Cristo Rey Jesuit Garage Sale Supports Campus Ministry

The Cristo Rey Jesuit Campus Garage Sale raised $650 on March 5 for Campus Ministry programs. With all of the help from staff and students, Sarah Ramirez, Campus Ministries assistant and garage sale organizer, was happy with the way the students came together to help Campus Ministries. “A little bit of everything was sold,” Ramirez said.

College Tour in LA — Amazing!

Editorial by Fabiola Cuevas, Lion's Den Reporter

On the chilly morning in February, Loreny Gomez, Taylor Roberson, Samantha Salinas, and I flew to the beautiful city of Los Angeles to visit Mount Saint Mary’s University (MSMU), a predominantly women’s university. The four of us were offered an opportunity to participate in an overnight program; an all-paid trip to LA. This opportunity would allow us to experience a day in the life of a MSMU student and life in the city. We were able to have a taste of residence dorm life, while staying in the dorms with our student hostess.

I immediately fell in love with the campus. It's on a hill in between Santa Monica beach and Westwood. The campus has a view of LA, and a beautiful view of Santa Monica. The weather was perfect. I later found out from my hostess, “MSMU students are kind of spoiled with the weather up here. It’s always really nice here compared to other parts of LA,” she said.

We walked up to the admissions office where each student was assigned to a student hostess that was majoring in our same major of interest. I shadowed my hostess, Viviana Sanchez, to her last class of the day. We then gathered my luggage and settled into her dorm room, which had three beds with a community bathroom, and a spare bed for me. After a couple of hours of instant bonding and friendship we went for dinner in the Cafe, then headed to a lab where I aided her in her lab experiment, splitting DNA for reading!

The following morning we attended two classes, participated in a mini scavenger hunt, and then boarded an MSMU shuttle to downtown to see the LA Art Walk. Downtown was full of life at night! Our chaperons from MSMU explained how, “Downtown LA switches from business during the day to life with culture, and full of tourist at night.” Art and music were on every corner.

Although I was only visiting for three days, I could immediately picture myself being happy spending my next four years in LA attending MSMU. The University has everything I am looking for in a school, including the major and minor I want to pursue, the clubs I was hoping to join, the intramural sports I was looking for, organizations such as study abroad, small class sizes, and a suburban campus. The school seems too perfect to be real for me, but I loved every part of it. My advice....if you get a chance to go on a campus tour, jump at the chance!

Kadoma Returns to Advise on Vans Design Contest

Jayvier Green, Lion's Den Reporter

In March, a sneaker icon and old friend of the school came back to visit. Our friend Bryan Angelle, A.K.A Kadoma, the founder, manager and creative director of the Sneaker Summit, and his social media manager, gave us advice on how to be successful in the Vans Custom Culture competition. During class, he skyped in Jake Danklefs, who has custom designed shoes for Olympians and rappers. Danklefs provided interesting tips on the best materials to use when decorating our entries.

Angelle provided some history on the Vans brand and how they were pioneers by becoming the first company to create custom versions of their shoes. Since he was extremely impressed with our school after his last visit, Angelle wanted to help us enter into the Vans Custom Culture competition for a chance to win $50,000 for our school! See additional information below.

He’s been an important contact to have. Each member of the CRJ Journalism class wrote him a personal thank you for all of his support in hopes that he continues to be a friend to the school for many years to come.

Supplies Donated for Vans Custom Culture Competition

Thank you Angelus Direct for donating supplies to our students so they can design fantastic Van shoes to be entered into the Vans Custom Culture competition. We will have four shoe design entries, which will be competing for a $50,000 prize.

Show Off Your Talents At Our Art Festival On May 7

Do you like photography, painting, or have a talent you want to show off during our talent show at the Cristo Rey Jesuit Art Festival on May 7? Sign up at Arts on Fire to participate or volunteer for the Arts on Fire Art Festival that will be held from 10 until 2 p.m. You'll be surrounded by talent and activity as you indulge in food and fun!

Prom Theme Announced

After anxiously awaiting our prom announcement, the prom theme was recently revealed to surprised students. All juniors and seniors are invited to attend the marvelous ball, "Once Upon A Time In The Enchanted Forest" at The Westin Galleria on Friday, April 15, starting at 8 p.m. Please wear school-approved formal wear.

