SDA is very proud of Junior, Sarah Francisco, an outstanding member of Dance World Academy, who has been invited along with 29 other dancers from Dance World Academy to participate in an international dance festival in Berlin, Germany.  The festival will take place from November 24^th, to November 29^th, 2009 and will celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  There will be festival participants from Germany, Poland, Russia and Kazakhstan.  The dancers of Dance World Academy will be the only dancers representing the United States at the festival.  Sarah will also see several historical sights of Berlin, take ballet class with the ballet company of the Opera house, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, perform in the festival at one of the oldest theaters in Bitterfield, Germany, and participate in a Gala Reception with all of the other countries.  Sarah and the students will be young ambassadors of the United States at the reception.  Congratulations Sarah!

SDA Students to Attend National Catholic Youth Conference

Bad Weather Can’t Stop Local Students

                This year’s Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, the Municipal Council, the City of Jersey City, and Central Avenue S.I.D. all participated in the National Make a Difference Day. Although it was a rainy Make a Difference Saturday in Jersey City Heights that didn’t stop four local students from doing a good deed. Caitlin Mota, St. Dominic Academy senior, Tara Mota, St. Dominic Academy senior, Melissa Dominguez, St. Dominic Academy freshman, and Karen Dominguez, Hudson Academy senior, walked up and down the Central Avenue business district educating visitors, shoppers, and business owners about the Locks of Love Organization and how it tremendously benefits children all around the United States and Canada.  When CASID was looking for volunteers these four young ladies without hesitation gave their Saturday afternoon to helping a cause they believed would impact the Heights neighborhood and more importantly the mission of Locks of Love.  

                Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. The children who receive these hairpieces have lost more than their hair; they suffer from a loss of self. Many children have been teased by classmates and/or embarrassed by the attention they receive because of their hair loss. They often will withdraw from normal childhood activities such as swimming, going to the mall or even playing with their friends. Although providing hairpieces does not cure these children it does restore some sort of normalcy in their everyday lives. That is why CASID and local students believe is important to acknowledge the situation and ask residents, shoppers, visitors, merchants to help rebuild the self-esteem of these children and bring a smile to their face.

                On November 18th from 10:30am- 1:30pm, Total Image Beauty Academy, located at 288 Central Ave, Jersey City, and on November 21st from 11am- 3pm, Diva Spa & Salon located at 496A Central Ave, Jersey City will be offering *free donation haircuts to those wishing to donate their hair for Locks of Love. All hair donations will be presented to the Locks of Love organization in support of their mission of helping children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.

New Chinese Program begins at Saint Dominic Academy

Saint Dominic Academy has taken another step forward in its global education initiative.  Students now have the option of studying Chinese.  “We were calling ourselves the World Languages Department, but we were offering Latin, French and Spanish.  It was time to broaden our scope and encourage students to study the language and culture of one of the world’s most important and powerful nations.” said Department Chairperson, Denise Scholz.

In September 2009 six students, comprising freshmen, sophomores and juniors, began taking Chinese I.  Their teacher, Mr. Lei Liang, describes his program: “The ultimate goal of this Chinese program is to enable the students to communicate freely and fluently in Standard Mandarin. We start with ensuring that the students master the pinyin system (the Romanization system for Standard Mandarin which spells the sounds of the Chinese characters), which forms the backbone of Chinese pronunciation.  Then we move to recognizing and writing Chinese characters and grammar.”

Liang continues, “Communication is more than simply being able to pronounce words accurately and making sentences free of grammatical mistakes. True communication is about being able to read between the lines and reacting in a socially acceptable manner based on context.  Also, understanding the culture plays a subtle and important role in improving one’s communication skills. Therefore the program has incorporated Chinese culture into the language learning process, in particular, subjects of interest to both Chinese and American teenagers.”

Student reactions to their course have been very positive.  Junior, Meghan Mahoney of Jersey City, who signed up for Chinese because she “thought it would be fun”, now says after a month of studies, “My experience with Chinese has been a challenge but it is not so much difficult as it is an adjustment.  Work on my Chinese characters reminds me of those years in Kindergarten when I was learning my ABC’s and spelling out words.  I do enjoy this class, and I’m always wondering what we’ll learn next.” Freshman, Kara Whelpy of Bayonne states, “I thought that taking Chinese would benefit me in the future because it is a growing language.”

Liang grew up in the southern part of China and speaks fluent Cantonese. In 2003 he came to the US to study at Seton Hall University. He graduated with a degree in Asian Studies and a concentration in teaching Chinese language and culture. Liang states, “We are hoping that through exposing the students to Chinese culture, we will be able to raise cultural awareness and encourage our students to compare their own communities with those of China.” 

Mr. Lei Liang

Fall News