There’s no greater opportunity than enjoying a day of rest after an eventful quarter, especially for all seniors in the month of May. Therefore, Bosco decided to grant Monday, May 17th as the official ditch day for all seniors to enjoy.
Exams, college applications, prom, graduation can sometimes be a bit too difficult for a senior to keep track of in their last year of highschool. Bosco doesn’t want their seniors to feel like they’re being overworked which is why they’re privileged with a senior ditch day to enjoy a nice day of relaxation with friends.
Senior Joseph Ochoa has been at Bosco for 4 years and is very grateful that Bosco is giving him the day off to himself. Joseph says it’s a multi purpose day where some people are doing things and some people are not, but for Joseph he is going to rest and will attend a friends pool party and will also go for a workout to get a little sweat on.
While enjoying a day at a pool party and working out may be nice, other seniors may find this moment to engage in activities that will benefit only themselves. Senior Andrew Vega says senior ditch day to be more like a normal day for him. Andrew is very thankful for Bosco to give him the day off. Andrew says that he’ll spend his senior ditch day at home relaxing watching TV shows and movies and eating a good meal and playing video games.
Another great way of enjoying a day of relaxation is to reflect on how Bosco has helped each student over the past four years. Senior Don Le, who participates in Key Club, band and is also in the Biomedical pathway feels very excited to have a whole day of relief mainly because there has been so much that has happened this year.
“I’m honestly super excited to just have a whole day of relief where I can just forget about school and focus on myself and my time at Bosco,” says Don.
Don will make sure to spend his ditch day by indulging in his own self care by meditating and getting some rest so he can take a chance to breathe and not worry about school for a moment. Don is more than happy that Bosco gave him and the seniors the day off to themselves.
Even as this school year has been extremely challenging for all seniors, they can be sure to enjoy at least a “semi-normal” experience with many events going on, including their own graduation this month. Many of them could have enjoyed their day off preparing for graduation, sending invites to friends or simply shopping for suit to wear on their final day at Bosco. Overall, the class is thankful to have been part of an experience where they could have a nice ceremony that other classes have enjoyed as well, making their ditch day a tradition to be kept.
As the percentage of the population that is vaccinated raises, COVID-19 restrictions fall, but what does this mean for Bosco students?
There are many changes for the better in the yellow-tier; music classes can now play wind instruments indoors and outdoors, theater classes are allowed to host indoor productions, high contact sports are now fully allowed indoors, and can have minimal spectators, and athletes no longer have to get weekly covid tests if previously required.
Mr. Adan Jaramillo, the Interim Principal, is excited to finally see a decline into what has been one of the most detrimental viruses.
“Moving into the yellow indicates that the county (L.A. County) is moving in the right direction to best mitigate the spread of the virus. The vaccinations have played a major role in how our county has been given less restrictions and been able to do more as a school” Mr. Jaramillo said.
If things continue on a downward trend, it is predicted that Los Angeles County will be in the green-tier by June. Foreseeing these factor, Bosco has decided to take action and create a plan that would benefit all students and take all precautions when coming back next school year.
“All activities and school operations will resume traditionally as we did before the pandemic. However we are challenged to look at how we operated and be innovative. 7 periods throughout the semester, white periods 1-7, blue 1-4, gold 5-7 with an X period. X periods will be community time, late start, or academic support” said Mr. Jaramillo, laying out the plans for the next school year.
In one of the strangest school years in recent history, the SJB staff and students have succeeded in the face of adversity. One of the factors that has allowed the school to prevail during times where everyone needs each other, being recognized by the people of administration.
“Our staff have been working so hard to be safe, be cautious, and provide the best education for all of our young men. Our teachers have rocked transitioning into COVID and coming back to campus. As a school our teachers shifted their entire paradigm of teaching and rocked it! As a Bosco Family we have gone through so many challenges, transitions, and changes. However, we are resilient and will continue to meet the moment. We are ready to bring all our brothers back to campus,” Mr. Jaramillo said.
But it’s not just business for the Interim principal, Mr. Jaramillo, as he is also excited to feel safe while socializing with his family and friends, and to see his two-year old make new friends at parks and other social settings. Bosco is a community that could never be separated and has proven to accommodate to in the most difficult of times. When coming back in the fall, students can be guaranteed to have a support program that they can lean on in their very own community.
