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Miguel
Schools Honor Two Individuals
It was an amazing evening! At the Miguel School Spring Gathering
in St. Louis in April, two individuals dedicated to the Miguel School
movemement were honored for their pioneering work as educators. 
Br. Lawrence Goyette, founder of the original San Miguel School in
Providence, RI, in 1993, was honored with the DeLaSalle Award for Excellence
in Leadership. Br. Ed Phalen, Executive Director of the Highbridge Community
Life Center, presented the award and surpised Br. Lawrence with congratulatory
phone calls from former teachers at San Miguel Providence.
Carrie Kiskila, who taught for five years at San Miguel Chicago beginning
as a Lasallian Volunteer, received the San Miguel Award for Excellence in
Teaching. Karin McClelland-Anderer, who was Director of the Lasallian Volunteers
when Carrie began at San Miguel, and Gordon Hannon, a colleague at the
school, presented the award. She will be joining the faculty of the
DeMarillac School next year.
The Beginning of a New Journey:
Camden Celebrates a Successful Year with Graduation
On Saturday, June 8th,
10 students from the San Miguel School received their diplomas in ceremonies
presided over by Principal Br. William Johnson. In his valedictory, Billy
Joe Marrero said, “I stand here a different person than I was three years
ago… I have met astounding people who have made a very powerful and profound
impact on me and my academic career.” He then mentioned each of his
teachers and told what they had done for him. During the ceremony,
the Lasallian Volunteer Program was honored with the De LaSalle Award for
its contributions to the education of the San Miguel students by providing
generous and enthusiastic teachers for the school.
In an emotional moment, Brother Patrick Cassidy was presented the Miguel
Febres Cordero Medal for his dedicated service for five years at San Miguel
Camden. Brother Patrick, one of the founding members of the school, is
leaving to become the Assistant Principal at Hudson Catholic High School
in Jersey City, NJ. Among the other awards, several students received savings
bonds for their performance in two different essay contests; Joseph Perez
received the Miguel medal for best exemplifying the values of the San Miguel
School and Patrick Rutter received the St. LaSalle Medal for the outstanding
student.
Lasallian4Kids:
Schools Participate in Day to Promote
the Rights of Children
De Marillac Middle School students participated in Lasallians 4
Kids Day by discussing the rights of children and learning about some
of the issues children face around the world. De Marillac students
first made a list of rights that they felt were most important to kids
living in their San Francisco neighborhood, and then read the list of children’s
rights as described on the United Nations website. The students were shocked
at some of the serious problems children, younger than themselves, face
in other countries. The school’s project to promote the rights of children
involved four steps:
1. Sharing experiences or situations when they (the
students) had witnessed children suffering or in need. (Some examples
included seeing homeless children on the streets of their native homelands
and seeing young children on the streets of San Francisco without adult
supervision.
2. Reviewing what they know about De Marillac’s “twin”
school in Kenya, The Children’s Discovery Center, and discussing the
conditions in which the Kenyan children live.
3. Creating a display board for the school that includes
photographs of The Children’s Discovery Center and information about
the school, as well as a “Rights of Children” peace agreement, provided
by the UN website, signed by each De Marillac student, faculty and staff
member.
4. Students, faculty and staff wore a blue ribbon
on Lasallians 4Kids Day in support of children’s rights.
It should also be noted that Lasallians 4 Kids day coincided with De Marillac’s
Science Fair Day. The Science Fair was a service learning project
in which high school students from Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory
partnered up with De Marillac sixth graders to mentor them through the
process of researching and presenting a science project. Those invited to
the Science Fair presentation included: students’ families, representatives
of the Christian Brothers, representatives of the Daughters of Charity, volunteers,
Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep faculty and staff, student tutors, and St. Boniface
staff and friends. Not only were visitors given the opportunity
to see our “Rights of Children” display as they entered the building and
learn about our “twin” school in Kenya, but they were also offered a blue
ribbon to wear throughout the day.
The DMMS students, faculty, and staff signed the following Rights of Children
Peace Agreement: We at DeMarillac Middle School believe that all
children should be free to grow in health, peace and dignity and that we
must; leave no child out, put children first, care for every child, fight
HIV/AIDS, stop harming and exploiting children, educate every child, protect
children from war, protect the earth for children, and fight poverty by investing
in children!
More on Lasallian4Kids Celebrations below...
What's next:
Schools Out! Summer Programs Take Center Stage
How will your school continue its educational mission during the
summer? Let us know and your ideas, stories, and pictures
will be included in our next issue of Miguel School News during the summer,
e-mail Terry Shields at [email protected]
or call at (612) 870-1109 .
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Articles: Assessing
what a student has learned in the classroom can be a challenging, complex
equation that often requires an open-minded perspective and a willingness
to attempt different methods. Click on
http://www.edweek.com/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=37assess.h21
for insight into some new approaches.
Spring Gathering Snapshots:
