THE WORD OF LIFE AND OF PEACE: Superior General Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría in his Easter message writes: “The time of Easter reminds us that to celebrate the mystery of the Resurrection of Jesus is to let ourselves be penetrated by the dynamism and the mystery of the hidden life with Christ in God the Father ( Cf. Col. 3.3). Jesus takes on the will of the Father up to its final consequences and dies condemned. But Jesus dies confiding Himself to the Father: Father into Your hands I commend my spirit. He believes in the loving fidelity of the Father. And the Father responds to the powers of death with a definitive and total YES to life. The Resurrection is the Good News of love which conquers death and renews and builds life. It is the Good News of justice and liberty, which conquers all forms of oppression, marginalization and slavery. The Risen Jesus proclaims that the forces of evil do not have and will not have the last word in the history of humanity. The definitive word is the word of life and of peace.”
THE FOUNDER IS IN THE HOUSE: April 30 is the birthday of John Baptist de La Salle, who was born in 1651. In the week of April 24 to 30, Saint Mary’s College of California will have its annual De La Salle Week, with a variety of activities on campus celebrating Lasallian heritage and mission. Find out more at www.stmarys-ca.edu.
April 7 is the anniversary of De La Salle’s death in 1719, and it is officially his feast day in the Catholic Church. But May 15 is also a day of celebration. It is the day on which the Catholic Church proclaimed De La Salle to be the Patron of Christian Teachers, and for many years May 15 was the date of his feast. It is still regarded as “Founder’s Day” in the Institute. For De La Salle’s feast-day Mass, the Gospel reading is these few words from Matthew, chapter 18:
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.”
For more, see the Institute Web site at http://www.cbconf.org/webpages-new406/dlsfeastday.html
EVENTS in THE District of San Francisco
ASSEMBLY ON MISSION JUST AROUND THE CORNER: The District is preparing for its second Assembly on Mission. About 150 delegates elected and appointed from schools and works throughout the District will take part in this important gathering, the purpose of which is to discern and affirm priorities for our educational mission. Our District’s first-ever Assembly on Mission was held in 2002, and it contributed significantly to our District’s current Action Plan, “Reaching Out, Touching Hearts.” (The current Action Plan is on the District Web site at http://www.delasalle.org/resources_links.shtml.) Orientation meetings for delegates are scheduled, and readings to be done in preparation for the Assembly will be posted on the District’s Web site. The Assembly on Mission is July 30 to August 4 at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga.
DISTRICT SCHOOL LEADERS MAKING CHANGES: Several veteran administrators are taking their leave at the end of this academic year. In Milwaukie, Bill George has resigned as principal effective July 1 after thirty years of working at La Salle High School. The search for a new principal is on (see the school’s Web site at www.lshigh.org.). In Yakima, Mary Klarich has resigned her position as principal at La Salle High School effective July 1, and a search for a new principal is underway. In Napa, Justin-Siena High School, Greg Schmitz has resigned as principal to begin a one-year sabbatical. The search for a new principal is underway (see the school Web site at www.justin-siena.com). President Joseph Bracco is also changing jobs, and effective June 2 will step down as President of the school to take the position of Executive Director of the Justin-Siena High School Foundation, the school’s fundraising auxiliary. The school’s Board of Trustees has named Brother Robert Wickman, FSC, as the new President of Justin-Siena effective June 2. (For an introduction to Brother Robert, see the school’s Web site at www.justin-siena.com). In Tucson, at San Miguel High School, founding president Greg VanderZanden has resigned effective July 1, and a search for a new president is underway (see the school’s Web site at www.sanmiguelhigh.com.)