On May 4, 2021, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced that right handed starting pitcher Dustin May would have to undergo Tommy John Surgery on his right elbow. The injury will result in May missing the remainder of the 2021 season, part of the 2022 season and being unable to throw a baseball for almost an entire year.
However, it isn’t the first time a top pitcher has had to lose the rest of his season for Tommy John surgery. In recent years, the numbers of pitchers needing Tommy John surgery have gone up significantly for many obvious reasons.
As baseball has evolved over time, higher pitch speeds and different pitch types have been phased into the game. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, it was amazing to see a pitcher throwing low to mid ninety miles per hour on their pitches. But nowadays, pitchers are throwing fastballs up to one-hundred and three miles per hour with an arsenal of four to five different pitch types.
For Dustin May, many sports analytics predicted his elbow injury would happen due to the arm angle he has while pitching. The commonality of Tommy John surgery has trickled down to the high school level, where many athletes find themselves needing the surgery.
Current Bosco Baseball varsity player Niko Riera team has gone through the Tommy John process and has had first hand experience with what it’s like.
Niko underwent the surgery in early 2020 and with the season getting canceled due to COVID-19, he was somewhat lucky he did not have to deal with missing too much baseball. Niko did return to baseball this year and has gotten the opportunity to return to pitching.
“When I found out I had to get Tommy John it really sucked, because at the time we didn’t know baseball was going to get cancelled so I was just thinking how much I would miss and fall behind,” said Niko.
One of the main results of this surgery is the amount of time it takes to recover and get therapy. Once you get the surgery, you are in a sling and cannot throw a baseball or anything at all for six to eight full months. During those months, you are slowly getting stronger as you have to do physical therapy.
“The recovery process sucked, not being able to do really anything was a bummer, to me that was the worst part of it, because yeah losing my season sucks, but being in a sling and not doing anything with my right arm for months was terrible,” said Niko.
One of the very few benefits of getting the surgery is the chance that once you do rehab and come back, you might have even more velocity when pitching due to having so much physical therapy and working from the ground up with your throwing arm. But, this isn’t the same for everyone, as in some, Tommy John surgery results in them ending their careers because their arm wasn’t able to handle all the stress put on it.
“For me at least I came back way stronger, I lost a little bit of command but that will come back over time, my fastball seems to almost jump out my hand way more. Also having new throwing mechanics helps and makes me feel comfortable as it is a scary thought of re-injuring my elbow again,” said Niko.
Many players don’t bounce back from something like this, and for a fellow Brave like Niko to be able to come back and be dominant on the mound and on the field is something special and great for the St. John Bosco Baseball team.
As the peak of California wildfire season approaches, more and more fires are appearing across the state, deeming the use of red flag warnings in what appears to be an even worse fire season than 2020.
After an intense wildfire season in 2020, the state was hoping for a better year in terms of land burned, though sadly since the beginning of the year, the state has been off to a fiery start. Since January first there has been more than 20 square miles of land burned in over 1,950 fires. In 2020 there was only 3 square miles of burning during the same time frame.
Though during 2020, which was the largest wildfire season in state history, there were over 6,390 square miles burnt with over 10,431 wildfires. This season was detrimental not only to the environment that the state lives in but also to the people in it. There was loss of houses, jobs, and even family members. 2020 was the year that recorded five of the state’s largest wildfires.
With all of the harsh conditions that the wildfire season of 2020 caused, people are fearful of what will happen in 2021 with the fire season already off to a hot start. Especially with the state in a drought and a two year long rain deficit, this fire season has all of the right ingredients to flare up.
Due to this drought that has been going on for sometime in California, places that usually aren’t as vulnerable to catching fire are now at risk of flames. Though it is not a coincidence that the fire season is getting worse year after year with studies from the University of California, Irvine proclaimed that the fire season was continuously becoming worse due to climate change and an increased risk in human-caused fires.
It has also been reported that the wildfire season has lengthened over the years with the peak having shifted from once in the month of August to the month of July. This means that there is less preparation time for the state along with more time that the state has to deal with the fires.
With the 2021 wildfire approaching and fires already burning across the state, the state has started its preparations in fighting these fires to do their best to contain better than they have in the past.
