Carnival Recovery

Much like me, the blog is taking a Carnival Recovery Day. I hope you all had a great weekend. We had some record numbers which I hope to be able to share with you soon. Even if you are feeling down with the post-carnival blues, just "Take my hand. We'll make it. I swear. "

How Do You "Carnival?"

Like the Gasparilla Parade, it seems there are two types of "carnival" people (and I am not talking about the ride operators): there are those who embrace it and those who plan weekend vacations to avoid it.

Carnival Chairman Michael Hahn and Mr. Tanis take a break during last year's Carnival

Even before I became the principal at CKS and had to embrace it as part of my responsibility to the school, I have always loved the Carnival. Here are my top three favorite times to enjoy the Carnival: 

Thursday Night--5pm-7pm

This time is for the hardcore carnival lovers who, although it will be open over the next four days, can't wait to get in line for the Zipper or for a corn dog. This evening is also filled with excitement for the students as they eagerly anticipate the fun they'll have over the next four days. As a parent, I love it because the crowds are thinner than other nights but you still get the feel of the Midway with the glittering, pulsing lights. 

Saturday Night--6pm to Close

Although this a "work" night for me with the talent show and CKS Alumni Night, it is one of my favorite times at the Carnival. As an alumnus, I always look forward to connecting with my classmates. As a principal, I enjoy catching up with our graduated Lions and hearing about their lives post-CKS. This year will be especially memorable as former teacher, assistant principal and principal Sister Joanne will be here! 

At the talent show, it is great seeing our students and parishioners perform, usually ending with a special performance by our pastor. Almost as much fun is watching the students who go on stage after the talent show and show off their dance moves. 

Sunday--6:30pm to Close

If Thursday is for the Carnival hardcore, then Sunday is for the Carnival purists: no concert, no talent show, and the chance drawing has already happened. The draw this day and time is simply enjoying the Parish community and reflecting on a job well done. Whether it is riding one last ride, enjoying a meatball sandwich or sipping a beer, this is a time to relax and look forward to Carnival recovery day on Monday. I have come to believe this day was never intended as a day off to help the crew clean-up but rather a day for families to rest up after an active weekend. 

Regardless of your favorite time of carnival, I hope it is an event where you can see our parish community come together to experience faith, fellowship, and fun--just the way Saint John Bosco intended for us to celebrate Christ. 

Accreditation Sensation

 

Every seven years we are visited by our main accrediting agency, the Florida Catholic Conference (FCC). In addition to the FCC, we also hold accreditation with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and AdvancedEd. These organizations work with each other and will share the information gathered this week to update accreditation status. This begs the question, "So, what exactly will they be doing here this week?"

1. The visit focuses on four main areas/domains: Operational Vitality (will we be around for another 50 years), Academic Excellence (how well do we prepare our students for higher education), Catholic Identity (how well do we prepare our students for Heaven) Governance and Leadership (does leadership successfully support and drive these areas). 
2. Much of the information has actually already been submitted and reviewed. As a school we started to upload evidence (videos, pictures, copies of handbooks, etc) over a year ago, and this evidence is reviewed by the team prior to visiting. 
3. While here, the team will observe classes, meet with parents and students and talk with the staff to substantiate our previously loaded evidence. 
4. Before finishing the visit, the team will present an exit review with our staff where they will review their visit and suggest opportunities for growth. Examples of programs and initiatives driven by previous exit reports include putting more technology in the classrooms (Smartboards, iPads, etc), using Understanding by Design for curriculum mapping in Atlas, and our current mission/vision statements. 

I won't say the preparation process hasn't been laborious, but it has been helpful. To really be a life-long learner you have to be a life-long reflector. This process has helped us make an assessment of what we do well at CKS and areas we can grow to become even better. I look forward to sharing our action plan and providing a specific vision for where CKS will be headed in the next seven years! 

