News From the Head of School
By Lauren Lek, Head of School
Dear Parents, Students and Friends:
Happy New Year to everyone!
As we begin a new year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our parent community, for your service to our school — whether it has been in volunteering, financial support to the OLP Carondelet Annual Fund, or in your support of our clubs, athletic teams and co-curricular programs. Our parent community is a great pillar of strength for OLP, and we could not be successful in anything without your support.
Please note that on Thursday, January 16, we will be joined by Bishop Flores for our Mass. This is a very special liturgy as we honor those individuals in our community who stand up for issues of social justice and peace. I encourage parents to join us for at least one liturgical celebration each year. For those parents who are able to join us in January, please check-in at the Main Office prior to the 10:55 a.m. start time.
January ends with Catholic Schools Week, January 26–February 1. This year the theme is Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service. Investing in a Catholic education for our students is about the exemplary academics and rigorous college-preparatory training, combined with preparing them to be conscientious citizens, capable of putting their faith in action. Our students here at OLP are receiving an education grounded in academic, social and spiritual learning to form and transform them not only for life beyond high school, but also for life everlasting. To read more on this year's theme, visit the National Catholic Education Association website.
I would also like to remind all parents that Tuition Assistance Applications for the 2014-2015 school year are due on February 15, 2014. For those families who are continuing existing assistance, or families who are anticipating new hardships and will be applying for the first time, applications must be completed by February 15 to be considered. Please note that this year, OLP has switched to using a new company for the process, FAST. Click here to apply or visit www.aolp.org for more information.
Again, Happy New Year!
Thank you for all you do for OLP, and God bless!
Lauren Lek,
Head of School
Educating OLP Women in 2014-2015: Greater Access to Broader Options
By John Galvan, Vice Principal
In their position statement on 21st century skills (2008), ASCD asserted: "As educators in the 21st century, we are charged with educating students to be successful in a complex, interconnected world. This responsibility requires schools to prepare students for technological, cultural, economic, informational, and demographic changes." A wonderfully creative challenge presents itself in how the changing responsibility of educating in the 21st century meets OLP's CSJ mission. Resonant with our mission, OLP strives to develop mastery of 21st century skills in each student in order that they become engaged agents of change to meet the relevant needs of our global society. Technology plays an increasingly critical role in the way we collaborate and communicate in that same world. On a practical level, our students will certainly be expected to demonstrate proficient use of these skills upon entering higher education. To this end, beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, OLP will be seeing three new initiatives that will give our students this 21st century competitive edge, and in the process, greater access to broader options in their OLP education through: adoption of a Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy, opportunity for more classes through zero block, and options in how they access their informational materials.
OLP: A BYOD Campus
According to the December 2013 issue of T.H.E. Journal, a recent poll of experts have identified BYOD programs and social media as a teaching-and-learning tool as among the top 10 trends in education technology that are expected to gain traction in 2014. Panelists stated: "In early studies, the act of a student using his or her own device for learning has proven to increase productivity and engagement …The bottom line is that all schools in the country already are BYOD. Students are bringing the devices. It's whether or not these districts choose to embrace the learning tool that makes the instructional difference." In 2014-2015, OLP will require that all students have access to the tools of the 21st century via a mobile device. To support teachers with appropriate and ongoing instructional strategies and professional development, OLP is partnering with the Mobile Technology Learning Center of USD's School of Leadership and Education Sciences. With respect to OLP's mission and the economic diversity of our families, OLP is not mandating the specific device each student uses, but rather, has adopted a BYOD policy that outlines minimum specifications for whatever device a family chooses. This new policy and practice will guide the use of interactive instruction and learning that will connect our students more meaningfully to the world outside, and the world outside to the classroom.
Zero Block: Greater Access
Finding productive time and space to learn is a challenge for any school. To meet this challenge, OLP is excited to be adopting an optional "zero block" in 2014-2015. The primary purpose of zero block is to offer our students greater access to more course selections. More specifically, zero block frees up space in a student's schedule by giving her a seventh period in her academic rotation in order to take more electives in a subject of interest or to move more quickly into advanced courses. For example, it will now be possible for an OLP freshman to take Art or Science. Zero block will be an option for any OLP student and will not require additional tuition. Zero block will meet from 6:45 a.m. – 7:35 a.m. Monday–Thursday, and therefore, will necessitate a firm commitment on the part of participating students. Please consult the 2014-2015 Course Description Guide for the many courses and subjects available.
