts say, 'I am blessed.' Indeed, I am richly blessed." Presently Fr. Peter is Vocation Director for the Province and now resides at St. Francis High School. Please say hello when you see him on campus!

 

Jeremiah 29:11 says "I know the plans I have for you...to give you a future with hope."

Fr. Gabriel Fernandes landed in the United States for the very first time just last week and he comes to join the St. Francis community from his far away homeland of Goa, India. Born in Goa on June 30^th, 1979, Fr. Gabriel came from a devout family and so, as a child, he had a great zeal to be a priest. In 1995, the Lord answered his prayers and led him to the Capuchins to begin his initial stage of formation. As a deer yearns for running streams, likewise Fr. Gabriel yearned and thirsted for God in prayer and holiness. After the completion of his 14 years of priestly formation he was ordained as a priest on May 18^th, 2009. Later, he served as a vocation promoter (1 year), Assistant Boarding Director and Manager of the parish school (1 year), and Guardian and Principal of the parish school (2 years). In addition, he spent a great amount of time working with the youth groups, prayer groups, elderly groups and pro-life groups. "I thank God for consecrating me as a priest and firmly believe that God is weaving me according to His plan. 

Dozens of Cubans who temporarily called Montana home in the 1960s gathered for a reunion two weeks ago in Helena.

 

They are known as the "Pedro Pan" or Peter Pan children, who were part of one of the largest recorded exoduses of unaccompanied minor children in the Western Hemisphere. According to the website pedropan.org, Cuban parents feared Castro was going to indoctrinate their children into his Marxist-Leninist social programs, and they asked the Catholic Welfare Bureau of Miami to intervene.

 

The U.S. State Department waived visa rights for the children, and eventually more than 14,000 were flown to Florida between 1960 and 1963. Our school president, Fr. Tony Marti, was one of these children. After spending about a year housed in makeshift camps, the children were distributed among the 100 cities in 50 states via the Catholic Church network.

 

About 150 of them came to Montana between 1961 and 1963, said Diane Langefus, who was 11 when two of the Cubans landed in her class. Eventually, she said, Helena was home to at least 66 of the Cuban children. The Catholic Diocese of Helena distributed the rest of the children to foster homes, orphanages or other facilities in Whitefish, Kalispell and Butte.

 

"They would get to Helena, stay at St. Joseph's Home until the Catholic Diocese put them through the system," Langefus said.

 

The diocese bought the old Toole Mansion - now home to the Jackson, Murdo and Grant law firm - and turned it into Brondel Hall. Some of the boys stayed there and left their signatures on a wall, where they remain today.

 

In Helena, the Pedro Pan children attended school at Carroll College, St. Helena school, St. Mary's school and Cathedral High. Most of their parents were allowed to emigrate around 1966, were reunited with their children and moved elsewhere.

 

Although the Cubans had scattered, their school chums in Helena never forgot about them. In 2012, Enrique Victorero moved back to Helena from California, after retiring from being a teacher and assistant principal. Last year, he attended the all-class reunion for Cathedral High School alumni from 1936 to 1969, and the Independent Record wrote a story about Victorero and the other Pedro Pan children.

 

"That story went viral," Langefus said. "The Pedro Pan organization put it on its website. Some of these children hadn't seen each other for 50 years, and they started contacting myself and Enrique. That was in July. By August of last year we had heard from quite a few of them and by October four of us got together in Helena and started talking about whether we should try to get everyone together and where."

 

Because so many spent their time in Helena, they decided to hold the reunion here. While some of the 14,000 Pedro Pan children have linked up through the years via the website, Langefus said they perused Montana documents and came up with the names of about 150 people and tried to contact as many as possible. About 20 people had died, but an estimated 60 of Montana's Pedro Pan children are expected to return, some with their families.

 

Langefus said they set up events for the reunion, which included a private dinner at the Mediterranean Grill, a Thursday night icebreaker at Bert and Ernie's, a Friday morning trip to the Gates of the Mountains and a Friday evening play - written by a Pedro Pan alumnus - performed at Carroll College. Helena's Last Chance Tour Train took them to familiar haunts on Saturday, and they spent that evening at the Montana Club. On Sunday, the 9 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of St. Helena was concelebrated by Fr. Tony Marti, one of the Pedro Pan boys who is now a priest...(read the full article HERE)

 

It's still fair to say St. Francis High owns the National High School Sports Medicine Championships.

 

Not only did Eli Hallak, director of the Golden Knights sports medicine program, develop the online competition two years ago, but his students won its division in consecutive years.

 

It capped off what has to be the best two-week span in the history of St. Francis sports medicine program after it also received a Safe Sports School Award from the National Athletic Trainers' Assn. on May 20. The National High School Sports Medicine Championship results were released May 31.

