Tag Archives: Tag: Bridgeport

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

| August 30, 2020
ice cream
The final day of Cougar Camp 2020 was a great celebration of new friendships and new skills learned by our Shepherds Students.
Led by KCHS Teacher Alex Szabo, Shepherds Freshman worked together to make ice cream without using a freezer or ice cream maker. Ziploc bags, ice cubes, salt, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cocoa powder for those who wanted chocolate ice cream, were all the supplies used to make a celebratory treat! Students learned a great deal of chemistry while making their dessert. They learned about phase changes, melting points, and how salt can make a difference in freezing temperatures. Learning really is FUN-damental!
Shepherds is incredibly grateful to all the people that help make Cougar Camp 2020 a great orientation week for our Class of 2024! We would like to thank Shepherds Liaison Lisa Matson, KCHC Principal Camille Figluizzi, Dean of Student Life Rich Crocco, librarian and school technology coordinator, Shelly Stedman, and math teacher Ed Steadham.

Working Together

| August 27, 2020
The second day of Cougar Camp was all about teamwork! Students worked together in building tinfoil boats which were used for a science experiment. Making a boat that floats and determining how many pennies it could hold may sound like a simple experiment, but it was full of skills that Shepherds Students will be using in their math and science classes at Kolbe Cathedral High School.
Shepherd students measured, recorded data in their Chromebooks, and created charts as they created multiple boat designs to determine which one held the most pennies. Our students were surprised to learn how many pennies could actually be held in a tinfoil boat! Most students had boats that could hold over 50 pennies before sinking.
Well done Shepherds Students and thank you so much to KCHS teacher Mr. Ed Steadham for leading such a fun STEM activity.

Distant but Still Very Social

| August 25, 2020

Cougar Camp 2020 kicked-off the school year for Shepherds Class of 2024 at Kolbe Cathedral High School.

KCHS faculty, Shepherds Staff and Students all observed the proper COVID safety procedures of keeping at least 6 feet apart and wearing face coverings. Despite social distancing, students and staff were still quite social!

Getting to know their fellow Shepherds Classmates and participate in fun STEM-oriented classroom activities were top priorities on the first day of Cougar Camp. In ‘the getting to know each other activities,’ led by Shepherds Liaison Lisa Matson, students learned first-hand that physical distancing from each other doesn’t prevent one from being social.

Executive Director Dan McAuliffe stated, “Cougar Camp is a great opportunity for our newest Shepherds Students to make new friends and get comfortable in their new school. I was very happy to see students together, in person and not in a virtual setting. Lisa Matson and the KCHS staff did a great job in accomplishing their objectives.”

Shepherds Students also became familiar with the KCHS technology environment, their Google Chromebooks, funded by our generous Shepherds Donors, and safe usage of their devices. A tour of the school was given by staff to be sure our Shepherds Freshman are comfortable navigating around their new school.

Stay tuned to learn more about the rest of the Cougar Camp 2024 week’s activities!

Shepherds Kolbe Cathedral High School Class of 2024

| August 22, 2020

Kolbe Cathedral HS 2024

Shepherds is exceptionally proud to welcome our new students to the Shepherds’ program at Kolbe Cathedral High School. Shepherds Class of 2024 come from a wide variety of family backgrounds, talents, hobbies and academic achievements. This group of young people have two things in common which determined their selection among the over 20 applications received for Shepherds KCHS program this year – their academic potential and their compelling desire to do the work necessary to succeed.

Shepherds is grateful to all of our donors who contributed to make the Class of 2024 financially possible. Of course, Shepherds Mentors are the greatest asset of our program, and we would like to thank the five men and five women who stepped forward to volunteer to mentor a Shepherds Student. The Shepherds Donors’ and Mentors’ generosity have enabled us to give these students the opportunity of taking one the first steps to achieving their dreams!

Our Kolbe Cathedral High School program kicked off this week with an Orientation STEM week called Cougar Camp. Stay tuned to see how the Shepherds/KCHS Class of 2024 began their high school education at this interactive, educational and fun week.

July 2020 Update from Shepherds’ Executive Director

| July 27, 2020
director announcement

Dear Shepherds Friends:

Here we are in the heart and the heat of the summer… with not much else certain other than the sun will come up tomorrow and it will probably be warm if it’s not raining.

