Category Archives: Youth

Virginia Tech students serve Mound Bayou

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By Jacob Clore
MOUND BAYOU – Ten individuals from the Newman Catholic Community at Virginia Tech spent their spring break serving in Mound Bayou.

Virginia Tech students prepare soil on wire frames during their spring break service trip. (Story and photos submitted by LaToya Lee)

Virginia Tech students prepare soil on wire frames during their spring break service trip. (Story and photos submitted by LaToya Lee)

The group is part of the Newman Outreach Projects (NOP) a series of trips organized by the Newman Community to serve those in need. The NOP serves communities in nine cities in the US and abroad during the school’s winter and spring breaks. The organization focuses on connecting with the communities in addition to performing service.

“We are called out of love to serve people in need in a variety of settings,” Father David Sharland, the group’s chaplain said. “We are here to be available to the local community and serve it any way that they see fit.”

Students from Virgina Tech build a flower bed and landscape the area around the Mound Bayou Mercy Center as part of a weeklong service trip in March.

Students from Virgina Tech build a flower bed and landscape the area around the Mound Bayou Mercy Center as part of a weeklong service trip in March.

Throughout the week, the group served in Mound Bayou and the surrounding communities. While at St. Gabriel Mercy Center, the students worked on projects including washing the center’s vehicles, planting crepe myrtle trees and visiting with the seniors who come the center every day.

They also trimmed hedges and cut grass at city hall and raked leaves at the homes of senior citizens.

The students also worked in Shelby with Mississippi Engaged in Greener Agriculture (MEGA) by planting seeds in the greenhouse at Alcorn State University Research Center.
“I enjoyed the manual labor part of it because we were actually doing something tangible,” junior Brianne Varnerin said. “You could see how much we got done.”

The volunteers slept and ate at Cleveland Our Lady of Victories Parish Hall. The members of the church community made the students feel very welcome.  “It has been great,” Senior Tom Zamadics said. “Three or four families offered to take us out to eat. They really made it feel like home.”

By the end of the week the students grew in their Catholic faith and became closer with one another as a result of their experiences in Mound Bayou. The experience also left a lasting impression on the community.

“The students are energetic, competent, and eager to do whatever needs to be done,” Sister Donald Mary, Director at St. Gabriel Mercy Center, said. “They give service joyfully and energetically.”

‘We the People’ honors veterans, U.S. constitution

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MADISON – In honor of Presidents’ Day first graders at St. Anthony School presented “We the People,” a play based on President Theodore Roosevelt’s childhood. Nicknamed Teedie as a child, Roosevelt suffered from asthma and was not expected to live an active life.

The day begins outside with a flag raising ceremony performed by the Madison Central High School ROTC Honor Guard. After the flag was raised the national anthem was sung and then all processed into the auditorium for the journey back in time.

The play, written by Charlotte Wilson and Martha Edmonds, is specifically designed for students in first grade and teaches about the Preamble to the Constitution and all the phrases contained in this foundational, historical document. Wilson and Edmonds also provided costumes and props for the performance.

In the night young Teedie’s toys come to life and share history with him and alert him to the fact that one day, despite his asthma, he will grow up to be president. The toys invite friends from history to help explain the preamble.

Cameos by George and Martha Washington, James and Dolly Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and many more take the audience on a whirlwind tour of our nation’s constitution. Throughout the play the children sing patriotic songs familiar to all.

At the end of the play children dressed in uniforms of all five branches of military service sang each branch’s traditional anthem. Veterans in the audience stood when their branch’s anthem played. Many in the audience were moved to tears by the patriotic zeal and flavor exhibited by the children.

A touching moment came at the end of the play when Sergeant James Wayne Mack, a Korean War veteran and mainstay at the school was presented a flag that was flown in his honor over the U.S. Capitol building.

Aspiring doctor represents St. Joseph

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By Lisa Zepponi
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Katherine Anne Terracina, a junior at Greenville St. Joseph High School attended the Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 14-16.

Katherine Anne Terracina


Katherine Anne Terracina

The congress is an honors-only program to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top high school students in the country who aspire to be physicians or medical scientists, to stay true to their dream and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal.

During the three-day congress, Terracina joined students from across the country to hear Nobel laureates and National Medal of Science winners talk about leading medical research; be given advice from Ivy League and top medical school deans on what is to be expected in medical school; witness stories told by patients who are living medical miracles; be inspired by fellow teen medical science prodigies; and learn about cutting-edge advances and the future in medicine and medical technology.

“This is a crucial time in America when we need more doctors and medical scientists who are even better prepared for a future that is changing exponentially,” said Richard Rossi, executive director, National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists. “Focused, bright and determined students like Terracina are our future and she deserves all the mentoring and guidance we can give her.”

Some of the services and programs the academy plans to launch in 2014 are online social networks through which future doctors and medical scientists can communicate; opportunities for students to be guided and mentored by physicians and medical students; and communications for parents and students on college acceptance and finances, skills acquisition, internships, career guidance and more.

Recycling to benefit school

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SOUTHAVEN – Sacred Heart School will host its inaugural Robot Recycle event Saturday, April 12, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the school parking lot. They will be accepting used and discarded electronic items for recycling. Donors simply drive into the parking lot and an army of volunteers will remove the items from their cars and sort them for the trucks.

A wide variety of items are accepted including air conditioners, computers, fans, satellite boxes, speakers, keyboards, copy machines, cables and adapters, modems, printers and more. All donations are secured and sent to Fortune Sky warehouses for shredding. All hard drives will be removed from computers and destroyed either on site or at the warehouse.

The event is billed as an opportunity to clear out attics, back rooms, garages, basements and businesses of those old items and rest assured they will not end up in landfills. All proceeds will benefit the school. For a complete list of items accepted or if you are unable to bring your items to the school contact event coordinator Joe Hillenbrand, 901-603-4043, for assistance.