Kelli Rocha's Blog » Central Catholic

Rotary All Star Game

Kelli Rocha — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 06:00:42 +0000

Although Steel did not play (still recovering from his foot injury) we traveled to Chowchilla to watch the Rotary All Star game. Steel’s classmate Tyler Lee was the only other representative from Central Catholic. The opposing team scored on the opening kick off and I thought for sure we were in for a long night, but the North came back and dominated the rest of the game and claimed victory.

CCHS Dress Code

Kelli Rocha — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:00:28 +0000

One of the best things about having your kids enrolled in private school is the uniforms and dress code. I know the kids don’t see it the same way when they’re young, but even my children have grown to appreciate the convenience and ease of mandate school clothes. There’s no need to stress over school outfits, because everyone is dressed like everyone else… you just grab and go. It saves lots of money every year because they mostly wore what they wore last year. Through the grammar school years we had to account for growth, that has mostly stopped or at least slowed down. I think Steel has worn some of his shirts for all four years of high school.

So it is with a twinge of sadness that we collected all of Steel’s polo and Oxford shirts to donate. They are still in excellent condition and will no doubt last some kid another 4 years of use. I didn’t realize how many he had… This picture only shows the Oxfords… but he also had about 10-15 colored polo shirts as well. Some of these shirts I had purchased and some were hand me downs from graduating team mates.

Oh, if these shirts could talk. They’ve been there for the whole ride. I hope that they enjoy as much success, joy, hard work and fun as they’ve already witnessed.

Graduation

Kelli Rocha — Sun, 30 May 2010 03:00:09 +0000

I wasn’t going to cry. I really wasn’t… I was in a very good frame of mind, looking to the future and as we were waiting for the ceremony to begin, the very first song that came through the speakers was my FAVORITE song of all (and the one I want played at my funeral by the way) In My Life by the Beatles… And to make things worse, it was the original Beatles version too. *sigh* I had to walk away from my family and hide behind the bleachers until it was over and I could compose myself.

Needless to say, Graduation was really wonderful to witness and attend. The official ceremony was really moving and the speakers were extraordinary. There were 98 graduates and I took 837 pictures. Seeing my son walk across the track in his cap and gown was emotional, but he really put a smile on my face when he received his diploma. After shaking everyone’s hand, he tossed his crutches off of the stage and walked down the ramp, unassisted. It was a great moment.

Another fun moment was at the end of the line. After Kris Zizzo received his diploma, he did a back-flip off the stage. What a way to celebrate!

Baseball Double Header

Kelli Rocha — Thu, 27 May 2010 05:00:22 +0000

We went to Lodi tonight to watch Central Catholic play in the baseball playoff game. They had defeated Linden earlier in the week, but Linden came back and spanked CC in the second game this afternoon which required a third game to decide the series and advance a team to the championships. In between the games I had a brief conversation with Billy Flamion (pictured here with Steel) regrading his pitching. He is very talented. One of my favorite memories was watching him pitch a no-hitter against Hilmar in the Championship game last year (as a sophomore.) I knew if anyone could pull off a victory, he could. He told me his arm was sore but I told him to suck it up and get the job done and boy did he ever.

Billy has spent a lot of time at our house over the last couple of years and will be a senior next year. He’s promised to come over for breakfast on a regular basis so the nest won’t feel quite so empty. I’m going to hold him to it.

Yearbook

Kelli Rocha — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:00:58 +0000

I’ve mentioned before that one of the benefits of having your children attend such a small school is that everyone knows everyone… I guess that’s both good and bad. That also means that everyone knows everyone’s business too… or at least we think we do. As parents, the good outweighs the bad. We have a great advantage by knowing the other kids at school and their families. I love it when the yearbook arrives each year. I know everyone in it… and it is so much fun to go through and see the pictures. It also brings me incredible joy when I recognize some of those pictures as my own. It makes me feels as though I really have participated. It is especially heart-warming to see so many of my pictures in the senior ads. I am so honored to have them think that my photographs are significant enough to share space on such an important sentiment of their high school experience. I’m not naive. I know they don’t pick the pictures thinking… “Gee, I’ll include this one because Mrs. Rocha took it.” I know it’s the subject, not the photographer… but that is really the ultimate compliment. It’s proof that I got it right… the moment, the feeling and the shot. I did my job.

