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Training the Mind to Form the Soul in Ten Cities Nationwide
Albany•Atlanta•Austin•Baton Rouge•Dallas•Detroit•Wilton,CT•Houston•Katy,TX•San Antonio
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Regina Caeli Families March for Life
Across the Country
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Students, staff, and family members from every RCA center participated in March for Life events throughout the US. Many traveled to Washington D.C., while others participated in events in their local cities. RCA's policy is to encourage as many students and staff members as possible to attend annual marches. Students' academic work for the day is dismissed so they may more fully engage in the important work of defending innocent life.
Grant Duval, an RCA senior in Baton Rouge, described his experience,
"For me, the most memorable moment of the March for Life in Washington D.C. was cresting the hill on which the Washington Monument stands. Looking down on the hundreds of thousands of people who had come to the March in defense of the innocent unborn gave a breathtaking witness to the strength and unity of the pro-life movement in the United States. It gave me a feeling of pride to belong to this movement that will one day turn the tide of the culture of death in our nation."
Linda Dimoff from Detroit made the trip to Washington and noted,
"The camaraderie was invigorating and made our purpose more heartfelt."
And, Gina Hopkins, also from Detroit, observed that,
"it was an incredible feeling, walking in solidarity with so many pro-lifers."
Pictured above: Families and staff attending the Atlanta, GA March for Life
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Students from RCA's Fairfield County, CT center at the March for Life in Washington, D.C.
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RCA Austin families standing up for life in the Lone Star State
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Pictured: Kari Beckman with
RCA
supporter, best selling author, and Catholic media personality Raymond Arroyo on Mrs. Beckman's recent trip to Washington D.C.
Read this great profile of RCA at The Heartland Institute, a think-tank dedicated to finding free market solution to community challenges.
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Founded in Atlanta in 2003 with 30 students, RCA has grown to a community of over 1000 students in 6 states at 10 locations across the country - and we're growing! Founder and Executive Director Kari Beckman recently visited Fort Worth (TX), Washington D.C., and Tampa (FL), where local parents have approached RCA about opening a local RCA resource center. At each location Mrs. Beckman met with 30-40 families who came together to learn more about RCA's unique classical, hybrid education. “
God continually asks the RCA community to give the gift we have have been given to others. We are doing our best to respond to those needs and the rest is up to the Holy Spirit,” noted Mrs. Beckman.
Applications at all current centers are still being accepted. Go to our website for more information.
Regina Caeli Academy
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RCA Junior Wins National Essay Contest
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Congratulations to RCA junior Elizabeth Wolfgang from our Fairfield County, CT, center!
Elizabeth wrote the winning essay in John Paul the Great Catholic University's 2017 the “Power of Story Essay Contest.” The contest asks prospective students (juniors or seniors in high school) to write an essay reflecting on a story they have experienced that was particularly effective in drawing its audience closer to truth, beauty, and goodness, and explain why the story was so compelling. Elizabeth has won an all-expense paid two-night trip to the university's campus in San Diego. Congratulations to the entire Wolfgang family!
You can read her prize-winning essay, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," here.
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CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE
SUMMER PROGRAM
Students who will be entering their senior year of high school in the fall of 2017 (current high school juniors) are welcome to register for the Summer 2017 programs. Summer 2017 will mark the 19th year of this wildly popular program, which boasts over 2,000 alumni since 1999. Each year, hundreds of high school students spend a week on campus and describe the week as one of the best weeks of their lives. Find out more at
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Wyoming Catholic as one of only four Catholic colleges and universities that RCA endorses as combining academic excellence with campus policies that promote a Catholic culture of life. Find out more about Wyoming Catholic College at their website.
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Regina Caeli graduates have a history of attending excellent colleges and universities across the United States and abroad. Continuing in that tradition, the Class of 2017 has big plans ahead.
