Celtic Newsletter Spring 2020

Roanoke Catholic School Celtic Newsletter Spring 2020

INSIDE: How Roanoke Catholic thrived during COVID - 19 … and saying a virtual goodbye to the Class of 2020

Message from Principal & Head of School Dear Roanoke Catholic Alumni, Parents, Students and Friends,

This addition of our Celtic Newsletter is unlike any we ’ ve done in our 131 - year history. Much of the content has been generated by video submissions, emailed photos, and speech to text, but very little has been done face - to - face given our physical absence from campus since March 13 amid the COVID - 19 pandemic. The wonderful thing about our Catholic faith is that even in the absence of celebrating our weekly Mass, we are still a connected community. We have overcome the challenges of our physical distance and continue to promote and support student learning and faith development in our virtual world. We ’ ve attended weekly Mass in front of our computers, as a family, on Sunday morning. Many of us also enjoyed daily Mass with our parish priest from the safety and comfort of our homes. We have watched our children connect with their fellow students and teachers via Zoom teleconferencing, Google Meet, Facebook Live and our video live - streaming service, CelticsLive.com. We are Celtics, strong in our faith and our resolve to continue moving forward and doing what is right for those in our community. Plans are being made for our return to campus in August. Classrooms are being cleaned, textbooks are being ordered, computers and our wireless network are being upgraded and our school library will look more welcoming and appealing to our students and guests when they return in the fall. We ’ re also installing air - conditioning in the lower school gym and solar panels on our roof to continue our efforts to be good stewards of the Earth. And I know all of us are ready for Chef Radjou ’ s incredible lunches

PRINCIPAL & HEAD OF SCHOOL Patrick Patterson

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Christopher Michael

DEAN OF FACULTY Nikki Lieber

SCHOOL BOARD John Thomas, Chair (St. Andrew ’ s) Rosann Kryczkowski, Vice - Chair (Transfiguration) Rich Joachim, Secretary (St. Andrew ’ s) Dan Burkard, Treasurer (Transfiguration) Ron Downing (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) Michelle Gereaux - Karim (Our Lady of Nazareth) Brian Chubb (St. Gerard ’ s) The Celtic Newsletter is produced by the Roanoke Catholic School Development Office: Michael Hemphill Director of Marketing & the Annual Fund Debbie Stump Director of Major Gifts & Education Tax Credits OUR VISION Roanoke Catholic School is dedicated to excellence in education and to the spiritual development of youth within the framework of the Gospel and the tradition of the Catholic Church. Welcoming all faiths, we strive to instill in our students a lifelong commitment to learning, to Christian values, and to community service. We are dedicated to achieving these goals in a supportive Christian community. * * *

when we gather again in a few short months! My sincere blessings and prayers for all of you,

Patrick Patterson

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RCS senior wins national essay contest

I come from Shawsville, Virginia, a small, rural town about twenty miles outside of Roanoke. Technically, we are not even large enough to be a town, but an “ unincorporated district. ” We are a one stoplight, mostly trailer parks and farmland community lining US 460. Out of 2,400 residents, my family of five makes up half of the Catholics living here. The public school system tries to help kids out of the cycle in which the majority are stuck, but nothing seems to change. Many of my peers can ’ t drive because they can ’ t afford driving lessons or the permit test, much less a car. Friends from broken homes often turn to drugs and alcohol. One of my childhood friends became pregnant at 16 and this, sadly, is not unusual. Most of this year ’ s graduating class will not attend college, but instead will enter the workforce for minimum wage with a lucky few going to the local community college. As for their faith life it seemed as bleak as their futures. This would have been my world, but I was given a better opportunity. I attended the local public elementary school until third grade. My parents were fortunate enough to have the means to transfer me and my two sisters to Roanoke Catholic School. If it weren ’ t for my parents ’ sacrificing money and a one - hour round trip every day for us to be able to go to Roanoke Catholic, I would be stuck in the same system. Of course I ’ d like to think that I school in the U.S. could submit one essay). In February judges selected 37 national finalists out of 300 submissions and on April 24 announced five national $1,000 scholarship winners. Roanoke Catholic senior Emily Hemphill won a $1,000 national Fireside Catholic Publishing 2020 Essay Scholarship. Her essay on "How is your religious education influencing your life?" was chosen in December as RCS' entry to the contest (each Catholic high

