Christmas 2018 in Watts by Jane Bonar and Catherine Burke
Advent and Christmas is a very exciting time at Presentation Learning Center in Watts. It begins with the novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe with evening Masses and refreshments every evening from Dec. 3-12. This year we had the added privilege of receiving pilgrim paintings of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego from the basilica in Mexico City. A large number of parishioners, parish school students and of course our students from the Learning Center met at the Watts Towers and processed with the paintings to our parish church, singing and dancing all the way, followed by the rosary and Mass.
An annual tradition is for our dance group to entertain the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet at their retirement center in Los Angeles. Joining the Sisters that day was a group of retired veterans who also loved the show. On December 12th, our drama group presented the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to our parish school students and parishioners.
Our annual volunteer Christmas party was held in early December at Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes. A delicious lunch was offered and we all enjoyed the Center’s display of over 100 nativity sets and were entertained by Victorian carolers. That party was followed by our annual Christmas party for our students the following week. A huge pot-luck was enjoyed, and the students surprised us with the gift of Mariachis who provided great dance music! The children in our babysitting program received their gifts from Santa at the party. The gifts were very generously donated by the retired Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet.
The Watts Christmas parade saw our ballet Folklorico dance in front of thousands of people at the parade. They received a beautiful trophy for their efforts. This year we were joined by the student council of our parish school who marched along with us.
The California Science Center had a gorgeous exhibit of King Tut artifacts which we took 100 of our adults and their children to see in December. It was very impressively done, and our students loved it.
Our Young at Heart group crocheted blankets, caps and scarves for the residents at the local Convalescent Home. Our singing and dance groups performed for the patients and the hand-made gifts were passed out to over 150 patients.
On December 16th the Posadas began, happening every evening until Dec. 24th. Everyone met in the church and walked in procession, singing and praying, to the family’s home who hosted the Posadas for that evening. Delicious refreshments were offered and children broke piñatas. It culminated on December 24th with the evening Mass and the distribution of toys from the Learning Center. We were fortunate to receive toys from parishes and organizations throughout Southern California. Several hundred children entered the Learning Center on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and chose 2-3 toys. Seeing their smiling faces was the heart of Christmas for us. We do this every year in memory of the foundation of our Congregation on Christmas Eve 1775.
All of the above-mentioned activities were in addition to our regular ESL, citizenship and computer classes morning and night! Life was very busy but full of love and celebration. We can’t think of another place we’d rather be!
After Christmas vacation, we returned to classes on January 7th. We started the year with a special Mass to remember the first anniversary of Sr. Mary Sullivan’s death, who lived and ministered with us for 15 years. Special tee-shirts with her photo were worn by our students and hot chocolate and sweet rolls were served to all after Mass.
Advent and Christmas is a very exciting time at Presentation Learning Center in Watts. It begins with the novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe with evening Masses and refreshments every evening from Dec. 3-12. This year we had the added privilege of receiving pilgrim paintings of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego from the basilica in Mexico City. A large number of parishioners, parish school students and of course our students from the Learning Center met at the Watts Towers and processed with the paintings to our parish church, singing and dancing all the way, followed by the rosary and Mass.
An annual tradition is for our dance group to entertain the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet at their retirement center in Los Angeles. Joining the Sisters that day was a group of retired veterans who also loved the show. On December 12th, our drama group presented the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to our parish school students and parishioners.
Our annual volunteer Christmas party was held in early December at Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes. A delicious lunch was offered and we all enjoyed the Center’s display of over 100 nativity sets and were entertained by Victorian carolers. That party was followed by our annual Christmas party for our students the following week. A huge pot-luck was enjoyed, and the students surprised us with the gift of Mariachis who provided great dance music! The children in our babysitting program received their gifts from Santa at the party. The gifts were very generously donated by the retired Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet.
The Watts Christmas parade saw our ballet Folklorico dance in front of thousands of people at the parade. They received a beautiful trophy for their efforts. This year we were joined by the student council of our parish school who marched along with us.
The California Science Center had a gorgeous exhibit of King Tut artifacts which we took 100 of our adults and their children to see in December. It was very impressively done, and our students loved it.
Our Young at Heart group crocheted blankets, caps and scarves for the residents at the local Convalescent Home. Our singing and dance groups performed for the patients and the hand-made gifts were passed out to over 150 patients.
