Staying Connected August 2020
A PUBLICATION FOR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERS HIGH SCHOOL
SNAPSHOT OF OUR NEW LEADERS Dr. Crystal LeRoy, President
Dr. Crystal LeRoy comes to Christian Brothers having most recently served as Superintendent/Chief School Business Official of Kenilworth Public Schools in Kenilworth, Illinois. Her extensive background in educational leadership includes a master’s degree in cultural education and policy studies from Loyola University, and a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from Loyola University. Dr. LeRoy has also served as an adjunct professor at Northeastern Illinois University. With two children who attended Catholic schools, she is thoughtfully aware and actively engaged in the changing needs of the Catholic school system. “I am deeply honored and profoundly humbled to serve as President of Christian Brothers High School. The opportunity to unite my Catholic faith with my vocation as an educator is a dream come true. To do so in the rich and transformative Lasallian charism of the Christian Brothers is a blessing and a trust that I hold sacred,” says Dr. LeRoy. Reflecting on her arrival in Sacramento, Dr. LeRoy noted, “I have only been in Sacramento a few weeks, but I have already learned a bit about what CB means to the community. I have been greeted on the street or in the grocery store just because I’m wearing CB gear. The ties that bind the larger CB community together are clearly strong. And our donors, through their generosity, make them even stronger.” Fun Fact: Dr. LeRoy has a green thumb and a master gardener certificate from the University of Illinois Extension.
Ms. Annemarie Bacich, Principal
Ms. Annemarie Bacich, or “Annie” as she likes to be called, brings to Christian Brothers extensive experience as a classroom teacher and administrator in schools in various cities on both the East and West Coasts. She holds a bachelor’s degree from University of San Francisco, a master’s degree from UC Berkeley, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Columbia University. Ms. Bacich is a professional educator who loves our Catholic faith and embraces education as a vocation, not merely as a career choice. “As the world faces epic challenges, being given the opportunity to serve the Christian Brothers High School community in this moment is a great sign of hope in my life. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Church, young people, and the world at Christian Brothers High School and to seek the Presence of God in the circumstances we are facing.” In addition to her notable educational and occupational background, Ms. Bacich brings her love of travel (she speaks Spanish, Italian and French), her passion for English literature and her love of the music of Bob Dylan. Her hobbies include hiking, camping, reading, cooking, and spoiling her nieces and nephews. Fun Fact: Ms. Bacich was the curator of the 2019 New York Encounter exhibit, Something is Happening Here: Bob Dylan, the Man and His Music.
Continued
Ms. Bronson anson Ms. Thayer
Flexing
Ms. Christi
Strong. Flexible. Balanced. No, we’re not talking about a yoga class. We’re talking about Christian Brothers’ school reopening. School resumes on August 18th under the Ms. Flah erty HyFlex Model. As the name suggests, this model offers maximum flexibility, enabling our students to learn in an online setting, or in a face-to-face classroom – whatever the circumstances demand. While initially opening online, CB will resume in-person classes as soon as possible. The HyFlex Model will allow our school to operate with half of our students participating in class from home, and the other half in the classroom. Teachers will be live streaming and recording classes to ensure that students at home and students in the classroom receive the same information and that curriculum continues much as it would during a traditional school year. A rotating schedule will ensure that every student receives in-person instruction two days a week. This HyFlex approach will help keep our students and teachers healthy by reducing in-person class size, and enabling appropriate distancing in the classroom. If at any point circumstances dictate that our county return to more restrictive stay at home orders, CB can flex to all-distance learning with a moment’s notice. Throughout the summer, our dedicated teachers have been participating in professional development to prepare for HyFlex teaching. Overhauling every course syllabus, learning new technologies, and rethinking one’s personal teaching style is a herculean task. With a level of Lasallian zeal that would make St. John Baptist de La Salle proud, our teachers have taken on the challenge. By the start of school every teacher will have completed extensive training in online education. This training includes modules on adapting teaching styles and curriculum, building community in a distanced environment, tools for assessing students, ensuring academic integrity in an online environment,
effective communication, and maintaining Lasallian identity through challenging times. Together we are working hard to ensure that whether we are in-person or in distance learning, education at Christian Brothers is accessible and inclusive, clearly organized, and engaging. Most importantly, we will ensure that robust learning takes place every day.
