Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • February 7, 2020 23 Spotlight on Schools St. Patrick freshman, Emerson Morris, took advan- tage of the opportunity to speak at Biloxi’s City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 28, concerning the Bonne Carré Spillway. Morris is currently doing independent research on the effects of the Bonne Carré Spillway on the Gulf of Mexico. According to her research, Morris found that our gulf waters had a direct impact on the algae bloom. Morris asked the city council for their support of certain projects being implemented by Mayor Fofo Gilich ND ’65 and former Biloxi mayor Gerald Blessey. According to Morris’ research, these projects would lessen the impact of algae blooms occurring in the future and protect the economic, environmental, and recreational interests of the Mississippi Sound. “I contacted Cecilia Dobbs-Walton, who works for the city of Biloxi, about my research on a type of bac- teria called microcystis,” said Morris, who is working on the research in her Biology I class. Dobbs-Walton would later invite her to speak to city leaders on her research. Morris will use her research as part of a proj- ect at the Mississippi Regional Science and Engineering Fair later this year. Hopefully, her research can help to heal our Mississippi Sound recover from the algae bloom. Mayor FoFo Gilich and Emerson Morris St. Patrick Catholic High School, Biloxi Maria De Los Santos’s and Michelle Polovich’s PK4 class recently celebrated Chinese New Year. The PK4 class says “Gung Hat Fat Choy” to all of your readers. This translates into “wishing you great happiness and prosperity” in Cantonese. The students had a great time learning about the Chinese culture. They dressed in special clothes, shared Chinese food and learned a few words of Chinese. “Our students need to learn about other cultures,” said Cindy Hahn, OLF principal. “In this day and age, global awareness is very important. Being globally aware tends to make for well-rounded individuals who are very open- minded.” Our Lady of Fatima Parish School, Biloxi After attending student Mass, the fifth and sixth grade classes gathered to watch the closing Mass at the March for Life Rally. Along with viewing the Mass, the students listened to President Trump’s address to the audience. This year’s theme, “Life Empower: Pro-Life is Pro-Woman,” especially resonated with sixth grader, Michelle Jumpa. “It opened my eyes as to how most people don’t realize or even think about all the responsibilities and power a woman truly has,” said Jumpa. At Our Lady of Fatima Elementary, we encourage our students to learn and discuss challenging subject matters. Our Lady of Fatima Parish School, Biloxi Third grade students from St. Charles Borromeo Elementary School created a ‟Holy Family New Year's Resolution” with their parents for the upcoming 2020 year. Students and parents had to create a family prayer, list a scripture verse they would like to memorize, state how their family will treat each other with kindness, and then all family members were encouraged to sign the resolution. The resolutions allowed the students and parents to reflect on how their family can model after the Holy Family. St. Charles Borromeo Elementary School, Picayune