By Maria Brunner, Teresita Quezada and Kylee Martinez
Notre Dame students

RIVERSIDE—We couldn’t sleep the night before. We walked on campus and didn’t know where to go. 

 What if I can’t find my class? I can’t wait to graduate! Is this really my first-first day of high school? This is finally my last-first day of high school!  The first day of school is always an exciting and somewhat nerve-wracking event. At Notre Dame High School, it was not much different. However, with the help of groups such as ASB and Peer Ministry, students, parents, and faculty were able to celebrate the day together as One Heart and One Spirit.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – As summer came to a close and with visions of students running through their heads, teachers from four West End Catholic schools gathered at Sacred Heart School on August 21 to receive valuable help in their ministry to students with various disorders that impact learning.

 A Catholic high school education has been made financially easier for three ninth graders who were named 2015 Bishop’s Scholars, Bishop Gerald Barnes announced in August. 

 After a lengthy competitive application process and rigorous review, Bishop Barnes selected Brian Pham from Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Indio. He will attend Xavier College Preparatory High School in Palm Desert. 

RIVERSIDE—On October 10 the Congregation of Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) of the Western Province will be holding its third encounter for youth and young adults.

 The event, which, was hosted the past two years at Divine Word Missionaries in Riverside, will take place this year at St. George Parish in Ontario. The pastors of the parishes led by the SVD Congregation, along with their youth ministers, are organizing the encounter.

By Eva Lopez
Grade 12

SAN BERNARDINO—August 11 was the first day back at Aquinas High School, and for many, it was the first day of high school. 

 Students were greeted by the sight of the new Scaffidi Amphitheatre on the main concourse of the school campus, newly erected over the summer. 

SAN BERNARDINO—On June 22 Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC) youth leaders from San Bernardino held an action at Our Lady of Hope Parish where they invited San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) Board Member Abigail Medina and SBCUSD Board President Michael Gallo to hear community concerns and recommendations on school suspension policy.