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"I've got to agree it is," chuckled Hallak, who developed the national online competition in association with the American Academic Competition Institute and John Meadows of the computer company Meadows and Associates. "A couple of my colleagues said, 'OK, we're done congratulating you.' It's a testament to the program and a testament to our school, administration and our students that make this program happen."

 

St. Francis won the National High School Sports Medicine Championships Alert Services (Small Schools) Division for the second year in a row. The Golden Knights also placed in the fifth in the nation with 71.54 points. Culver City was tops in the nation with 78.26 points.

 

A total of 400 students from 28 high schools and seven states competed at the national level after qualifying out of a field of 2,000 students and 190 schools on a regional scale this year.

 

Schools advanced by placing in the top 10 in a state or regional division. The competition was put together in 2012 to allow schools to hone and test their sports medicine skills with having to pay to travel out of state.

 

"[Hallak] did a great job of preparing us for it," said St. Francis' Sean Bird, a student in Hallak's introduction to kinesiology and rehabilitation course that took part in the test and received top-25, All-American status after tying for 16th in the nation. "It's a great thing we were able to win it two years in a row.

 

"Coach Hallak has been really excited about it and I know both classes have been really excited, as well as the school as a whole."

 

In another example of repeat success in the competition, which was designed to test and celebrate high school students' sports medicine/athletic training knowledge, St. Francis' Brett Homer took second in the state.

 

Nine other Knights - Patrick McGoldrick (fifth), Alec Hagen (seventh), Jared Sharfstein (ninth), Scott Marshall (11th), Joseph Sarni (12th), Sean Garcia (tied for 14th), Bird (tied for 16th), Ryan Veiga (21st) and Kevin Baker (25th) - earned All-American status by placing in California's top 25.

 

"It was awesome knowing I was top 25 and it was really surprising how much Eli does teach us," said Baker, citing how interesting and enjoyable the class is. "It doesn't feel like you're leaning much during the class, but when you see how much you know it makes you feel awesome that you're able to do these things."

 

Hallak was proud of all the success his program had this past year and was able to bask in it when he announced the All-American students in class.

 

"It's very gratifying as an educator to know your students are working so hard and they can prove their knowledge and they excel in what you teach them," said Hallak, who was moved by the look of pride on his students' faces. "It's everything you want to see in a student, they seemed inspired at the moment. You make a student realize they're truly intelligent and they get something."...(read the full article HERE)

 

PASADENA - Oh, the peculiarities of summer-league basketball.

Had Saturday's game between St. Francis and Fairfax at the Maranatha Summer Block Party tournament gone into a fifth overtime, the final frame would have been sudden death.

Unfortunately for the Golden Knights, they never got the opportunity to play golden-goal basketball, as Fairfax defeated St. Francis, 73-71, in a quadruple-overtime thriller.

"Four overtimes is certainly a lot," said St. Francis co-Coach Ray O'Brien. "It was fun, a good experience for everybody."

With one second remaining in regulation and down 55-53, St. Francis' Noah Willerford was fouled on a shot when he appeared to be beyond the three-point line, but the official was ruled it a two-point attempt.

"I'm telling you right now, I was at least five feet behind the three-point line," Willerford said. "My bench can vouch for me."

Willerford connected on the two foul shots to force overtime with both teams deadlocked at 55.

In the fourth extra frame, Kyle Leufroy knocked down a pair of foul shots with five seconds left to knot the game at 71, and it looked like a fifth overtime was imminent. Fairfax's Sage Woodruff had something to say about that, as he converted a layup as time expired to seal the win.

The Golden Knights had an inauspicious start to the game, committing turnovers on their first three possessions. They still held a 16-13 lead with 6:29 remaining in the first half before the Lions went on a 19-5 run to close out the half with a 32-21 lead.

Things got worse before they got better for St. Francis, falling behind as many as 14 points midway through the second half.

"You can see we're shorthanded," O'Brien said. "I think what ends up happening is that our best players try to do too much and we see them beginning to force stuff that really isn't there. They did a better job in the overtimes of playing more as a team, but early on when we were losing I felt Noah and Kyle were trying to do too much one-on-one."

Behind the play of Leufroy and Willerford, the Golden Knights battled back. Willerford knocked down a three-pointer with just under a minute left in regulation to level the game at 53, then came through with his clutch foul shooting.

"We're missing a bunch of guys," Willerford said. "Our chemistry is a little bit off. Once we got into the flow of it... we were running our offense well. We were getting open shots. That's all you can hope for, is run your plays correctly and get open shots."

Willerford finished with 27 points and Leufroy added 25 - all but four of those points coming in the second half and beyond.

St. Francis finished the tournament at 1-3. O'Brien said that it was good to get some guys who otherwise wouldn't see the court some playing time.

Willerford also felt it was good preparation for when the games count.

"We're definitely trying to push the ball, playing as if we're going to be playing in Mission League because that's what we've got to prepare for," Willerford said. "We treat every game like it means something."...(read the full article HERE)