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March 14, 2018: A Prayerful Response
In light of the recent and tragic school shootings in Parkland, Florida, you may be aware of the national call for students to walk out of school at 10:00 a.m. on March 14. DSHA is offering some constructive platforms and opportunities for students to respond to this relevant topic during this time.♦
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The Sisters of the Divine Savior hold as their mission to make known the goodness and kindness of Jesus. They charge us with the responsibility to collaborate, promote justice, to improve the quality of life, responsible stewardship and a preferential option for the poor. We draw our annual religious theme from the charism of the Sisters of the Divine Savior and this year our religious theme is Faith in Our Foundation – Confidence in Our Future. Our hearts have been heavy since last month’s tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. This incident, like many others, has shaken our faith in our foundation and confidence in our future. As a Catholic school charged with integrating faith with culture, we have tried to make sense of senseless violence by praying for the victims at Mass and during overhead prayer.
By now you are probably aware of the national call for students to walk out of school at 10:00 a.m. on March 14. In preparing our response, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has encouraged us to reflect on the following questions: How do we engage our students in reflection and action regarding non-violence? How do we stand strong within a society that desperately needs our counter-cultural witness to faith? How do we demonstrate solidarity with those who suffer?
Our Biblical passage tied to our theme reminds us that God is with us in all that we do – including our response on March 14. “The one who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 1:6. On March 14 we will modify our schedule with a special assembly time beginning at 10:00 a.m. School will begin at 7:50 a.m. Students will be offered the following choices during the assembly time.
- Pray:
- Walk out to gather around the statue of Jesus and join in a student-led prayer service for peace and non-violence.
- Pray quietly in The Mother of Our Savior Chapel for peace in our world.
- Civic Response:
- A couple of designated social studies teachers will be available to help students understand how to make phone calls, send emails or write letters to legislatures.
- Access an open classroom for quiet study.
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Safety & Security at DSHA
All schools – including DSHA – ought to be a safe environment. In light of the unfortunate tragedy in Florida we would like to take this opportunity to remind our community about safety and security at DSHA. Our buildings & grounds committee of the board annually reviews our policies and procedures. This process in recent years has led to several security enhancements such as:
- The annual student safety and security assembly to start the year.
- Fencing around our property.
- Improved security cameras.
- Updated safety and security plan including crisis response to armed intruder.
- Physical plant upgrades such as moving the main office to the front door.
All visitors to the school must enter the building in the secured front entrance. Deliveries are met by the DSHA contact person; there are no unsupervised visitors at DSHA. Over the past several years we have also practiced a wide variety of drills including fire drills, lock-down drills, medical crisis drills, and tornado drills. We had previously scheduled a lock-down drill and will proceed with that drill as planned on March 8.
We must all be diligent in our awareness of security threats. Any security threats should be reported immediately to Mr. Dan Quesnell, principal or Dr. Lara Geronime, Dean of Student Affairs. All threats will be taken seriously.
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We are grateful for the DSHA community – one that allows us to deal with difficult topics through the lens of our faith. We are highly committed to the safety of our students, as well as offering constructive platforms and opportunities for them to respond to this relevant topic of school shootings.
Prayer for Confidence and Strength:
Loving God, you have guided our community through a journey of faith. Be with us as we continue to live a life of confidence, ever mindful of the strength we gain from knowing the goodness and kindness of Jesus. When we face moments of doubt or despair in our work and in our mission, help us to look ahead at the future with the confidence to know that You are always at our side. You have set us on a path and are a companion through to its completion.
In a special way we pray for the victims of the Parkland, Florida school shooting and the victims of all school shootings. May their families and loved ones find peace amidst this tragedy; may they see the face of Jesus who is the guiding light of our faithful foundation and the one who gives confidence to our future.
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This special schedule will accommodate a plan specific to our mission as it pertains to the call for a school walk-out on March 14, 2018.
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Divine Savior Holy Angels High School
Sponsored by the Sisters of the Divine Savior
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