Game Changers

Over the last week, I enjoyed my Easter break. I spent time camping with my older boys in the Suwanee River State Park; I spent time with the entire family at the beach in the Panhandle; and I relaxed at home with a movie night to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens. All these activities helped me recharge mentally for the upcoming fourth quarter of the school year. However, the event I feel best prepared me to face fourth quarter recharged me spiritually -- that was spending an evening listening to internationally acclaimed speaker, bestselling author and business consultant Matthew Kelly speak in Orlando. 

Much of Kelly's message is to motivate Catholics to take back their faith..."Be bold. Be Catholic," is a common tag line. His talk included an impressive amount of information gleaned from a four year study by his Dynamic Catholic organization on the behaviors and trends of Catholics. The information was bleak. One of the more startling statistics: close to 83% of teens will no longer practice Catholicism within 7 years after being confirmed. This hits especially close to home with our CKS 8th graders being confirmed this weekend. 

To reverse this trend, we as Catholics cannot be content with the status quo. We must change the way we play the game. He offers three game changers to help all Catholics deepen their relationship with Jesus and help foster a lifetime of faith practice. He encourages us to choose one at a time:

 

Game-changer #1--Read the four gospels from start to finish over and over again for a year.

• Read for 15 minutes each day and reflect on what was read. Why? How can we know Jesus is we don't know his story? Get to know him in the Gospel.

    Game-changer #2--Go to confession once a month for a year.

• Like getting a shot, few of us are thrilled by the idea of confession, but we all need it. Behind great athletes, great inventors and great leaders are a team of mentors or coaches. To be great Catholics, we need spiritual coaches. Allow God to coach you through the intercession of the priest at confession. 

    Game-changer #3--Keep a Mass Journal for a year.

• When our students are in class, we expect them to take notes. We know taking notes activates parts of the brain that increase thinking and memory. Why does it feel awkward to take notes in Mass? Each week ask God to show you one way to become a better person through the Mass. Write one thing down every Sunday and keep it in a journal 

 

This morning at assembly, I challenged our students to keep a Mass Journal for our Wednesday school mass and Sunday. I encourage you to help them. Here is a direct link to the Dynamic Catholic website where you can get a free journal: http://dynamiccatholic.com/free-resources/the-mass-journal/

I hope this practice helps our students make the most of the special time we get to spend with God each week. 

                                          

March Passion

Even though I have had my NCAA brackets busted, (thanks, Arkansas-Little Rock and Middle Tennessee State!) I still enjoyed watching basketball this weekend. I am always intrigued by how the hard work and preparation of a team during the regular season translates into results during the tournament.

Sticking with basketball and the theme of practice, I am reminded of current NBA star and former NCAA Tournament stand out at Davidson, Steph Curry. Playing for the Golden State Warriors, the reigning league MVP has one of the best shots in basketball. It didn't happen by accident. At 6' 3", Curry is not overly tall for an NBA player--Michael Jordan was 6' 6"--and he had to change his shooting style in high school to compete with taller players. He is also known by his coaches to be a relentless practice player coming up with innovative ways to keep himself engaged and competitive.

Finally, he has become a great shooter because he takes so many shots in practice--somewhere in the 1000's. He sets a goal to make a certain percentage and he keeps shooting until he reaches his goal. In one famous session, he made 77 three point shots in a row. By the end, he made 94 out of 100. Shooting for him is automatic. 

So why all this basketball talk? As we enter Holy Week, ending with Easter this Sunday, I think it is a good frame of reference for our students to think about leading a Catholic life. How often do we "practice" a Catholic response or reaction to what life presents to us? Steph Curry did not become a prolific shooter by practicing one hour a week. How can we expect to be prolific Catholics if the Mass is the only time we devote to God each week.

Being a good Catholic requires daily practice. One of the best ways we can practice is through prayer. I challenged the students this morning at assembly, and I challenge all of you to spend an extra five minutes this week in prayer. Holy Week is like March Madness for the Catholic Church and Easter is our championship game. Hopefully, by spending extra time in prayer, we can make our hearts ready for the Big Dance.

