A note from St. Brendan School Principal, Mrs. Carol Grewal
During the Easter vacation, I had the opportunity to attend and present at the National Catholic Education Association’s annual convention in Pittsburg, Philadelphia. Over 6,000 educators were in attendance at this wonderful conference. It was invigorating to participate in conversations about future trends in Catholic education. Attendance at this conference was a truly worthwhile experience, not only because of the new knowledge I was exposed to, but because of the opportunity to network and dialog with other principals, superintendents, pastors, and teachers.
I also attended the Innovation in Catholic Education awards banquet while there. Our school was recognized as being one of the 12 innovative schools for 2014. Our school’s award was made in the area of innovative projects in promoting Catholic identity. Our in-school Youth Ministry program led by Gus Del Puerto and Stacy Simpson is regarded as a novel and innovative way of making the Catholic faith real for our students.
Below are some more details about our winning program:
The new pastor of St. Brendan Parish School in San Francisco CA , wanted to encourage school children to become more involved with the parish. He instituted a Youth Ministry program that met after school and on weekends; but due to the many activities and commitments students already had, attendance was low. Rather than give up on a new idea, the pastor teamed with pastoral associate Sr. Necy Guan and principal Carol Grewal to change the program. Rather than ask students to come to Youth Ministry activities, they would bring the activities to them.
Parish-trained volunteer leaders meet with students during school hours once a month to help them explore the ways in which God is part of their everyday lives. Student-designed group activities focus on prayer, stewardship, leadership, and more. Activities have included composing Thanksgiving prayers for a prayer book, creating game shows with religious themes, and creating holiday decorations. Designing Christmas cards for hospital patients, filling Christmas stockings for homeless shelter residents, and making sandwiches for the St. Vincent de Paul Society are among the service activities.
The addition, the of the school-parish Youth Ministry program has proven to be a valuable component of the religious education curriculum. By participating in both traditional and non-traditional explorations of Catholic identity, St. Brendan’s eighth graders score an average of 20 percent higher than average on the NCEA ACRE test. Growing numbers of students also participate in parish activities outside of school hours.
Easter Blessings,
Carol Grewal
Principal
Carol Grewal
Principal
