Newsletter Jan 24

Pope Francis stated in his February 2022 letter announcing the Jubilee 2025: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire...”

The Jubilee Year offers opportunities to participate in various jubilee events at the Vatican and in your diocese. The great tradition of opening the Holy Door began when Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica on December 24th. Other holy doors were opened at the Rome basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls. For pilgrims who cannot travel to Rome, bishops around the world are expected to designate their cathedrals or a popular Catholic shrine as special places of prayer for Holy Year pilgrims, offering opportunities for reconciliation, indulgences and other events intended to strengthen and revive faith.

Additional information about Jubilee events and materials can be found on the Vatican website. As information becomes available for specific initiatives, that information will be available on this web page.

Calendar Highlights

Wednesday, Jan 1
SCHOOL CLOSED - Happy New Year!

Wednesday, Jan 8
Classes Resume
8:00am - Grades Due

Friday, Jan 10
Fall Semester Report Cards Mailed
12:00pm - Mom’s Prayer in Bl. Edmund Rice Chapel

Saturday, Jan 11
9:00am - Admissions Placement Exam in BDH

Monday, Jan 13 - Friday, Jan 17
Winter Spirit Week

Monday, Jan 13
5:30pm - Athletic Council Meeting in CSC

Thursday, Jan 16
5:30-7:00pm - Parent-Teacher Conferences in BDH

Friday, Jan 17
8:30am - Chieftain Schedule Day
12:00pm - Mom’s Prayer in Bl. Edmund Rice Chapel
2:00pm - Winter Sports Rally in the Gym

Saturday, Jan 18
9:00am - Admissions Placement Exam in BDH

Monday, Jan 20
SCHOOL CLOSED - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Friday, Jan 24
8:00am-12:30pm - HS Admissions: Chieftain for a Day
8:45am - Sixth Grade Field Trip
12:00pm - Mom’s Prayer in Bl. Edmund Rice Chapel

Sunday, Jan 25
7:00-9:00pm - Junior High Dance in the Gym

Sunday, Jan 26-Saturday, Feb 1
NCEA National Catholic Schools Week

Monday, Jan 27
5:30pm - Palma Spring Coaches Meeting
6:00pm - Parents’ Club Meeting in CSC

Tuesday, Jan 28
5:30pm - Fall Semester Honor Roll Program in the gym
7:00pm - Admissions Webinar: What Comes Next

Wednesday, Jan 29
8:30am - Red Day Schedule

Thursday, Jan 30
9:15am - Gold Day Schedule

Friday, Jan 31
12:00pm - Mom’s Prayer in BDH

Saturday, Feb 1
10:00am - JHS Father-Son Event in the gym
TBA - Notre Dame/Palma Winter Ball

Dear People of Palma,

New year...new resolutions...renewed vigor. Happy New Year, indeed! I have found it refreshing to have marveled at students who have taken advantage of the New Year to recommit themselves to their respective courses of study. I have seen students decide to make changes: to better their study habits, to work harder, to take more responsibility, to become leaders!

The most pronounced of changes happen when they concern students who, for many reasons, have simply not been able to start the school year in August with such resolutions. These are the students with labels — most probably mislabels. Perhaps school caught their days of summer by surprise; they were not ready; they just did not start off on the right foot. Perhaps they lapsed into bad habits, old routines, and public misperceptions of who they could become. The New Year presents opportunity — a chance to shatter the old labels, a chance to forge a better tomorrow with hard work today. It is not too late! With persistence and a nurturing community, students can make changes.

We need to nurture this opportunity in our students. We need to expect students to surprise us with the good that is in every one of them. Jesus himself set this standard of behavior when he saw the best in his apostle Simon — a mere fisherman — and renamed him Peter, which means rock. This fiery tempered student who betrayed Christ would one day become the foundation of the Church, the founder of an institution that has endured for almost 2,000 years.

Students do not want to fail. They do not want to give up. They want new labels. But they often feel they have little chance when their peers, their parents, even their teachers react to their poor choices in “the same old ways.” We must never give up on expecting the most from our students. Let us be reminded as a new semester unfolds that with hard work, preparation, determination, and role models who believe in them, students will live up to our expectations. Happy New Year, Palma!

Yours in Blessed Edmund Rice,

Happy New Year from the Palma Houses!

Our Chieftains ended 2024 with a bang during the month of December. While our students studied and prepared for finals, they found the time to give during this season through Giving Tuesday and our annual beans and rice drive for Casa de Cultura. Our houses competed in our first ever “Holiday House Party Week” full of activities from an ugly Christmas sweater day, a gingerbread house challenge, and bingo night to our exciting Holiday House Games. Palm Branch took over the Chieftain Cup leaderboard for the first time until Dark Ash jumped back on top after attending our Game of the Week during the Scattini Basketball Tournament. The leaderboard is very close with only a few months left to crown our first Chieftain Cup Champion on May 1st!

In January, our students will celebrate two spirit weeks: a Winter Spirit Week and Catholic Schools Week. During our Winter Spirit Week, Chieftains will have dress up days, lunch time activities and a Winter sports rally to celebrate our athletes plus play some House games. Our Catholic Schools Week will be filled with more dress up days, lessons and activities. Our junior high students have planned a PJ themed dance for January 25th in our gym and we will close out January with the high school Winter Ball Dance hosted by Notre Dame on Saturday, February 1st. Details will be emailed as these events approach. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Harris via email (harris@gopalma.org).