Last year in 2020, the state saw a normal amount of precipitation, though that was met with hard hitting heat waves that resulted in the worst fire season in state history. For 2021, there was a dry April and a very disappointing rain season as a whole which is contributing to the early start in highly dangerous wildfires.
Due to less rain, there are more dead plants that act as the fuel for the fires which will only become faster to start and longer lasting than any year previous. This is also seen in the Sierra Mountains with snowfall at 50 percent less than normal and is already off to an early melting period which will result in an area that is more prone to burn while leaving a significantly heavier impact on the climate around the area.
Though this seems like a horrible year for California’s weather, without change, this may be California’s new normal as the state see’s worse and worse rain seasons each year which are continuously met with harsh heat waves which are the base of the wildfires that cause such travesty.
On April 28th, 2021, Colombian citizens decided to protest against a new tax reform influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which angered the Colombian government, leading to a massacre of innocent citizens at the hands of the police.
With financial struggles and one of the longest lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Colombia was in dire need of financial reform. However, many citizens, especially those of the working class, opposed the bill, as they were the ones to get the heaviest taxation rates as well as being affected by the pandemic.
The reform was meant to increase taxes across the country, as the pandemic completely devastated the economy and healthcare systems were failing. Funds were going to the welfare program created to benefit citizens during the pandemic called “Ingreso Solidario,” but funds were taken at the expense of the working-class.
Many working-class people were not happy with the Colombian government, as the president, Iván Duque Márquez is a member of the elite, whose political party’s focus is benefiting the elite. With an already weak reputation, President Duque decided to withdraw the reform, however, protests continued as citizens were angered to see how their president made false promises.
According to The Economist, President Duque started his political term campaigning to make the country a safer place, however, after he took power, crime rates seem to have skyrocketed. Furthermore, armed groups have seemed to increase, driving rural people away from their homes, with no formal agreements between them and the government for crime to stop.
Many people in Colombia decided to look at efforts in other countries, such as the “ACAB” movement in the US after police brutality events, in order to see how others dealt with similar situations. Many even began to support several activism movements in other countries, sympathizing with the pain of other countries.
Even though events in the US caused devastating deaths in different cities at the hands of police officers, the deaths in Colombia due to police brutality add to hundreds in a few days. Colombia has suffered one of the most heinous acts of police brutality, having several dead, majority of which are college students.
Like many governments in Latin America, Colombia fell victim to easy access to corruption, allowing armed forces to terrorize civilians. In one more act of political strategy, citizens are no longer trying to stay oppressed by their leaders. Instead, they have decided to take their rights in use and protest against those who want to keep them down.
Compared to the BLM protests last year, the protests in Colombia in efforts of a fight for freedom are worrisome. Although the National Guard was present in many of the protests last summer, there were no incidents of guards killing civilians as it is in Colombia.
With the pandemic not getting any better and low rates of vaccination among Colombians, the economic situation in the country is looking extremely devastating. Thousands of people will be in even more danger than they were before any sign of protesting.
However, the acts of civilians taking their voices to the streets of Colombia are a sign that no matter how much they have to endure, political corruption and broken leadership are not something they will tolerate. Many even left to wonder if Colombia could ever rise in the aftermath of the pandemic, only hoping for a miracle to save them.
In what seemed impossible at the time, the senior count went up from thirteen to forty-two in the dying minutes of the deadline to allow a Kairos to successfully take place, and all the credit goes to Mr. Torre for making it happen!
The deadline to sign up for Kairos was on April 14th at 11:59 PM. There needed to be at least twenty-five people signed up for Kairos in order for the retreat to take place. It was 8:00 PM and there were only thirteen people signed up. The events that would follow would be what everyone called a “miracle”.
Mr. Torre would end up texting most – if not all – the senior class on Google Chat promoting the event and giving financial assistance to anyone who needed it. After a series of texts and texts, he fell asleep hoping for the best. When he woke up the following morning, it was 6:00 AM and the deadline was over. He hesitantly checked to see if Kairos would be a go and to his surprise the new amount of seniors who signed up for Kairos were up to forty-two! It was indeed a miracle!
Current St. John Bosco Interim Principal Mr. Jaramillo praised Mr. Torre’s miracle-working skills, as Mr. Torre showcased his true Salesian spirit.
