MCCHS FRIDAY FOCUS
153rd EDITION: April 24, 2020
From the Desk of Mr. Joe Price
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”—Romans 12:2
Greetings Marian Families, I hope this message finds you well and that you are adjusting to the world around us during these difficult times. I came across this passage several weeks ago, before the school closings and the shelter in place orders and my intention at the time was to encourage families to come together and grow with one another. Little did I know at the time that this pandemic would seemingly force this to happen - yes His ways are a mystery to us all.
Over the last several weeks, I have had conversations with family, friends, colleagues, and students about how they are handling our current state of affairs. Sadly, I hear of continued isolation - even within their own homes. I have found this in my own home as well - we each do our own thing and occasionally sit down together for dinner. That does not mean it has to or will remain, as we all have a momentous opportunity to change.
Albert Einstein once stated, “In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.” How we respond to this opportunity is what matters most. I encourage all to embrace what is happening as an opportunity to grow closer to our loved ones. Unplug, set everything aside and take this time to reconnect with God, with our families, and with ourselves. In simple terms, a crisis is a test - what steps are we willing to take to pass this test?
As human beings and children of God, we are made to live in communion. Please make the time to connect and/or reconnect with your families. This crisis will pass and will eventually become a memory. Our memories are associated with our emotions and in the end, we will remember more about how we make each other feel than what actually happened.
Remote Learning Guide - Phase 2
Graduation - Class of 2020
This is such a difficult time for all of us. However, it is always important to try our best to keep things in some sort of perspective. First, let us all remember to pray daily for those that have died, their families, for those who are sick, our first responders and health care workers, and let us keep our faith and love for our Lord as close to our hearts as possible. Maybe at this time the best thing we can do is to remember to take the time to love one another, especially in these tough times.
With that said, Marian still has a job to do and we are trying our best to turn an impossible situation into some sort of success. Especially in regard to our seniors and their end-of-the-year activities. From the very beginning of remote learning, Marian’s administration has said that we need to do everything we can to give our seniors what they rightly and richly deserve.
Recently, I sat in on a high school Superintendent’s meeting with the Diocese to discuss topics such as graduation. It is safe to say that no one, including public schools, seems to have any type of idea what to do or how to make it work. In fact, a number of schools and districts have already completely shut down and will not have any type of graduation. There are some high schools that are trying to plan a July graduation in the hope that restrictions will be eased up enough to allow for this celebration. I am all for this, knowing how important it is for seniors to share this important moment with each other. However, there is still the chance that this type of graduation will not be allowed or will need to be modified greatly (social distancing continues), thus leaving the seniors with nothing or very little to show for their graduation. This is not acceptable in our eyes.
Therefore, we have come up with what we believe is the best-case scenario for our seniors and graduation. At the end of May, Marian will have a Virtual Graduation with many of the normal aspects of any graduation. The biggest drawback to this is that our students will not be together as we videotape the ceremony. We are also going to set aside a date in July and plan for an outdoor graduation ceremony if we can get everyone together. Please remember that all directives from the CDC and the State of Illinois will determine the July graduation. Also remember that any plan we make could always be changed based on unforeseen circumstances. We will keep you informed as we continue to work on our plans and share with you the procedures for both events as soon as possible. As always, our thoughts and prayers are with each of you.
Mike Shukis
Assistant Superintendent
Financial Assistance Application Deadline - May 1st
Show your Hurricane Pride
TONIGHT!
8:00 - 8:30 pm
HURRICANE PRIDE WILL SHINE!
Marian Central will turn on the lights at George Harding Field in honor of our Marian Central community. Drive by our football field and honk your horn to show your support for Marian Central. Click the image below to view the route.
Please stay in your cars to keep our community healthy and safe.
NCAA Eligibility Center COVID-19 Response FAQs
Given the unprecedented events during Spring/Summer 2020 due to COVID-19, the NCAA Eligibility Center has partnered with the NCAA membership to identify adjustments to the initial-eligibility certification process. Click here to learn more about these important adjustments.
Seniors - Report your Scholarships!
This information is now past due! Parent's please encourage your seniors to submit this important information. We want to be sure that everyone who's received scholarships from colleges and third party sources is recognized for their achievements.
We've created a form that we'd like you all to use when reporting your scholarship information. It can be accessed online at: https://forms.gle/ArBdMqghNNSPcTAm9
Some quick instructions for reporting the information we need:
- Report all scholarships awarded by all schools/sources that scholarships were received from…not just the school the student will attend.
- Do not report need-based grants you've received. If you have a question about whether a specific award is a scholarship or a grant, please contact Mr. Stamatakos directly.
You'll see in the form that you can report your information one of two ways:
- You may upload pictures or scanned copies of your award letters to the form and submit them.
- You may list information for each scholarship and source individually.
Please note the instructions in the form regarding Option 1. You may list information for up to 10 awards in the form if you choose to report using Option 2. If you need to list information for more awards, you'll be able to access the form again to submit the information about those additional awards.
Please report your information to Mrs. Diamond ASAP. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter! If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Diamond at jdiamond@marian.com. Stay safe and well!
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 .