Date: 13 November 2015
Weekly Memorandum No. 2015 – 11.2
TO: AdZUHS Community
FROM: Father Principal
1. Principal’s Message:
May I please make an appeal in behalf of the Society of Jesus?
Every year during November, the Philippine Jesuit Aid Association (PJAA) sponsors a monthly series of Masses for our dear departed. Forms are distributed on which the names of your beloved departed may be placed, and all these will be included in the Masses celebrated in all Jesuit institutions.
The Campus Ministry offices have PJAA envelopes with the form where you write the names of your departed ones. If you have any donation, put it in the envelope together with the form and seal it before returning it to the CMO. Of course, any offering which you may wish to make is purely voluntary.
As you know, whatever amount received in this undertaking is used for the support of the young Jesuits in their formation for ordination to the priesthood or in their service as Jesuit Brothers. The young Filipino Jesuits like Fr. Karel San Juan, Fr. Gil Donayre, Fr. Arnel Ong, Rev. Patrick Nogoy, Bro. Carlo Lacang, Bro. Eric Esteba, myself and other young Jesuits whom you know have been recipients of this noble drive. As priests and scholastics, we are gratefully committed to pray for our benefactors and friends as well as relatives who generously support the projects of the PJAA.
We hope you will continue to help the Society of Jesus in this regard. Be assured that we shall all pray together during this coming month of November that those of our dear ones who have been called home by the Lord may restin eternal peace.
2. Characteristic of Jesuit Education (CJE). Jesuit education takes place within a structure that promotes community. A greater degree of shared responsibility has developed in recent years. Increasingly, decisions are made only after receiving advice through informal consultations, formal committees and other means; all members of the educational community are kept informed about decisions and about important events in the life of the school. In order to be truly effective, a sharing of responsibility must be based on a common vision or common sense of purpose.
3. Faculty Updates
a. Fr. Principal will be on leave on November 16-23, Monday to Monday; he will be back to work on November 24, Tuesday. In his absence, Ms. Rosie M. Hong, AP Academics, will be Officer-in-Charge; she is also authorized to make decisions and sign documents in behalf of the principal.
b. We welcome Ms. Jennylyn D. Gamueta, our new Guidance Counselor who took the place vacated by Mrs. Sheila L. Tiong, now working at the College Guidance Office. Ms. Gamuetatook her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Western Mindanao State University, and is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counselling at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
c. Mrs. Mila M. Lacson, AdZUHS librarian will attend the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI) National Congress on November 24 – 27, 2015in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. In her absence, Ms Minnie Bello is OIC.
d. The proposed paper of Mr. Espiridion D. Atilano Jr. entitled “Peace Education Integration in Ateneo de Zamboanga University High School: Best Practices and Challenges” has been chosen for presentation during the Conference on Creating Spaces for Peace in Mindanao on November 25, 2015, at Father SaturninoUrios University, Butuan City.
e. Mr. Jeffrey O. Jalani, a member of the Committee of the National Organization for Science Teachers and Educators (NOSTE), one of the professional organizations based in West Visayas State University, Iloilo City, will attend the NOSTE meeting and planning workshop on November 28-29, 2015, in Iloilo City.
4. Student Updates
a. Congratulations to our three (3) Gr. 10 Magis students – Ildefonso A. Deloria III, Lee Alec C. Salasa, and Hans Xavier W. Wong – who successfully hurdled the Qualifying Stage of the 18th Philippine Mathematical Olympiad. They were among the Top 50 students in Mindanao, outsmarting hundreds of student mathematicians, who took the written exams last October 17, 2015. Together with the other top 50 qualifiers in other geographical areas (Luzon, Visayas, and National Capital Region), they will take another exams on November 14, 2015 to determine the 20 national finalists. We thank Mr. Eric Jude Y. Ismael, for coaching our budding Mathematicians.