“Only Mr. Torre can pull of a miracle equivalent to the miracle of Christmas as he pulled of the miracle of the pandemic with Kairos successfully taking place. Only he has the energy to bring us together in a time like this so he truly is the Kairos miracle maker,” said Mr. Jaramillo
Mr. Torre’s passion and motivation were the x-factors as twenty-nine seniors signed up for Kairos in the dying hours of the deadline day and he credits two sources.
“The first source was my own experience in Kairos as a faculty/staff member and my experience was made by people’s shoulders who I stand on and if it wasn’t for people like Mr. Jaramillo, Ms. Tracy, and Ms. Day who began the Kairos program here at Bosco then my experience wouldn’t of happened,” said Torre.
Mr. Torre credited his second source to the students, and he pointed out that if it wasn’t for their desires to share their stories to their fellow classmates, then his passion and motivation for hosting a Kairos would have been absent during the dying hours of the deadline.
Bosco’s 2021 Youth Delegate Pedro Ochoa was grateful for the opportunity as he was 1 of the 6 student leaders who took part in Kairos 51.
“Kairos meant a lot to me, especially for it being my first time leading it. This miraculous kairos showed that anything is possible. Mr. Torre is a person that always puts others in front of himself and it showed during the whole process of planning and successfully pulling off this event. This Kairos proved it as he dedicated so much time for the senior class even though there was a major possibility that it may not happen at all,” said Ochoa.
A few days later, COVID-19 testing took place on campus, and the following day, Kairos was a go! Seniors spent 3 days and 2 nights isolated with one another enjoying a nice distraction from everything that was happening to them outside the designated area. Those 3 days were described by many seniors as “life changing”.
Bosco senior and Kairos participant, Anthony Mejia, could not be more satisfied with the experience and life-changing opportunities he was able to experience.
“It’s definitely a life changing experience that you’ll remember for the rest of your life and really makes you grow closer with your Bosco brothers,” said Anthony.
Kairos not only leaves an impact on current participants, but also on alumni and current leaders. Key Club President and Kairos student leader Hector Andrade had a good way of describing Mr. Torre’s heroics, as he was able to join the retreat as a leader.
“Mr Torre best put it, ‘We were a QB who was always scrambling since the 1st quarter, every play.’ But at the end of the day we got the win. Mr Torre’s dedication and love towards Kairos is the reason why he’s such an influential part of bosco, he pulled through adversity all for this 2021 senior class and I am very thankful,” said Hector.
The praise of Mr. Torre doesn’t only start and end with the students as the faculty and staff were just as impressed as the seniors were with Mr. Torre’s heroics.
Mr. Salmingo points out the work Mr. Torre had to do, that not many people know of, and how little praise Mr. Torre gest for it.
“Behind the scenes there is so much that has to be taken care off that people forget and the participants never notice due to how good the presentation of Kairos turned out to be so I gave huge kudos to Mr. Torre for taking care of the ugly and turning it into something beautiful,” said Mr. Salmingo.
Mr. Salmingo has a good point when mentioning the “behind the scenes” action because Mr. Torre’s hectic schedule consisted of calling the retreat center back and forth multiple times, making arrangements to visit the retreat center himself to see if the seniors would like it, helping the student leaders with their talks, planning every second of Kairos from the bus trip there to the events that took place and those were just a few of the many tasks he dealt with all in the span of one week.
Bosco counselor, Ms. Yesenia Moreno, decided to add Kairos to her “to-do” list for the future as a result of watching how passionate Mr. Torre and the students were for Kairos.
“I really congratulate Mr. Torre for doing what he did because if I were to do that it would for sure leave me feeling overwhelmed so I give huge kudos to Mr. Torre for doing anything and everything he could in order for the seniors to have a memorable experience,” Ms. Moreno said.
The praise didn’t stop there as the 2021 Kairos Alumni Director Mr. Alvidrez believes the biggest factor in Kairos taking place was when Mr. Torre jumped in during the senior meeting to promote the event.
“If it were anyone else or someone who wasn’t as enthusiastic as Mr. Torre is who jumped in at the meeting I don’t think the miracle ever would’ve taken place,” said Mr. Alvidrez.
