Weekly Update
April 8, 2020   
From the Advisory Board

I am so grateful for the strength and unity of the Brave Community as we support one another through this unprecedented time. Along with the BBHS administration and faculty and staff; the members of our Advisory Board are united in our commitment to serve as good stewards of our beloved school. Our Advisory Board met virtually last week and we have uploaded the minutes are now available on our dedicated webpage. Blessings as we move through this Holy Week and into the Easter Season

Ursula Reutin
Advisory Board Chair
Parent '15 and '18
 
From the President's Office

Dear Families,

It is incredible to think it has been 28 days since we were last together to hear the end of the day blessing sending us off to begin this time of social distancing. "May the Lord bless you and keep you..." I continue to pray for everyone's health and well being - and my hope is this sacrifice of being apart is saving lives and helping our health care workers manage their heroic tasks. These days have asked a lot of us physically, mentally and spiritually. I hope that the coming Easter Break offers you some time to relax and refresh for the remainder of this school year.  

As I shared in my message on Monday, we now know the path ahead of us for the remainder of the school year based on the governor's directive. We are all saddened and disappointed about no longer being able to assemble together at school this year. We are especially feeling the pain of our senior class, as I relayed in my message to them yesterday. 

While experiencing this sadness and loss in this Holy Week and Easter season, we are invited to focus on the example of Christ. To move through great suffering and even death, and into new life. The Superintendent of Catholic schools, Kristin Dixon, who is also a member of the BBHS Advisory Board, sent out a message this week. I hope you can take a moment to read her words of gratitude and encouragement.  

I'll conclude with our end of the day blessing recited over the PA daily to students.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you,
May the Lord look upon you with kindness and grant you peace.
Amen.  

Have a peaceful break, Braves.

Tony DeSapio
President
adesapio@bishopblanchet.org
 
From the Academic Office

PROGRESS REPORTS
Progress Reports will be posted by the end of the school day on Thursday,  April 9. To view your student's Progress Report, please select the Portfolio Tab in Skyward. 
 
From the Campus Ministry Office

SERVICE REQUIREMENT
A reminder that service hours are due by Friday, May 1. To receive credit, service hours must be entered into NobleHour no later than May 1. Due to coronavirus, there are two ways for students to meet the service hour expectation for 2019-2020:

1.  Students may complete a minimum of 12 service hours and submit a reflection essay to Ms. Cypher.  The service hours must be entered in NobleHour by May 1, 2020. The essay is due on May 15, 2020.

2.  Students may submit a written research project in lieu of service hours. The written paper is due on May 15, 2020.

More information is available on the Campus Ministry  webpage.


From the Athletic Department

SPRING SPORTS UPDATE FROM THE WIAA:
"The WIAA has received clarification that the order issued by Governor Inslee on Monday includes the cancellation of all in-person extracurricular athletics and activities through the end of the school year. This will include all regular season contests and practices as well as all postseason tournaments and championship events.

The decision was undoubtedly a difficult one for Governor Inslee. However, it was done so to keep the students and families of Washington safe. The WIAA Executive Board and the WIAA Staff feel for those students around the state that have had their seasons or careers cut short. This terrible disease has not only prevented students from creating lifelong memories through competition, it has limited the valuable lessons gained through participation in education-based athletics and activities."

ONE SHINING MOMENT GIRLS AND BOYS BASKETBALL HIGHLIGHTS 
In the absence of March Madness, the Athletic Department thought it would be fitting to create our own "One Shining Moment" for our Varsity Girls and Boys Basketball Teams. Enjoy and Go Braves!


BOOSTER CLUB ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY 
The Booster Club is awarding $2,500 scholarships each to two senior boys and two senior girls who have been participants in our Athletic Program. In order to be considered for these scholarships, students must write a 300-350 word essay on how participation in our sports program has positively influenced their lives. All essays should be submitted to Mr. Gaskill via email at sgaskill@bishopblanchet.org. The deadline for the submission of the essays is Friday, May 8. The scholarships will be awarded virtually at the end of May. 

Sean Gaskill
Director of Athletics
sgaskill@bishopblanchet.org

From the Counseling Center
 
COUNSELING OFFICE DISTANCE LEARNING BULLETIN
Please check out the  BBHS Counseling Department's resources and updates for students and families! Our counselors are available via email and Google Meet (video conferencing) if students have questions, concerns or just need a little help. 

JUNIORS - COLLEGE CONFERENCES
Despite distance learning, college conferences for Juniors and their parents will still take place between March and May via Zoom videoconferencing, as needed. Juniors will receive updated signup instructions soon from their counselor. 

