December/January

All applicants, accompanied by a parent/guardian, must take part in an interview during this time. The interview should only last a half-hour. Each interview will be scheduled on an individual basis. The De La Salle admissions office will contact you to schedule the applicant’s interview.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Students are required to attend Application Day at De La Salle High School.
A $25 one time, non-refundable, non-transferable application fee will be collected from each student upon arrival at the high school.

If you submitted the De La Salle application online, please omit the $30 fee since it was included in the online application. Application Day at De La Salle will begin at 8 A.M.

Thursday, March 2, 2017
Decision letters are mailed home. If you do not receive a letter by Friday, March 10, please contact the Admissions office at admissions@delasallenola.com .

Friday, March 3, 2017
Invitation to Apply letters are mailed to students who were denied from their first choice school.

**De La Salle requires a De La Salle application, the Archdiocese application and a $30 application fee when applying to De La Salle by mail, in person to the admissions office or online at www.delasallenola.com . Required document checklist for De La Salle is located on the of this back page.

Required Documents submitted to De La Salle for Admissions

• $30 Application fee (non-refundable)
• Completed Archdiocese Application
• Completed De La Salle Application
• Recent photo of the student. (non-returnable)
• Copy of the student’s Birth Certificate
• Copy of the student’s Social Security card
• Copy of a complete Immunization Record
• Copy of standardized test scores from the last two years
• Most recent report card.
• Official transcript from the last three school years
• Any psychological or educational evaluations administered to the student must be submitted with this application
• Parent(s), please explain why you feel De La Salle is the best school for your child. (Typed, no more than one page.  Three or four sentences will suffice)
• Prospective Student, please tell us why you wish to become a part of the De La Salle family and how you plan to participate in school sports, clubs or activities. (Typed, no more than one page.  Three or four sentences will suffice)

Letter from the Principal

December, 2016

Dear Parents:

It is difficult to believe, but we are only two weeks from the end of our fall semester and the upcoming Christmas holidays!  We hope that you and your family had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving, and we are looking forward to a strong conclusion to our second nine weeks. There are several upcoming December events to take note of.

Updated Addresses, Emails, Mobile Numbers
Parents, please contact our registrar, Mrs. Marilyn D’Antoni, at mdantoni@delasallenola.com if your essential contact information changes.  Please alert us if you are not receiving information.

Second Harvest Food Drive
Tuesday, December 6^th, is our final day of collection for the needy of our city.  We have already amassed over 2,000 cans of food, and we hope to grow this number in our final few days of the collection.  Thank you to all of you for your generosity and your commitment to those who need it most.

De La Salle Band’s Winter Concert on Monday, December 5^th
Our band will perform its annual Winter Concert this Monday, December 5^th at 7:00 pm in our cafeteria.   All are welcome and encouraged to attend this performance.  Mr. Duncan Pray, our band director, will lead the band through its performance on this night.

Junior and Junior Parent College Application Night, Tuesday, December 6^th
Juniors and all parents of juniors, please plan to attend this informational night on Tuesday, the 6^th, at 6:00 pm in our library.  Ms. Kate Massey, our Director of College Admissions, will be providing essential information to the college application process.  Please email Ms. Massey at kmassey@delasallenola.com if you have questions regarding this event.

La Troupe de la Salle’s A Tuna Christmas, December 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, and 12^th
Please come out and support our drama club, La Troupe de la Salle, as La Troupe stages our first production of the year, A Tuna Christmas.  All performances start at 7:30 pm.

School-wide Mass on Thursday, December 8th
Thursday, the 8^th, we will celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with a school-wide Mass that morning. Our chaplain, Father Michael Schneller, will say the Mass.

9^th Grade Retreat, Friday, December 9th
All freshmen are obligated to attend the 9^th grade retreat on Friday, December 9^th.  Freshmen students will be permitted to dress down in our “Maroon and White” dress-down style on this day.  Students will report to school and be dismissed from school at the normal times.  Students will be bused off-campus to three different locations, and parents must return all permission slips via edline or via the Google link texted to you. Again, all 9^th grade students must attend this retreat.  Please email Mr. Behan at tbehan@delasallenola.com if you have any questions.