But here’s what we can tell you:

  • We had an excellent response to our call for mentors and funding for the incoming Shepherds Class of 2024. We are bringing on a total 14 new students in the fall, 10 at Kolbe Cathedral High School and four at Notre Dame West Haven. This will increase Shepherds total population by four students to 65 students for academic year 2020-21.
  • Each of these students and their families were selected on the basis of financial need, academic potential, and most importantly, their demonstrated desire and commitment to be successful. We look forward to them joining the Shepherds family in a few weeks.
  • Most gratifying has been the many inquiries we had from prospective mentors and financial sponsors to make this large new Class possible. The willingness to make a four year commitment to change a young person’s life that has been most inspiring to us. One of the many emails from a prospective mentor captured the thought this way:

“.…Education is the ultimate “equalizer”.  We as a society must ensure that all people have access to quality education and can participate fully in our society.  Recent events have shown that we as a country are still far from where we need to be.  I am moved  to help by potentially becoming a Shepherd and sponsor and would like to learn more about your program.”

 He’s signed up! 

  • Thanks to the generosity of respondents to the spring appeal, the financial commitments made by a great number of our new mentors, and a substantial donation from one very generous family, we were put over the top for our Shepherds Class of 2024 goal of $60,000.

THANK YOU TO EACH AND ALL OF YOU!

What do we see for the last half of the summer?

  • We await information from our partner schools on the details of their re-opening plans.
  • Kolbe Cathedral Shepherds Class of 2024 Cougar Camp is planned for August 17 -21.
  • Most importantly, our students still need the attention of their mentors this summer. Letting them know you’re thinking of them will be a great boost to their morale.

You can also help us expand our network of friends by sharing one of our Facebook posts with your Facebook friends, sharing a Shepherds LinkedIn posting with your connections, or by forwarding this e-newsletter to friends, colleagues, and relatives. Let’s give more people the opportunity to change a life!

Best wishes for a continued safe, healthy and hopefully enjoyable summer.

Dan McAuliffe
Executive Director

dmcauliffe@shepherdsmentors.org
(203) 367-4273

Shepherds Celebrates the Class of 2020

| June 12, 2020
Shepherds class of 2020

At this time of year, Shepherds would be usually be gathering together to celebrate our seniors’ accomplishments and high school graduations. With the health crisis, we are unable to host in-person celebrations. However, that does not diminish our pride in our graduates.

Our students’ hard work and determination, coupled with support from their family, Shepherds mentor and Shepherds program, have led to this moment in time where we now commemorate their achievements.

Congratulations to the Class of 2020! Go forth and do great things!

Be a Part of the Solution

| May 29, 2020
Reuben

For over 20 years, generous donors have provided the ability for under-served but motivated young men and women like Reuben to be part of the Shepherds program.

This year, your participation in making that possible is more critical than ever.

Shepherds has a goal of bringing on 12 new students into our program this fall. To achieve this, we need to raise $60,000 by June 30th. Generous support from donors has brought us to $44,000 so far. With only a handful of days to go before our fiscal year ends, we are still $16,000 short of our goal.

You’ve probably thought “How can I make a difference in these highly unusual times in which we find ourselves?” Shepherds provides that opportunity.

Please consider making a generous donation today via PayPal or by mailing a check to Shepherds, P.O. Box 1756, Darien CT 06820.

Thank you for supporting more students like Reuben. Be part of the solution and help Change Lives.
Dan McAuliffe
Executive Director
Changing Lives…One Student at a Time.

Work Hard & Be Kind Keys to Success

| May 8, 2020
work hard

A significant percentage of graduates of the Shepherds program have chosen careers in the health care field. Melissa Bonnilla-Sanchez, Shepherds and Kolbe Cathedral HS class of 2009, is a respiratory therapist and the story of her resilience and determination is inspiring. Her mother, Shepherds’ mentor, Hope Carter, and other mentors she collected along the way helped her live the motto that was critical to her success: Work hard and be nice.

Thank you to Melissa and all the Shepherds’ alumni who have chosen to pursue careers in health care. Education is the gift that keeps on giving – and not just to the student – but to our entire community.

Being a Shepherds mentor changes lives and we are recruiting mentors for the class of 2024 starting in the fall. Join us today by contacting Executive Director Dan McAuliffe at info@shepherdsmentors.org or call 203-367-4273.

 

Shepherds Seniors Zoom into Their Future

| May 7, 2020
Universities

Shepherds’ seniors at our partner schools, Notre Dame West Haven and Kolbe Cathedral, are in the midst of making their college selection for the fall. Unlike previous years, COVID-19 is making in-person guidance counseling and mentoring very challenging for students and their guidance counselors. Analyzing academic goals, financial aid packages and potential transportation issues is a daunting task for many of our first-generation students. We are happy to report that they are rising to the challenge!

Their hard work and dedication in school is having an enormous impact in the options they have for college. The Shepherds program along with our partner schools, provide an education that has an impact that lasts long after our students graduate high school. We will announce their final selections in June and hope to find a way to to honor their accomplishments in person this summer.

Shepherds is recruiting mentors for the class of 2024. Be a part of the next group of Shepherds students’ success by applying to be a mentor today! To find out more, contact Dan McAuliffe at info@shepherdsmentors.org or call 203-367-4273