Falcon Family News

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS HIGH SCHOOL •

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

"The proof of love is in the works Where love exists, it works great things But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist " Pope St Gregory the Great

Dear Families:

Moving into the Lenten season, this is one of my favorite quotes to reflect upon in my daily prayer life I really do believe that love is an action word, and I feel so incredibly blessed each day to see our students and families put their love into action Whether it’s our freshmen working downtown at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament’s Brown Bag Lunch ministry, cooking hot breakfast for the women and children served at the Wellspring Center here in Oak Park, leading retreats, organizing prayer services and Liturgies, traveling for a VENAVER service immersion trip, or any of the other countless acts of service taking place each day Families, you put your love into action as campus volunteers, event attendees, cheering on your student-athletes and artists, checking PowerSchool and Schoology, reading Friday evening emails and the Falcon Family News, and the myriad other tasks that go along with supporting our young men and women through their high school journey.

Our vibrant campus is truly confirmation that where love exits, it works great things! We recognize that you make tremendous sacrifices to send them to Christian Brothers High School Our constant challenge is balancing mission-centered excellence with affordability. Recently, the Board of Trustees approved a tuition increase of 4 percent ($509). Tuition for 2025-26 will be $16,995 and the registration fee will remain $785 for a total of $17,780.

While our tuition remains below the average for Catholic high schools in Northern California, we recognize this is significant. Please know that we work hard to thoughtfully invest your resources in your children’s education and work hard to improve efficiency, maintain distinction, and control costs This increase allows us to attract, retain, and compensate the best educators while providing our students with an effective learning environment and outstanding programs

We recognize our tuition is a sacrifice for most families. We also recognize that it is prohibitive for some families. Our Lasallian Catholic mission calls for us to serve the poor while also ensuring that CB is accessible to modest and middle-income families In 2024-25, we are distributing $3 3 million in need-based tuition assistance to 483 students

Tuition assistance comes from three sources: endowment earnings, fundraising efforts, and the operating budget We are grateful to all of our parents, alumni and friends who support our fundraising activities. Ongoing support is critical to our mission! As such, I hope to see many of you at the annual auction, Elegance in Bloom, on Saturday, March 15

This fun-filled, spirited event is critical in supporting tuition assistance and student programs. In the meantime, thank you for entrusting us with your sons and daughters We are working diligently to ensure that the sacrifices you are making for your children today – tuition, time, and example – will reap rewards long into the future

Live Jesus in our hearts!

Sincerely,

Crystal LeRoy, Ed.D. President

COUNSELING DEPARTMENT

HIGHLIGHTING OUR COLLEGE COUNSELING AND WELLNESS PROGRAMS

Christian Brothers High School has the most robust Counseling Program of any private school in the region and our College Counseling and Wellness Programs are perfect examples of the excellent programs available to our students. In the Wellness Program, we are very fortunate to have two Wellness Counselors in our department for over a decade to better serve the emotional needs of our students. Mrs. Emily McDougall, in her tenth year at CB and Mrs. Juanita Patterson ‘81, in her third year at CB. Both wellness counselors see many students across all grade levels who seek out help in everything from anxiety and depression to substance use, eating issues, coping with stress and grief. They also go into the classrooms throughout the year offering presentations about Wellness, which involve the whole person (physical, emotional, academic, social, intellectual, environmental, and of course, spiritual) and offer small group support on the topics of Stress Management and Social Support. Mrs. McDougall sends out her insightful “Wellness Wednesday” message to our students and families via Schoology. They even offer virtual services via their “Virtual Calming Room” that can be found here and their one-of-a-kind Virtual Wellness Center that offers meditations, visual relaxation, yoga, prayer, music, and creative activities along with the ability for students to sign up for in-person sessions via the website. They are truly invaluable to our entire school community and offer tremendous expertise and care for all of our students.