would have emerged physically unscathed and still succeeded academically, but in reality I know I can ’ t say the same for my spiritual life. I can ’ t imagine going through the typical trials of high school, but especially in a culture like Shawsville ’ s, without being able to pray at school or have moral debates with classmates or bother my apologetics teacher after class with theological questions that I can never hope to understand. If I had never switched to a Catholic institution, I wouldn ’ t have had a friend group with whom I could feel comfortable discussing my faith or turn to when I was going through a hard time. My religious education hasn ’ t just influenced my life, but it has changed the road that was initially in front of me. Being Catholic is an essential part of who I am and I ’ m able to learn more and more about what it truly means to call myself Catholic because of my school. I don ’ t think of my religious education as just being in class studying St. Thomas Aquinas ’ Five Proofs or the Ecumenical Councils, although they certainly have been ingrained into my memory. Rather, I ’ ve learned how Jesus taught us to live our lives. With classroom debates, I ’ ve learned how to have a conversation with someone who has different opinions, but still treat them with dignity and respect. Through school service projects, such as canned

food drives for Feeding America or collecting baby supplies for the Blue Ridge Women ’ s Center, I ’ ve seen how we are called to serve those who are less fortunate. Since I ’ ve gone on school trips to the March for Life, I have learned to speak up for those who never got the chance to speak at all. My religious education has not been limited to learning Church history, but to understanding my faith, how to defend it, and most importantly how to live it, especially when it is hard. Living my faith during tough times has always been a challenge. Over the past several years, I have had major hip surgery and lost loved ones. I have questioned my faith and asked God countless times why there is such suffering in this world. I never did find the answer to that one, but what I did find is that God puts us in the right place and sends us the right people when we need them most. I still have demons to fight, but I believe if I hadn ’ t been at Roanoke Catholic I would not have managed to find my way. There I had people to talk to about my struggling faith or remind me that God never abandons His children. I believe if I had stayed in Shawsville, I may not have been able to escape my demons. My former school may have still prepared my mind — and maybe even my heart — for my future path, but it was Roanoke Catholic that prepared my soul.

Roanoke Catholic School CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2020

Tania Knipp

Thomas Becker

Maggie Clark

Danny Connelly

Zach Greenlees

Colin Hagy

Megan Keeley

Claire Biscardi

Traevis Kopcial

Jared La Treill

Cameron Lauman

Isaiah Leyes

Jazz Lynch

Mia Martini

Stephenson Manuel

Seaira Siv

Christopher Schaible

Amelia Pyle

Sydney Reichardt

Jackson Rice

Danna Rufino

Kristen Russell

Elise Wilson - Leedy

Adrian Whorley

Sarah Sweeney

Alayna Thompson

Christian Toney

Julia Tosoni

Lucas Vassar

Ryan Via

C E L T I C C R O S S M E M B E R S The Celtic Cross represents the top four academic students in the senior class.

Emily Hemphill

Noah Thompson

Michael Pilar Valedictorian

David Gepitulan Salutatorian

Roanoke Catholic School Class of 2020 Graduation Saturday, June 6, 11 AM | Pre - show starts at 10 AM www.CelticsLive.com (Green Channel) Show your support for our graduating seniors by sending a photo or video shout - out to mhemphill@roanokecatholic.com. Please limit videos to 20 seconds.