Mr. Torre’s hard work truly paid off as seniors did indeed have a memorable experience and current senior and wrestler Jasper Centeno was just one of many who were ecstatic about their time there.
“Kairos was truly once in a lifetime experience. I am more than grateful for the many lessons I learned and for having a new perspective of my faith. Before Kairos I was really disconnected with my faith but thanks to Kairos I am happy to say my connection has been revived,” said Jasper.
ASB President John Udabe is just one of many other happy participants who is proud to see what Mr. Torre was able to accomplish.
“I was so glad I could go on Kairos this year and that it was even able to happen. I think it was a perfect way to begin wrapping up my senior year at Bosco and help me grow closer to my classmates before we graduated,” said John.
The senior class thanks Mr. Torre for everything he did as they now have memories they won’t forget anytime soon. There is no one on campus who can be as proud as Mr. Torre to arrange an event in a matter of hours and showcase what a Salesian educator is capable of accomplishing.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic posing a threat to justice movements and protests everywhere, Bosco Senior Benjamin Zepeda has been involved with the National Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Alliance, which seeks permanent residency in the United States for over 400,000 TPS beneficiaries.
Throughout the past few months, Zepeda has shuffled between states on the east coast, being primarily in Washington, D.C., where he has urged Congress and President Joe Biden to grant permanent residency to TPS beneficiaries nationally.
While it has certainly not been an easy road for Zepeda throughout the past few months, it is for a cause that is much greater than him. Despite being away from home in California and having to miss out on a traditional Senior year experience due to his activism, it is a challenge he has been more than willing to take on headfirst.
“I am still completing my final year of highschool; and in the midst of this global pandemic but I decided to take on this challenge to support the TPS Alliance because I could not just sit back knowing just how crucial this moment is for our struggle,” said Zepeda.
The primary reason why he has been fighting so hard alongside the National TPS Alliance is actually quite simple; Ben himself is a son of TPS holders from El Salvador. While the four years of the Trump Administration posed a serious threat to Ben and his family’s status of residency in the United States, the National TPS Alliance – and Ben – are hopeful that calls for permanent residency will be heard by the new Biden Administration.
“Since 2018, I have been a plaintiff in the Ramos case, a lawsuit which has battled the Trump Administration in the 9th circuit court of appeals for the past four years of the administration’s racist and anti-immigrant attacks,” said Zepeda.
However, the impact of the National TPS Alliance has not just stopped at advocating for permanent residence of TPS beneficiaries; the organization also fronted efforts to get out the vote in the Georgia runoff elections in January. The importance of electing officials who would hopefully be more open to permanent residency was a priority for Zepeda and the National TPS Alliance, who see it as a gateway to greener pastures for current TPS beneficiaries whose status of residency is only temporary.
“We understood just how important it was to use the TPS community’s collective power, which we have built throughout the years to make an impact in this last crucial election season,” said Zepeda.
The dedication of the National TPS Alliance, as well as Zepeda, did not just stop at rhetoric, activism and physical protesting. On March 19th, all members of the National TPS Alliance began a hunger strike while in Washington, D.C. in order to bring more attention to their efforts of obtaining permanent residency statues.
“On March 19th, just one day after the House passed the American Dream and Promise Act – legislation which would grant an immediate pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, DACA and TPS Holders – the TPS Alliance initiated a Hunger Strike led by TPS families in order to put constant pressure on legislators and ensure that immediate action is taken for our families. I have been in solidarity with hunger strikers arriving from many of our committees across the country and working alongside the campaign’s organizers with social media and technical support,” said Zepeda.
On President Biden’s 100th day in office, the National TPS Alliance’s hunger strike ended. Despite not receiving any action from the Biden Administration in its first 100 days, the National TPS Alliance vows to continue fighting for the change they want to see from the administration as well as Congress.
While the National TPS Alliance is optimistic that the new Biden Administration and Democrat-controlled Congress would be more open to granting permanent residency statues, the lack of clarity from the Biden Administration has been frustrating for the Alliance thus far.
“On April 19th, we were expecting a final decision from the Biden administration on our lawsuit. Instead we were given the news that they asked for yet another 60 days to continue investigating the conditions of our countries of origin. What we are asking for isn’t something unreasonable, the conditions of these TPS countries have not changed since they were first designated TPS. Natural disasters, ongoing political crises, and the global COVID-19 pandemic is still creating conditions which have forced many to migrate towards the United States,” said Zepeda.