Final Exams
Final exams will take place on Thursday, December 15^th, and Friday, December 16^th.  Exams for blocks C and D will be administered on Thursday; exams for blocks A and B will be administered on Friday.  Dismissal is at 11:00 am on both exam days.

Christmas Holidays, Final Grade Reminders and Return to School
School is closed from December 17^th through January 3^rd.  Students return to school for a full day of school on Wednesday, January 4^th. 

Please be reminded that final grades are not due from teachers until the first week of January.

Also, please be reminded that we are on a semester policy, and students in semester courses who fail the first OR second quarter must attend summer school.

Important Reminder
Please be reminded that personal meetings with faculty and administration must be arranged by appointment only.  No administrator or faculty member is mandated to take a meeting from a parent or guardian that has not been pre-arranged.  Thank you for your cooperation with this policy.

Extracurricular Activities
Boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, the wrestling team, and the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have started their seasons and are representing De La Salle quite well!  Please come out and support the Cavs as they take to the field and the floor!

As always, we thank you for entrusting your children to us, and we look forward to a blessed and peaceful Christmas holiday. Take care, and may God bless you and yours.

Sincerely,

Paul Kelly, ’83
Principal

“Let it be your chief study to put the Gospel into practice.”  (St. John Baptist de La Salle’s Meditation 171.3 on the Feast of St. Remigius, Patron of Rheims)

“So this is Christmas, and what have you done?  Another year over, and a new one just begun….” (“So This Is Christmas,” John Lennon, 1971)

Christmas time is upon us, and it is so easy to become consumed by the “busy”ness of the season.  I have quoted here the opening lyrics of John Lennon’s 1971 song “So This Is Christmas” because the words prompt us to pause, to reflect honestly about how we have been living our lives, and to make changes for the better going forward into the new year.  As people of God, it is our hope that we can answer John Lennon’s question—“What have you done?”–by the actions to which St. John Baptist de La Salle calls us above; namely, that we have been “…[putting] the gospel into practice.”  

Of course, wanting to put the gospel into practice and actually doing that on a daily basis can sometimes get suffocated by the frenetic nature of day-to-day of living.  But, in his just-released December 25, 2016 pastoral letter to the Brothers of the Christian Schools and to their lay Partners, Brother Robert Schieler, FSC, the Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, breathes new life into our understanding of the evolving mindset that is necessary for us continually to put the Gospel into practice.  In his pastoral letter, Brother Robert reinforces the call to put the Gospel into practice by challenging the Brothers and their lay Partners to “…constantly adapt, improve, and enrich the way we announce the Gospel to our students.  We must commit to a never-ending process of openness to the Holy Spirit breaking into our lives, and the Spirit subtly breaks into our lives through ‘many voices’ and events.”  (p.6)… Read the full article by clicking here: President’s Page December 17, 2016 (Full PDF)

Under the direction of Math teacher Peggy St. John, AFSC, the De La Salle faculty and students collected just under 3,000 food items for Second Harvest and Hope House.

Thirty boxes went to Hope House because, as St. John said, “We have had a long connection to Hope House as Don Everard who supervises there is a former teacher and former Brother from De La Salle.”

The other 115 boxes went to Second Harvest.  “It took them two trips to collect all the boxes,” St. John said.

“The competition was intense,” St. John said, “and the winners, the freshmen, got a Dress Down Day and then had an early dismissal for lunch one day.”

The final results were the seniors with 82% of their goal, juniors with 144%, eighth graders with 179%, sophomores with 324% and the freshmen with a whopping 446% of their goal.

The individual winners were senior Nora Baumann, junior Jeffrey Hefner, sophomore Hunter Pullizano, frehman Jessica Zweifler, and eighth grader Angie Zelaya.

“I was so pleased by the participation of so many students, especially those that personally brought more than 100 cans,” St. John said.