CHRISTIAN BROTHERS’ ASSIGNMENTS: New faces, new places: Assignments for several Brothers in our District were recently announced by the Visitor, effective July 1. Brother Donald Johansen, who has been at the Casa Generalizia in Rome directing the Institute’s Web site www.lasalle.org, will join the Christian Brothers High School Community in Sacramento. Brother Christopher Donnelly will also move to that Sacramento community after five years in Yakima, Washington. Also leaving Yakima for California is Brother Paul-Andre Durham, who will join the Cathedral High School Community in Los Angeles. Brother John Hoover is moving from Cathedral High in Los Angeles to the San Miguel High School Community in Tucson, Arizona. Brother James Joost, who has most recently been at De La Salle House in Berkeley, will be going to the Christian Brothers Community in Yakima. Brother Dan Morgan will be heading to Portland to join the De La Salle Christian Brothers community there.
SUPERB WEB SITE ON DE LA SALLE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS : For anyone who wonders what the life and work of a De La Salle Christian Brother are all about, there is a great resource on the Internet. Check the “Brothers Vocation” site at http://www.brothersvocation.org/home.htm
NEWS BRIEFS from around the DISTRICT OF SAN FRANCISCO
OAKLAND - The Lasallian Educational Opportunities LEO Center has settled into its new home at 710 40 th Street, just down the street from its original location. Kelly Botto of the Saint La Salle Community there reports that in January, Brother Robb Wallace, FSC, began holding evening English classes four nights a week (Mondays and Wednesdays are Beginning English, Tuesdays and Thursdays are Intermediate/Advanced.) The morning English classes have also seen an increase in students. Most of the students are Latin American and African American, but there are also eight to ten new students from Yemen. In February, new signs were put up on the street side of the building to let the neighborhood know what the LEO Center has to offer, and this seems to have led to increased enrollment, especially in the computer-skills class and English classes. The LEO Center Web site is home.pacbell.net/leocenter/lyhomepage
SAN FRANCISCO - A new issue of the De Marillac News is on the school’s Web site at www.demarillac.org, telling about the school’s fifth anniversary, the improvements in students’ test scores, the progress of the first graduating class – who are now sophomores in high school – and the plans for the school’s expansion and change of name: In July it will become “De Marillac Academy.” Not mentioned in this newsletter is a recent piece of good news: De Marillac’s president Catherine Ronan Karrels gave birth to her first child, Matthew, on March 14: Congratulations, Mom, Dad, and Matthew.
BERKELEY - Saint Mary’s College High school is offering its annual “Seventh Grade Workshop” on April 29, a day at the high school for local seventh-graders that will help them to develop test-taking skills and may ease for them and their families some of the anxiety surrounding the high school application process. Read more at www.saintmaryschs.org.
MILWAUKIE - Students at La Salle High School this year are helping to make prom dreams a reality for less fortunate students. Abby’s Closet is a local non-profit agency with a practical mission: to get prom dresses free of charge to Portland-area girls who might otherwise be unable to attend their prom because of the high costs involved. La Salle students are not only donating dresses to Abby’s Closet but are also raising funds to support its work. The full story is at www.lshigh.org.
CONCORD - De La Salle High School students distinguished themselves in the county high-school science fair, with 32 students winning awards, including two grand prizes. The grand prize winners, sophomores Oliver Glenn Hernaez in environmental science and Rob Ray in physical science, will go on to compete in an international competition next month sponsored by Intel. Go Spartanerds! For the full story, and other news, check the school’s Web site at www.dlshs.org
YAKIMA - La Salle High School in Union Gap is one of only 45 high schools in the country chosen to host a visit from a scientist from the National Institutes of Health for a day devoted to understanding the human genome and the state of genomic research. On April 11, Dr. Elaine A. Ostrander, a researcher from the National Genome Research Project in Bethesda, Maryland, came to La Salle as a “DNA Day Ambassador,” and spent the day with La Salle biology students performing experiments and talking about the work being done in this field.