In the spirit of what it means to be a Bosco man, Ben has been fighting the good fight away from home for a cause that is much bigger than him. While he recognizes the good work he has done on behalf of TPS beneficiaries nationally and alongside the National TPS Alliance, there is also a deep recognition that the work is far from over. As a matter of fact, it might be just beginning.
“After four years of uncertainty of my family’s future, the people in power finally now have all the necessary tools to deliver justice for our communities,” said Zepeda.
The times the world lives in are tumultuous, to say the least. Yet, while no significant or adequate change has been seen by Zepeda and the National TPS Alliance, there is more hope for action in the future. After struggles with the previous administration, but more so after the past grueling few months, change has been hard to come by, but hope may very well be on the horizon for TPS beneficiaries in the United States, thanks in large part to Zepeda’s sacrifices.
One of the newest (and best tasting) additions to the Bosco community is the Bosco Bread Company, which caters to any member of the community in need of a yummy addition to their meal.
The idea of the Bosco Bread Company was conceived back in 2020 alongside the creation of a community garden, which was built earlier this year behind the baseball field. The garden was created to help increase Bosco’s sustainability and to be used as a unifying system for the Bosco community. Eventually, the garden became a tool to help the students better understand the process of farm-to-table.
As the garden was being developed, the question soon arose as to how the garden could be both environmentally beneficial and profitable for St. John Bosco. With various herbs being grown in the garden, the Bosco Bread Company was formed as a way to utilize the locally grown aromatics. Since Bosco now has a supply of organic herbs on campus, they could then be used to make homemade bread in the Bosco kitchen. By January of 2021, the first order of bread boxes began to be delivered to customers.
The architect behind the bread company is Bosco mom, Mrs. Alexandra Diaz. Mrs. Diaz has a bachelor’s degree in art history and a second bachelor’s degree in food science as well as a culinary degree.
“I come up with what the box will be every month. I try to make [the bread] sustainable and economically friendly because we are just starting up,” said Mrs. Diaz.
The boxes are carefully planned out every month by Mrs. Diaz, featuring seasonal bread, determined by what is available at the time. Subscription boxes are sent out on a monthly basis, and each box includes a loaf of bread as well as a secondary bread, for example boxes may include garlic knots, dinner rolls, bagels or even scones.
And the boxes are not just limited to bread. They also include items such as infused butter and oil or jam. These items are homemade in the Bosco kitchen as well. In addition to all these items, a recipe card is included that offers ways to creatively use the bread, store it and repurpose it.
Noting the versatility of the items, Mrs. Diaz highlighted the garlic knots, saying, “You can always blend them up and use them to bread a chicken,” and in referencing the added items in the April box, added, “We did infused oil this month, garlic, rosemary and crushed peppers in there, so then I put in a recipe to make a salad dressing.”
The possibilities are extensive with the bread box items, whether that be by using the oils and butter to put on a steak, or even creating an open-faced pizza with bagels. A popular bit of feedback from the subscribers has been the freshness of the bread. The bread is baked fresh, packaged and sent out to the buyer the same day. However, a frequent concern has been gluten sensitivity or intolerance. Mrs. Diaz has worked hard to make this a non-issue.
“Some people are gluten intolerant and some people are wheat intolerant, so I try to come up with recipes that will be friendly to everybody,” Mrs. Diaz said.
These special orders are baked away from the other bread in order to guarantee quality control. The bread box has been popular with alumni, as they have found that the Bosco Bread Company is an enjoyable and delicious way to support Bosco and another way to get Bosco into their homes.
As the Bosco Bread Company grows, more goals are being set. Mrs. Diaz said the next steps include reducing plastic usage in order to increase the school’s environmental sustainability. Another goal will be integrating the students into the garden and the kitchen.
“We want our kids to eat from the garden. Some kids don’t like to eat vegetables, but if we introduce them to good, wholesome organic fruits and vegetables, that can change the whole trajectory of how they eat. We’re trying to make it a revolving door here in the school kitchen,” Mrs. Diaz said.