Letter from the Principal

January, 2017

Dear Parents:

Happy New Year to you and yours!  I sincerely hope that you and your family had a restful and enjoyable holiday break.  Our students returned on Wednesday, and we will celebrate the start of the semester with a back to school Mass on Friday, the 6^th.  Several events and happenings are on the horizon, including the following:

Principal’s Assembly, Tuesday, January 10^th
Tuesday, the 10^th, we will have our January Principal’s Assembly, where we will recognize outstanding achievements by our students in front of the entire student body and faculty.  We will also select our Students of the Month for all grade levels for the month of December.

Report Cards
Report cards from the fall semester will be available through Edline by Friday, January 13^th.  We do not send hard copies of report cards home.

No School for Students
Reminder that students do not have school on Monday, January 16^th, due to the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.

Spring Semester Mini-Schedule Night, Thursday, January 19^th, 6:30 PM
We will have our Spring Semester Mini-Schedule Night for parents on Thursday, January 19^th.

The bell will ring at 6:30 pm, sending you to your student’s A period class.  Friendly reminder that this is NOT a parent-teacher conference.  This is simply an opportunity to follow your child’s new class schedule and meet his or her teachers.  Teachers will discuss course policies and their goals for their classes in ten-minute sessions.  We strongly encourage all parents to attend.

Honor Roll Breakfast
Our Honor Roll Breakfasts take place on Thursday and Friday, the 26^th and 27^th of January.  We look forward to honoring all those students who achieved a 3.5 GPA or better in the second quarter.

Sophomore Retreat
Our Sophomore Retreat takes place on Friday, January 27^th.   Permission slips will be posted to Edline, and the retreat will be off-campus at City Park.  Sophomores will be permitted to “dress down” in our maroon and white dress-down style on this day.  Students will begin and end the day at the regular times at De La Salle.

Important Reminder
Please be reminded that personal meetings with faculty and administration need to be arranged by appointment.  No administrator or faculty member is mandated to take a meeting from a parent or guardian that has not been pre-arranged.  Thank you for your cooperation with this policy.

Extracurricular Activities
Boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, the wrestling team, and the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams continue deeper into their respective seasons.  Baseball, softball, tennis, and track and field are also beginning their pre-season work.  Please come out and support the Cavs as they take to the field and the floor!

As always, we thank you for entrusting your children to us, and we look forward to a successful spring semester. Take care, and may God bless you and yours.

Sincerely,

Paul Kelly, ‘83
Principal

Frederica Anderson is an integral part of the daily operations of De La Salle High School. She is the Attendance Officer and assistant to the Dean of Students. Ms. Freddie, as she is lovingly referred to by students, is the proud mother of two Cavalier alumni, Trenton Anderson ’16 and accomplished poet, Rickey Laurentiis ’07.

Mathematics Department and Varsity Boys Basketball Assistant Coach

At the most recent LASC meeting in January, junior Ben Calico was elected President of LASC District I. District I includes the Parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Charles

Chief Responsibilities:  The District President School is chiefly responsible for the success of its District Association. The District President School shall promote Student Council work within the District by doing the following:

1. Sending out a Monthly Newsletter to all of the schools within the District.
   Organizing a District Leadership Workshop once a year.
2. Encouraging the district schools to join LASC, SASC, AND NASC.
3. Promoting attendance at the LASC Conventions and Summer Workshops.
4. Forming new student councils within the District.
5. Promoting the LASC State Charity and State Student Council Week.
6. Organizing District projects and activities
7. Encouraging inter-school visitations and student exchanges among student councils within the District.
8. Working hand-in-hand with the District Advisor.
9. Maintaining a District Constitution.
10. If any District wishes to sub-divide itself, it may do so on the recommendation of the majority of the members schools within the District, and with the approval of the LASC State Executive Board. It shall be incumbent upon the newly created District to present a constitution and organizational plans to the LASC State Executive Board for final approval.
11. If a school from a neighboring District wishes to join another District because of travel considerations, it may do so with the approval of the home District and the District for which it wishes to affiliate. The Executive Director must be informed of these types of changes.
12. Any Junior/Middle Level and/or Senior High within the boundaries of the District is eligible for membership in the District organization if that school has an active student council, or wishes to form a student council.

