The Advantage Up-Close: A Blog

May 26, 2011

HOW CELEBRATING CULTURE BRINGS “MORE” TO THE CLASSROOM
— From Rudy Vargas, Bronx, NY
Rudy Vargas, field consultant for the Catholic School Advantage campaign in the Archdiocese of New York, experiences the heartbeat of Catholic K-12 education in various parts of New York City. Rudy offers his comments on one Bronx school, Cardinal Hayes High School, and how this school’s support for the Catholic School Advantage campaign has its roots in a celebratory sharing of culture, faith, and hope. (This is one in an occasional series of blog items from participants in the campaign.)

What happens when young Latinos join their school’s principal and teachers in celebrating not only the student population’s academic potential, but its spiritual and cultural identity as well? “Magis” happens.

Magis means “more.” The word is taken from Ad majorem Dei gloriam, a Latin phrase meaning “for the greater glory of God.” Cardinal Hayes High School, a participating school in the Catholic School Advantage campaign of the University of Notre Dame, had a cultural enrichment evening celebrating the Dominican Republic Spirit, “Espiritu Dominicano.” Parents, students, and school administrators attended this event, which began with a Mass celebrated by one of their school alumni and pastor of Our Lady of Martyrs Church in Inwood, N.Y., Rev. Antonio Almonte.

Father Almonte in his homily noted two significant observations of the “Dominican Republic Spirit.” He pointed to the symbols in the flag, noting that the Dominican flag is probably the only flag with a symbol of a crucifix and the Bible. He added that this reflects the heart of the Dominican people; “we are a people of faith,” he said.

Secondly, he shared with the students, parents, and faculty present, that as a people of faith they must always be attentive to making sure that “our faith influences our culture, and not the other way around,” stressing the importance of putting Christ at the center of our lives as reflected in the symbol of our flag.

After the Liturgy, parents, students, and faculty shared in some typical appetizers and refreshments from the Dominican Republic. A video, narrated by Emely Valdez and Francis DeCastro, highlighted significant geographical and historical places of the Dominican Republic. Six young men, from various grades from Cardinal Hayes High School, shared their dreams of what they would do if they were President of the Dominican Republic. They said that they would invest in education, science and technology, nutrition, etc. Most importantly, they would work to eliminate poverty, hunger, and illiteracy.

Dancing is part of the “Dominican Spirit” that reflects the joy and preserves traditional movements that nurtures the celebrative heart of their people. Young men from Cardinal Hayes were joined by a group of young women from St. Thomas Aquinas High School and performed together some of these traditional dances with their folkloric dresses. The celebration closed with the performance of a talented group of young musicians, founded by a sophomore of Cardinal Hayes High School, with a mixture of contemporary and traditional rhythms from the Dominican Republic.

The beauty of this event was what was taking place in the midst of all these activities. There was a spirit of enjoyment, conversation, appreciation, and prayer in which the young men, together with the faculty that guided them, worked in harmony with one another. Parents and school leadership were able to witness how student and teacher respect and trust in one another gives way for both to excel in their spiritual, cultural, and academic endeavors.

“Espiritu Dominicano” demonstrated how our faith influences our culture. Cardinal Hayes leadership—Mr. William Lessa, Principal, and Father Joseph Tierney, School President—displayed their confidence in the talents of their student population and their faculty (Emily Valdez, Francis DeCastro, Francis Badillo, and others), which fomented a space and place where “Magis” happened and will continue to happen in the lives of their student population in the years to come.

Seen in the photo, from left: Francis DeCastro, Father Tierney, Emily Valdez