Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • May 12, 2023 19 Mississippi Secretary of State Watson visits Sacred Heart Catholic School HATTIESBURG -- Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson visited with Sacred Heart High School students regarding public service and his faith journey on April 25. Senior, Ameze Ekunwe, is a Middle College student at Sacred Heart Catholic School which means she is dually enrolled at Sacred Heart and Pearl River Community College (PRCC). While attending a PRCC Legislative Breakfast, Ekunwe met Watson and invited him to speak to her fellow classmates at Sacred Heart. “When I first met the Secretary of State,” said Ekunwe, “I knew that other students in my grade would enjoy hearing his story. His story is a perfect example of how faith connects with careers, especially careers in politics.” Watson spoke about the importance of understanding your government and voting for people that support your values and beliefs. He encouraged students to vote good people into office and then hold them accountable. From a faith perspective, Watson shared how he discovered public service and ways he was able to stand true in his belief system. He said, “Once you decide who you are and what you believe, establish that with others and stay con- sistent in your actions and words.” According to the Secretary of State website (2022), Watson’s mission is to “make govern- ment smaller, more accessible, cost-effective and transparent while providing the highest level of customer service.” Eight divisions cur- rently fall under the umbrella of Secretary of State in Mississippi: Business Services & Regulation, Charities, Elections, External Affairs, Policy & Research, Publications, Public Lands and Securities. Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson visits with Sacred Heart High School students about his faith and public service. S t . V incent de P aul E lementary S chool , L ong B each Artist visits students On Wednesday, April 19, Ocean Springs artist Gail Cheney visited the art students at St. Vincent dePaul Catholic School in Long Beach. The students learned about her in art class and created projects inspired by Cheney’s work she calls Fantasy Paintings . In these works of art, Cheney takes pieces of clay and decides what that piece wants to be ... a mouse, a fox, a fish, etc. She presses patterns into the clay and fires it. In the meantime, she creates a background on yupo paper or illustration board. After the clay piece is glazed, she attaches it to the background. For the students’ projects, they decided on an ani- mal and rolled out a lump of clay into a slab. They cre- ated a contour of their animal and used various materi- als to create patterns in it. Then using watercolor cray- ons on canvas panels, the students created backgrounds for their animals ... they could be fantasy backgrounds or the animal’s habitat. When Cheney visited the school, she was able to show the students some of her Fantasy Paintings and explain how much she loves being an artist. She was also excited to see what the students created in response to her work. The students' work will be on display again at the school’s art show. You can see Gail Cheney's work at My Happy Place Gallery in Ocean Springs, the gift shop at Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, and Gallery 782 Co-Art in Biloxi. Created by sixth grader Isabella Dardar Created by fifth grader Jackson Burns Right, Created by fourth grader Emma Ingram Left, Created by first grader Beau Corbit