Congratulations, Ben! We are proud to have you representing De La Salle and the LASC District 1! Also in attendance at January’s meeting were student council members (pictured right) Brandon Blackwell ’17, Alexis Bonura ’18, Madison Nuccio ’17, Justin Martineau (co-moderator), Gabrielle Bethancourt (co-moderator), Savannah Dominique ’18, Emily Wesley ’18, and Gustavo De Pavia ’18.

Felicity Gautreaux, 8^th Grade  (Pre-Algebra, nominated by Coach Poree)

Felicity is an extremely hard worker who excels at accepting challenges. She is not afraid to fail, which is why she has been so successful at De La Salle. She is completely “bought in” to De la Salle, and she is involved in many activities outside of the classroom.

Eric Lorio, 9^th Grade  (Western Civ, nominated by Coach Karl)

Eric is an extremely hard worker and a well-rounded young man.  Eric told me in the first quarter that his goal was to earn the Gold or Silver card in all of his classes.  Eric worked extremely hard in my class and reached his goal by earning the Gold card in the second quarter.  Eric also made a large donation to the food drive, which demonstrates the type of person he is.  Eric is the epitome of a Cavalier!

Gina Ditcharo, 10^th Grade  (Religion II, nominated by Mr. Martineau)

Gina is a model student. Each day Gina comes to class prepared, comports herself in an exemplary manner, and produces top-notch work. Demonstrating her selfless nature, she works with and helps several struggling students, while also maintaining her gold card-winning ethic.

Alex Pham, 11^th Grade (Spanish II, nominated by Senora Palacios)

Alex has been an outstanding student in this class; Alex is a diligent student whose work consistently reflects great care and effort.  Alex is a quiet student, but always an active listener.

Jackie Johnson, 12^th Grade (Art II, nominated by Madame Gravel)

Jackie was very helpful in Art class. She is very gifted, and she was more than happy to help other students. She has helped me with special projects, including the Malala project, and she always has an upbeat attitude.

De La Salle High School has been chosen as the only high school in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas to receive the designation as a No Place for Hate high school from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).  ADL’s No Place for Hate initiative provides schools with an organizing framework for combating bias, bullying, and bigotry.

De La Salle received our designation for several reasons:

1. by building an inclusive and safe community in which respect is the goal, and in which all students can thrive;
2. by empowering students, faculty, administration, alumni, and family members to take a stand against bias, bullying, and bigotry by incorporating new and existing programs under one powerful message;
3. by engaging in ADL-organized anti-bias activities each year; and
4. by sending a clear and unified message that all students have a place to belong.

Many thanks are in order to our Academic Advisor, Mr. John Charles, for his coordination of this program at De La Salle.  Students and faculty have received recent, additional training for the program, and we are in the process of doing the same for parents and alumni.  Parents and alumni are encouraged to be on the look-out for information in the near future about this training.

Darryl Coulon ’15 (left) and De La Salle moderator, John Charles M.S.E. were featured speakers at  the ADL’s Torch of Liberty dinner in December 2016, as a way of celebrating the kick off the pilot program.

“Jesus Christ wants you to understand that the more your work for the good of your disciples is given life by Him and draws its power from Him, the more it will produce good in them.”  [St. John Baptist de La Salle’s Meditations for the Time of Retreat, No. 195.3]

Greetings to you all as we are well into 2017.  The 2016-2017 school year is now well into its sixth month, and we only have four months until this year is a wrap.  It’s dizzying how quickly the year is moving along.  In my opening remarks to the student body in August, I encouraged them and all members of our faculty and staff to “make the most of the time that has been given to us this school year.”  And as you know from the successes mentioned in my previous monthly newsletters, we have been blessed that the members of our school community certainly have been making the most of numerous opportunities to shine in and out of the classroom.  Our challenge now is to keep our focus and finish strong.

We officially began the second semester with a faculty in-service day on Tuesday, January 3, and the in-service began by celebrating mass together.  Beginning the school year and the second semester by celebrating mass together is intentional, and the reason is found clearly in the quote above that began this month’s newsletter.