Online Textbook Database: Broader Options
OLP families will no longer be charged a book rental fee as part of their tuition in 2014-2015. Instead, families will be purchasing textbooks directly from our online database. OLP has partnered with ESCO in the acquisition and distribution of textbooks. We believe that this will allow our families more options insofar as how students access their course text materials, and it provides greater economic options for families. Further, Catholic secondary schools across the country have already moved to this system because of its many benefits to both schools and families. Direct benefits of OLP's partnership with ESCO include: website convenience, ordering ebooks side-by-side with textbooks, efficient service, up to 60% savings on the purchase of used books, a book buyback program, and same day shipping (some restrictions may apply). OLP's online bookstore will open this summer, families can order early for the best selection of books, and then families can sell books back to ESCO at the end of the term. In response to this mission-driven initiative to respect the economic diversity of families and their desire for choices, one long-standing OLP parent remarked, "I like options!" We know that you will, too.
More information on these exciting new initiatives will follow in our upcoming newsletters. Stay posted!
Literature in Action
By Angela Gascho, English Department
This year as part of their study of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel, The Scarlet Letter, all junior American Literature and American Literature Honors students were asked by their teachers, Mrs. Gascho and Mrs. Flannery, to put themselves into the shoes of the shamed protagonist Hester Prynne.
Students were asked to be creative and design their own letter to represent a flaw, weakness, or mistake and to wear that letter for 24 hours both at school and outside. Just like the "A" in the novel, the letters were to be symbolic and demonstrate the pride Hester took in embroidering her letter. Faculty were asked to embrace the activity, question girls about their letters, and to respond as the Puritan community might. Students journaled about their experiences and then wrote a reflective essay that connected their reasons for choosing the letter, the symbolism behind it, their experiences wearing it, and how it connected to Hester Prynne's experience.
Junior Katy Johnson '15 wrote, "Although Hester wore her letter for several years and I was only required to wear mine for a day, I definitely can see how much it affected her life." The students embraced the opportunity to connect with this American classic, and in the end really learned about the power of acknowledging the human flaws within themselves. As junior Ivanna Cano '15 wrote, "I am happy I took this assignment seriously because I have experienced being shunned, acknowledged, and heard all in one day."
OLP Student's Talents Go To New Heights
By Shawn Hanley, Social Studies Department
We all know that OLP has some of the most talented students in San Diego, but one who especially stands apart from the crowd is Courtney Govan '14. If you have ever attended an OLP play, then you've more than likely seen Courtney in action.
Recently, Courtney got to impress a non-OLP audience when she performed at San Diego's famous House of Blues. She is one of the youngest performers to grace their stage. Courtney was chosen to play at House of Blues after a friend recommended her to the promotor of a San Diego local talents showcase. Courtney sent the woman the link to her YouTube site and the promoter liked what she heard and Courtney was invited to perform.
Asked if the House of Blues was her biggest 'gig' Courtney said, "Name recogniton-wise it was, but I actually performed at the Vidcon convention in Los Angeles and there were over 14,000 people in attendence." Vidcon is a convention where Youtube 'celebrities' and their fanbase can meet. Courtney won an open mic contest and was one of twenty-four singers out of 3,000 selected to sing at the convention.
Courtney wants to make music and stage acting her career and said, "I told myself if I make it, I'm going to buy OLP a new theater. I'm thinking it should be named the Govan Theater. That has a nice ring to it!"
If you missed Courtney's last performace at the House of Blues, don't worry. She was invited back and will be playing again on March 11th, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. If you can't make the show, you can check out her music at www.youtube.com/user/officialcourtneyg.
CSJ History Corner: "Dear Neighbor" as a Guiding Spiritual Principle
By John Galvan, Vice Principal
OLP students are familiar with the CSJ spiritual principle of "dear neighbor" in multiple forms. Whether it is through the Service Learning Program, Religious Studies courses, Campus Ministry experiences, ASB or Counseling services, OLP students understand that we are part of a global community where all are neighbors. In her recent award-winning essay addressing the importance of her Catholic faith, Morgan Stewart '14 likened the "dear neighbor" with "the face of God." This understanding has a history.
