It's hard to believe how much we have accomplished since returning from Easter break.   I am always so impressed by our teachers, moderators, and coaches for devoting so much of their time, energy, and passion to our young men and their activities.  There is a distinct correlation between their dedication to Christopher Columbus High School and the success of our programs.  

Our students continue to represent us at the highest level and we are certainly proud of their accomplishments.  Campus ministry, drama, debate, STEM, band, and our Silver Knight nominees continue to excel and lead within their respected communities.  Baseball, Track, Volleyball, and Lacrosse have all had strong seasons and for baseball and track, they have their sights set on a state championship.

We are thankful for all our teachers and look forward to celebrating them during National Teacher Appreciation Week next week.  

This month we hosted a team of seven administrators from respected schools across the state of Florida. The purpose of their visit was to evaluate our school and ensure we are re-accredited for another five years through AdvancED.  Our entire school community began working on this process in August.  We had several training sessions, workshops, and informational meetings throughout the year. We are very happy to announce that Christopher Columbus High School not only received its re-accreditation, but our scores and ratings were very high and most impressive. Their comments were complimentary when specifically evaluating our family environment, brotherhood, alumni involvement, and academic achievements. 

 

We are now prepared to move forward as we continue on this journey. We must not become complacent, but rather assert focus on innovative leadership, continued academic excellence, and displayed compassionate service within our own academic community as well as having a positive impact on our local South Florida community.  I would like to thank everyone involved, especially Mr. Garcia-Casals, Dr. Vila, Mrs. Chomat, and Mrs. Call. 

 

We are extremely proud of our history and tradition....long may it continue!  

Congratulations Marist Achievement Award Winners
The annual Marist Achievement Awards recognizes and celebrates the success of our students in academics and extra-curricular activities. We thank all the Columbus family members that were in attendance at Parrot Jungle Island. Congratulations to all the award winners as well as to the newly inducted members of the Br. Edmund Sheehan Chapter of the National Honor Society. Special thanks to Ms. Rayneri, Mrs. Cofresi, Mrs. Acevedo, and Mrs. Gamundi for putting on an incredible event.

French Honor Society Induction
Congratulations also to the newly inducted members of the French Honors Society: Stjepan Cindrich, Diego Touzon and Evan O’Leary. They were inducted by Club President Noah Defauwes and Vice President John Suarez. Special thanks to moderator Mrs. Estelle Pugh and to Mr. & Mrs Baboun, owners of Delices de France Bakery (14453 S. Dixie Hwy) who graciously donated French pastries for the induction ceremony.

STEM Club Placed 2nd at Kennedy Space Center's Innovation Challenge
In a competition that lasted six months against 700 teams from around the world, the Columbus team was selected as one of the 25 finalists and won the Power Pitch Award, the second highest honor in the Cyber-Technology & Security Challenge Category at the Conrad Challenge Innovation Summit.   Congratulations to Jesus Capo, Chris Perez and Alex Cordero and special thanks to moderator Mr. Rodriguez.

Physics Team Placed 2^nd at Barry University Competition

Jazz Band Sweeps National Competition in San Francisco/Wins “Best Overall Band”
The Columbus Jazz Band played exceptionally well at the World Strides Heritage Festival which took place in San Francisco, CA. In a competition with over 15 bands from different states, they won in every category, received the highest ranking (gold), and received the “best overall band” trophy. Danny Collazo and Greg Joa received most outstanding soloist awards. You can catch the band at the Rock Sarcoma Out Youth Concert benefitting the Sebastian Strong/Manny Alvarez Foundations on Sunday, May 6^th at 1:30pm. Congratulations to Mr. Cooper and all of our talented band members.

CCNN Live once again brought home top honors at the Florida Scholastic Press Association Convention.  They received four 1st place awards for “on the spot” contests (including the team state competition), one 2nd place, six Best of the Best, 30 All Florida awards, 26 Excellent ratings and 25 Honorable Mentions.  David Perez was chosen as an Emerging Young Journalist Finalist and Chris Ahrendt was chosen as a Broadcast Journalist of the Year Finalist.   CCNN Live received the All Florida, visual communication distinction.

 

ISSF STAR Students
Our ISSF Star students Giovanni Aprigliano, Javier Figueroa and Adrian Arredondo were honored for their outstanding academic achievements and dedication to student activities at the 26^th Annual ISSF Awards Luncheon.  Pictured is Giovanni at the awards banquet.  Thank you to Mrs. Cedeno and Mrs. Gonzalez for attending the banquet.