The monthly box costs $40. Buyers have the option to have a monthly subscription, or they can buy a single box individually. Another option is buying a smaller selection of bread, as a sample of the bread box. This month’s box will contain white sandwich bread, lemon blueberry and citrus scones and raspberry jam, as well as fresh lettuce straight from Bosco’s community garden, available now to order.
For more information, and to sample or begin your monthly subscription, you can go here.
In the Catholic Church, the month of May is traditionally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In order to honor the Blessed Mother, the Bosco community celebrates Marian Day, this year, on May 7th.
The tradition of dedicating the month of May to Our Lady is centuries old, dating back at least 700 years. The reason for dedicating May to Our Lady is associated with the particular season of the year. May is certainly known for its springtime beauty. It brings to mind the idea of promise and hope, of new life.
This connection between May and motherhood led Christians to adopt May as the month of Our Lady, the Mother of God and Our Heavenly Mother. She brought life into the world by giving birth to her son, Jesus, who brought about a new spring.
May is normally part of the Easter season, the period of fifty days which lasts from Easter to Pentecost. During this time we celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection from the dead, a celebration which culminates with his Ascension to the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit to the Church on Pentecost. It is a fitting time to dedicate to the Blessed Virgin Mary; to recall her intense joy over her Son’s Resurrection and the comfort and guidance she gave to the Apostles during this difficult period.
Marian day is a special time for Bosco Braves. It is a time of reflection and for the community. Marian day truly resembles the Bosco Oratory. It reflects a Home, School, Church, and Playground.
Home: This day is where the Bosco Braves can make Bosco, their home, while also being guided by Our Blessed Mother.
School: Even though this day is a time of bonding, there are still classes during the day. The periods are cut short to make the day go by fast.
Church: On this day, the Bosco community gathers together for a liturgy. In this liturgy, Mary is offered and crowned with flowers to represent beauty.
Playground: After classes and mass, the Bosco brothers have hours to themselves where they can strengthen their brotherhood. During this time, there are multiple activities, where some of them include jumpers.
The Blessed Virgin Mary offered the disciples her prayers, motherly care, and witness. She continues to offer us her motherly love and intercession. During this month of May, let us rediscover her maternal role in each of our lives. Let us offer our spiritual mother our sincere prayers, that just as she aided the first Apostles with her prayers, she may also guide and intercede for us in our journey of faith. Let us learn from her how to love and trust God completely and how to be faithful witnesses of the risen Lord.
Despite not having the best of starts Bosco, Bosco volleyball is making the most of an unprecedented season.
Being at home during a lockdown isn’t an easy thing to do as you aren’t able to enjoy time with friends, visit places or play any indoor and outdoor sports. The volleyball team has been making great progress in overcoming these challenges and being able to practice with each other while following COVID-19 regulations. This shows what being a Bosco Brave is all about and not only sets a good example for the school but for many teams during these times.
Head Coach Shane Beatty, also an entrepreneurship and algebra 2 teacher, has been coaching volleyball at Bosco for three years now and explained that there has been setbacks, like getting the team gym time and having to do COVID-19 testing on a weekly basis.
“You got to have patience and just focus on controlling what you can control,” said Mr. Beatty
He wasn’t even expecting to have a season, but now that they are able to play, there are some restrictions on what they can and cannot do. This taught the team to be patient and always keep their heads up and have a good spirit.
“Our energy for sure our strength. There’s no other group of guys that I want to go to battle with,” said Mr. Beatty
Beatty describes how there are a lot of kids with high energy no matter what the situation is during these times, and it goes on to show what being a Bosco Brave is all about.
Junior student Alex Mayo has been playing on the Bosco volleyball team since he was a freshman. He echoed Coach Beatty’s sentiments about the challenges they’ve faced returning after the pandemic layoff.
“You had to learn how to adapt,” Alex said.
Even from all this recent diversity Alex was still able to have that Bosco brotherhood with his teammates on and off the court.
“Its different, man; you got to just try it out,” said Alex, explaining that volleyball is a sport where you have to experience the sport to understand the fun of it.
As far as the challenges the volleyball team had to face, it’s been visible that they never gave up and continued to move forward. They have not let this COVID-19 pandemic interrupt their experience at Bosco during their volleyball season.
The Brave News 