The New York Times: Where You Should Donate This Holiday Season
Cristo Rey Network Schools (including CRSM) have been recognized in this New York Times article as an organization to donate to this Holiday season. Click here to read the article.
Chicago Catholic: Cristo Rey St. Martin installs solar array on school’s rooftop
Click Here to read the Chicago Catholic news article written about our solar panel initiative from earlier this year.
November 2024 President’s Pen with Preston Kendall
If there were ever a month in the calendar that belonged to Cristo Rey St. Martin, it would be November. It literally and figuratively has our name written all over it! The month starts off with All Saints Day on the 1st, Dia de Los Muertos on the 1st and 2nd, the Feast of St. Martin de Porres on November 3, and the Feast of Christ the King (Cristo Rey) is the last Sunday of November.
We had a wonderful mass on November 1st celebrated by an old friend of CRSM, Fr. Dan Hartnett, SJ. Fr. Dan was pastor of the local Waukegan parish, Most Blessed Trinity, in the early days of our school. Prior to that, he worked in the Jesuit missions in Peru. I shared with the students that Fr. Dan literally walked in the footsteps of St. Martin de Porres because Martin lived and worked in Lima his entire life.
Before mass, I also shared with the students just why November is so important to CRSM. The image of Christ the King celebrates a king far beyond human imagination. That’s who we are named after and that is who calls us to be different and to bring positive change to our world. A king who comes to serve, not be served; a king who wields absolute power by choosing to be absolutely vulnerable; a king who puts the last, first; and who honors the humble over the proud. A king who also says the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” And what are the ways we can love?
That’s where all the saints, our loved ones who came before us, and St. Martin himself come in.
The lives of the saints are incredible models, showing us how to love God and love our neighbor. But, sometimes, it’s difficult to imagine our lives could ever rise to their level. We imagine nearly perfect people in the far-off past, inured to temptation or thoughtlessness.
Dia de Los Muertos offers more accessible examples through the lives of family and friends who came before us, people we knew and loved… and who loved us. We directly experienced their examples of care and selflessness when they were alive. While their examples may not have been as grandiose as those of canonized saints, nonetheless, these people were saints for us. Ultimately, being a saint doesn’t require some grand accomplishment – small acts of kindness and sacrifice can actually change the world.
St. Martin’s own story is consistent with this idea. He humbly did menial tasks like sweeping and cleaning and tending to the sick, but he did them in his heart as a way to praise to God – modest acts of goodness toward others with no expectation of anything in return.
We love God by loving one another. Coming to realize that the saints, our own family members and friends who have come before us, and even St. Martin de Porres were human beings just like us with their own faults and imperfections also implies that we have the ability to be like them.
All of us have the capacity to be saints. We don’t have to be perfect. We just have to try. That’s something worth celebrating! And just why November belongs to CRSM. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
For the 11th Year in a Row, Students Travel to Washington D.C. to Learn About Social Justice Issues
Cristo Rey St. Martin (CRSM) students have participated in the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice (IFTJ) for 11 years now, and each year, the students tackle a different social justice topic through discussion, seminar, and prayer.
This year, the topic of discussion was “Steadfast Hope in Precarious Times.” The students who attended had the opportunity to meet and have meaningful discussions with other students from various Jesuit and Catholic high schools across the country. It was a 3-day conference full of collaboration- five ignition network speakers, three keynote speakers, and over 40 breakout sessions.
In total, four CRSM seniors and one junior attended the conference, along with Government Teacher Jon Taus. It was a rewarding weekend of reflection and advocacy for those involved. We are looking forward to seeing what IFTJ 2025 has for our students! For more information on the conference, click here.
CRSM’s Academic Assistance Program Helps Drive Student Success and College Readiness
Cristo Rey St. Martin just finished its first academic quarter of the year with 98% of our student body achieving a GPA of 2.0+, and 89% earning a GPA of 3.0+. GPA is a strong indicator of college readiness and completion, and this certainly indicates that CRSM students are on the path to college success. In fact, CRSM leads the Cristo Rey Network in college readiness!
One key factor that can be attributed to these successful outcomes is the Academic Assistance Program (AAP) at CRSM. This program was established four years ago in order to ensure students who are struggling with one or more academic subjects get the support they need in order to pass those classes with a 2.0 or higher.
The program is based in a classroom right next to the campus ministry office and is the place where students come during their study halls to meet with one of three full-time faculty members or one of many of our dedicated program volunteers.
Ian King, a new addition to the AAP team as a volunteer remarks how, “the AAP program is an invaluable resource.” Ian volunteers with the program on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in between studying for his LSAT exam. Ian speaks to the importance of the program for CRSM students, as he says “It prevents students from getting lost and left behind, the faculty and staff know when a student needs to be in here, and the students know they need to be here as well.”
Other program volunteers are John Simons, Catherine Sazdanoff, and Dr. Kathleen Lee who all specialize in helping students through different subjects from science to social studies.
Pati Vasquez, the Director of the AAP program, speaks to the intended lasting impacts of the program on the students. “I hope that what they learn here will help them for the rest of their lives, discovering that they can do more than they think they can”. Pati loves working with our students helping them improve their academics. She hopes that through the help she and her team provide the students can realize their potential and be prepared to succeed in the classroom, and one day in college.
Recently, Pati has been streamlining communication between parents, teachers, and students by sending out frequent emails, response surveys, and instructions on how parents can access PowerSchool to monitor their student’s grades. Through this, parents can now be an essential part of their child’s educational success, as Pati notes the main reason for academic struggles is not completing homework at home.
This Academic Assistance Program is continuously improving its structure which has resulted in the continuous academic success of our CRSM students. The diligent team of faculty and volunteers are instrumental in helping students succeed and become college-ready. We expect continued success in this second academic quarter, and are thankful to the individuals who provide academic support when necessary.