Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • May 18, 2018 15 Spotlight on Schools The red carpet was rolled out recently for over 100 special guests. The guests, disabled adults from the community, attended ‟Rock the Night Away,” a prom hosted by Saint Stanislaus and Our Lady Academy seniors in conjunction with the South Mississippi Regional Center and The Disability Connection.As guests arrived, they were greeted and crowned as royalty for the night. They took pictures in a limo and were given a unique flower arrangement hand-made by Saint Stanislaus and OLA seniors. Inside the event, the dance floor was packed and the music was in full swing, thanks to our Saint Stanislaus DJs. Each year Saint Stanislaus sends a small group of students and faculty members on a mission trip to Klagetoh, Arizona. The service and learning trip to St. Anne’s Mission in Klagetoh has been an active ministry of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart for many years. Participants spend a week in service to the Navajo people, ‟walking in beauty.” This year, Saint Stanislaus sent two groups to St. Anne's -- one over the Thanksgiving break and another over the Easter break. Service projects on the trips this year included cleaning out homes, pumping water from a well, cleaning out sheep and horse corrals, repairing corral fences, digging a hole for an outhouse, re-shin- gling a roof, painting a barn, hosting an Easter egg hunt for the community, hosting a game night for the nearby boarding school children, clearing sage brush, and col- lecting volcanic rocks from one of the sacred moun- tains for the sweat lodge. This year, five students and two faculty members were able to experience the beauty of the Navajo peo- ple over the Thanksgiving break and eleven students and four faculty members over Easter. Thanksgiving participants were Tim Roberts, Letha Boudreaux, William Weber, Jack Wikoff, Chris Luffey, Jacob Kurka, and Leandro France. Easter participants were Letha Boudreaux, Jeff Jordan, Gus Dos Santos, Chris Davis ’98, Alex Rimmer, Nathan Hale, Leandro France, William Weber, Philip Wittmann, Jack Wikoff, Jacob Burleson, Austin Gardner, Nicholas Ray, Zach Whitley, and Robin Spanks. The Advanced Band traveled to Pearl River Community College where they participated in the South Mississippi Band Festival. The Band received an overall ‟Superior” rating, the highest rating available. St. Stanislaus College, Bay St. Louis Marine Science students got a personal tour of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship the Okeanos Explorer recently. The Explorer is ‟the only federally funded U.S. ship assigned to systematically explore our largely unknown ocean for the purpose of discovery and the advancement of knowledge,” according to the NOAAwebsite. The ship was preparing for a major expedition in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Twice a year, Saint Stanislaus and Our Lady Academy retreatants unplug from their devices. The students retreat from chronological time so they can enter God’s time -- called ‟Kairos” in the New Testament. In March, campus ministry directors Betsy Gagnet and Brother Bernard Couvillion offered the 20th edition of the Kairos retreat series: a three-night, four-day, student-led experience based on the Cursillo movement. During Kairos, student and adult leaders probe key themes: knowing themselves, discovering God in their life, responding to God’s call, and living in union with Christ. The setting is Fr. Kelley Retreat Center in Bay Saint Louis, a ministry of the DivineWord Missionaries. The four days, with a rigorous 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. schedule, follow a rhythm of music-based meditations, sacramental celebrations, experience-based talks, jour- naling, small group exchange, times of silence, and sharing in meals and recreation. Over time, a spirit of trust and unity builds among retreatants. A key feature of Kairos is that it is peer-led. The student team is composed of seniors who have already experienced the retreat, with a few faculty members steeped in the Kairos spirit. In his introduction, Brother Bernard likes to explain to the retreatants, ‟The difference between Kairos and other retreats is that it focuses mostly on helping you find your own personal story of relationship with God during a few days of discerning and discovery. During the process, you will have the opportunity to become very close to the others involved in the retreat. As it unfolds in a spirit of mutual openness, reflection, and trust, a strong sense of community takes hold. And God is present in that community.”