Dear People of Palma,
The nation is currently celebrating Catholic Schools Week from January 26 – February 1. And while every day is Catholic Schools day in our schools, I want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you who make Palma a hallowed place.
I thank you STUDENTS! You mentor and challenge one another; you protect and defend one another. You are judged by a higher standard, and you so often champion that higher standard. You compete with one another against those who misperceive the blessings of our Palma Family, and you drive one another towards achievement. You collect food, clothes and more for the poor and the marginalized; you build homes and shape futures for but a few of our neighbors living south of our American border. And you do so much more.
I want to thank you PARENTS! You serve on the Parents’ Club, Athletic Council, fundraising events, student activities, end-of-year celebrations, Friday prayer groups, committees and associations, all to better the lives of our young men and women here at Palma. A number of you volunteer everywhere. You invest in your child’s education. You see him/her through hours behind the wheel towards a driver’s license; you spend many moments late in the evening praying and hoping for his/her safe return. You relish the sweet drama of every victory in competition, and you are there to console where loss brings agony. You never cease to show your love for him/her, especially when he/she resists and even – God forbid – when he/she resents it! And you do so much more.
I want to thank you TEACHERS and STAFF! You are among the hardest working personnel with whom I have ever been privileged to serve in education. You devote hours of your personal time to your students and the school. You work together to enhance a curriculum that is already superior. You are indispensable to our school’s mission and success. You moderate student activities and supervise students. You support our students and their interests. You help students with individual needs; you make each student feel special. You take care of injuries. You support students when they are feeling sad or overwhelmed. You help and support one another as we celebrate genuine community here. You are counselors, mentors, role models, motivators, coaches, disciplinarians, healers, and hope for tomorrow’s leaders. And you are so much more.
Teaching is a vocation that requires tremendous patience and courage. Every one of us teaches on a daily basis by what we say, what we do, and what we value. I thank you for your commitment to Palma. I am grateful for your many contributions to the legacy of Catholic Schools. Go Chieftains!
Yours in Blessed Edmund Rice,
CAMPUS MINISTRY
Willie Beesley ’86
Director of Campus Ministry
email
ATHLETICS
Rob Bishop
Athletic Director
email
Let Everyone Know Who You Are
Put your company name or family message on the scoreboards and on the Palma athletics website. Your message could appear on the Holaday Seed Scoreboard in the gym and on the 17-foot outdoor scoreboard during contests on our track, field and baseball stadium. Plus, it will be displayed on the athletics website. Contact Mr. Bishop at bishop@palmaschool.org for more details.
Download the Palma Athletics App
The Palma Athletics App is available for download from these app stores
Guidance
Irina Short
Guidance Department Chair
email
D’s in College Prep Courses Just Won’t Cut It
Four-year colleges and universities will only accept grades of “C” or better to meet college prep course requirements for admission. If your son or daughter is planning to attend a four-year college, they must make-up any deficiencies prior to graduation. Students taking summer school courses to make-up D’s and F’s are reminded that passing a 5-credit course during summer school will only replace one 5-credit semester grade (not the entire year). In other words, a student failing both semesters of Algebra would need to register for (and pass) 10 credits of Algebra prior to graduation. Also, remember that colleges require that incoming freshmen have completed at least two years of the same foreign language. This means that a student who completed one year of Latin and one year of Spanish has not met that requirement. The CSU and the University of California require completion of one year (10 credits) of a visual or performing art course prior to graduation. Palma students now have a number of options for accomplishing this requirement.
College Orientation for Junior Parents
The college search can be a difficult and frustrating process. It’s important that you have a clear understanding of how to navigate this process by using SCOIR. We will be working with your child so that he/she understands the entire process. Last month, you were emailed several times to create your account in SCOIR so it would link to your child’s account. If you haven’t created your account, please contact your child’s counselor so they can send you another activation code. We also sent you a video that explained how to use your child’s SCOIR account. SCOIR is a college and career readiness platform that helps connect academic achievement to post-secondary goals. Its comprehensive college and career planning solutions optimize student success, maximize counselor effectiveness, and track results for school and district administrators. SCOIR provides students and families access to online resources, communication tools, and college and career collaborative activities in SCOIR.
SCOIR makes college research easy: Whether it’s matching colleges to a student’s career interests or comparing admissions rates at a student’s top college choices, SCOIR tools allow students and families to make informed decisions. Students can also compare colleges and universities, explore scholarship opportunities, and track the status of supporting application documents (transcripts and letters of recommendation). Plus, all of these tools are managed from one location, improving communications between students, schools, and parents and reducing paperwork.