Congratulations to all the students who received awards at the Block C Athletic Awards Banquet.   The three major award recipients were: Sharif Amastha (Scholar-Athlete), Tyler Harrell (Athlete of the Year), and Deshay Fernandez (Champagnat Award). Special thanks to Mrs. Vinson and her committee for their hard work in creating this special night for our student-athletes and their families.

Track Team Wins District Championship/Qualified 14 to States
The Track Team won the District 15-4A District Championship with 222 points and went on to place third at the Regional 4A Championship. The following fourteen athletes qualified for the state championship which will take place at the University of North Florida: Tyler Harrell (100m, 200m, 4x100m, 4x400m), Xzavier Henderson (400m, 4x400m, High Jump), Cameron Daniel (400m, 4x400m, 4x100m), Deshay Fernandes (4x800m, 800m, 1600m), Clyde Dozier (110mHH), Courtney Holmes (4x100m, 4x400m), Robert Crockett (4x100m), Henry Parrish (4x100m), Kevin Kergean (4x800m), Nickolas Aixala (4x800m), Malcolm Brown (4x800m), Branden Coleman (High Jump), Gary Cooper (Shot Put), Tony Mills (Shot Put)

The varsity baseball team won the District 15-9A Championship yesterday against Southwest with a score of 12-0.  The team will host Coral Reef on May 8th at 6:30pm for the Region 4-9A Quarterfinal.  Congratulations to Coach Weber and the entire team!

The Tennis Team, led by Mr. Green, came in second at the district tennis championship. The team advanced by defeating two seed Ferguson 4-3. The highlight of the tournament was an 8-6 win by the Doubles team of seniors Felipe Gomez and Quino Cuervo.

Six seniors signed national letters of intent to play their sport in college in April: De Shay Fernandez (University of Florida-Cross Country/ Track & Field), Roberto Nieves (University of Delaware-Golf), Jonathan O’Neil (University of Montevallo-Lacrosse), Alex Básalo (Loyola University-Swimming), Chris Mederos (University of Maine-Baseball), Sam Hernandez (Richland College-Baseball). Congratulations! 

Sports Physicals Given to 220 Underclassmen
Columbus once again partnered with Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and a number of local doctors to provide the mandatory comprehensive physical exams, including EKGs, to its student athletes. Over 200 freshmen and sophomores took advantage of the service on exam day. Many thanks to Head Athletic Trainer, Br. Herb.

Debating in Washington D.C.
The Columbus Debate Team had the unique opportunity to debate gun control in the House Judiciary Committee in Washington D.C. They were joined by 74 other students from 20 schools spanning 10 states.  Andrew Castro and Javier Hernandez opened the public debate section of the program, by engaging in a debate about arming school teachers. Marcel Van Hemert and Kevin Cejas gave floor speeches about American exceptionalism in our current gun policy.  It was incredible experience for these students to debate within the walls of the federal government. Thank you Mr. Martinez.

The Columbus Pre-Law Club toured the University of Miami’s Law School and attended a mock class by a UM professor.  Thank you to moderator Br. John and Dr. Burrus for accompanying the students on the trip. 

The Mas Scholars went on their annual field trip to eMerge Americas, the premier technology event that connects Latin America, North America and Europe. While there, they were able to meet up with the newly formed Columbus Innovation Board which is made up of alumni. Thank you Mrs. Galvez-Cuesta.

Guidance Department News:
Negative Effects of Vaping 
Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors attended a presentation on the negative effects of vaping.  The presentation was given by fireman and Columbus parent, Mr. Boyd.  According to Mr. Boyd, our country is dealing with an epidemic right now in regards to the teen use of e-cigarettes, also known as "vaping" or "juuling."   See ABC News Video.    

Absences

Excessive absences may have a negative effect on your son's grades, activities, and college acceptances.  He may be required to attend summer school and/or make up days after the school year. 

Columbus students and representatives from other Catholic high schools met with Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski at the Pastoral Center for a listening session organized by the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry along with the Office of Schools of the Archdiocese of Miami.  The students spoke about their thoughts regarding what the Church could do better to assist young people to be more engaged and active Catholics. The students that participated were Carlos Gutierrez, George Castañeda, Jose Acosta, Diego de Atienza, Justin Valdes, Alejandro Morles, Tiago de Almeida Graff, and Julian Rodriguez. Thank you Mr. González for accompanying the students. View Archdiocese Article.

Brian Corey ’03, founder of Corey Enterprises, came to speak to the Business Club concerning the various careers available in marketing and the overall changes in the field of advertising as it relates to the Internet and social media.  Thank you to Business teacher Mr. Corazon. 

