The Sophomore Class followed Jesus and headed for the beautiful hills of Stirling to retreat with the Lord, our retreat director, Eddie, and our campus Ministers. Eddie delivered happiness with His big heart and love of the Lord.
The day was full of blessings as the students enjoyed prayer and fellowship on the sacred grounds of the Shrine of St. Joseph's.
After a few fun-filled ice breakers, they reflected on the Word of God and the theme of Hunger Games. The question posed: What do we hunger for in our lives and what games do we play that lead us away from the Truth? According to the Gospel of Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be." We need to Hunger for God to be happy as God hungers for us.
Going deeper, we are reminded of the faith-filled words of St. Augustine who shared, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
The day concluded with a walk by the Twin Tower Remembrance of our loved ones who died in the tragedy of 9-11. We paused in silence as the bells tolled... and continued to the Chapel to pray and ask for God's mercy.
We give thanks to our loving God for the gift of our donors and Retreat Director, Eddie, who have made this a grace-filled day overflowing with faith and hope.
LIBERTY TO CAPTIVES... RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND."
(Lk 4:18-19)
National Directory for Catechesis (USCCB, 2005), no. 43.c.
"The Church's social teachings are not optional.
The values of the teachings are based on the life of Christ."
PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION AND SPREAD THE WORD WITH YOUR
FAMILY AND FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK &
TWITTER. ADD HUMAN TRAFFICKING EDUCATION INTO OUR SCHOOL CURRICULUMS TO KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE.
The NEW PROCLAMATION OF FREEDOM is calling for
education on the dangers of human trafficking and the inherent dignity of every
human as part of the curriculum in public and private schools. Help us keep our
children safe and abolish Modern Day Slavery. Together, we can and are making a
difference!
Catholic Social Teaching is a cornerstone of
our Academic Curriculum and Spiritual Formation at Benedictine Academy. It is
our privilege and responsibility to proclaim God's love in the world through
acts of justice and mercy.
Benedictine's Cor Defenders, the Freedom Partners of the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation, stood proudly on the steps of the National Parks Historical Site, the Cedar Hills Home of Frederick Douglass, with Ken Morris, the Great Great Great Grandson of Frederick Douglass to proclaim The NEW PROCLAMATION OF FREEDOM.
It was only 150 years ago, that Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that America must abolish slavery and emancipate every human being, regardless of race, creed or color.
Today, Benedictine Academy Student Leaders and youth from several other schools proclaimed a New Proclamation of Freedom on behalf the victims of Modern Day Slavery, Human Trafficking.
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, William Katz (Author), Samantha Vardaman (Shared Hoped Intl), and Laura, Trafficking Survivor reflected on the life and passion of Frederick Douglass, and shared their hopes and dreams for an end to Human Trafficking, Modern Day Slavery. They stressed the importance of education for empowering the youth of today to break the shackles of oppression, exploitation, and enslavement.
Ewa Kowalczyk, A Junior Student at Benedictine Academy, was invited to speak as Julie Heinz, a representative from the U.S. Department of Education of Capitol Hill, and invited guests listened to the value of the Human Trafficking/Frederick Douglass Curriculum education that she received at Benedictine Academy .
At Benedictine Academy, we believe we can learn from History, His Story, and we teach our students the power of Advocacy and yes, even Agitation, through civic engagement and service leadership. Education empowers young people to avoid falling victim to human traffickers; it teaches them how to recognize the dangers of meeting traffickers on the internet or through others means; and it reminds them of every person deserves dignity and respect, the inherent right of all people.
PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION AND SPREAD THE WORD WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER.ADD HUMAN TRAFFICKING EDUCATION INTO OUR SCHOOL CURRICULUMS TO KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE.
Today's College Fair at Benedictine Academy was a huge SUCCESS.
The air was full of excitement as the Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores, and yes, even our Freshmen Students met with the College Reps to discuss their career aspirations and college offerings.
Sister Donna Jo, the Director of Guidance, chats with Stevens Institute and a few of our Junior Students.
What did the College Reps say about our Benedictine Academy students?
"BA Students asked great questions."
"They are well informed about the College process."
" BA Students were totally focused, engaged and interactive." OUR BA PRIDE IS FAITH IN GOD AND FAITH IN OUR STUDENTS!
Jesus hungers for our friendship in the breaking of the bread, in friendship with each other, and in serving our brothers and sisters with love.
Today was a blessed day as our freshmen played together, laughed together, shared meaningful moments together, decorated pumpkins together, ate chicken together, and spent sacred time in prayer with God together. HAVE FAITH IN GOD! TRUST IN JESUS!
We give thanks to God and our wonderful Retreat Director, Eddie, for this special time when we can retreat from the routine pressures of our daily lives to be renewed and refreshed in the love of God.