“ Last Run ” by senior Seaira Siv, member of the Celtics cross - country and track team

Roanoke Catholic thrives amid COVID - 19

March 13 should have been the dawn of a glorious spring for Roanoke Catholic School. That afternoon, hundreds of runners from across the region were supposed to arrive to pick up race packets for the next day ’ s 30th annual Shamrock Hill Run. The track team was set to practice as they prepared for the start of their season in which the boys ’ squad sought to defend their 2019 state championship. Celtics soc- cer, softball, baseball, lacrosse and golf had practices too. The Celtic Singers were to continue re- hearsing for a long - awaited trip to New York City two weeks later to participate in a Catholic high school choir music festival for which they ’ d worked all year. Holy Week and Easter Break were right around the corner, with Prom a few weeks later, followed by AP exams, Scholarship Dinner, Field Day, Honors Day, and the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. And for the Class of 2020, a litany of cherished traditions await- ed. Instead, Friday, March 13, was the last day we saw each other in person. But seeing, as we all quickly learned, isn ’ t everything. Over the course of the weekend that followed, our teachers accomplished what took many college professors more than a week to achieve: moving their in - class cur- riculum online. By Monday, March 16, every grade level — from 3 - year - old Early Learners to seniors — had a virtual classroom plan in place. Administrators trouble - shot with Roanoke Catholic families who lacked reliable Inter- net and computers at home, distributing Google Chromebooks and wifi “ hotspots ” to technology - challenged households. “ Teaching virtually was a challenge due to coming up with material and resources that all my students could access, ” said middle school math teacher Helen Price. “ Not only digital and paper copies of the work but also the information on how to complete the assignments. While most stu- * * *

Junior Kindergarten teacher Amber Lavinder stays virtually connected with her students during coronavirus pandemic.

dents have internet access, the reliability of the internet varies from student to student. Using new platforms for instruction and assessment was uncomfortable; however with the help of great colleagues and patient students, I was able to make the switch to a virtual classroom. ” On March 16, marketing director Michael Hemphill launched a daily noontime “ Quarantine Edition ” broad- cast on the school ’ s video live - streaming service, CelticsLive.com. The broadcast featured videos by our students and teachers revolving around regular segments -- Musical Monday, Talent Tuesday, Wacky Wednesday, Science Thursday and Faith Friday. Our junior and senior Broadcast Journalism students produced regular videos for the show. In a weekly sci- ence segment, upper school teacher Sara Plante, aided by her 3rd and 8th grade children and husband camera- man, showed us how to see your DNA, collect your fin- gerprint, and measure the height of a tree in your yard. Campus minister and theology teacher Ellen Vanden Ey- kel and 1st grade aide Lynn Drapac led weekly faith pro- jects, from crafting Rosaries and Palm Sunday palm branches from handprints to organizing a school - wide card - writing project for residents in Our Lady of the Val- ley who could no longer receive visitors. ( By the date of the final broadcast on May 29, we had aired 41 “ Quarantine Edition ” shows, which are still avail- able at CelticsLive.com under “ On Demand ” and “ Special Events. ”) March 18 was Roanoke Valley Gives Day, a 24 - hour online fundraising competition among 155 of the region ’ s

Above: RCS Kindergartner Ashling Carr and 1st grader Patrick Carr tune in to CelticsLive.com ’ s “ Quarantine Edition, ” a Monday - Friday noontime show that kept Roanoke Catholic families better connected while we carried out classroom instruction online. Below: 1st grader Kennedy Lavinder writes a thank - you note for the daily show.

biggest nonprofits. Roanoke Catholic had always been a fundraising champion since the event ’ s inception in 2016. Despite the uncertainty with our country ’ s economy and family finances, we still raised $90,450 plus $6,000 in bonus prizes -- double the second - place nonprofit.

RCS parent John Renick used the first day of our coronavirus closure to rent an aerator and donate 200 pounds of grass seed to revitalize our recess - worn mall.

From top: English teacher Kristen Kurpe with her 9th graders; 4th grader Colton Greenway with teacher Megan Potter; and Early Learners teacher Karen Clark with 4 - year - old Ridlee King.