The CB College Counseling duo of Ms. Melissa McClellan and Ms. Suzanna Shenk-Tiffany are outstanding resources for any or all topics related to college advising. You would be hard-pressed to find two experts that collaborate so well and work so tirelessly for our entire CB community. No stone goes unturned in their practice as they can be found in-person for one-on-one sessions, on the stage giving packed-house presentations, in the classroom giving college advising sessions, virtually in Morning Coffee Meetups, and on the lawn for College Fairs. They have years-long relationships with representatives of colleges all over the country and stay up to date in all topics related to college advising. Our reputation as the “Place to Be” stays intact under their watchful eyes in college counseling! Please join our entire community in our shared gratitude for these outstanding programs and everything they do to make the CB Counseling Program the premier program in the region

Pre-Registration 2025-26:

The Counseling Department would like to ask you to please go over your student’s future courses with them before the registration period closes on March 10th This will ensure all students’ projected schedules are accurate and require fewer changes over the summer Counselors have finished meeting with students in the classroom and they have received a Class Registration Planning Sheet All students will be completing preregistration through PowerSchool and students may log-in to make changes as many times as necessary over this time period Please have your student log into PowerSchool via the CB website and not use the iPad app In order to assist with this pre-registration process, students will want to reference the 2025-26 Course Catalog that is available on the CB website under the “Academics” section as well as view the 2025-26 Summer School information and registration links also available on the CB website under “Academics” Counselors will be available to students at lunch outside of the Learning Commons to answer Pre-Registration questions or complete on the spot registration in PowerSchool during this time Additional questions may be directed to your student’s grade-level counselor or any of the CB college counselors

Upcoming Counseling Dates:

March 20: Exploring College Night for Juniors and their Families (In-Person)

April 4: Coffee with the College Counselors for Freshman Parents and Guardians (Virtual)

April 30: Transition to College Night for Seniors and their Families (Virtual)

THE ARTS

Spring into the arts this March!

Our KBFT and media students are headed to Tampa Bay, Florida for the Student Television Network Convention March 1-4. They’ll enter their work for judging, collaborate with peers in student media from across the country, and compete in creative events like the famous “Crazy 8”, in which students have 8 hours to plan, shoot and edit a television segment on a given topic. Good luck Mr. Hogan and the KBFT crew!

The Choir students have just returned from a trip to Disneyland where they perform for park visitors, have a chance to record songs with professionals in one of Disney’s recording studios, and of course, enjoy some fun in the parks

Rehearsals have started and tickets are on sale for our spring play “The Dining Room” This unique show features 15 students playing nearly 60 roles in a production that centers the life of a formal family dining room between the 1930s and 1980s.Tickets are available online only and seating is reserved, so get yours now on the Ticket Hub. Shows run March 28-30 and April 4-6, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm.

Check out the arts calendar for the Spring Semester 2025

Artwork by Renata Solari ‘27

Artwork by : Isabella

Rose Ledford

LASALLIAN STUDENT LIFE

For all faith-filled events, visit the LSLO page here: https://www.cbhs-sacramento.org/liturgies-and-prayerservices/

For all current retreat opportunities, visit the LSLO page here: https://www cbhs-sacramento org/retreats/

Lent is around the corner!

For all Roman Catholics and some Christian communities, Lent begins on Wednesday, March 5 Our Orthodox siblings begin Great Lent on Monday, March 3 In a rare coincidence, Orthodox and Catholics will celebrate Easter on the same day: Sunday, April 20 Our Jewish siblings celebrate Passover from April 12 through April 20 In the spirit of this penitential season, Islam observes Ramadan from February 28 through March 29 We hold everyone in prayer during these holy days

Here are some general guidelines for Catholics considering the disciplines of Lent

Abstinence

All persons, 14 years and older, are obliged to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday (March 5) and all Fridays of Lent Other forms of abstinence from alcoholic beverages, television, video games, the internet, and social media, are also beneficial

Fasting

Everyone from ages 18 to 59 is obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday(March 5) and Good Friday (April 18) Voluntary fasting on other weekdays of Lent, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays, is highly recommended Fasting is understood to mean that one full meal may be eaten Two other small meals may be eaten, but together they should not equal a full meal Eating between meals is not permitted

When health or ability to work are seriously affected, neither the law of fasting nor the law of abstinence obliges If in doubt, one’s parish priest or confessor should be consulted Airport workers, travelers, and others while on board ships or airplanes are dispensed from the laws of fast and abstinence for the duration of their journey (except on Good Friday) It is desirable that they perform some other pious act instead