Benedictine's Cor Defenders, a Campus Ministry Student Leadership Team, were invited by Mr. Jacob Toporek, Executive Director of the NJ State Association of Jewish Federations, to testify at the introduction of the Human Trafficking Prevention, Treatment and Protection Bill (A 3352) by Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle to the House Committee in Trenton.
The News Room of the Record reports, "She (A ssemblywoman Vainieri Huttle) introduced a sweeping new Bill to track down on Human Trafficking with Superbowl expected to increase problems. The Bergen lawmaker takes aim at exploitation building upon nearly a year's worth of research and consultations with experts and advocates."
Despite concerns voiced about some of the provisions of the bill, the Assembly Committee passed the Human Trafficking Bill.
As Assemblywoman Huttle explains, "It is Modern Day Slavery. Slavery still exists in the United States, and here in New Jersey. Until recently, human trafficking has remained in the shadows of society. Victims, often children and vulnerable women, are too afraid and dependent on traffickers to break their silence and seek help. Exploited for years, theyare coerced into prostitution, labor and drug activity. When they finally have a chance to regain their freedom, they are prosecuted for the crimes they were forced to commit while enslaved, while the real perpetrators remain untouched."
Vanessa and Karol, were joined by nine of their peers to represent the youth and speak out against Human Trafficking. They testified before the House Committee calling for the need of education in the public and private school sectors to warn young people about the dangers of this hideous crime.
Last January, the President of the United States issued a Proclamation stating that raising awareness through education is one of the most effective tools for protecting our young children at risk.
Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle said she would work proactively with her colleagues to amend the language to meet the concerns of all parties.
PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION AND SPREAD THE WORD WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER.ADD HUMAN TRAFFICKING EDUCATION INTO OUR SCHOOL CURRICULUMS TO KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE.
This past Sunday, Benedictine Academy hosted its' Third Hall of Fame Induction Event. Fifteen Accomplished Alumnae and Outstanding friends of the Academy were honored during this memorable celebration orchestrated by Rosemary Anderson, Director of Development.
Over 200 people celebrated the lives, the dedication, the leadership, the spirituality, and (most especially)the treasured friendship of:
The Arminio Family (Rev. Thomas G. Armenio, Barbara Arminio LaMort, Dianne Arminio Schmitt)
Brother Ralph Darmento, F.S.C.
Mary Ann (O'Brien '60) and M. Anthony DeSantis
Frank J. Gentempo
James C. Kellogg IV
Justice Virginia A. Long '59
Margaret Harrington MacNeill'62
Gertrude Turner Mahon '31
Maureen McKee Morrison '38
Bishop Chandler David and Mrs. Shirley Owens
Helen McGonegal Prusak '56
In gratitude to Mr. James C. Kellogg IV and Dr. Floyd and Dolly Donahue for their significant support and empowerment of our students for the achievement of the National Jefferson Award Gold Medal for public service by a high school, a signed lithograph by famous artist Peter Max of the White House was presented.
The testimonies were inspiring and heart-felt. There was one testimony, however, that captured so eloquently the true essence of the charism of Benedictine Academy. Margaret MacNeill shared:
"We often talk about why schools fail their students and there are any number of reasons, but I do believe an important one is the absence of community, shared values, hospitality. A failure to create a place safe for risk-taking, as contradictory as that may sound. Benedictine Hospitality makes community and risk-taking possible. That elusive concept - "hospitality" - creates an atmosphere that optimizes academic success... I do believe it has always been alive here to breathe life into the spirit of this Academy. It was here for me fifty years ago. It's here today. And a very important reason why I am committed to BA's continued success is that I want Benedictine hospitality, and all it nurtures, to be available to yet another generation of young women."
Mr. Ken Jennings, Principal, welcomed the guests and shared with his usual great enthusiasm and BA Pride an overview of the school's significant accomplishments. Sr. Germaine Fritz, President, began the celebration as we do all things at Benedictine Academy with a beautiful prayer.
Ariana Taveras, a recent graduate and now a student at Tisch School of the Arts (NYU), introduced our special guests Gary Russo, also known as Second Avenue Subway Sinatra, and Dr. Andrea T. Goeglein, the co-author of the book "Don't Die with Your Song Unsung".
Gary's music filled the air with joy and gaiety. We also are grateful for Andrea's affirming words for our Hall of Fame Honorees and light-hearted humor.
Dr. Andrea Goeglein and Gary Russo graciously gifted each Hall of Fame Honoree with an autographed copy of the book and every guest with an electronic version from Amazon.
A special thanks to Rosemary Anderson, Director of Development, and her committee for their countless hours of hard work and dedication to make this afternoon such a memorable event.
The girls decked out in their pink hard hats were ready for a long day of hard work as they headed to Denville to help finish building a new home for a family in need.
Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian organization, dedicated to making available affordable housing to help eliminate poverty housing.
Interested in how your church can get involved with Habitat? Visit Church Relations
A Bible is presented to new Habitat homeowners at their house dedications.
"We are driven by the desire to give tangible expression to the love of God through faith in action. Together, the donated labor of construction volunteers, the support of partner organizations and the homeowners' "sweat equity" make Habitat's house building possible for over 300,000 families a year worldwide."
Gabby shared, "It feels good to help someone and know at the end of the day you accomplished good." When we deliver happiness through helping others, there is a boomerang effect and we get happiness back one hundred fold!
This month is Breast Cancer Awareness. Each day, the Admissions Director, Ms. Branco and students, have been sharing facts and warning signs during Homeroom Prayer to help raise awareness for early detection.
Today, Ms. Rodrigues and the Portuguese/Brazilian Club held a school-wide walk-a-thon to raise funds for cancer research. In spite of the tumultuous weather, everyone gathered together in solidarity to walk and make a pledge. We are a small school with a mighty passion to deliver happiness. Over $2,000 was raised to stop this disease that touches all of our families.
Please join us during this month of the Holy Rosary that a cure may be found.
Mary, Mother of Jesus, St. Benedict, St. Scholastica and Blessed Pope John Paul II, pray for us.
The New Jersey Governor's Conference on Volunteerism and Service was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick. Hundreds of people attended from local corporations and nonprofit organizations exchanging ideas, passions, and information to make our world a better place.
It was inspiring to hear the wisdom stories of these 21st century heroes and to meet the lovely
Ms. New Jersey.
Keynote Speaker
Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., President and CEO, 2014 NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Company “Super Bowl 2014: Building a Legacy of Volunteerism”
Luncheon Speaker
Lt. Colonel Jerome Hatfield New Jersey State Police
Deputy Superintendent of Homeland Security
Workshops included: volunteer management, skills based volunteerism, fundraising, background checks/risk management, emergency response, youth/college service, working with veterans, large days of service, working with prisoner reentry, national service, social media, faith in action
October 4 was the Feast of St. Francis. We gathered as one sacred community to pray that the Lord make us instruments of His Peace in the world.
Our Senior Students honored our Franciscan in our midst, Sr. Donna Jo, with a special blessing from the Senior Leaders. St. Francis delivered happiness to all of God's creation with His faith, joy and love.
"It started with a person named Trevor who didn't seem all that remarkable on the outside, but who could see past his teacher's face. It started with an assignment that the teacher had given out a hundred times before, with no startling results. But that assignment in the hands of that student caused a seed to be planted, and after that nothing in the world would ever be the same... ... So, this much I understand well enough to relate: It started as an extra credit assignment for a class and turned into a world where no one goes hungry, no one is cold, no one is without a job or a ride or a loan."
This is an excerpt from the famous book/movie entitled PAY IT FORWARD. It is also the story of our students at Benedictine Academy. Today, we were blessed to have Charley Johnson, the President of the Pay It Forward Foundation, as our Convocation Speaker to the entire school community. He shared his story on the road from material success and unhappiness to discovering the real meaning of happiness - doing acts of kindness for others.
The Challenge put forth before our students was to join the movement to Pay It Forward... delivering one act of kindness at a time... and that is exactly what we do at Benedictine Academy.
The inspiring convocation concluded with our Campus Ministers delivering a WOW experience to our guests!
This Tuesday, the SIA Leadership Team met with Ms. Karen Hatcher, the Jefferson Awards Regional Director. It was an exciting time because Benedictine Academy was invited to participate on a new leadership level.
The rules are if a high school wins the Regional Jefferson Award for two years in a row, they are prevented from entering the competition for the third year. The Good News is that Benedictine Academy,along with only five other schools in the entire nation, were invited to participate on the highest level as a Jefferson Awards Ambassador Leadership (Mentor) School.
The new responsibilities include mentoring other high schools in civic leadership. This is an amazing honor that reflects our Benedictine Academy Mission to Listen, Learn, Love and Lead.
Delivering Happiness through serving others is what gives us life. We thank God and all our benefactors who have supported and empowered us to transform our world into a better place.
On this Feast of Guardian Angels, we celebrated students who have delivered happiness and performed extraordinary acts of kindness. During homeroom, as we gathered together as one sacred community, our Campus Ministry Student Leaders delivered happiness to our entire student body and staff with a special treat.
Angels are messengers of God. At Benedictine Academy, we have over 180 angels delivering happiness by helping those in need. Service Leadership is our privilege, our honor, and our responsibility.
After a few fun-filled ice breakers, they reflected on the Word of God and the theme of Hunger Games. The question posed: What do we hunger for in our lives and what games do we play that lead us away from the Truth? According to the Gospel of Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be." We need to Hunger for God to be happy as God hungers for us.
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