Congratulations to our graduating seniors: Katie Beckman (Thomas Aquinas College), Thomas Buff (Benedictine College), Grant Thomas Duval (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Christian Dresen (Lawrence Technological University), Deanna Flores (Texas A & M University), John Geiger (Kennesaw State University), Christopher Hanft (Ave Maria University), Theodore Heinen (Texas A & M University), Cameron Jimenez (Texas State University), Madeline Porter (University of St. Thomas), and Mary Stirton (Hillsdale College). Collectively earning more than a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships, RCA's seniors continue to impress us with their commitment to excellence. Many of our 2017 graduates are still undecided. Look for news about them in our next issue!
Pictured above: RCA Houston senior Deanna Flores visiting Texas A & M University
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One of RCA's greatest blessings is the new life we welcome into each center through the birth and adoption of God's little children. In the past few months, we have been blessed to welcome children from almost every RCA center across the country. Please join us in thanksgiving for:
James Cosmas and John Damian DelGuidice (ALB), middle left
Gabriel Joseph Talreja (DAL)
Levi Joseph Baumgarten (DAL)
Molly Grace Falls (DAL)
Silvio Agustin Lopez (DAL)
Azelie Agnes Ahern (FCC)
Xavier Raphael Kasper (HOU)
Adelyn Sophia Fuselier (KTY)
Gabriel Prince (KTY)
Henry Neumann (KTY),
bottom left
Leo Mosley (KTY)
John Paul Danze (SAT), top left
Sebastian Loutsch (SAT)
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In Memoriam | Christine Castillo
The Regina Caeli community offers our sincere condolences and fervent prayers for the Castillo Family (RCA Houston). Their seventh child, Christine, was born January 19, 2017 and passed away on January 30, 2017. Please continue to keep the Castillo family in your prayers.
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Welcome to the family, Xavier!
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Xavier Raphael Kasper (
Houston) was born on October 2, 2016 at 1 pound, 9 ounces. Due in January, Xavier spent three and a half months in the NICU getting bigger and stronger before he could come home. The Kasper family is very grateful to his amazing birth mother who took wonderful care of him by visiting him every day in the NICU. The Kaspers brought him home from the hospital on January 27, 2017. This is the Kaspers' third infant adoption!
Deo Gratias!
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Fighting the Good Fight and Running the Race
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Christy O'Brien has sports in her blood. A collegiate athlete who completed her first Ironman nearly 20 years ago, the Detroit mother of nine hopes to again tackle a triathlon, this time honoring what's near and dear to her heart.
Last November, Christy's close friend and RCA co-worker Susan Scarchilli died after a short, intense battle with cancer. To honor Sue and raise money for RCA, Christy will compete in an Ironman in Madison, WI in September 2017. While the training hours will be long and arduous, Christy hopes to offer her efforts to support the organization that brought her and Sue together, and continues to serve their families and hundreds of others across the country. Christy noted,
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I‘m going to do for Sue just as she did for me. She inspired me to live my life by daring to do the difficult with faith and trust."
If you'd like to join Christy in this effort of faith and trust, please donate here. All funds support Regina Caeli across the country, helping to build communities of support for homeschoolers in times of both blessing and hardship. And help us spread this amazing story, by sharing
Christy's Blog.
Pictured above right: Christy O' Brien, Center Coordinator of Operations for RCA Detroit, Ironman Competitor
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St. Edith Stein Honor Society News
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Atlanta honor society students volunteering at a local pregnancy clinic.
The students learned about the mission of the Pregnancy Aid Clinic in supporting families in crisis pregnancy situations with free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and parenting classes. While there, they stuffed over 400 baby bottles with fundraising information for the Pregnancy Aid Clinic’s next fundraising effort.
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Our
Detroit honor society students recently volunteered at the St. Capuchin Soup Kitchen where Capuchin monks and local volunteers serve meals to all who enter six days a week.
Not only did the honor society members stock food, sort clothes and provide other assistance, but they were also blessed to share a meal with clients. Of the experience, honor society member
Christian Dresen noted:
We all soon realized that we had something in common: our humanity. The men at my table and I quickly got onto the subject of music; a shared interest, as well as a live, frequent occurrence around the cafeteria. When asked what his favorite item on his tray was, one man responded with tongue in cheek: “the food”. We were blessed to witness an oft-overlooked truth: that the identity of
every
human being lies not in their possessions or lack thereof, but in the One who created them.