Prayer

CB will open the Lenten Season with two Masses on Ash Wednesday, March 5. All parents, families, and CB employees are invited to the Ash Wednesday Chapel Mass at 8 a m The Distribution of Ashes will take place during the Mass

The whole CB community will gather for the Community Mass in Limeberger '53 Gymnasium at 11:30am The Most Reverend Michael O Jackels, Archbishop Emeritus of Dubuque, Iowa, will be the celebrant and preacher The Distribution of Ashes will take place after the Mass

The Chapel of Saint Joseph will be open during break and lunch Make a visit and spend time in quiet reflection There will be Mass on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays of Lent Masses are at 8am and are 30 minutes in length Carve out time to celebrate with the community On Fridays of Lent, we will meditate on the the Stations of the Cross at 7:40am prior to Mass

Reconciliation

Take advantage of the tremendous gift of mercy and love in the Sacrament of Reconciliation Lent is a privileged time to celebrate this sacrament A priest will be available on Friday, March 21 from 12pm-1:20pm to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation in front of the Chapel of Saint Joseph

This is a Jubilee Year! An event that occurs every 25 years in the life of the Church During the Jubilee, there will be 24hour confessions in our Diocese from March 28-29 Click here for more detailed information

Almsgiving

From earliest times giving to the poor, or almsgiving, has been an invaluable spiritual practice, a religious duty, a form of penance, an expression of Christian charity, and an aid to interior conversion Therefore, all Catholics are urged to give generously to assist the poor and support the charitable works of the Church, especially through their local parish and the Annual Catholic Appeal At CB, there will be various opportunities to celebrate our principle for Concern for the Poor and Social Justice The LSLO will publish all these opportunities on Schoology

ATHLETICS

Our first letter of intent signing day of the 2024-2025 school year will take place Tuesday, April 22nd at 8 a.m. in the George Cunningham ’40 Performing Arts Center.

Congratulations on the selection of our CB football players, Josiah Campbell ’25 and Isaiah Jordan ’25 who will be honored at the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Banquet on Sunday, March 2, 2025 The honor is for grades, community service, and overall performance on the football field

Winter sports playoffs began in the last two weeks of February The men’s basketball team was the number one seed in the division three playoffs The women’s basketball team was the number one seed in the division two playoffs The men’s soccer team was the ninth seed in division three playoffs and the women’s soccer team was the number eighth seed in division three playoffs. Congratulations to the women’s varsity basketball team who were the CVC League Champions.

Congratulations to both the men’s and women’s basketball teams for making it to SJS Section Finals at the Golden 1 Center! SCHOLAR

On Thursday, February 20, the baseball program honored the Laffan family with a centerfield ceremony. All three boys, Caeden ’17, Connor ’18, and Cooper ’19 graduated from CB, playing sports and giving back to their community. Caeden lost his life in an accident this last summer and commemorative jerseys, a family first pitch, and a LAFFAN STRONG sign in centerfield served as tribute.

PHILANTHROPY

AUCTION NEWS!

Christian Brothers High School ‘Elegance in Bloom’ is only two weeks away! We depend on our auction to raise critical funds for both the general needs of CB education, and our important tuition assistance program. Your support directly impacts students, families and our community ensuring quality education remains accessible to all Let’s make this year’s event our best yet!

Here’s how YOU can get involved: DONATE - your donation helps us offer unique auction items and experiences to raise funds for a great cause!

VOLUNTEER - lend a hand before, during or after the event! Help us make it a fun and engaging experience. BID- Be a part of the action! Whether it is from the comfort of your home or live at the event you have the opportunity to bid on incredible silent auction items

For more information and auction FAQs please visit our auction website or contact Philanthropy at 916733-3647.

GOLDEN RAFFLE

Your purchase of a Golden Raffle ticket supports CB students and enters you into a drawing to win your choice from a selection of live auction items Tickets are only $125. To purchase please use attached form or contact Philanthropy at 916-733-3647.

Falcon Family News - March 2025

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS HIGH SCHOOL •