May the coming year be filled with joy, love, and prosperity,

Start Your Day in Prayer
Morning Masses/Communion Services will resume on Wednesday, January 8th. Come join us on school day mornings at 7:30am in the Blessed Edmund Rice Chapel for Mass/prayer and community. All are welcome.

Prayers and Props
The Campus Ministry page on our website has short forms for Prayers and Props that allow you to share a Chieftain accomplishment that happened outside of school or submit a prayer request. Visit our web page (or use the button below) to share your props or to request prayers to be offered up during Palma’s Masses and Chapel Time.

Palma's Community Service Opportunities
Knowledge SERVICE Leadership
• On Wednesdays Palma students are invited to tutor students in elementary school at Sanchez Elementary. The van leaves after school from the chapel and returns by 4:30pm. Download the permission slip. (Looking for parent driver)
• On Thursdays Palma students are invited to visit with residents at Madonna Gardens.The van leaves after school from the chapel and returns by 4:15pm. Download the permission slip. (Looking for parent driver)

Community Service Hours
All high schoolers must have 60 hours of approved community service submitted by May 1 in order to participate in their senior graduation ceremony. Following (and on the campus ministry page) are several sites and opportunities. The hours must be service-oriented in relationship with people. Hours should be logged using their gopalma email on X2VOL. Students may see Mr. Beesley or Brother Mac for more information. Log in at https://www.x2vol.com/index.html

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Jacob’s Heart - Deliver groceries, decorate cards and grocery bags, assist staff with office tasks, etc. — CLICK HERE

All in Monterey County - Food drives every Wednesday. ALL-IN Drive Through Market at Seaside High School at 4:30pm until supplies run out. Volunteers help gift bounties of food to our guests as they drive through. — CLICK HERE

Blue Zones Project - Live longer, better. Encouraging changes in our community that lead to healthier options. — CLICK HERE

Save Our Shore - Foster thriving and sustainable ecosystems in the Monterey Bay and surrounding habitats through equitable environmental action. — CLICK HERE

Dorothy’s Place - Essential services and transitional support to people experiencing the injustice of homelessness and extreme poverty. — CLICK HERE

Seaside Parks - The city of Seaside schedules volunteer maintenance on selected parks throughout the year from 10am to 12pm. Bring your gloves, water and snacks. For schedules and their volunteer form — CLICK HERE

Visit the STUDENT OUTREACH page on our website for more volunteer opportunities. Do you know about an upcoming service opportunity? Contact Mr. Beesley at beesley@palmaschool.org.

December Basketball Tournaments
The Mickey Linehan Memorial Tournament showcased competitive junior high hoops talent. In the final matchup the Chieftains climbed back from a first quarter deficit but were never able to pull ahead of Buena Vista. Thank you to Cathy Linehan for her continued support of the tournament named for her late son.

Palma varsity basketball took second place in the Lucille & Luis Scattini Tournament. Palma’s Soren Roberts ’25 and Tai Suich ’27 worked tirelessly to keep the Chieftains within striking distance with Suich leading the charge offensively with 16 points and Roberts (15 points) contributing key plays. Despite their efforts, Marina Huntington Beach’s depth and discipline proved too much for the Chieftains. Thank you Scattini and Amaral families for making the Scattini Tournament a big success.

Palma Winter Sports
High school winter seasons are in full swing. Check out the schedules on palmaathletics.org to attend both boys’ and girls’ basketball, soccer and wrestling.

Home Campus
If you plan on participating on a High School spring sports team — (baseball, golf, lacrosse, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball) or Junior High golf, tennis, track & field, wrestling — and haven’t already done so, you need to get your athletic clearance before the season begins. Visit www.homecampus.com. Click “For Students & Parents” and select “California.” Returning users log into the existing account used the previous school year. New users need to create an account. Please register with a valid Parent/Guardian email address as the username and generate a password. Select “Start Clearance Here” and complete all of the required fields. Sign the documents by typing in an EXACT match of what is on the Student & Parent/Guardian page. Make sure to click “Save & Continue” after completing the files page to submit the clearance. Your clearance is ready for review by Palma School once you have reached the “Confirmation Message” page. YOU ARE NOT CLEARED YET. Palma must review and clear you. An email will be sent once you have been cleared.

Get Involved
There are a variety of ways the Palma community can participate at athletic events and we can never have too many volunteers. From helping out at games to providing the many hands needed at fund raising events, Palma parents help make athletics happen for our students.

Councelors Meeting with Juniors Biweekly
High School Counselors will begin meeting with juniors biweekly in their Theology classes. They will begin to prepare juniors for the college application process starting mid January.

Tips for Student Athletes
When it comes to athletic scholarships and college sports recruiting, it is important for you to become familiar with the rules and regulations surrounding the various college associations, conferences, and divisions. Violation of the rules, even while still in high school, can result in ineligibility in your future athletic career. Your first task should be to determine which associations (NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA) your prospective colleges and universities belong to, and then carefully review those group’s websites. College-bound student-athletes preparing to enroll in a Division I or Division II school need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center to ensure they have met amateurism standards and are academically prepared for college coursework. Before you can make official visits or sign a letter of intent you must be registered.

Parents’ Club in 2025
We are working on a number of events coming up this year including the Junior High Father-Son Game Day on February 1st, Father-Daughter Dance on February 22nd, Mother-Son Dinner Dance on March 1st and St. Patrick’s Gathering (becoming a take-out lunch and dine-in dinner this year) on March 12th. Email parentsclub@palmaschool.org to volunteer or find out more about these fun events.

Our next Parents’ Club meeting will be held on January 27th, at 6:00pm in the CSC. Join us.