Santa Catalina students join international conference on nuclear disarmament in Japan

Earlier this month, Santa Catalina seniors Shaden Beltran Ibarra and Laura Colosky, along with global issues teacher Masha Serttunc participated in an international event designed to discuss nuclear disarmament. It's the Critical Issues Forum, organized by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

The forum took place in Hiroshima, Japan, this year. They were joined by groups from six other U.S. schools, two Russian schools, and five Japanese schools.

The forum is the culmination of a semester-long program aimed at developing critical thinking skills and engaging high school students and teachers around issues related to international peace and security. All participants presented their findings on a humanitarian approach to nuclear disarmament and took part in a Q&A session with their peers and teachers. This year's conference coincided with the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and include a public forum at the Hiroshima International Conference Center. Shaden Beltran Ibarra was the M.C. for the public forum on April 4. The event was televised in Japan, with the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs in attendance.

Sounds like it was an exciting event, one the girls enjoyed and learned a lot from. Exciting things are happening in Monterey County schools!

Sister Helen Prejean to Speak at Santa Catalina School

Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun well known for her activism against the death penalty, will talk about the experiences that inspired her to write " Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States" during a presentation at Santa Catalina school on Thursday, March 20 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. The presentation will take place at the school's performing arts center on 1500 Mark Thomas Drive in Monterey.

Prejean will also discuss her second book "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions." The event will also include a question and answer session with Prejean.

Prejean has been at the forefront of the anti-death-penalty movement in the U.S. for several decades. During the 1980s, she worked at the St. Thomas Housing Project and the Hope House in New Orleans and was asked to correspond with Patrick Sonnier, a death-row inmate in a Louisiana state prison. She agreed and became his spiritual advisor. After witnessing Sonnier's execution, she wrote "Dead Man Walking," detailing the experience. Since then she has accompanied six men to their deaths and now divides her time educating citizens about the death penalty and counseling death-row prisoners and the families of murder victims. She is currently working on her third book, "River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey."

This event is free and open to the public. To attend RSVP at santacatalina.org/Prejean. For more information please contact the Santa Catalina Upper School Office at 655-9300.

Santa Catalina's annual Lower School Art Show runs this week

And I'm being told by reliable sources the show shouldn't be missed.


So come on by to enjoy the artistic creations of students in Kindergarten through the eight grade at the 20^th Annual Santa Catalina Lower School Art Show
Starting today and ending Friday, from 8 a.m to 4 p.m.
Lower School Multipurpose Room
Reception Thursday, May 17 following the Spring Music Concert
Santa Catalina is at 1500 Mark Thomas Drive, Monterey
(Art: "Pop Art Mona Lisa" by Grace Russell, Grade 8)

For Santa Catalina's site, click here.

York and Santa Catalina students to Vienna for nonproliferation conference

Students from Santa Catalina High School and York High School in Monterey are among those chosen to attend the Spring 2012 Student-Teacher Conference of the Critical Issues Forum, April 30-May 2 in Vienna. The Critical Issues Forum is an educational program managed by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Students from five U.S. high schools, five Russian high schools in closed nuclear cities, and one school from Bosnia & Herzegovina, along with nearly a dozen Austrian high school students, are scheduled to present their findings on this year’s topic of “Nuclear Safety and Security.” The conference is being held as a side event to the 2012 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee, giving students the opportunity to experience international diplomacy firsthand. The conference culminates a year-long program designed to increase high school students’ awareness of nonproliferation and disarmament issues and enhance critical thinking skills. During this conference, students will provide creative presentations on their research and solutions for enhancing nuclear safety and security. I've had the opportunity to attend the conference in the past, and it's truly remarkable to see these young people at work, so passionately engaged in such important topics. To watch a video of the program, click here.