Educating young people in today’s world is a daunting challenge irrespective of the religious or secular mission of a school.  This challenge is particularly daunting because of the “noise” in our society that competes for the attention of our young people, and our young people must make their way through this muck as they search for their way in the world.  As a school with a clearly-defined religious mission, the faculty and staff members at De la Salle have the benefit of a Companion as they work daily with our students in a myriad of ways.

Of course, this Companion is God Himself as He works in and through our faculty and staff for the benefit of our students.  Celebrating mass together to begin each semester reminds our faculty and staff not only of their vocation in spreading the good news, but also that they are not the source of the life and power that flows from them to their students.  God is that source of life and power, and He is a never-ending source.  That should be a comforting realization not only for our faculty and staff, but for us all, myself included, as we go about living our lives and doing what we can to make living better for those we love.

In that January 3 mass that our chaplain, Fr. Schneller, celebrated with us, he referred in his sermon to a book that was distributed widely to the parishioners of local churches during the Christmas holidays.  This book is entitled Resisting Happiness, by Matthew Kelly, and it was provided to people free of charge.  I am sure that some of you reading this have a copy of the book.  I grabbed my own copy over the holidays and placed it on my nightstand without opening it up.  But after Fr. Schneller mentioned it in his sermon on January 3, I went home and started reading it over the course of the next weekend.

I found many aspects of the book excellent and especially relevant for our work as Lasallian educators. One quote particularly struck me:

“We live in a culture that says the meaning of life is to get what we want, and then we will be happy.  We yearn for happiness because we were created for it, so we fall for the lie.  We race off into the world to get what we want, but sooner or later we realize that getting what we want doesn’t make us happy.” (pp.38-39)

As I do before all school masses, I offered some comments before we celebrated our school-wide mass on January 6 to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany.  Coincidentally, although I didn’t read Resisting Happiness until after I had delivered my comments on January 6, they were similar in nature to what Matthew Kelly expresses in the quote above.  My comments concerned the three wise men and their mindset as they traveled to bring gifts to the baby Jesus.  I noted to the students that when the wise men departed to return home after delivering their gifts, they left with nothing.  There was no gift exchange.  The wise men’s gift was simply to be able to give and to worship the baby Jesus.

But how often do we all—especially at Christmas time–get caught up in wanting to get something in order to feel happy? And how often do we want “to get something out of mass” in order for us to believe the mass was meaningful? I must admit that I myself have sometimes had these thoughts about mass.  But should it not be enough for us to be present at mass and to be able to worship in community?  In concluding my remarks to the students, I encouraged them to remember that ultimately it is in “giving of ourselves” that we truly “get ourselves.”  And, as people of faith, we know that it is ultimately in doing His will that we truly get ourselves.

With Christmas time behind us, as people of the resurrection, we now look forward to the celebration of Easter.  We are moving from the cradle to the cross.  But between the two seasons, here in New Orleans we have this middle ground called Mardi Gras.  We live in a wonderful city, don’t we? And, of course, De La Salle will be taking part in the festivities in a major way.  Please mark on your calendars the dates of February 18, 23, 24, 26, and 28.  These are the dates respectively of the Caesar, Babylon, Krewe d’Etat, Thoth, and Rex parades.  Our De La Salle Marching Band will be featured in these parades, and the band members would certainly enjoy having you on the parade route to cheer them on as they march on by.

Speaking of marching, I am very grateful to have the opportunity to be the chaperone of eight De La Salle students as we all participate in the upcoming March for Life Pilgrimage in Washington, D.C.  This peaceful event has been taking place for over 40 years in Washington D.C. to call attention to the need to preserve all life from conception to natural death.  The pilgrimage has typically taken place at about the same time as the 1973 Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision.  We will be leaving in the evening of January 24 and returning to New Orleans on January 29.  The march itself will take place on January 27.  We will be traveling by chartered bus, and we will have more than 500 students from other metro Catholic schools traveling with us.  Several hundred thousand people will be participating in the march on January 27.  We ask for your prayers while we are away, and thank you for your prayers.