On December 16th the Posadas began, happening every evening until Dec. 24th. Everyone met in the church and walked in procession, singing and praying, to the family’s home who hosted the Posadas for that evening. Delicious refreshments were offered and children broke piñatas. It culminated on December 24th with the evening Mass and the distribution of toys from the Learning Center. We were fortunate to receive toys from parishes and organizations throughout Southern California. Several hundred children entered the Learning Center on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and chose 2-3 toys. Seeing their smiling faces was the heart of Christmas for us. We do this every year in memory of the foundation of our Congregation on Christmas Eve 1775.
All of the above-mentioned activities were in addition to our regular ESL, citizenship and computer classes morning and night! Life was very busy but full of love and celebration. We can’t think of another place we’d rather be!
After Christmas vacation, we returned to classes on January 7th. We started the year with a special Mass to remember the first anniversary of Sr. Mary Sullivan’s death, who lived and ministered with us for 15 years. Special tee-shirts with her photo were worn by our students and hot chocolate and sweet rolls were served to all after Mass.
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Pigrim procession with paintings of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego from the basilica in Mexico City
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Our Ballet Folklorico performing for the retired Sisters and U.S. Veterans at St. Joseph of Carondolet retirement Center in Los Angeles.
San Miguel Catholic School join our Ballet Folkorico in the Annual Watts Christmas parade.
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Ballet Folklorico receives a beautiful trophy for their performance.
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Field trip to California Science Center for the exhibit of King Tut.
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Father Emiliano blesses the hats and scarves for patients of our neighborhood convalescent center in Watts.
Drama students presented the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to our parish school and parishioners.
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Sr. Celia Durea leads the Young at Heart choir group to perform for residents of our local convalescent home.
Ballet Folkorico honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th
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Babysitters and parents with children receiving gifts from Santa.
Gifts were donated by the retired Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet.
Gifts were donated by the retired Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet.
Staff and Volunteers during our annual Christmas party for our students.
Students surprised Sr. Jane and Sr. Catherine with the gift of a Mariachi group.
Students surprised Sr. Jane and Sr. Catherine with the gift of a Mariachi group.
Christmas Carolers performing for our devoted volunteers at our annual Christmas party.
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Children choosing toys on Christmas Eve. We were fortunate to receive toys from parishes and organizations throughout Southern California.
Special Mass to remember the first anniversary of Sr. Mary Sullivan's death.
PLC Connects Newsletter: June 1, 2018
End of year 2018
Dear Friends, Volunteers and Benefactors,
May these summer months bring you wonderful times of rest, relaxation and exciting adventures! It was a great joy to see so many of you at our fashion show in March. We hope you enjoyed the "Western Hoe-down" as much as we did. Thanks to your support, we cleared over $12,000.00! We look forward to seeing you again at our next fashion show which will be held on Saturday, April 13, 2019. Mark your calendars!
In the past few months we've seen 10 students receive their U.S. Citizenship. That brings our school year total of new citizens to 25! At our End-of -the School Year Party, the ESL level 1 & 2 students showed off their English skills and patriotic feelings by singing "God Bless America" and "This Land is Your Land." Our levels 4 & 5 ESL students wowed us all with an entertaining rendition of "I'm on the Top of the World," while our computer students presented informative and captivating PowerPoint reports. Our Young at Heart group sang rounds in English and the children in our babysitting program showed off their new skills learned this school year.
At our closing ceremonies last week, 100 morning and night students received their certificates of participation, along with two students who received trophies for perfect attendance. The level 5 ESL students received their medals of achievement and during the next school year will study to take their G.E.D. Exam.
A field trip to the Huntington Gardens to celebrate the students' accomplishments captivated us all with the gorgeous array of flowers in the gardens and works of art in the museums.
The Young at Heart group will continue knitting blankets, caps & scarfs during the summer for our local convalescent home, and patients in two county hospitals. They made over 1,000 items for the sick this school year.
We thank you for making all this possible by your support and prayers. May God bless you all abundantly this summer and always.
Be assured of our prayers for you and your families,
Sisters Catherine Burke and Jane Bonar
Co-Directors
Highlights of 2017-2018 School year.
ESL Levels 1-5, Conversation, and Spanish Literacy
Graduation 2017!
Citizenship
Computers
Sewing and Crafts
Young at Heart (Senior Citizen)
Nano's Little School
Ballet Folklorico
