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It is worth remembering, and reminding those in our care, that we have a savior who will not be elected on November 5th. Politicians and governments come and go, but Christ our King reigns forever.

By including more children with disabilities in our schools...we show the world the good of education for human flourishing. Those of us working to renew Catholic schools, through the inclusion of students with disabilities, show the world the profundity of what teaching is really for — assisting parents in forming students to be holy, first, before considering what else they might become.

Salem, OR - March 13 - St. Vincent de Paul Dual Language Immersion Catholic School is proud to announce the nomination of two outstanding educators, Melissa Garmon and Laura Huazo, for the prestigious Crystal Apple Award. Melissa Garmon serves as the Instructional and Curriculum Coach, Religious Coordinator, and Intervention Specialist, while Laura Huazo fulfills the roles of Administrative Assistant and Enrollment Coordinator. These exceptional educators have demonstrated unwavering dedication to shaping the future of our students with passion and commitment. Their tireless efforts, often behind the scenes, have not gone unnoticed, and it is with great pride that we nominate them for this esteemed award. The Crystal Apple Awards, presented by the McLaran Leadership Foundation in partnership with Salem-Keizer Public Schools and the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, serve as a platform to recognize and honor educators who go above and beyond in their service to students and the community. St. Vincent de Paul Dual Language Immersion Catholic School is privileged to have Melissa Garmon and Laura Huazo as integral members of our educational community. We congratulate them on this well-deserved nomination and thank them for their dedication to our students' success.

For the Church, “in fact, the service of the teacher is an ecclesiastical munus and office (cf. can145 and 936)” (#45) with particular canonical (Church law) duties, among which is the requirement to “be outstanding in correct doctrine and integrity of life (can 639, 803),” (#47). If this is the standard by which we are called to understand the mission and ‘job’ of the Catholic educator, then it stands to reason that the Dicastery would note that the role of the educator “cannot be reduced to professionalism alone, for the life of the Catholic teacher must be marked by an exercise of a personal vocation in the Church and not simply by the exercise of a profession,” (#24).

The "telos" of Catholic education stands in stark contrast to that of modern, mainstream education, which has defined its highest purpose as the human centric pursuit of personal and societal progress and freedom devoid of any orienting truth. It is in this context thus, as we hear from the Vatican’s document, that we come to recognize the great duty we have to educate and give witness to a radically different vision for education for our modern times, one that we believe is best for the world.

The Church hands us the privileged task of leading students out of the visible plane with all its material limitations that they might become capable of beholding the Lamb of God, who made us for Himself and made all things to lead us to know Him...This, the Church holds, is the primary indicator of our success.