Edited by Ashley Caraway and Lizbeth Alvarez

Welcome to the Yo, Ledo! advice column. We received a variety of questions in the boxes in the cafeteria and via the online form. We will answer the remaining questions in future issues of The Lion’s Den. This month's answers were provided by Dean Gutierrez.

Dear Ledo,

Why can't we use our phones before/after school in the hallway?

Yours truly,
Expert Texter

Dear Expert Texter,

Cell phones are disruptive in school and students have yet to show they know how to use them. There are far too many pictures being taken in school and too many students using social media that identifies them as CRJ students. Additionally, it’s unprofessional for everyone to be walking around in the halls on their phones. If we were to have potential donors tour the school and students are walking the halls or in class on their phone, it would not represent us well.

Yours,
Ledo

Dear Ledo,

Why can't our parents bring us outside food for lunch?

Yours truly,
Starving Sophomore

Dear Starving Sophomore,

If a parent wants to come and take their child out for lunch, they are free to do so as long as the student is back by the end of the lunch period. We participate in a federal program that restricts students from eating fast food on campus.

Hope this helps,
Ledo

We Have A Winning Swim “Team”!

Raul Mejia, Lion's Den Reporter

Cristo Rey Jesuit has a swimming team — of one — although our school doesn’t have a pool to practice in. The lone member, Joel Ramirez, who is a sophomore, has been a member of our swimming team since January 2016. And, what a swimmer! Ramirez finished 1st place in State in the 200-yard freestyle and 2nd place in State in the 50-yard freestyle.

Ramirez, who currently trains with the Harris County Aquatics Program swim organization, is interested in following his passion and joining the swim team at either the University of Texas at Austin or Texas A&M. “The University of Texas’ swimming team coach is an Olympic coach,” Ramirez said.

Joel and CRJ Athletic Director Michael Scrutchin would like to see more students join the swim team and will be hosting a meeting before the end of the year to grow the team. “Joel worked hard and made us proud,” Scrutchin said.

Cristo Rey Jesuit Science Project Prepares to Blast Off

Stephanye Rodriguez, Lion's Den Reporter

This is the second year that our school is participating with NASA to launch a project into space! Our Experimental Design class, which was started this year and is taught by Peter Rispin, has designed a Slime Mold Behavior Experiment to be launched May 7. Students have put their best efforts and many hours of work into the experiment. “The purpose of this experiment is to see how life responds in space,” stated senior Nicholas Vivanco.

The experiment, which is in a custom enclosure, has been delivered to NanoRacks, where they will perform functional tests, said Greg Adragna. If the engineers at NanoRacks find anything that can be improved, the students will redesign and re-engineer the experiment. Adragna is excited that a second set of students have had the opportunity to work on this project since “often not even graduate students have this type of experience.” Stay tuned for this special day!

Sign Up Next Week for Career Day

Our first Cristo Rey Jesuit Career Day will be held on Tuesday, April 5, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Cristo Rey Jesuit. More than 20 careers will be represented during the event, which will be held for the entire student body. Students will attend two career presentations that will be held in various classrooms.

Registration will be next week in the College Readiness classes for the two sessions. Seniors will have first choice, then juniors, followed by sophomores, then freshmen. There will be a limited number of students per session; so, sign up in advance!

You Will Be Missed, Ms. Cater!

Anastacia Tristan, Lion's Den Reporter

The entire Cristo Rey Jesuit student body gathered a few months ago for a surprise assembly to thank Katherine Cater for her hard work and dedication as the second principal at Cristo Rey Jesuit. April 1 will be her last day at CRJ as she starts a new chapter in her life.

She shared her thoughts and feelings about moving back to South Carolina where her children and grandchild reside.

How do you feel about this new chapter in your life?

“Whoo! Mixed emotions! I’m mostly excited, but I’m nervous. I’m nervous because of the unknown. I can’t imagine how it will be. It’s going to be something new; new restaurants, shopping malls, and city landmarks to explore. I’ve already applied to a few jobs to fill in positions as principal, both at private and public schools.“

What are you going to take from all these years at Cristo Rey?

“Oh boy!...Hope...Faith...and a sense of being part of something exciting. I’m thankful to Father Martinez for giving me the opportunity to work with an amazing group of adults in terms of leadership. I love being part of a hard-working team!