Parents and guardians are invited to these meetings: please speak with your juniors and have your student sign up for a time that works for your family. The goal of this meeting is to discuss the student's plan for their college search and application process, regardless of where they may be along this journey.  In the meeting, please be ready to discuss some of these topics:
  • possible majors or career interest areas
  • priorities for the college search (locations, majors, cost, size, etc.)
  • standardized testing plans and results
  • potential list of colleges
  • using Naviance in the college search process
  • one or two possibilities for teacher recommendations
Online Resources for Juniors:
SENIORS - SCHOLARSHIP OFFER LETTERS
As your senior receives scholarship offers from colleges, please email a copy of all scholarship offer letters to Ms. Moehring in the Counseling Center at jmoehring@bishopblanchet.org so we can recognize their achievement in the end of the year programming. 

COUNSELING DEPARTMENT AVAILABILITY
Our counselors are available via email and Google Meet (videoconferencing) if students have questions, concerns or just need a little help.

Student Last Name A-E: Meghan MacIntyre - mmacintyre@bishopblanchet.org
Student Last Name F-La: Erin Camden - ecamden@bishopblanchet.org
Student Last Name Le-Ri: Stephen Russell - srussell@bishopblanchet.org
Student Last Name Ro-Z: Heather Rabe - hrabe@bishopblanchet.org
International Students: Janah Valenzuela - jvalenzuela@bishopblanchet.org
Counselor: LouElla McGaughey - lmcgaughey@bishopblanchet.org
Counseling Administrative Assistant - Janice Moehring - jmoehring@bishopblanchet.org

From the Activities Office

ST. DON BOSCO CATHOLIC YOUTH CLUB
The BBHS St. Don Bosco Catholic Youth Club invites BBHS staff and students to join our Google Classroom. There we will post materials to help people nurture their spiritual lives during these times of social distancing. We will also host Google meets to pray the Rosary and other group prayers. 
 
Although we are not able to gather in person to celebrate Mass or other spiritual formation events, it is important to pay attention to all aspects of our lives (body, mind and soul) so that we remain energized, positive and actively involved in our faith lives.  As was Jesus in the desert, we will be tempted and at times despair, but we can find strength in each other and in God who guides, so be not afraid.  "Desolation is a file, and the endurance of darkness is preparation for great light." - St. John of the Cross. Please encourage your student to join the St. Don Bosco Google Classroom using the code: 74skwhx  

Lenten Blessings,
Mr. Scott, Mrs. White, Maliko Madden, Ysabelle Pobre, Julie Brajcich
St. Don Bosco CYC Leadership Team

STUDENT LIFE
On Monday March 23, we launched a new, all-school, Google Classroom to foster community engagement and connection between students, faculty and staff. Content encourages fun, competition, wellness and self-care. Each day of the week is assigned a theme with accompanying activities. There are varying formats for engagement each week. Some days will be passive (view content), others will encourage action (exercise, trivia, surveys), and others will invite interaction (share and view responses from others). Please encourage your students to check their BBHS email regularly, to join the Google Classroom using code eqi42lg and to participate in the activities. 

Daily themes are:
  • Mindful Monday
  • Trivia Tuesday
  • Wellness Wednesday
  • Throwback Thursday
  • Feel Good Friday
Chuck Bocian
Vice Principal of Student Activities
cbocian@bishopblanchet.org

From the Development Office

BRAVE VENTURE AUCTION
If you were the winning bidder in the online auctions, any gift certificates will be mailed to you. All tangible items will not be shipped and must be picked up at BBHS. Items can be picked up after school is back in session, we will communicate the pick up details when we know them. 

If you work for a company that matches nonprofit contributions, Fund a Need donations (and all amounts above item value) are 100% tax deductible and qualify for a corporate matching gift. If you have questions please contact Stephanie Gravenkemper at  sgravenkemper@bishopblanchet.org. Thank you in advance for requesting a matching gift from your employer!

Sheryl Welch
Events Manager
swelch@bishopblanchet.org

AMAZONSMILE
Find yourself ordering even more items off of Amazon these days? Be sure you're using AmazonSmile and supporting BBHS while you shop! AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice.

To make a gift to BBHS every time you shop: 
  1. Sign in to smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser.
  2. From your desktop and "Accounts and Lists," go to Your Account from the navigation at the top of any page, and then select the option to Change your Charity. From your mobile browser, select Change your Charity from the options at the bottom of the page.
  3. Use the search bar to find "Bishop Blanchet High School" and hit "Select."
Please bookmark the link, then every time you shop from  smile.amazon.com, you will be supporting the students of BBHS!
BRAVE FUND
For over sixty years the generosity of our community - parents, alumni and friends - has been critical in the implementation of our mission to inspire
students to transform the world around them through a commitment to faith, scholarship and service. With your help, today's BBHS students will grow into the leaders of tomorrow, prepared to take on any challenge or uncertainty.

Your gift to the Brave Fund supports students in every aspect of their Blanchet education. Please consider making a gift or fulfilling your pledge to the Brave Fund today. Directing your gift toward Financial Aid and Academics & Technology in particular will support our students as our community navigates the challenges of digital distance learning and an uncertain economy. Please click  here to make your gift.

Jacqueline Robinette
Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving
jrobinette@bishopblanchet.org



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