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Senior Home Visits at our Dallas Center
The students and staff of RCA Dallas have been blessed to cultivate relationships with elderly residents of a nearby senior home. Organized and led by 6th grade tutor Jane Rowley, groups of students make weekly visits to the residence, which is a short walk across a field, making the visits a true "field trip!" The students recite poetry, play beloved piano pieces and sing for (and sometimes along with!) the residents of the Memory Care Unit. Following the performances, students shake hands with each resident and wish them farewell until the next visit.
The weekly visits are a treat for all involved. Second grader James Baumgarten commented,
”We sang songs with them and said our poem for them. They were amazed at how much we could remember..I know they like our visit because they never want us to leave.”
The students seem to enjoy the time spent together just as much as their new found friends. Mrs. Rowley noted that the trips are very popular and the students say they can't wait to return.
Pictured above: 2nd grade students with a resident of the senior home
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Baton Rouge Service Project
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RCA Baton Rouge worked hard together on their centerwide Lenten Alms Giving service project to benefit St. Mark's Food Pantry. RCA student Sofia commented,"
I feel like this little act of charity is helping a lot of people who lost everything in the flood."
“There is no more profitable practice as a companion to holy and spiritual fasting than that of almsgiving." - Pope Leo the Great
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Putting the Fun in Fundraising!
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Our
Dallas Center COO Katie Boos, with husband Philip, and guests at their wildly successful Fabulous Fathers Priest Talent Show!
Photo credit: Jane Eleven Photography
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To keep tuition as low as possible and to continue to keep RCA's innovative work tuition program open to as many people as possible, we are always trying to find new ways to raise money. Like most non-profits, we have to be creative and rely on the dedication of our beautiful families in big and small ways to spread the word and make our fundraising efforts a success. Thank you for all you do!
ANNUAL GALAS ARE A SUCCESS!
Congratulations to our centers who had such amazing success with their annual galas! At time of writing, only our Fairfield County, CT center is still waiting for their event on April 24! Check out their beautiful silent auction. Remote bidding is encouraged; winner pays shipping!
Fairfield County Silent Auction
RCA FUNDRAISING AFFILIATES
For Easter, consider buying gifts through RCA's affiliate link with Holy Heroes; 15% of all purchases is donated back to RCA and they have such cute and edifying gifts!
Holy Heroes RCA Link
Consider purchasing a tablet through Biblezon, creator of tablets for kids and adults that provide Catholic content in a secure platform. They donate 30% of every purchase to RCA.
Biblezon RCA Link
As always, be sure to use
Amazon Smile for your Amazon purchases and please select Regina Caeli, Inc., as your charity. With over 300 families, these Amazon Smile donations add up.
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Baton Rouge families grill up some hotdogs at a local Walmart to support each other in raising funds to meet individual family fundraising goals!
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Guests at
San Antonio's Mardi Gras Gala have some fun with the photo booth!
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The Joys of Classical Education and Community!
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Baton Rouge students with their cake for the 100th math lesson celebration
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Jenna Cole with her lovely little students in San Antonio
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Connecticut students visited the Knights of Columbus Museum to view the "Mother Teresa: Saint of the Streets" exhibit
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Families from the Katy, TX center on a recent trip to the Houston Zoo
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Families and friends of the Houston center come out to walk for a cure for Cystic Fibrosis in support of RCA student and CF fighter, Louie Farrell (in purple shirt), as Team St. Patrick.
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RCA Atlanta baby Anastasia Jo having lunch with mom, RCA tutor Regina Vivanco
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Our Chaplain and IT advisor, Father Augustin Tran, offers us a special Examination of Conscience for Lent. All of the good work we are doing in our classrooms and in our families must be underpinned by our own intimate spiritual growth. We pray for each other that this Lenten season culminates in a renewal of our love for God, in the Holy Trinity, and a zest for sharing the joy of faith with others.
Regina Caeli, ora pro nobis.
Examination of Conscience
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