Students Attend Hispanicize 2018
Several students had the opportunity to attend Hispanicize 2018, the largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in digital content creation, journalism, marketing, entertainment and tech entrepreneurship.   Thank you to Mrs. Khan-Roberts for taking our Explorers to the JW Marriott Marquis for this unique event that counted on the participation of over 2,000 of the nation’s most influential Latino professionals.  

2^nd Annual Gear Up for Autism
The 2^nd Annual Gear-Up for Autism event was held at Columbus with 90 children participating. The event, founded by Diego Ramos and Sebastian Ortiz, provides a day of fun for children living with autism where they have an opportunity to play a large array of sports and take home a bag of equipment for their favorite sport. Over the last two years this event has raised over $30,000 for Faith’s Place which provides scholarships for children living with autism to receive the therapies and interventions needed. Diego says he plans to continue with this event in the future in memory of of his co-founder Sebastian.

Columbus Receives Tree Cultivated From the World’s Oldest Bald Cypress
In conjunction with Arbor Day (tree-planting day in the U.S.), a tree planting ceremony took place at Marist Circle with the help of alumnus Albert Gomez ’91 (board member of the Ancient Tree Archive) and his wife Dr. Allison Thompson. The tree, named “Marist Mary Tree” came from seeds of the oldest Bald Cypress (2,700 years old) in the world named Lady Liberty which is located in Longwood, Florida. The Marist Mary Tree was one of four trees to be propagated and cultivated from Lady Liberty. One other tree will be planted at Florida International University.

Good luck to our 15 Miami Herald Silver Knight Award  nominees: Giovanni Aprigliano, Diego Ramos, Louis Hatem, Antonio Castellanos, Gonzalo Londoño, Bobby Wyszkowski, Javier Figueroa, Christopher Ahrendt, Lucas Rodriguez, Manny Alvarez, Gregory Mesa, Michael Millan, Daniel De Izaguirre, John Suarez, Angel Perez-Castaneda. They had their interviews with the Silver Knight Award Committee judges in April. The winners will be announced at a special ceremony on May 17th.

It was a very productive month for the Anglers Club.  They held their 2nd Annual Bass Fishing Tournament with 32 anglers.  The winners in the peacock bass division were Tobias Castillo (1st), Luis Sanchez (2nd), Christopher Costa (3rd).  In the largemouth division, the winners were Dax Ramos (1st),  Sean Hodson (2nd), and Andrew Alonso (3rd).  Special thanks to the DJ Eric Jimenez ’15 and judge Ignacio Borbolla ’80.

Placed 1^st at International Geography Among Florida Students
Marcel van Hemert competed in International Geography Bee National Championship held at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, VA. He tore through his preliminary rounds, and advanced to become a national semifinalist and placed first among students from the State of Florida. He also qualified to compete at the International Geography Bee World Championships in Berlin, Germany this summer. Congratulations Marcel!

Mr. Steve O’Brien ’72, long-time history teacher and founder of the Castaways Against Cancer was recognized by Volunteer Florida for his work through his organization in raising close to $1 million for the American Cancer Society.

Mr. Delgado to Attend the PBS Newshour SRL Academy as a Mentor
CCNN Live Advisor and Educational Technology Specialist, Mr. Omar Delgado, has been asked to attend this summer's PBS NewsHour SRL Academy as a teacher and mentor to the student groups who will be working on a video project.

Rock Sarcoma Out Concert – May 6th
This Sunday, May 6^th, the Columbus Jazz Band and other Explorer musicians in rock/jazz bands will come together to perform and create awareness for childhood cancer at the first annual Rock Sarcoma Out concert at Open Stage Club in Coral Gables. The event will benefit the SebastianStrong Foundation and the Manny Alvarez Foundation.

 

Fishing Tournament is May 12 – Register Your Boat Today
The 17^th Annual Cory Barreto & Tommy Hernandez Columbus Fishing Tournament is May 12. For more information and to register your boat – CLICK HERE.

Tuition Raffle – Enter for the Chance to Win FREE Tuition for One Year
The Fishing Tournament Committee is offering a tuition raffle, selling 200 tickets for a chance to win one year’s tuition at CCHS (not including fees). The raffle drawing will be held at Shake-a-Leg on May 12th, during the weigh-in. Tickets are $200 each and will grant entry for two to attend the after party at Shake-e-Leg. Raffle tickets are available for purchase on-line by CLICKING HERE and in the Mas Building while quantities last.