Newsletter June 25

As you read this, we have just capped off an extremely successful year here at Palma School. Historic in so many ways, I am thankful for our faculty and staff for their work this past year, to our families who support us in so many ways, and to an incredible student body who came together this year to become a Palma Family.

A year of many successes, our students finished this last month with college acceptances, award ceremonies acknowledging their hard work in the classroom and out, graduations, grad night, and field trips, and much, much more. Palma never sleeps, and it won't be but a few days before our students are back on campus to work on their many endeavors for next year.

With that, some exciting changes are coming for this next school year. A digital marquee will be installed at the corner of Acacia and Iverson to publish the many activities here on campus and showcase our incredible students. We will break ground in June for the first phase of our athletic field improvement project. A new softball/baseball complex will be completed by the end of the semester, with new artificial turf to every corner of our fields to ensure that every inch of this campus is available for our students. In the summer of 2026, we will break ground on a brand new 9,500-square-foot sports performance complex that will sit at the intersection of Iverson and Palma Drive. I am thankful for the many gifts from our alumni and benefactors to make this a reality for our students today.

I hope you all enjoy a much-needed summer break, and I will see you all in August.

Go Chieftains,

Dear People of Palma,

June 1 is graduation day for our Senior Class 2025! Palma is blessed to celebrate two graduations for the Class of 2025 — the first of which was for our Eighth Grade students on May 30th. I would like to dedicate this letter to our graduates.

Graduation is both an end and a beginning. At this important juncture in your life, dear Chieftains, you move on from the current year to the next. Some of you are excited, some are anxious, others are nostalgic, still others may be thinking, “It's about time, thank God!” I bet we might find a teacher or two who would agree with you!

My hope and prayer for you is that you have learned that you are a gift to all of us, and that you are LOVED! The greatest challenge of teaching is to demonstrate a love that is unconditional, forgiving and sincere, and a love that is balanced by the need to insure consequences as a result of choices, both good and bad. It is my genuine hope that you have learned to love and be loved during your time here at Palma. Effective teaching requires the ultimate gift of self to students every day. Such teachers know that few students will never be able to show enough gratitude for that, but they love you anyway.

Parents of the graduates: you have sacrificed, volunteered your time, and invested your family, your entire selves into your son's and daughter's education here at Palma. And this is how it should be. Your children deserve it. They deserve to be loved. I congratulate you and encourage you in this noblest of life’s endeavors.

Graduates: whether you have been here for six years or one year, or any amount of time in between, it is no mistake that you have been here. I genuinely believe God has handpicked you to be here and in this very time in history. You have been chosen! You are special! And so . . . class of 2025, allow me to congratulate you. And permit me, if you will, to offer you this humble advice: don't forget who you have become here at Palma. Life will offer you its best dreams and its hardest trials, but through all these experiences I pray you will remember to be men and women of character who love confidently, with the confidence that you are loved!

Have a safe summer vacation filled with many opportunities for recreation! God bless you and your families. “Live, Jesus, in our hearts … forever!”

Yours in Blessed Edmund Rice,

Life Members have qualified and applied for membership to CSF based on grades earned during four of their sophomore, junior, and senior semesters, one semester of which must be during senior year. CSF Life Members were able to wear gold CSF cords at the graduation ceremony and also have the official CSF gold seal affixed to their diplomas.

High school students should watch for the CSF membership drives in September and February of each school year. Students become eligible to apply after the first semester of freshman year and must reapply for membership each semester.

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.

Time to Light Up the Night
Last year a whole lot of volunteers had a whole lot of fun working our fireworks booth. This is a good fund raiser to start out the new school year and gives us great visibility in the community. Please consider signing up for a short three-hour shift. The booth will be open from noon until 9:00pm on Saturday, June 28th, then from 9:00am to 9:00pm Sunday, June 29th through Friday, July 4th. The booth will be located in the Carl’s Jr. parking lot on N. Davis Road in Salinas. I hope to see you at the booth as a volunteer and/or to purchase your fireworks. Sign up below.

Get Involved
There are a variety of ways the Palma community can participate at athletics 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 and friends are the ones who make athletics happen for our Chieftains.

You can find daily athletic update on my Twitter feed at @CoachBishop. I tweet upcoming game times for all sports each week as well as results and other fun information regarding Palma and Palma Athletics.

The Class of 2025 is Off to College!
Another year is in the history books! It’s time for our graduating seniors to begin the experiences of life after high school. Once again, Palma School graduates have indicated their intentions to continue their education in colleges and universities across the nation. This year’s class has selected a diverse collection of colleges and universities. Our 2025 grads can be found on a total of seven different CSU campuses: one student will be attending Chico, eight students will be attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, one at Long Beach, four at Monterey Bay, two at San Diego, one at San Jose, and one at Sonoma. Our students will also be attending five different UC campuses: one at Irvine, two at Los Angeles, one at San Diego, three at Santa Barbara, and one at Santa Cruz. Palma grads are also on their way to other great colleges like: Boise State, Colorado State, Grand Canyon University, Loyola University Chicago, Montana State, Montana Tech, Oregon State, Regis University, Saint Mary’s College (five students), Santa Clara University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, University of Arizona, University of Dallas, University of Michigan, University of Nevada, University of Oklahoma, University of Oregon, University of San Diego (three students), University of San Francisco (two students), and Westmont College (two students). Our students will also be attending several community colleges: Cabrillo College, Cuesta College (three students), Gavilan College, Hartnell College (nine students), Monterey Peninsula College (10 students), and San Jacinto College.

The Keys to Success
In the fall, returning students and parents should continue to take advantage of Palma’s outstanding web-based guidance program called SCOIR. It is an online research and planning tool for Palma students, parents, and guidance counselors. The website manages individual students as they move through the entire college planning, application, and decision process. Through SCOIR, counselors and students can communicate about pending deadlines and receive important notices directly. SCOIR is an important resource for college and career planning and can assist the student in making informed decisions about his or her future. SCOIR allows you to search for colleges, compare academic stats, research careers and find scholarship opportunities. In addition, SCOIR allows you to see how you compare with Palma alumni who applied to your favorite colleges in the past, monitor your applications, prepare a resume, ask for letters of recommendation, and find scholarships. Parents are encouraged to create their account in SCOIR to link to their son’s or daughter's account.

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 child is planning to attend a four-year college, he/she 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 five-credit course during summer school will only replace one five-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 universities require that incoming college freshman need at least two years of credit in the same foreign language. This means that a student who completed one year of Chinese 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 prior to graduation. Palma students have a number of options for accomplishing this requirement.

Junior Monthly Reminder
• Continue to explore colleges and financial aid opportunities.
• Look into summer programs, workshops, internships, or jobs.
• Continue to work on your common application and essays.
• SCOIR and The Common Application open up on August 1st for private and out of state applications.
• The UC Application opens up on August 1st.

NeWSLETTER

June 2025

In this issue

LETTER from the PrESIDENT

LETTER from the Principal

CAMPUS MINISTRY

ATHLETICS

Guidance