MCCHS FRIDAY FOCUS
152nd EDITION: April 17, 2020
From the Desk of Rev. Jared Twenty
As my co-mentor of the Catholic Social Justice Club, Dr. Pinnau recently posted an assignment in the club’s Google Classroom for students to follow the lead from Pope Francis’ Easter message and spread a “contagion of hope.” How desperately needed is a spirit of hope during this time! Unfortunately, hope can so often be forgotten or misunderstood in our daily lives.
What is hope? In order to understand it, we have to remember that hope is a virtue. That means two things. First, a virtue is a good habit. Like discipline, honesty, and all other good habits, it can be either practiced and achieved – or avoided and lost. Second, like all virtues, it stands in between two vices of opposite extremes. One extreme is pessimism and despair; the other is naïve optimism and presumption.
Not only that, we also have to remember that hope is a supernatural virtue, meaning that it is freely given to us by God, and is always directed toward God. Christian hope, infused into our very souls at the moment of Baptism, places in the forefront of our minds Christ’s victory over sin and death, in order that we might face all of the crosses in our own lives with courage, confidence, and joy.
“But,” some may ask, “does that mean we’re supposed to ignore our problems here and now, because we’re just waiting for pie in the sky?” No. for 2,000 years, the Saints have shown that Christian hope rather means this: precisely because Christ has shown the power of God over the greatest evil of sin and death, we have confidence that He will help us and work through us to overcome whatever evil we face right now!
Hope doesn’t mean we just sit back and do nothing. Like any gift, the gift of hope has to be opened and used in order for its purpose to be fulfilled. As St. Ignatius of Loyola said, “Pray as if everything depended on God. Act as if everything depended on you!”
As we move forward during this uncertain time, let’s cultivate the daily practice of the supernatural virtue of hope. Let’s spread the “contagion of hope.” Let’s endure patiently – even embrace joyfully – the crosses in our lives, knowing that God will bring us through this as He always does, bringing good out of evil. Let’s always understand the present moment in light of the eternal reality, as the ancient Paschal greeting says: “Christ is Risen! He is truly Risen, Alleluia!”
Spiritual Events
Please join us in the following spiritual events next week live from the Marian Central Chapel:
Daily Mass with Fr. Twenty at 8:45 am
Daily Adoration from 12:15 to 12:45 pm
These events are available for participation through Facebook Live .
Remote Learning Video Conferencing Etiquette
We ask students to follow the guidelines outlined below during video conferencing.
Marian Central Catholic High School
Remote Learning Video Conferencing Etiquette
Expectations for all students when participating in Video Conference Sessions
Preparing yourself and your space
- Pay attention to your background: Make sure that there is nothing inappropriate or offensive behind you.
- Appropriate attire! Do NOT wear pajamas or any suggestive or offensive clothing.
- Situate yourself at a table or desk in a quiet place so you can easily take notes or refer to the resources that are necessary to participate in your class.
- Have a power outlet near your workspace so you can plug in if necessary
- Remove any distractions in your workspace that may tempt you to go off task
- Use your real name: Your teacher will not let you into the classroom unless s/he recognizes your name
- Have your video on: Your teacher needs to verify that it is really you and not a person that does not belong in the classroom.
While in the Virtual Classroom
- Be on time
- Be prepared for class. Have the necessary books and papers within reach
- Close unneeded applications on your computer to optimize the video quality
- Be present, both with audio and video
- Please don’t eat during class
- Always use your teacher’s proper title
- Stay engaged. Use the chat or raise hand feature to ask relevant questions
- Reread what you wrote before sending to check tone
- Avoid slang terms, abbreviations, or using all caps
- Have your audio on mute when you are not speaking
- Use the virtual “raise your hand” and wait to be called on before unmuting
- Use appropriate language and remember your manners
- Be cautious when using humor or sarcasm as tone is often lost in an email or discussion post, and your message might be taken seriously or sound offensive.
- Keep responses short and on topic, thus respecting all individuals in the room
- Be aware of your facial expressions, written and spoken words, and behaviors while on video. Do not be a distraction or class clown, as the teacher has the authority to “kick you out” of the class and will not count you “present”
- Be aware that live class sessions may be recorded and archived for other students to view
- Remember to sign out or “leave the meeting” when the session is finished
Technical Troubleshooting
- First, in order to ensure that your computer is the most up to date, always restart your computer daily!
- Need technical support? Experiencing Sound Issues? Complete the following form and you will receive a response as soon as possible. Technology Assistance Request Form and Mrs. Varga or Mrs. Houk will help.
General Safeguards
- Do not reveal personal information, either through visual or written communication
- Do not share the video invitation with anyone who is not part of the class
**Remember: These virtual classrooms are still Marian Central classrooms and therefore, students are to participate within the moral, spiritual, and behavioral codes that our school has set. Respect, honesty, courtesy, enthusiasm, and engagement are still expected by all participants.
Show your Hurricane Pride
On Friday, April 24, 2020, from 8:00 - 8:30 pm Marian Central will turn on the lights at George Harding Field in honor of Marian Central community. Drive-by our field and honk your horn to show your support for Marian Central. Please stay in your cars to keep our community healthy and safe.
AP Resources
Students are encouraged to refer to the following info from the College Board as they continue to prepare for the revised AP exams in May:
To support schools, we’re providing free remote learning resources for students. Details about the AP Review classes, including a daily course schedule, are posted online. All classes are available live and as recordings on the Advanced Placement® YouTube channel.