We also ask for your continued prayers as we begin to plan steadily for the 2017-2018 school year.  We had a very successful Application Day on Saturday, January 7.  We are blessed to be experiencing continued growth, and we are growing because people are aware of how special our school community truly is.  Thank you for continuing to be excellent ambassadors for De La Salle to your family and friends.  Interviews of next year’s applicants continue to happen, and our faculty do a great job in conducting these interviews of applicants and their parents and/or guardians.

Of course, although we are already planning for next school year, we still have this year happening.  And we are blessed to have so many wonderful things going on at De La Salle.  The remainder of this newsletter will catalogue some of these blessings for our school community.

I know that I speak for many in being proud that De La Salle High School has been chosen as the only high school in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas to receive the designation as a No Place for Hate high school from the ADL.  ADL’s No Place for Hate initiative provides schools with an organizing framework for combating bias, bullying, and bigotry.  De La Salle received our designation for several reasons: 1) by building an inclusive and safe community in which respect is the goal, and in which all students can thrive; 2) by empowering students, faculty, administration, alumni, and family members to take a stand against bias, bullying, and bigotry by incorporating new and existing programs under one powerful message; 3) by engaging in ADL-organized anti-bias activities each year; and 4) by sending a clear and unified message that all students have a place to belong.  Many thanks are in order to our Academic Advisor, Mr. John Charles, for his coordination of this program at De La Salle.  Students and faculty have received recent, additional training for the program, and we are in the process of doing the same for parents and alumni.  Parents and alumni are encouraged to be on the look-out for information in the near future about this training.

At our principal’s assembly on January 10, we offered numerous kudos to students and faculty for various recent accomplishments.  I share several here:  Our math department faculty members and various students helped to coordinate and work the Catholic Elementary School Math Tournament that we held here at De La Salle before the Christmas holidays.  120 students from 10 local schools participated in this very successful event.  It was wonderful that our school community was able to donate 145 boxes of food toward the Second Harvest Food Drive, and another school community event provided dozens of sweet treats to members of our local 2^nd District Police Department.  I congratulate De La Salle student Ben Calico for the wonderful honor of recently being elected president of the Louisiana Association of Student Councils for District 1.  District 1 includes the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Charles.  I also commend De La Salle students Jemiya Jacob and Jordan McFarland for representing De La Salle, Louisiana, and the United States in London, England as All-American cheerleaders during the holidays.  Jemiya and Jordan marched in London’s New Year’s Parade.

We have certainly had a parade of successes in our current winter sports seasons.  Boys’ basketball is currently ranked #1 in all of metro New Orleans, irrespective of classification. In addition to capturing the CYO tournament championship for the first time since 1988, the boys were a finalist in the Sunkist Shoot-Out Tournament in Lafayette over the holidays. The team lost in the championship game in the final seconds to the home team, St. Thomas More.  Currently, the team is 18-4, leading the district, and remaining focused to earn a great spot in the playoffs.  Girls’ basketball is tied for 3^rd in a very competitive district and is fighting for a play-off spot.  The girls are 5-3 at home.  Girls’ soccer is unbeaten in their last eight games, and they are fighting for a play-off spot as well.  Boys’ soccer is in the final year of a rebuilding program that features nearly all underclassmen on the varsity roster, and the team has been competitive, even competing in the prestigious Louisiana Showcase of Soccer tournament. They remain mathematically alive for a play-off spot.  Last but certainly not least is our wrestling team’s successes.  The team is going to be defending last year’s state championship at the State Tournament the weekend of February 10 and 11 in Shreveport, and they have positioned themselves well with a solid season thus far.  The team participated in the Louisiana Classic in late December in Baton Rouge and finished 6^th out of 45 schools.  Most notably in this tournament, no team in Division 2 or 3 finished higher than De La Salle.  We are a Division 3 team. The team also won the Brusly tournament earlier this month and did extremely well at The Bash on Da Bayou in South Plaquemines.  The team did not lose a match in that tournament.  And just this past weekend at the Comeaux High School tournament in Lafayette, the team finished 2^nd out of more than 60 teams.

To celebrate our five winter sports teams, we are having “Hoops Week” this week.  Various activities will be taking place here at school throughout the week, and we will have an all–school pep rally next week for all five teams.

