Gulf Pine Catholic

12 Gulf Pine Catholic • May 18, 2018 Spotlight on Schools D iocesan H appenings Each year students at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Hattiesburg grow vegetable gardens. This year third and first grade students planted and cultivated vegetable seeds and plants in two large salad tables and two hydroponic tower gardens with the help of their teachers, Nora Rempel and Lisa Brown; Master Gardener volunteer, Russ York; and parent and community volunteers. Throughout the growing season, students enthusiastically cared for their gardens-watering, weeding, and observing the daily changes. The overall goal of the gardening project is to educate students, faculty, parents, and the community about the benefits of both hydroponic tower and traditional gardening. After harvesting the gardens, students enjoyed eating the fruits of their labor: healthy salads. By caring for the gardens, children learn about caring for the environment and creation. Pictured are seniors Jacob Ratliff, Sarah Berry Pierce, Alex Wade, Nyah Jordan, Monica Salda (sponsor), Sloan Russell, Madison Alliston and Cameron Miller. The Sacred Heart Speech and Debate team com- peted at the Mississippi High School Activities Association State Tournament on April 21. The team had three individual state champions: Nyah Jordan, Poetry Interpretation; Alex Wade, Program Oral Interpretation; and Chris Wade, Declamation. The team finished the year at second overall for all divisions (1A- 6A) in the MHSAA State Team Sweepstakes, and placed second in speech events. Of the top six overall performers recognized, Sacred Heart had three -- Nyah Jordan second, Alex Wade fourth, and Chris Wade fifth. Team sponsor Monica Salda was named the MHSAA Middle School Speech and Debate Coach of the Year, and senior Madison Alliston was named Speech and Debate Student of the Year for 2018. Sacred Heart School is proud to announce the addition of a Reading/ Dyslexia Specialist to its school staff. Karyn Charles, M.Ed., L.D.T, C.A.L.T., licensed pyschometrist, will offer services on the elementary and high school campuses during the school day, beginning with the 2018-2019 school year. Charles has nine years of experi- ence as a dyslexia therapist, with five years at Dynamic Dyslexia Design (The 3-D School) and as an assistant instructor in William Carey University’s master’s pro- gram for dyslexia therapy. She has spent the last two years as a sixth grade language arts teacher at Sacred Heart, providing therapy services to elementary stu- dents before and after school. With the creation of this new position, Sacred Heart will offer dyslexia therapy and support to students of all ages. Charles will be responsible for dyslexia screening of all kindergarten and first grade students and will provide student support services that include mainte- nance of dyslexia therapy, homework and writing sup- port, note-taking and study skills and small group instruction with elementary reading groups. She will also serve as the school administrator of admissions testing and IOWA testing. For students who need additional services, Charles will continue to provide full dyslexia therapy and psy- chometric testing services to families for a fee. These services include IQTesting for Gifted Studies (Cognitive Skills Assessment), reading assessments and identifica- tion of underlying causes of academic difficulties through assessments. Charles Sacred Heart Catholic School, Hattiesburg Vietnamese Martyrs Parish, Biloxi On April 21, youth and adults from Vietnamese Martyrs Parish in Biloxi had the opportunity to volunteer at our local community kitch- en, Loaves and Fishes . Established in 1983, Loaves and Fishes con- tinues to serve the needy, providing three meals a day, four days of the week. “Teachers, parents, fellow classmates, and I arrived early Saturday morning and prepared a lunch consisting of fried rice, gumbo, eggrolls, and a variety of desserts. At 11:30 a.m., people of all ages and back- grounds began lining up, but the main thing we noticed was how grate- ful everyone was; constantly, we heard ʽthank you!’ No doubt, the Vietnamese Martyrs Church will be there again, ready to give our time and abilities to our community,” said Lien Tran, Vietnamese Martyrs confirmation student. “Loaves and fishes is one of the best opportunities I have taken,” said eleventh grader Alex Nguyen. “I’ve encountered many great people including a man named John, who shared stories of his life and being homeless. He taught me to appreciate the many things I have in life.” Added H.D., another confirmation student,“If I learned anything from this eye opening experience is don’t judge someone who is down unless you're helping them up.”