By Anne Alhadef

 The teachers and staff from all Catholic schools in the diocese met for their annual in-service on Oct. 17 at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini parish in Yucaipa with Bishop Gerald Barnes as the keynote speaker. Perhaps, not surprisingly, one of the most striking things that stayed with me was the Bishop’s thoughts and observations on Pope Francis. 

 “Pope Francis,” Bishop Barnes said, “is causing a lot of reaction, people react to what he says.”

PALM DESERT—Each trimester the students and teachers of Sacred Heart School in Palm Desert are challenged by their principal, Alan Bruzzio, to set aside one day to “stop and smell the roses.” 

 They are to log off their computers, turn off their iPads, put their textbooks away, and focus on their relationship with Jesus. 

On October 20 Sacred Heart Parish School in Rancho Cucamonga hosted their third annual “HERO DAY,” part of the school’s anti-bullying campaign where students dress up as heroes, and sign pledges saying that they will be someone’s hero. The students watched as the Fontana Police Department’s 40 King helicopter landed on the field to start the event.  Other visiting heroes included the Riverside County Bomb Squad, San Bernardino County Bomb Squad, Fontana Police Department’s “Bear Cat” (SWAT) hummer and K-9 unit, Rancho Cucamonga Police blood hounds, Rancho Cucamonga Fire Department and a CHP motorcycle officer.

PERRIS—St. James Catholic School in Perris was the recipient of several grants that have allowed significant upgrades to the school facility and to student technology.  

 Thanks to the J.F. Shea Company the school was able to replace all the old windows on campus with new energy efficient, double paned windows, and new window coverings.  The J.F. Shea Company’s grants also allowed a new playground to be erected on campus for the younger students. 

INDIO—Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Indio is the recipient of the grant “Rethink Your Drink” from Regional Access Project (RAP) Foundation. The RAP Foundation provides funding to nonprofit community based organizations or collaborative groups, and other tax exempt agencies which serve the populations of eastern Riverside County in the areas of health, mental health, and juvenile interventions.

RIVERSIDE—St. Francis de Sales students kicked off Red Ribbon Week festivities with a visit from the California Highway Patrol, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).  Red Ribbon Week is a national campaign focused on raising awareness of drug and alcohol abuse.  The students of St. Francis were educated about the consequences of drug abuse and the effects on our community by the DEA and Sheriff’s Dept.  The California Highway Patrol K-9 unit conducted a demonstration of “Lucky,” the police dog, in action.  St. Francis de Sales would like to thank all the agencies that came together to make this presentation a remarkable learning experience for our students.