Dear People of Palma,
Lent is almost here — the season of repentance, change, and rededication to the spiritual life for each of us individually and collectively. We take these 40 days of Lent to venture into our own metaphorical “deserts,” where we discipline ourselves in an effort to rearrange our priorities. By our renewed commitment to prayer, fasting and almsgiving (acts of charity), we reestablish God as #1. This is the process of metanoia, the Greek word of the gospels, meaning a total and spiritual conversion or awakening — a fundamental and repentant change of character. Please consider attending our Lenten Mass Series offered at 5:30pm (not 7:00pm as in the past) in the Bl. Edmund Rice Chapel here on campus on Wednesdays during Lent.
DINNER Wednesday, March 12th the Parents’ Club is hosting the 56th annual St. Patrick’s event, which will be a dinner this year. Folks can enjoy a scrumptious meal with their loved ones in a festive Irish atmosphere, beginning at 6:30pm, after our first 5:30pm Lenten Mass of the season. Food will be catered by Rancho Cielo’s famed culinary academy and orders need to be placed now. Please see information enclosed. Order by Wednesday, March 5th!
TAKE-OUT LUNCH In keeping with traditions of the past, take-out box lunches are also available; order by Wednesday, March 5th. Treat yourselves, your co-workers, your employees, even your favorite Chieftains who will be on campus that day! High school students can opt for the St. Patrick’s box lunch or they can buy from clubs who plan to organize a “food fair” in the A-Quad. Orders of 10+ can be delivered to you! Junior high school students can opt for the box lunch or they can buy pizza. Remember that there will be classes on March 12th and the café will be closed that day, but you have options.
Thank you, in advance, for your support in our efforts to celebrate community at Palma School! Let’s have a great Lent. Go Chieftains!
Yours in Blessed Edmund Rice,
CSF stands for the California Scholarship Federation, whose mission is to recognize and encourage academic achievement and community service among high school students in California. There are approximately 1500 chapters throughout the state, and each chapter is composed of students who meet CSF eligibility requirements. Eligible students become members by submitting applications based on their report card grades. Membership is for one semester, and membership drives are held twice each year within established periods dictated by CSF bylaws.
The list below includes high school students who not only had fall 2024 semester grades and behavior records that qualified them to apply for membership but who also met the mandatory deadline for submitting an application. Students must reapply each semester they are eligible; the next application period will be in September based on the current semester’s grades.
HOUSE HAPPENINGS
Holly Harris
Director of Student Activities/
House Director
email
CAMPUS MINISTRY
Willie Beesley ’86
Director of Campus Ministry
email
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday Masses will be celebrated during periods one through three on Wednesday, March 5th. There will be no 7:30am Mass that day.
A Pilgrim’s Journey — Lent 2025
The theme for Lent is “A Pilgrim’s Journey.” Every pilgrimage we take is a journey to the heart. Please join us on Wednesday evenings at 5:30pm in the Blessed Edmund Rice Chapel for our Lenten Mass Series starting on March 12th. The series will continue every Wednesday evening through April 16th.
Start Your Day in Prayer
Come join us on school day mornings at 7:30am in the Blessed Edmund Rice Chapel for Mass/prayer and community. All are welcome.
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
Boys/Girls State
Congratulations to Elsie Sargenti ’26 and Paige Settrini ’26 for being selected to participate in the annual California Boys/Girls State Leadership Camp and to Rachelle Andrade ’26 and Maya Martinez ’26 for being selected as alternates. Boys/Girls State is a nationwide program with a number of excellent organizations educating young men/women to be the leaders of tomorrow. American Legion Boys/Girls State is among the most respected and selective educational programs of government instruction for U.S. high school students. A participatory program in which students become part of the operation of local, county and state government. Boys/Girls State was founded in 1935.
Ready For a College Road Trip?
Well, consider visiting colleges during Spring break or this summer. If you’re just beginning the college search process, start your visits close to home. Even if you don’t plan on attending a local college, visits to nearby institutions will allow you to more carefully focus on such factors as size, diversity of student body, type of institution, majors and courses of study. Visit both public and private colleges, residential and commuter campuses, universities and liberal arts colleges. Once you’ve determined the characteristics most important to you, you can begin visiting colleges that are further away. Seniors who have begun receiving admissions decisions may want to pay a second (or third) visit to each campus they are seriously considering. This is the time to go beyond the group tour. If possible, arrange an overnight visit with a stay in the dorms. Attend classes and talk with current students about what they like and don’t like. Eat at the dining hall, and check out the library. Picture yourself attending that school, and determine where on your list of acceptances that college falls.
College Blogs Provide an Insider’s View
In an attempt to forge a greater connection with prospective applicants, admission offices across the U.S. are recruiting current students to write blogs about their college experience. Although these officially sanctioned (but uncensored) blogs can sound a bit like a promotional tool, they often do provide a real insider’s view of life at that institution. Happily, bloggers are likely to tell you about the good and the bad. Ideally, the reader will come away with an idea of what makes that college unique and interesting. Blogs put a very human face on the institutional facade. At some schools these students receive a small stipend, while at others they are volunteers. But are they really helpful? At MIT, the admissions website gets 15,000 page views a day. An MIT survey of admitted students revealed that blogs were among the three most useful things in helping students to decide to attend.
