De La Salles feature in the New Orleans Santa Fe District Newsletter

 

The excerpt below about De La Salle High School was featured in the New Orleans Santa Fe District December 2013 Newsletter

Click here for the entire newsletter in PDF format

 

De La Salle had a busy November. The Key Club opened the month by announcing a food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank. Soon after, our school’s Open House was held to huge success as 60 more families than were anticipated came to the school for tours and information. This is a very exciting occurrence. The current freshmen class is the largest since Hurricane Katrina, and the numbers are anticipated to be higher for both 8th and 9th grades this coming year.

The first quarter Honor Roll breakfast was held, with a strong attendance of gold and silver honor roll honorees. This is a very anticipated event by those students who qualify.

The New Orleans-Santa Fe Leadership Team visited with faculty and students for two days, and the Team members were impressed with the students and their love of the school. On the second day, Visitor Br. Timothy Coldwell and Mr. Charles Legendre presented President Michael Guillot and Principal Peggy St. John with the CLASP certificate that the school earned during last year’s visit.

Of course, the Huether Conference was a big event for DLS. Not only was yearbook adviser Kathleen Calder on the planning committee, but Tony Behan, Jan Ellis and student Christiana Ellard did a presentation on the school’s “one book social justice” project, and seniors Alec Bivona, Katie Hansche and Marisa Thomassie were readers/presenters at the opening prayer service and the Friday morning prayer service. We were pleased at the responses of praise we got for all of their participation. Additionally, the school closed on Friday so that all faculty members could attend the conference and the school could host the combined New Orleans-Santa Fe and San Francisco Districts jambalaya dinner that evening in our cafeteria.

Back for two days before the Thanksgiving holiday, the Key Club closed their food drive boxing their many donations for the food bank. On Tuesday, the school held its second “Legacy Breakfast” where those students currently in school are invited to join their fathers, mothers, grandfathers, and siblings who have graduated from DLS. The event was well-attended.

We closed November with our second annual multi-cultural and inter-faith Thanksgiving Prayer Service. We joke here that there are Lasallian schools in 80+ countries, but DLS is a Lasallian school with 80+ students and teachers from many countries. Organized by Kathleen Calder (Buttimer ’05), the service began with English teacher and bagpiper Hank Nusloch piping in Fathers Michel Schneller (our new school chaplain) and Buddy Noel (Archdiocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Director) to “Amazing Grace.” Greetings of “We are Lasallians” were made in their native tongues by students from China, Vietnam, Norway, France, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, several Latin American countries, and Francophone Canada.

After the choir sang “Sing a New Church,” students and faculty members gave presentations and offered prayers and blessings from families’ countries of origin and faith traditions, which included all of the world’s major religions and scriptures. A highlight of the service was student Ashlyn Ecklund’s offering a prayer from her family’s Cheyenne tribe, the Cheyenne, with the Great Spirit calling and people responding they follow and depend on him. Then, several French-born students led the “Notre Père”, the Latina girls led the “Ave Maria,” and the “Gloria Patria”, choir member Alex Boudloche sang “Baba Yetu” (the Lord’s Prayer) in Swahili, and the choir offered the traditional spiritual, “Amazing Grace.” Following the alma mater and “Honneur à Toi”, Mr. Nusloch led the recessional with a rousing “When the Saints Go Marching In” on the pipes. Dismissal and the Thanksgiving holidays ensued!

 

Ms. Kathleen Calder
Correspondent

Scroll to Top