"Something that will always stay with me is the growth of each student’s handshake from their freshman through their senior year. When I greet them as freshman, their handshake is usually not very firm, but when they are walking that stage at graduation and they give me a handshake, it’s almost aggressive,” she said laughingly. "Their handshake tells me ‘it was all worthwhile and I finally made it!’ It really demonstrates their time here as a student.“

Will you ever come back to visit us in the future?

“ABSOLUTELY! I will. This is certainly not the end! I’m excited and blessed about what the future has to hold for myself and the school!”

Anything else you want to say?

“Viva Cristo Rey Jesuit!”

Grad@Grad Employee Showcase

Lizbeth Alvarez, Lion's Den Reporter

The Lion’s Den, along with the voice of the student body, would like to congratulate the Grad@Grad employees that were overwhelmingly nominated by students for the month of March. The employees listed below were chosen by the students for exemplifying the Grad@Grad values of: Open to Growth, Work Experienced, Loving, Committed to Justice, Religious, and Intellectually Distinguished. We’ve included a few of the comments from several students.

Erin Callister
Value: Loving/Committed to Justice
• “Ms. Callister is a loving human being. She demonstrates this value by caring for each and every one.”
• “She always knows what to say and gives great advice.”

Michael Martin
Value: Religious/Committed to Justice/Loving
• “He always gives time to his students and is very passionate.”
• “He’s sweet and knows how to reply to a spiritual situation.”
• “I’m learning a lot about social justice in his class.”

Matthew Panozzo
Value: Open to Growth/Loving
• “I can’t thank him enough for the guidance and time he gives to me and the other students about our spiritual and personal lives.”
• “He inspires me to be a better student!”
• “Something that has stuck with me is to never let society define me. I can accomplish what I want and pursue my goals.”

Yolanda Sinegal
Value: Loving/Committed to Justice
• “Ms. Sinegal is a very loving person and I know I can go to her whenever I need someone to talk to.”
• “She wants the best for her students.”

We appreciate our faculty and staff for their dedication and hard work. Thank you to all our faculty and staff! You are all loved! Congratulations to our teachers/employees for March 2016!

Celebrating Black History Month Through Art

Carmen Muñoz, Lion's Den Reporter

Our Global Cultural Outreach Club, which promotes cultural differences in our school, sponsored a poster contest in February to celebrate Black History Month. Each community was asked to develop a poster that best represents their interpretation of Black History Month. “I thought this contest was really great and authentic as it included a mix of people,” said Sarah Goepfert-Moore.

Emails were sent to students, staff, and Parent/Guardian Association members so that everyone could be included in voting. Voting was also open during a Friday lunch to ensure voting was easily accessible to everyone.

The "Freshmen 5" team was the first-place winner of the poster contest (#10 below). The community group leader, Matthew Hayosh, said, “This was a good way to show diversity in our school.”  The second-place winner was poster #2 (below), designed by a team led by community leader Diego Pacheco.  The third-place winner was poster #1 (below), designed by Ashley John, community leader.  

Corporate Work-Study Students of the Month Named

Manuel Constante, Lion's Den Reporter

"Our Corporate Work-Study (CWS) Program has been very successful," said Patrick Gill, CWS Manager of Curriculum Development. "We've had several corporate sponsors join our CWS Program, which increases our students’ opportunities."

To recognize our students, the CWS Program instituted the Student of the Month in October 2015, highlighting a particular skill set that was mastered by each student. Each student is awarded a certificate and gift card.

In our goal to highlight students who have been selected for this admirable recognition, The Lion’s Den is featuring the February Students of the Month.  The Skill of the Month for February was “describing how a students’ work contributes to their organization.” Students were asked to work with their supervisors on the value of their work and their roles in their organization.

The two students recognized in February were senior Michael Gutierrez, who works for Salient Partners L.P (member since 2012-2013 school year), and freshman Fabian Moreno, who works for Winston & Strawn LLP (member since 2015-2016 school year).

Fabian Moreno

Fabian's supervisor commented: "He's a valuable worker. I hear nothing but rave reviews on his performance. He's a fast-paced learner and practically could be hired on with little instruction on doing his job. He's really a great worker."

Michael Gutierrez

Michael's supervisor commented: "I have worked with Michael for a while and he's so respectful, responsible, and such a hard worker. He is always so willing to help with anything. His positive attitude is so refreshing!"

New Parking Lot

Cristo Rey Jesuit parking lot opening soon!