It's Hard to Say Goodbye...

We are blessed at CKS to have an experienced staff that supports our mission and loves to be here. That's why it's always hard to say goodbye when people move or retire.  At the end of this school year, we will wish a happy retirement to two CKS stalwarts: Mary Brown and Debbie Lopez.

Mrs. Brown has been teaching at CKS for over 20 years, starting in 1989. She has been anchoring 4th grade for the past 14 years. A published author, a lover of Florida history, a determined kickball player and a caring teacher, Mrs. Brown will be missed by her CKS family.

Ms. Lopez has been teaching at CKS for 31 years, starting in 1985. She moved our library from the days of card catalogues and filmstrips to ebooks and web subscriptions. She has orchestrated book fairs, box tops and mission collections. However, I will always remember her for being able to combine her knowledge of books and students to suggest "just the right book" for readers.

We look forward to recognizing these long time staff members and their impact on CKS in the coming months. 

I've Got That Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy...

This past Sunday was Laetare Sunday, or joyful Sunday. Although Lent is a season of penance and sacrifice, Laetare Sunday provides hope that the Lenten journey is drawing to a close and that with the end of Lent comes salvation, hence a reason for true joy!

We have several reasons to be joyful at CKS. Over the past few weeks, our students have done some amazing work:

Athletics





Our Girls Flag Football team concluded their season last week.  After a rocky start to the season, they regrouped and finished in 2nd place. Our Boys Varsity Basketball Team also concluded their season last week. They punctuated a dominant season with a 20 point win over Nativity for 1st place and back to back championships.

Academics

Over the last two weeks, our 8th grade students who applied to private high schools have been receiving their acceptance letters. Students must take entrance exams for schools like Jesuit, the Academy of the Holy Names, Tampa Catholic and the IB programs.  Not all of the notifications are in yet, but as of today, I am proud to announce great news from our students:

• Four of our boys received Ignatian Scholarships from Jesuit: Bennett Andersen, Christopher Browy, Spencer Farfante, and Christopher Hill. This means they scored in the top 5% of the hundreds of applicants taking that exam. 
• Three of our students were awarded Pope Francis Merit Scholarships from Tampa Catholic:  Brennen Gil, Christopher Hill and Parker Maddox.  These awards honor students scoring in the top 1-2% nationwide on the High School Placement test.  
• The past several years have seen a rapid increase in interest for the IB high school programs.  We have also seen an increase in the number of our students applying to IB and are proud of the five CKS students who were accepted so far this year:  Bennett Andersen, Chris Browy, Brennen Gil, Parker Maddox and Brooke Rodriguez.
  

Faith

Each Friday during Lent the parish offers a meal followed by Stations of the Cross. Last Friday, 7th and 8th grade students on our Liturgy team performed Living Stations. This included narrations, commentary and a visual recreation of each step along Jesus' journey to the cross. The students made this 2000 year old journey real for our school students who watched them perform during the day and for our parish community who watched them later the same evening. It was a moving way to keep us going spiritually on our own Lenten journey. 

Service

One of the things I love most about being both the principal and a member of the parish community is that I get to keep tabs on our CKS alumni. We hope that our mission to inspire students to grow in the love of Christ, joy of Knowledge and spirit of Service allows students to be productive members of the community. This past weekend we saw that as numerous CKS alums participated in the Dance for Haiti. This fundraiser benefits our sister parish in Sainte-Suzanne, Haiti. It was organized by the group Teens for Haiti, whose co-presidents are CKS alums, Grace Casper and Emily Muscaro. Many of our school staff and parents volunteered their time to chaperone this 13.1 hour dance half-marathon. 

Speaking of alumni, CKS grad Carter Andersen (c/o 2014) was the recent JHS sophomore class winner of the St. Ignatius Gold Medal Essay contest.  You may recall that alum Joe Edgar won this honor last year at JHS.  Way to show your writing skills, Lions!

 

 

I am eager to share the other great things that our Lions will accomplish by the end of the year!