Tag Archives: Central Catholic

Senior Awards Night

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

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

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

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.

Every 15 Minutes

Every four years, Central Catholic High School puts on a presentation (in conjunction with the California Highway Patrol) about drunk driving.  The program is called “Every 15 Minutes” and the last time it was at CCHS, Sierra was a junior.  In the back of my mind, I’ve known for a while that we were do to hold the event again and yesterday, it started.  This program involves the emergency response agencies in the area but the most important component are the students who participate.   When the student body sees their own friends and classmates participate:  in the crash scene, placed in a body bag, flown away in a medical response helicopter, given last rites, missing from class, etc. they get a glimpse of the tragedy that can come from drinking and driving.  This program is a difficult thing to witness, I can’t imagine being a participant.  It was difficult enough to watch the video on the local newspaper’s website.  I ask for God’s blessings on everyone involved.  Thank you for the sacrifice you went through to bring home a message of such importance.

Fashion Show

Not very many people in the world get to watch a fashion show with their husband and son as models.  As a part of the BASH events (see post from 4/23/10) CCHS held a luncheon and fashion show today.  Many students participated including several seniors with their parents and/or siblings.  Steel wasn’t sure he wanted to do it since he’s stuck on crutches, but with some kind encouragement from the coordinators, he jumped in and had a great time.  I was VERY impressed with the quality of the production and just how entertaining it was.  Each “act” told a story. Of course I got very choked up when my husband and son walked the cat-walk to the song “Beautiful Boy.”  Another priceless memory.

BASH

On the invitation of some good friends, we attended a fund-raising event at CCHS today.  BASH (Building A Scholastic Heritage) is a long-standing tradition at the high school, but we haven’t attended for the last few years.  Tonight’s festivities included appetizers, dinner, silent and live auctions and lots and lots of chatting.  It’s always good to see fellow parents (current and past) and faculty members.

A Very Brady Sadies


I’ve written quite often that one of the best parts of having our children at Central Catholic is the friendships we’ve formed with the families of the other students.  They are more than acquaintances, they are friends.  We are all so different, but have a commonality in the shared priority of quality education.  Social occasions turn into “parental” events as well. 

Tonight we had the privilege of going to the Shinkwin residence.  The Sadie Hawkins’ dance is tonight and Cindy Shinkwin volunteered to cook dinner for 4 couples before the dance.  Of course I had to call and invite myself over for some pictures and we were welcomed with open arms.  (As I knew we would be.)  The kids decided a couple of days ago to go to the dance dressed as The Brady Bunch and so Cindy Shinkwin went all out with the decor and her own personal outfit… dressing as the beloved housekeeper Alice… complete with a beehive hairstyle.  She looked adorable.  We re-enacted scenes from the show.  This is our version of the couch photo.

Blue Crew

This basketball season has been particularly enjoyable for Steel.  Without the rigorous wrestling schedule, he’s been able to go to most of the high school basketball games and cheer for his classmates.  Tonight, CCHS claimed the WAC League Championship with their defeat against Hilmar.  (It’s always a good day when we beat Hilmar… at ANYTHING!)  I was across the gym taking pictures when Steel walked into the game.  The kids in the Central fan section immediately got to their feet and applauded his arrival.  It was great.  They had been pretty quiet up to that point and it was obvious they were waiting for the leader of the pack.

CCHS Basketball

In my 2/3/10 post I lamented the fact that someone had complained about my absence from basketball at the high school.  I hope I made up for it tonight.  I shot all three games as the boys faced off against Patterson.  I left a flash in another camera bag and the one I had with me didn’t work so the first two games were shot without one, but in hindsight, I think I like those pictures better.  Steel brought my flash with him later in the evening so I had it for the varsity game but I was very pleased with the pictures from the earlier games.  Basketball is very difficult to shoot.  The action goes from one player so quickly.  It’s hard to keep track of the ball.

Whenever I’ve shot basketball I always get the best pictures of this guy.  Dan Hulst is a senior this year and goes full throttle during the game.  The greatest part of shooting basketball is the facial expressions and Dan is the best of them all.  I don’t really notice it while I’m at the game because it goes so fast, but when I get home and load the pictures, the intensity of the game is very evident.