The CSJ story of service to the "dear neighbor" begins in a 17th century town in the Massif Central section of France called Le Puy-en-Velay. It was here, in 1650, that the Sisters of St. Joseph were instituted as a Congregation of Religious Women, opening a school, a lacemaking workshop, and a novitiate. With the opening of the school's doors, a philosophy of teaching that embraced a spirituality of service to the "dear neighbor" was cultivated, and this has guided the ministries of the Sisters of St. Joseph ever since. In the original sense of the phrase, "dear neighbor" meant "the one who comes next." In other words, our neighbor in need is the one who stands before us at any given moment. To meet this ministry, the Sisters were told to keep their eyes open, ears attentive, and spirits alert to the signs of the times. And times were desperate.
This was the time of the French Revolution, a time characterized by a study of stark social, political and economic contrasts. Becoming the superior of the convent in Monistrol when she was 26, Mother St. John would also become the link between the work of the Sisters and their associates before the French Revolution and their impact on society after the Revolution. During this dark episode in history, all forms of external religion were outlawed. Priests were exiled or imprisoned. Convents were disbanded. Five Sisters of St. Joseph were guillotined, and the Sisters all over the country returned to their families and continued to do good works, as they were able. Scheduled for execution herself, Mother St. John had prepared herself for death, when, within hours before her sentence was to be carried out, Robespierre fell from power and she was freed. The Cardinal of Lyon then asked her to re-institute the Sisters of St. Joseph, acting as superior of a group of pious women whom she had never met, and whose spiritual training was far different from her own. Committed to this new task, she and her Sisters were to provide their students with: spiritual formation to make them steadfast Christians; the kinds of knowledge that they would need for life; education for the poor, including enough manual training so that all women could earn a livelihood; prison reform in terms of education for the majority of incarcerated women who were victims of poverty and religious persecution; and advanced studies for those girls capable of it. The Soeurs de St. Joseph gave birth to a spiritual tradition and a variety of works that would span three centuries. From its beginning, the CSJ vision of educational ministry was steeped in service to the "dear neighbor."
Prayer Service for Sister Joyce
Sister Joyce has been up at Carondelet Center in Los Angeles since December 4th due to a number of health issues which demanded additional care, but could not be offered in her home. Then in the middle of December she was admitted to UCLA for further support. Just recently following the New Year, she was released from UCLA and returned to Carondelet Center in Los Angeles. She is currently being offered support from Vitas Hospice care. She is in a more familiar environment, surrounded by her CSJ Sisters, friends and family.
We will gather together on Tuesday, January 14th, at 7:45 a.m. in the amphitheater to say a Rosary in honor of Sister Joyce. The students will lead us in the rosary, with members of Carondelet Circle supporting.
Following the Rosary, we will then distribute a card to all parents present who would like to share with Sr. Joyce any special thoughts, prayers, or memories. Students will be receiving their cards in their Religious Studies classes throughout the day. Those will then be mailed up to Carondelet Center, along with a video the students are compiling.
Alumnae Profile: Gwen Willis '12
My first exposure to Catholicism and a faith-based education came when I entered OLP in 2008. I did not come from a religious background, yet my religion classes at OLP made one of the strongest impacts on my life and how I choose to live. Those classes focused not only on Catholic doctrine and God, but on allowing me to hear the call to help people. It was then that I became aware of the dire need for social justice and equality. My experiences at OLP allowed me to see outside of my insular and privileged circumstances and challenged me to think locally and globally about the lives of others and what I, as a woman, can do to improve the lives of others.
Currently I'm a sophomore at Western Washington University majoring in Law, Diversity and Justice. I plan to go to law school and work within a nonprofit setting. My solid academic foundation at OLP prepared me to achieve at the college level and inspired me to pursue volunteer opportunities. Two times a week you'll find me at a local high school and also at a house for individuals living with HIV.
This past summer, I expanded my service-learning experience and spent six weeks in Rwanda, a country known for terrible genocide in 1994. Living in a very poor village, I taught English to adults at a health center and a women's basket weaving collective. I helped build kitchen gardens for families challenged by HIV. I also had the chance to spend time at an all-girls secondary boarding school that specializes in science and technology. It felt familiar and I was privileged to witness so many similarities between that school and OLP.
I am convinced that women are able to change this world.
My name is Gwen Willis and I am an OLP graduate of the class of 2012!
Gwen also graces the cover of our OLP Magazine Winter 2014 edition (see below for more information).
OLP Magazine Winter 2014 Is Out!
Our second edition of OLP Magazine is hot off the press! Look for it in your mailbox by the end of the week. You can also view the online version by clicking here. This edition is filled with the stories of how our students, alums, teachers, staff, parents and supporters live out the CSJ Charism. We also unveil our brand new logo and share the exciting stories of our school. Don't miss it!
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