Central Catholic's Student and Teacher Initiatives

James Bendele, Ministry Lead of Marianist Encounters at Central Catholic High School, San Antonio, TX, sends us these updates.

Isaiah Gonzalez Continues to Make a Difference

Cristian “Isaiah” Gonzalez is a senior at Central Catholic High School.  He is an all-around scholar. He is also the founder of the Central Catholic Environment Club. He plans on majoring in Environmental Science and his goal is to get as many of his classmates as possible outdoors to experience and love nature the way he does.

For the past two years, Isaiah has recruited his fellow Central Catholic brothers to participate in clean-up projects around local San Antonio parks with an organization called River Aid San Antonio or simply just RASA for short.  Isaiah and his colleagues also advocate for recycling on campus.  And, before the school year ends, they plan on planting native trees to further beautify our beloved campus.  Before it’s all said and done, Isaiah will leave behind a lasting legacy for his younger Central Catholic brothers.

On December 14, I was able to catch up with Isaiah and the guys on one of their projects.  They were cleaning up a portion on Leon Creek on the city’s far northwest side with around 80 or so other volunteers from across the city.

It was extremely hard work.  It was not glamorous.  We were pulling out crates, tires, shopping carts, and all sorts of large, discarded items - and then we had to carry everything uphill!  We filled up garbage bags with small plastic items, as well.  Isaiah and I even got into a discussion on how harmful these plastics are to birds and other native critters.  For a December day in south Texas, it was surprisingly warm and humid.  At one point, we even got rain.  I went home sore and exhausted. 

Isaiah, however, took it all in stride.  He shared a story about a previous project the guys participated in.  After the project, they were soaked and muddy, but then went out to eat breakfast afterward like nothing had happened (probably freaking out their waitress!).  Ultimately, these projects have become memorable for Isaiah. 

And, at the end of the day, he knows that he is making a difference.

Photos Left to Right: 1. Here is Isaiah pulling trash bags up the hill; 2. One of Isaiah’s younger CCHS brothers, Tommy Murray, is taking a breather; 3. These are just some of the items we collected.

Central Catholic Teacher takes Astronomy to New Heights

Coach Brian Curran first came to Central Catholic 14 years ago. During that time, he taught several different courses and coached several different sports. Ten years ago (when I was still the Science Department Chair), our department wanted to expand our course selections and introduce some new science electives for Central Catholic students. One of those courses that came to fruition was Astronomy, and Coach Curran excitedly agreed to teach it.

Today, it is quite obvious that Coach Curran’s fingerprints are all over the course. His students routinely participate in star parties and give presentations on the latest discoveries in the field of Astronomy. They also go on field trips to the nearby planetarium at San Antonio College. Along the way, students are introduced to concepts of earth science and meteorology. Each and every day, students are taught how to love and appreciate some aspect of God’s wondrous creation just a little bit more.

One annual highlight of the course that the boys look forward to is when Commander Eileen Collins visits the class. She is a retired astronaut and an author (and a former Central mom). She was the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle and the first to command a Space Shuttle Mission. In short, she is probably one of the most important women in American history - and she gives these amazing presentations to Coach Curran's students every single year!

Recently, from November 14-15, Coach Curran attended the Conference of Advancement of Science Teaching (aka CAST) and expanded on his knowledge of Astronomy by attending two special workshops done by experts from the famous McDonald Observatory* in deep west Texas up in the Davis Mountains.

The first workshop was about “Finding Life on Exoplanets.” The second one was on “Light Pollution.” Coach Curran left the workshops on fire - eager to implement some new labs and demonstrations into his curriculum.

The past ten years have been quite a journey for our little science department, particularly Coach Curran. But, one thing we have learned from Coach Curran’s approach to developing this course is that (literally) the sky’s the limit!

*If you are unfamiliar with the McDonald Observatory and what goes on there, feel free to click on this link: https://mcdonaldobservatory.org/

Photos Left to Right: Coach Curran at CAST (Conference of Advancement of Science Teaching); Commander Collins with Central Catholic students