(If you look closely, you can see the student’s names etched into the cover. They are in order of class and extend around to the back cover. Way cool.)

CCHS Sign

Kelli Rocha — Fri, 21 May 2010 03:00:32 +0000

I dropped Steel off at school this morning at 6:00 am to head to Southern California for his senior trip to Knott’s Berry Farm, Medieval Times and Disneyland. As we pulled into the parking lot, I noticed they had changed the sign. This kind of makes it official for me now. Steel mentioned that Tuesday was his last full day of school… including his last “lunch” and I had a sharp pang of sadness… Saying goodbye to this school will be difficult.

Senior Awards Night

Kelli Rocha — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:00:24 +0000

Steel and Matt Shinkwin

Another celebration for the seniors at Central Catholic. Tonight we attended the Senior Awards night where all of the awards and scholarships are presented to the students. Steel’s class has 98 students and they have earned almost $4,000,000 in scholarships, awards and grants. (Yes, that’s $4 million dollars.) Pretty impressive. Steel received scholarships from the Turlock Pentecost Association and Mo-Cal Office Solutions. His scholarship from Pacific University was also announced and he was awarded the Intermediate Dance and Choreography Award.

One of the best parts of the night was the presentation of Matt Shinkwin’s official appointment to the United State Military Academy at West Point. Matt and Steel have spent a lot of time together over the last year or so and we’ve come to love him and his family very much. We share in their pride. Matt was also the recipient of the Intermediate Dance and Choreography Award with Steel, no doubt for their collaborative work on the Spring dance production.

Prom

Kelli Rocha — Sun, 09 May 2010 05:00:02 +0000

Today I went to the prom for the last time. I’ve been inviting myself along for pictures for the last 5 years… and it’s always a treat to see these kids all dressed up and excited about the night’s festivities. As parents, we’ve made a lot of friends and had a good time ourselves as we’ve gathered to see the kids off. Tonight we were at the home of the Wesenberg Family. (This is one of my favorite homes, ever. Dad’s an architect… it’s magnificent.) I have done prom pictures there before so I knew how perfect the lighting and the golf course backdrop would be for these shots. We were blessed to be welcomed back.

I am always so appreciative when the kids let me in and allow me to be a part of their activities. I never take it for granted. We all laughed so much during this session, parents and kids alike… it will be a precious memory. Today was a gift.

Last CC Tuition Payment

Kelli Rocha — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:02:16 +0000

Today was my last tuition payment to Central Catholic High School. A VERY momentous occasion. We never thought we’d be able to afford a private education for our children. It was on a wing and a prayer that we pulled Sierra from her public school (in first grade) and placed her at St. Stanislaus… and God did provide, just as Fr. Silva promised. We have never regretted the decision to put the kids in Catholic school. It has cost us a bundle, but it has been worth every penny. Pictured here receiving the check from me is Dana Lee.

Scrip

Kelli Rocha — Sat, 01 May 2010 03:00:48 +0000

For 15+ years, we’ve been required (well, either that or buy out) to participate in Scrip programs through the kids’ schools. The simple explanation for scrip is that companies sells gift certificates to schools at a reduced rate. We then purchase the gift certificates for full face value and the school gets the difference. As an incentive, each school sets a mandatory scrip amount we have to raise each year and anything above and beyond that amount is split between the school and us. It’s doesn’t cost us anything to participate… you just have to do some planning ahead of time to be sure you have the right scrip with you when you shop or eat out. We also use it quite often for gifts… which is a little bit easier to organize.

Today is the official last day of the fiscal school year for the scrip program at CCHS. This was my last opportunity to purchase scrip to receive credit for this school year. Steel ordered his tux for prom yesterday and they were kind enough to waive the deposit and encouraged him to purchase scrip for the balance so I stopped in on my way to work to buy the scrip for the tux. (An $8 profit from that single purchase.) These ladies have worked with the scrip program at CCHS. I will miss our visits (although they are brief and infrequent) but I will not miss feeling guilty whenever I’m making a purchase and realize that I could have used scrip. I’ll still stop in and see these ladies once in a while. I still think it’s the most convenient way to shop for gifts. Now… someone else will get the credit.