As we look ahead to the end of this week, we are excited about our Honor Roll Breakfasts on Thursday and Friday.  Friday is also an important day for our sophomores as they experience their off-campus retreat as a class.

It is appropriate that I end this newsletter with a reference to a spiritual activity for our students.  Ultimately, everything we are, say and do at De La Salle has its source, foundation, and goal in God.  I take this opportunity to state here the prayer in which our principal, Paul Kelly, leads the school community every morning:

“Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God…. I worship You, O my God, and I acknowledge you as my God and my Maker.  Teach me, I beg You, to know You, to love You, to serve You, and to open my heart and to hear Your voice in my life.  I offer You my day, and I resolve to spend it in Your love and in the service of my neighbor.  I ask You to bless our school and all our endeavors.”

St. John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us.

Live, Jesus, in our hearts, forever.

Best and blessings,

Michael Giambelluca
President

Last week, eight De La Salle students joined several hundred teenagers from across the Archdiocese of New Orleans on the March for Life Pilgrimage to Washington D.C. Upon arriving in D.C. the student joined with hundreds of thousands people of all ages and diverse backgrounds.  The Cavaliers with chaperone, President Michael Giambelluca, departed Tuesday evening for a five-day trip in support of the dignity and respect for life at all ages.  The Cavaliers traveled with the support of the Archdiocese of New Orleans CYO/Youth and Young Adult Ministry Office and once in D.C. they met with several hundred other local participants sponsored by Catholic schools and other pro-life ministries.

What is the March for Life?

The March for Life began in Washington, D.C., as a small demonstration and rapidly grew to be the largest pro-life event in the world. The peaceful demonstration that has followed on the somber anniversary of Roe v. Wade every year since 1973 is a witness to the truth concerning the greatest human rights violation of our time, legalized abortion on demand.  Learn more at http://marchforlife.org/.

Students in De La Salle’s DATA Club, moderated by Michael Rigamer, are in the final stages of planning the student gaming competition at the upcoming NOLA Gaming Fest. De La Salle students will moderate the gaming floor, and they will announce, on live radio, the events of the day. It is a very exciting leadership opportunity for our students.

Description of Event

NOLA Gaming Fest will take place in New Orleans at the Pontchartrain Center on February 18th and 19th and will bring together casual gamers, pro-amateur gamers, game makers, and anyone else that considers themselves part of the gaming community.

At NOLA Gaming Fest, thousands of attendees will have the opportunity to learn, compete, and play in many ways, including structured tournaments on PC, console, and tabletop games. We will also be bringing in local indie game makers, artists, and vendors to present as keynote speakers, participate in panels and demo their games and products. Casual players will have plenty of opportunities to play free games with friends and enjoy our Virtual Reality lounge powered by High Voltage Software and Oculus.

Students may sign up at using this link.

Letter from the Principal

January, 2017

Dear Parents:

Happy February!  We have many upcoming events in the month of February, and I sincerely hope that this letter helps keep you abreast of all that is happening at De La Salle.  As always, please continually refer to our website and edline for information and calendar updates, and feel free to contact us via phone or email if you have questions.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
This week, January 30^th through February 3^rd, is Catholic Schools Week.  We ask you to remind your child of the blessing of a specifically Catholic education, and we introduce the school day each day this week with a special prayer to help remind us of this privilege during this special week.

PROGRESS REPORTS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1^ST
Progress grades (a letter grade posted to edline at the mid-point of each quarter) will be posted by the end of this week.  Again, although we send no hard copies of grades home, this grade will give you an idea of where your child stands in his or her courses at this point in the third quarter.

PARENT – TEACHER CONFERENCE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9^TH, 4:00 – 7:00 PM
Parent-Teacher Conference will take place from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm on Thursday, February 9^th.  Teachers will be available during this block for individual conferences.  We ask that you limit conferences to no more than eight minutes per teacher as based upon the length of the “line” outside the teacher’s classroom.  We thank you in advance for your understanding in this regard.