5. Activities and Events for:
November 16 – 20, 2015 (Monday to Saturday)
a. November 16, Mon. * Morning assembly sponsor: Ateneo Cathetical Instruction League (ACIL)
Moderator: Ms. Maria Sarah Velasco
* 7:30 – 8:30 AM Group Guidance Session: “On Cyber Addiction”
AVR 1: Grs. 8 Arrowsmith, De Brito, Claver
AVR 2: Grs. 8 Bellarmine, Campion, Pongracz, Regis
* 4PM -5PM: General Faculty and Staff Meeting (c/o Ms. Rosie M. Hong)
Agenda: 1. AtFest Updates and HS participation
(c/oMr. Carlito Robin & Mr. Ricky Baluca)
2. Medical-Dental Mission (c/o Infirmary Nurses)
3. Institutional Christmas Party (c/o Mr. Honey Rod Alfaro)
4. Alumni Homecoming and other announcements (c/o Ms. Rosie Hong)
Scribe: Bro.GeovanieBaco
b. November 17, Tue. * 4PM – 5PM: Counselor’s Year Level Meeting Venue: AVR 1
c. November 18, Wed. * 7 AM Gr. 7 St Colombiere Class Mass Moderator: Ms. Fhadzmalyn A. Issan
d. November 19, Thu. * 9AM – 12nn: Presidential Management Team meeting (HS rep: Ms. R. Hong)
e. November 20, Fri. * Expected Distribution of Report Cards * 7 AM Gr. 7 St. Daniel Class Mass Moderator: Mr. Ronel L. Layese
f. November 21, Sat. * 8AM – 11:30 AM Alternative Class for Gr. 8 Students (c/ AHSSA) Venue: HS Lobby
* 7:45 AM to 12 nn: Outreach activities for Lunzuran Elementary Pupils for 9 Student Organizations (YASEd, SocMAt, ITS, ACIL, Blue Eagle, La Liga Atenista, ADC, Animo Aguila, Book Lovers Club)
November 23 – 29, 2015 (Monday to Sunday)
.
a. November 23, Mon. * Morning assembly sponsor: Sociedad de Primer Companeros (SdPC)
Moderator: Bro. Cosme Carlo A. Lacang, SJ
* 7:30 – 8:30 AM Group Guidance Session: “True Love Waits Part 2”
AVR 1: All Gr. 9 Students (Girls Only)
AVR 2: All Gr. 9 Students (Boys Only)
Backstage Lobby: All Gr. 10 Students (Girls Only)
Faculty Lounge: All Gr. 10 Students (Boys Only)
b. November 24, Tue. *
c. November 25, Wed. * 7 AM Gr. 7 St. Faber Class Mass Moderator: Bro. John Eric E. Esteba, SJ
d. November 26, Thu. *
e. November 27, Fri. * 7 AM Gr. 7 St. Southwell Class Mass Moderator: Bro. Geovanie S. Baco
f. November 28, Sat. * 8AM – 11:30 AM: 2nd AdZU HS Mathematics Quiz Bowl Final Round Venue: Fr. Eusebio Salvador Campus
* 8AM – 11:30 AM: AdZU Board of Trustees meeting
* 8AM – 12 nn: “Building Positive Relationship with Our Teens” seminar for Parents and Guardians, with Mr. & Mrs. Felix Louell Saavedra as resource speakers. Venue: AVR 1
g. November 29, Sun. * 8AM – 11:30AM: Medical-Dental Mission (200 beneficiaries from Masepla Transitory sites; cf. separate detailed announcements)
6. Teach us to Pray: Grieving in Prayer
Fr. James Martin, SJ
Because All Souls Day falls on the second day of the month, November is a time when Catholics remember the “faithful departed,” those souls who are still in purgatory and, more broadly, all those who have gone before us. During this month, then, I often think about what it means to grieve in prayer.
Even devout believers sometimes feel uncomfortable expressing sadness in prayer. They may feel that it is somehow ungrateful. But, as in any relationship, if a person expresses only the feelings he or she thinks they “should” express, the relationship grows cold. God desires for us to be ourselves in prayer, and that includes being honest when we are mourning the death of a loved one, experiencing sadness over failures, or dealing with loss as we transition to a new stage of life.
One way to grieve in prayer is to imagine sitting with Jesus. Remember that Jesus himself knew true sadness and real loss. Of course his greatest grief came at the crucifixion, when his disciples abandoned him and he had to accept what looked like an apparent end to his great project. But earlier in life, Jesus most likely wept over the death of St. Joseph, who, significantly, is not present at the crucifixion.
Imagine yourself sitting with Jesus, and share your grief with one who understands these emotions. If you feel comfortable, you might imagine Jesus speaking to you about loss. In this way you may feel a deeper union with the God who grieves alongside us.
James Martin is a Jesuit priest and author of “Between Heaven and Mirth”, “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything”, and “My Life with the Saints”.
