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NOVENA FOR THE APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
TO THE UNITED STATES
APRIL 15-20, 2008
Heavenly Father,
Look with love upon Benedict our Pope,
Your appointed successor to Saint Peter
on whom You built Your Church.
May his apostolic journey to the United States
be a source of hope for Your people
and inspire within us a lively faith.
Father,
instill in your people a greater love for Your Church.
May this visit of our Holy Father
fill us with grace and transform our lives.
May it lead us ever closer to the new life
You give us and to the reward of Heavenly Life
promised in the Gospel.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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CATHOLIC SCHOOL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
June 26-29, 2008
Vallombrosa Retreat and Conference Center
Menlo Park, California
The Catholic School Leadership Institute is a summer workshop that will provide ongoing formation and support for new principals and at the same time reinvigorate those experienced principals who have faced the daily challenges of administration. Those teachers who are considering the ministry of administration will also find the program a valuable opportunity to share their ideas and learn from those who are already in administration.
On Thursday evening, June 26th, participants will focus on personality styles and leadership; on Friday, June 27, the focus will be on principal as spiritual leader; on Saturday, June 28, the focus will be on principal as administrator with special emphasis on finance and development issues. Each afternoon session will have outcomes based activities/and or best practices discussions. Sunday, June 29th, the morning session will provide time for some general discussions about instructional leadership. The Institute ends after lunch on Sunday.
There is a parish church immediately next door to the Center for participants to attend Mass either on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
Friday and Saturday evenings will be free to see the local sites.
For further information or to download the application form, please go to: /UserFiles/File/Elem/08_Leadership_Instit.pdf.
Graduate Credit Available
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The Soul of Youth Sport Conference: Discovering the Life-Giving Dimensions
June 27-29, Seattle University
The point of departure for this conference is the view that sport practices should lead, as John Paul II has put it, to the “integral development of the person.” We will be making use of the wisdom of experienced coaches, administrators and scholars in philosophy, moral development, and theology/spirituality to explore how youth sport participation in the contemporary U.S. context leads leads to personal and spiritual development.
The conference is ideally suited for coaches, physical education teachers, administrators, youth ministers, parents or anyone involved with youth in sport or interested in the connections between sport and the spiritual life. A note to school administrators: this conference is a wonderful way to provide your coaches, physical education teachers, ADs and youth ministers with a chance for professional development that will certainly have long terms benefits in the lives of their students in a way that fosters the mission of your schools.
For more information, see our conference web site at http://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/css/youthsport.
Or contact Fr. Patrick Kelly, S.J., the organizer of the conference at pkelly@seattleu.edu
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NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION WEEK (EE WEEK)
The largest organized environmental education event in the United States will take place from April 13 to 19, 2008. Encourage your school to increase the educational impact of Earth Day by hosting environmentally-themed lessons and activities during EE Week. Last year, nearly 1,500 schools, nature centers, zoos, and museums nationwide participated and served over 3.5 million students. By participating in EE Week, you encourage your students to make a difference in their schools, homes, and communities! Log on to www.EEWeek.org to register. Email Karen Schultz at EEWeek@neefusa.org or call (202) 261-6484 with any questions.
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DOLPHIN SAVES WHALES
Most days Moko the bottlenose dolphin swims playfully with humans at a beach. But this week, it seems, Moko found his mojo.
Witnesses described Wednesday how they saw the dolphin swim up to two stranded whales and guide them to safety.
Before Moko arrived, rescue workers had been working for more than an hour to get two pygmy sperm whales, a mother and her calf, back out to sea after they were stranded Monday off
Mahia Beach, Conservation Department worker Malcolm Smith said.
But Smith said the whales restranded themselves four times on a sandbar slightly out to sea from the beach, about 300 miles (500 kilometers) northeast of the capital,
Wellington .
It was looking likely they would have to be euthanized to prevent a prolonged death, he said. "They kept getting disorientated and stranding again," said Smith, who was among the rescuers. "They obviously couldn't find their way back past (the sandbar) to the sea."
Then along came Moko, who approached the whales and appeared to lead them as they swam 200 yards (180 meters) along the beach and through a channel out to the open sea.
"Moko just came flying through the water and pushed in between us and the whales," Juanita Symes, another rescuer, told the Associated Press. "She got them to head toward the hill, where the channel is. It was an amazing experience."
Anton van Helden, a marine mammals expert at New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, said the reports of Moko's rescue were "fantastic" but believable because dolphins have "a great capacity for altruistic activities."
There's evidence of dolphins protecting people lost at sea, and the swimmers are known for their playfulness with other animals.
"But it's the first time I've heard of an inter-species refloating technique. I think that's wonderful," said van Helden, who was not involved in the rescue but spoke afterward to Smith.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Robert Bimonte , FSC
Executive Director
NCEA Department of Elementary Schools
1077 30th Street, NW
Washington, DC
20007-3852
Tel: 202-337-6232
Fax: 202-333-6706
E-mail: nceaelem@ncea.org
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National Catholic Educational Association