On March 23, when Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is- sued an executive order closing schools and banning all gatherings of more than 10 people, we loaned our other CelticsLive broadcast setup to St. Andrew ’ s so the church could start broadcasting Mass. While other public and private schools made classes pass/fail or abandoned teaching and grading altogether, Office of Catholic Schools Superintendent Kelly Lazarra issued a statement to all diocesan school families: “ Our students will still be learning new material and receiving grades … while our classrooms and hallways may be closed to students gathering, we are still open to learning new things and successfully completing this academic school year! ” During the weeks that followed:  Teachers and aides visited students ’ homes when needed to drop off materials, and conducted one - on - one tutoring sessions via Zoom with students of all ages. They also met with individual students in need of extra help at school in a health - conscious setting.  Our administration created a Celtics@home webpage as an online clearinghouse for all COVID - 19 commu- nications for parents and students; handed out gro- cery gift cards to low - income families; and loaned the music department ’ s ukuleles to anyone who wanted to use quarantine to learn an instrument.  Art teacher Kim Spencer organized a school - wide “ Celtic Art Challenge ” with weekly contests that were posted to Instagram and Faceook for voting.  Middle school teachers created a Social Zoom Hour for their students and a virtual Seventh Grade Liturgy to celebrate the rite of passage for their seventh graders entering Upper School.  Mrs. Vanden Eykel had her Upper School students create and send digital cards for their Lower School prayer buddies.  Librarian Kurt Axt got Roanoke County Public Library cards for students so they could access the system ’ s catalog of e - books.  Enrollment director Emily Gaston coordinated virtual tours and a virtual open house for prospective fami- lies.  Jenny Roy, director of guidance and student services, created at RCS one of the only private Advanced Placement testing sites in the region so students would have reliable Internet to take the tests.  The development office worked with Roanoke City to reschedule the Shamrock Hill Run to Friday, August 28 at 7 p.m.

Of course, all of these efforts couldn ’ t replace the real thing.

and learning virtually! My students and I were enter- tained by my children's random appearances in class and odd requests. ” Mrs. Vanden Eykel worried about not being able to physically see her students, “ not being able to look my students in the eye and have an idea of how they are do- ing. If I haven't heard from a student, is she struggling? Is she sick? Is she overwhelmed? Or maybe I have a student showing up, but he isn't contributing to class. Is he frus- trated with or confused by the material? Is something going on at his house that makes it too difficult to focus? I want so badly to be there for my students, and to not have a better sense of how life is going for them is so diffi- cult! ” Still, Mrs. Vanden Eykel was entertained by her sopho- mores who consistently swapped out school uniforms for crazy outfits for virtual class: student Ava Stoner wearing her prom dress was a particular delight. And she relished her one - on - one meetings with seniors. “ They are giving up so much in the face of this pandemic, but their hope and their perseverance is inspiring! ” Indeed, the seniors were foremost in most everyone ’ s mind. If you ’ re a senior at Roanoke Catholic, spring is the most cherished season of all. Each week seemingly blos- soms a beloved tradition that has been anticipated for years: Senior Speeches, Senior Retreat, Senior Skip Day, Prank Day, the Baccalaureate Mass and Dinner, and of course the culmination of it all — Graduation. * * *

Senior Alayna Thompson created this digital card for her 7th grade prayer buddy, Anna Kibler, as part of an Upper School quarantine faith project.

“ I think for me the most challenging part of teaching virtually is just not being with the children in the class- room, ” said veteran Kindergarten teacher Annette Mash- burn, who this year is a 2nd grade teacher ’ s aide. “ I miss their hugs, watching the children having fun learning with their classmates, and our wonderful religion discussions. ” She added: “ When I teach religion live on Zoom the

children and I always begin with prayer. I often have between 18 and 20 second graders on at one time. I ask if they have any special prayer intentions, and am always so moved by their sincerity and thoughtfulness. We have prayed for the doc- tors, nurses, sick people, our families, the teachers, friends, school and parents. It takes a little time to get through all the intentions but it is well worth the time spent! ” While missing them in per- son, Mrs. Price enjoyed seeing students in their home environ- ments: “ I would never have met my student's pets, decorating style nor some of their siblings if we hadn't continued teaching

3 Celtics to pursue college athletic Athletic director Matt Peck organized virtual signing ceremonies for three sen- iors who are playing sports in college (clockwise from top right): Danny Con- nelly (cross - country/track), University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky; Colin Hagy (football), Randolph Macon Col- lege; and Seaira Siv (cross - country/ track), Hollins University.

