Six CCC Students and Alumni Volunteer
at The Farm of the Child Orphanage in Honduras

Community, Service, Simplicity, Spirituality.   Sometimes, taking a step back and just recognizing the beauty in simplicity is one of the greatest things a person can do.  Volunteering on a weeklong mission trip to Honduras this past June, a group of about thirty, including six CCC students and — Chris Purcell ’10, Michael Purcell ’12, Matt Ross ’12, Suzanne Steinhardt ’12, Tiffany Ross ’09, Tim Dolan ’85 — gave their time to assist at a Honduran orphanage called The Farm of the Child, or La Finca del Niño.  The Farm is a place that takes in children who have been abused, malnourished, neglected, or orphaned.  They welcome in those with no family, or parents who are unable to care for them.  They offer medical services, education, a place to worship, and a home to young kids who have known nothing but fear and poverty for their entire lives.

Our group, sent by Espiritu Santo Catholic Church, traveled to the Farm with the goal of assisting the children and volunteers at the orphanage by re-roofing their maintenance building, painting the convent of the Franciscan sisters who help to run the orphanage, and building an entirely new prayer garden to assist in their worship.  However, despite what we gave, we, as a group, received so much more in return. 

The simplicity of Honduran life is unbelievable.  The people are not constantly on the phone, making plans, or worrying about the future.  Instead, they’re happy just “being.”  Simply living and enjoying those around them keeps them going and, in the entire week we spent in Honduras, through all of the poverty and need, there was hardly anybody who lacked hope, happiness, and love.

For the duration of this trip, we, ourselves, were also cut off from our normal, fast-paced lives filled with cell phones, computers, televisions, texting, and social networking sites, and put in this place where the beauty in life comes from enjoying the people you’re actually with.  This entire experience of being “disconnected” from the outside world allowed us to bond and build relationships, not only with one another, but also with each of the children on the Farm.  Not only that, but it opened our eyes to the realization that you don’t need material possessions to be happy, but rather that true happiness comes from a sense of community and family.

This trip gave us all a renewed appreciation for everything that we have in our lives: a comfortable home, a warm bed, and a relatively easy and indulgent life.  However, more than that, it gave us each a new recognition of those things that we are missing: time to simply reflect on what’s happening in our lives and enjoy those in our company.  We hardly ever take the time to thank God for everything we have been blessed with and we tend to take these gifts and blessings for granted.  God’s presence in our lives is not unfelt or unrecognized, but it is often unacknowledged.

Though the completion of our maintenance projects was our primary purpose taking the trip, the sense of fullness, grace, and happiness that each of us received came from an entirely different aspect of our time there.  We built lifelong relationships with those around us, we assisted an orphanage in need by repairing their facilities, we were given the opportunity to live our lives without worrying about tomorrow, and we were shown the face of God in every person we met.  Community, Service, Simplicity, Spirituality.  The Farm of the Child truly is a blessing.

Michael Purcell ‘12

Eight Graduates Receive Presidents Volunteer Service Award

Clearwater Central Catholic High School (CCC) is proud to announce that Class of 2009 graduates Dominic Delgado, Angela DelPrete, Justin Lee, Kelsey Tew, Lindsey Rehm, Mackenzie Danielson, Taylor Zak and Tiffany Rose earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award.  With 240 volunteer hours for the year, Dominic Delgado was awarded a President’s Volunteer Service Silver Medal which has a minimum annual requirement of 175 hours.  The President’s Volunteer Service Bronze Medal (annual minimum 100 hours) was awarded to Tiffany Ross for 158 volunteer hours, Lindsey Rehm for 154 hours, Mackenzie Danielson for 153 hours, Kelsey Tew for 144 hours, Justin Lee for 105 hours, Angela DelPrete for 102 hours and Taylor Zak for 100 hours.  

Established in 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation recognizes the valuable contributions volunteers are making in our communities and encourages more people to serve.  The Council created the President’s Volunteer Service Award as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service.  (source: http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/tg/pvsainfo/dspAboutAwards.cfm)

CCC students volunteer their time with numerous organizations including Pinellas Hope, Habitat for Humanity, Hospice, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, St. Vincent Thrift Store, Big Brothers Big Sisters. Kimberly Home, community summer camp programs and local churches.

State Farm Student of the Month
sponsored by CCC alumnus and State Farm agent Katherine Jones '88


January 2009 - Juan Mendizabal

CCC President Dr. John Venturella, Juan & Katherine Jones '88


December 2008 - Hallie Kritsas

Principal Mr. James Deputy, Hallie & Katherine Jones '88

Chelsea Christine Tymms 
Named National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist!

Chelsea C. Tymms was congratulated as a National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist by Mr. James Deputy, Principal and Dr. John Venturella, President. She will continue in the 2009 competition for recognition as an National Merit Scholar. By being named a Semi-Finalist, Chelsea is in the top one percent of the students who entered the 2009 competition. She is enrolled in CCC's IB program.

National Merit Scholarship Program Recognizes CCC Students!!!

Five CCC students have been recognized as Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Program. They are: Ryan Andres Alberdi, Andres Antonio Arango, Christopher Lee Owens, Roberto Rodriguez III, and Alexi Marcelle Runnels. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation were recogized for their exceptional academic promise. These students placed among the top three percent of more than 1.5 million students nationally.
Christopher, Roberto, and Alexi are enrolled in CCC's IB Program.

The American Legion Auxilliary Selects Two
CCC Juniors For Girls State




The American Legion Auxiliary selected juniors Jessica Gianacakes and Megan Orr to participate in the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State program in Tallahassee this summer.  Girls State is a week-long opportunity to “learn by doing” in government.  Juniors Hallie Kritsas and Agnes Wasilewski were chosen as alternates.


WEAR RED DAY FOR THE
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

CCC participated in the American Heart Association’s “Wear Red Day” program on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. Students, faculty and staff were encouraged to wear red on Tuesday and members of the CCC Science Club visited homerooms to talk about and distribute information regarding women’s heart health. Students also received a Go Red pin from the American Heart Association and were encouraged to share heart-healthy information with the women in their lives—mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters.

This year’s “Wear Red Day” event bears special significance for CCC. At the end of the school day, the students, faculty and staff formed a giant heart on the football field and unfurled a sign bearing get well wishes for Michael a 15-year-old CCC sophomore currently hospitalized and on the national heart transplant waiting list.

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