MALALA PROJECT DAY FOR ALL STUDENTS, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21^ST
All students are required to complete a project based on our One Book for Justice, which this year was I am Malala.   The rubric for this project was handed to students last week, and it is also posted on edline.  Please refer any questions regarding this project to our campus minister, Mr. Tony Behan, at tbehan@delasallenola.com.  (The only students NOT required to complete this project are students who began De La Salle after the semester break in January).

MARDI GRAS HOLIDAYS:  NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
School is closed all week for the Mardi Gras holidays, beginning on Monday, February 27^th, through Friday, March 3^rd.  School resumes on Monday, March 6^th.

DE LA SALLE MARCHING BAND, CAVALETTES, AND CHEERLEADERS
Our Band, our Cavalettes, and our Cheerleaders will proudly represent De La Salle and our storied history in the following Mardi Gras parades:  Caesar, Babylon, D’Etat, Thoth, and Rex.  Come out and watch the Cavs lead on during these parades!

POTENTIAL ROBOTICS CLASS
We are planning on offering a robotics class as an elective for juniors and seniors in the fall of 2017.  A professional robotics instructor will teach the class, and we are very excited about the prospect of offering this class to students.  There is a $350.00 cost per student, as the equipment used to build and operate the robots is expensive.  Please complete the survey on edline or contact Mr. Mike Rigamer at mrigamer@delasallenola.com if your child is interested in this class.  More information will be forthcoming as we begin the scheduling process in March.

EARLY NOTIFICATION:

SOPHOMORE PRAYER BREAKFAST, SATURDAY, MARCH 18^TH
ALL sophomores are required to attend the Sophomore Prayer Breakfast on Saturday, March 18^th, from 9:00 am to 10:30 am.   This is a breakfast for every sophomore and his or her mother (or significant, adult female presence).  Save-the-Date invitations will be mailed home this week.

Dress is semi-formal for this event:  shirt and tie for males, and dresses (or similar semi-formal attire) for females.  Please refer any questions regarding this event to me at pkelly@delasallenola.com.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, the wrestling team, and the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are now moving to the conclusion of their seasons and jockeying for playoff positions.  Baseball, softball, tennis, and track and field are quickly nearing their respective openers.  Please come out and support the Cavs as they take to the field and the floor!

As always, we thank you for entrusting your children to us, and we look forward to an enjoyable and restful Mardi Gras break. Take care, and may God bless you and yours.

Sincerely,

Paul Kelly, ‘83
Principal

De La Salle is proud to announce that six senior football players signed their letters of intent yesterday with their respective college or university. The six Cavaliers included:

• Quincy Cage, McNeese State
• DanQuan Edwards, Nicholls State
• David Tran Gregg, Millsaps College
• Josh Paul, University of Arkansas
• Myles Ward, Northwestern State University
• Jabial White, Trinity International

In the News:

Josh Paul, Quincy Cage among six De La Salle signees on National Signing Day
Nicholls announces 2017 football signing class

Michael Rigamer is a proud De La Salle alumnus from the Class of 2001. He began working at De La Salle in the IT department in the fall of 2003.  Michael is a lifesaver at De La Salle on a daily basis. He fixes computers, copiers, the internet, and has the unique ability to solve all other technical issues. In his free time Michael moderates De La Salle’s Digital Arts Club (DATA Club). The club is currently in the final stages of planning the student gaming competition for the upcoming NOLA Gaming Fest on February 18th and 19th at the Pontchartrain Center.

De La Salle students will moderate the gaming floor and announce the events of the day on live radio. DLS students wishing to participate in the competition will receive free admission and should contact Mr. Rigamer to register.

“Mr. Rigamer is dedicated and loyal to De La Salle. As our IT troubleshooter, Mr. Rigamer receives calls whenever technological problems occur. He is polite and patient when solving problems and explaining the functions of our equipment” — Principal, Paul Kelly ’83

Michael attended the Tulane School of Continuing Studies for Applied Networking Systems after graduating from De La Salle. He earned certifications in Security Plus, Network Plus, and CompTIA.

Sign up at https://igl.gg/delasalle

NOLA Gaming Fest will take place in New Orleans at the Pontchartrain Center on February 18th and 19th and will bring together casual gamers, pro-amateur gamers, game makers, and anyone else that considers themselves part of the gaming community.