Spring for the Class of 2020 was to be something else entirely. In ways both big and small, Roanoke Catholic ral- lied to provide seniors with a series of new celebrations. In early April, “ Senior of the Day ” videos began circu- lating on the school ’ s social media channels. Athletic director Matt Peck organized virtual signing ceremonies for our three seniors who are playing sports in college: Danny Connelly, who will run cross - country/track) for University of the Cumberlands; Colin Hagy, who is playing football at Randolph Macon College; and Seaira Siv, cross - country/track at Hollins University. From May 4 to May 6, we invited seniors to school -- one at a time -- with their families for an individual cere- mony to receive their diplomas, toss their caps and throw a green, gold or white streamer over a tree on the mall. All was video - recorded and professionally photographed by RCS parent Amy Pearman, who donated her time to be there all three days.

The real senior surprise came the following week. On May 12, Head of School Patrick Patterson, Assistant Principal Chris Michael, Dean of Faculty Nikki Lieiber and Ms. Roy drove 244 miles and nearly 10 hours to

As part of our individual virtual graduation ceremonies, clockwise from top left: Maggie Clark receives her diploma with parents Karen and Burman Clark and brother Steve, ‘19; Christian Toney celebrates with parents Frank and Angela Toney; Megan Keeley leaves a note for her classmates; Thomas Becker joins other seniors in tossing a streamer into a tree on the mall; and Noah and Alayna Thompson pose with parents Beni and Kip, ‘90, grandparents Sue and Bill Thompson, and siblings Isabella, Christian and Aiden.

Clockwise from top: Head of School Patrick Patterson, Director of Guidance and Student Services Jenny Roy, Assistant Principal Chris Michael and Dean of Faculty Nikki Lieiber (not pictured) delivered graduation gifts on May 12 to Seaira Siv during her shift at Kroger, and to the homes of all 34 seniors including Michael Pilar, Christopher Schaible and Zach Greenlees.

personally visit each of our 34 seniors at their home or work, bearing a personalized graduation sign and other goodies. “ It was a lot of fun and very important for us to do, ” said Mr. Patterson. “ We certainly have a deeper apprecia- tion for our students and families after our travels. We recognize the incredible commitment families have by the distance they travel to bring their kids to school, and an unmatched level of love and support for children by their parents and the commitment to our faith. ” On June 2 they were scheduled to make the same trip with more treats and a book of well wishes gathered from teachers and parents. Sure, for the Class of 2020, the real spring would have been better. But they are a generation that has known adversity. They were born in the year of 9/11 and now are graduating in the year of COVID - 19. While they may have dreamed it would all be different, they ’ ve learned that dreams aren ’ t granted but are earned, and the dream they ’ ve now created will certainly be more memorable. Since March 13, we have been chronicling their lives through video and photos and are honored to present

them to you for our virtual Graduation Broadcast on June 6 at 11 a.m. — the date and time that our actual gradua- tion was to take place — on www.CelticsLive.com/green - channel and Facebook Live (pre - show starts at 10 a.m.). Like us, you will be proud of what you see. Most head off to college in the fall to study medicine, art, public poli- cy, history and all points in between. One has enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. Another is studying to be a chef, while another pursues a Mixed Martial Arts career. These 34 individuals have diverse futures, but they all share a common strength, resiliency, creativity and drive. And despite all the challenges and strife facing our coun- try today, we should all feel a sense of hope that these men and women will be leading and serving our country one day very soon. Since we last saw each other, a small group of the Celtic Singers has continued to rehearse. Four of the sen- iors even produced a song — each voice recorded individ- ually in her home and then edited together — that will be

played during the Graduation broadcast. The song: Somewhere Over the Rainbow . Indeed.

See how RCS thrived during COVID - 19 Graduation is June 6!

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