Mr. Diaz
HyFlex Model for School Reopening
Distance Learning Team Christian Brothers is blessed to have strong internal resources to help transition to this new mode of learning. Our Distance Learning Team is made up of faculty members like Mr. Armando Diaz ’94 who is entering his fourth year of teaching online counseling courses at the UC Berkeley Extension. “It’s so rewarding to see how enthusiastically our faculty has embraced this effort,” says Mr. Diaz. “The overriding spirit that runs through all of this is us coming together as a faculty and taking on this issue proactively and supporting each other across systems and departments. We are very resilient. We will come out of this an even better school.”
Learning
Lasallian Identity Scan this code to virtually sit in on a faculty roundtable discussion on preserving our Lasallian Catholic identity in a distance learning environment.
Return to Sport The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has released formal guidelines for high school athletics, including a restructuring of state-wide high school athletics into a twoseason year. The planned first season begins in late December, with the second season beginning in January. Under this plan, all CB sports will enjoy a full schedule of games and competitions, and none will be eliminated. At Christian Brothers, sports are an extension of the classroom where students learn important life skills like teamwork, perseverance, leadership, and resilience. As such, it is easy to understand why our Athletic Director, Mr. Dale Milton, and his team are working so hard to help our studentathletes return to play. Our Athletic department is busy rescheduling conditioning, practices and games, coordinating the complex logistics of multi-sport seasons, and putting in place important safety measures to protect the health of our students. Recognizing that the overlapping seasons present a challenge for multi-sport athletes, CB is working with our coaching staff to encourage maximum flexibility for the benefit of these young men and women. When our students take the field, they will play in the brand new Peter P. Bollinger ’57 Stadium. Mr. Milton noted that, in these challenging circumstances, the new stadium is especially important. “The fact that we have a lighted field with an all-weather playing surface is crucial to our ability to manage the scheduling demands of this unprecedented situation. We can play multiple sports without the down time that our old natural grass surface would have required. And during the winter, with shortened daylight hours, the lights will enable us to keep playing.� CB is grateful to everyone who contributed to build this facility. We are all looking forward to the day when we can cheer on our teams! Go Falcons!
Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Sacramento, CA Permit No. 682
4315 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd Sacramento, CA 95820-2727
A Party that still has a PURPOSE! The Wine Beer & Food Extravaganza (WBFE) will not take place as scheduled in September of 2020. Your safety, and that of our partner vendors, staff, and all our guests, is of utmost importance. And we look forward to the day when we can safely come together again! But the WBFE is more than a great party. It’s a party with a purpose! Each year, your ticket helped provide close to $200,000 for need-based tuition assistance. That’s 35 young men and women who were able to attend CB because our community came together (and had a great time!) at this event. The need for tuition assistance has not gone away. Indeed, it has increased as more and more families are feeling the economic strains of layoffs, furloughs and income reductions. We are as dedicated as ever to providing this much-needed tuition assistance to our students. Please consider donating what you might have previously spent on tickets and event transportation to CB’s tuition assistance fund. Please give generously to help students stay at CB. Scan this QR code to make your gift today! When community restrictions are lifted, we are going to need a great party and we will all come together again for a huge Wine Beer & Food Extravaganza celebration! Until then, thank you for being a part of our CB community. And thank you for your generous support.
To make your gift please visit WWW.CBHS-SACRAMENTO.ORG/SUPPORT OR SCAN THIS CODE
Contact us at 916-733-3647
Your Impact – COVID-19 Tuition Relief Fund Over 170 families have received emergency tuition assistance from the COVID-19 Tuition Relief Fund. Your support has helped these students stay at Christian Brothers, and ensured that their education is not disrupted due to temporary financial challenges at home. On behalf of these students and families, thank you! We continue to receive requests for assistance. If you have not yet made a gift, please consider helping these families.
Your support has helped these students stay at Christian Brothers
Did you know that the CARES ACT offers incentive to give in 2020? You can claim an additional deduction for charitable gifts up to $300 – even if you don’t itemize your tax return. Take advantage of this incentive and donate $300 to CB today!