TUCSON and THE PHILIPPINES - Tucson AND the Philippines? Yes. Brother Dan Fenton, FSC, of San Miguel High School in Arizona, plans to go this summer, for the third year in a row, to work with incarcerated juveniles in the Philippines at Bahay Pag-asa (the House of Hope). This program for young prisoners was founded in 2001 with the help of the District of San Francisco. You’ve heard the term “rotting in jail”? It’s all too likely in a penal system that houses children and teens in cells with adult inmates. Thousands of young inmates, most of them from very poor families; are in this situation. Some have been convicted and are serving sentences; others are waiting for their cases to be heard, which can take months. Abuse and degradation in such circumstances are predictable. Thus the need for Bahay Pag-asa as place of rescue: It’s a residential center to which kids who have jailed can be remanded to serve their time or to wait for their case to be heard. Removing them from jailhouse life, Bahay Pag-asa also offers them classes and livelihood training so that they can re-enter society with some chance of success.
Brother Dan has written to family and friends about his plans: “Each summer now, I go there to teach science classes to the kids. During the past summers I brought a weather station and a telescope. The kids are extremely excited about learning and are as motivated as any students I have ever had. They make tremendous use of any resources that are given them and they write often to those who help them. The staff there is very appreciative of any help, much of which comes from supporters in the U.S. As I return this summer, from a community in Arizona that is struggling to finance its own school, I am looking for a little help. I have just about saved up enough for air fare, but I hope to be able to bring something in addition to myself to Bahay Pag-asa this summer. If you are able to make a donation (even $5 or $10) to the programs at Bahay Pag-asa, you would be doing a wonderful thing for some very grateful kids. And you would receive a letter from them, thanking you. You can send it as a check to "San Miguel Brothers Community" with a note - Bahay Pag-asa Donation. I will bring any donations to the Philippines along with a list of donors, so that you may hear from them (just be sure to leave a mailing address). And if you aren't in the position to donate, you can still do lots by keeping these kids in your prayers - it means a great deal to them.
God bless! ---Br. Dan Fenton
Brother Dan’s address is
San Miguel Brothers Community
PO Box 22199
Tucson, AZ 85734
Brother Dan’s e-mail is brdanfenton@hotmail.com
● Read about the founding of Bahay Pag-asa on www.delasalle.org in Signs of Faith magazine, Fall/Winter 2001
● For more on Bahay Pag-asa, visit its Web site at www.bahaypagasa.org/
NEWS BRIEFS from the U.S./TORONTO REGION
DE LA SALLE HIGH SCHOOL NEW ORLEANS A LEADER IN RECOVERY De La Salle High School in New Orleans was the first high school in Orleans Parish to re-open after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. For the latest report from president Ken Tedesco and photos of the slow recovery, go to the Regional Web site at www.cbconf.org.
REGIONAL SUMMER PROGRAMS ARE ANNOUNCED Check the Regional Web site for details of the three summer programs now posted there: Lasallian Leadership Institute, Lasallian Social Justice Institute, and Buttimer Institute. Check www.cbconf.org.
LASALLIAN LEADERSHIP COHORT GRADUATES: T he East Coast’s third cohort of the Lasallian Leadership Institute graduated in a gathering in Mt. Pocono, Pennsylvania, in March. For the full story, see www.lasalle2.org/English/Events/2006/18apr06.php.
□ For more news of the U.S./Toronto Region, go to the Web site of the Christian Brothers Conference at www.cbconf.org
NEWS BRIEFS from the INTERNATIONAL LASALLIAN MISSION
THREE NEW PUBLICATIONS Three new MEL Bulletins are now available on the Rome web site in pdf format: No. 25 “Identity Today”; No. 26 “Multiculturalism and Immigration”; No. 27 “Lasallian Identity: Working Documents for a Workshop.” The last of these might prove to be extremely valuable as a resource for groups discussing what it means today to be Lasallian.
Many other resources in Lasallian literature, history, and documentation are always available online from the Generalate Web site at www.lasalle.org.
□ Teachers of languages and cultures: You have a resource in Rome -- The Web site of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is multi-lingual and multi-cultural, with publications and postings in French, Spanish, and Italian as well as English. It’s a gateway to the wider Lasallian world.
LASALLIANS WEST APRIL 2006
A monthly newsletter
De La Salle Christian Brothers ● District of San Francisco
For information, contact
J. A. Gray
Director of Public Relations and Information Services
De La Salle Institute, Napa, California
707-252-3739
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