On Sunday, May 23rd, Detroit Cristo Rey High School will be hosting its second annual Garden Party. His Excellency, Archbishop Vigneron will be joining us as our featured speaker. Charles and Gwen Scales will be providing the musical entertainment, with a special guest appearance by Mr. Brinson! In addition, there will be hors d’oeuvres and refreshments for our guests. Plus, I have been assured that the weather will be picture perfect. Last year the party was wonderful and I think it will be even better this year.

To make an event like this happen takes a lot of work. We are fortunate that we have a group of women who have eagerly taken this on for a second year - Suzanne Anderson, Carol Florence, Chris Furchak, Susan Horvats, Nene Reese and Molly Robinson. This year we were also able to add a new member, Mary Counihan. They have been at the school throughout the year getting ready for the big day. They do a great job. Of course, Mr. Quinn, our Director of Development also plays a big role in making the event a success.

We have been blessed that many people have signed up to donate items to the silent auction or be a sponsor for the party. Their support is critical.

For more information on the party – check out our web page devoted to the festivities. I hope you all will join us for a great time on May 23rd!

For the most part, my musical knowledge begins and ends with Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. But today, along with the students of Detroit Cristo Rey, I received a wonderful introduction to the world of opera. The Motor City Lyric Opera visited our school and put on an excellent show titled “Schubert to Showboat”. The company is led by Mary Callaghan Lynch, whose passion for the music is immediately evident. The vocalists in the troupe were Amy, Leah and Jonathan. They were amazing. Amanda was wonderful on keyboards.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous as to how our students would react to music that is not on any of their IPod playlists. But it turned out; they were very interested and seemed to enjoy the music. In fact, Mary commented that Detroit Cristo Rey was the most attentive audience for which they had performed.

Mostly, I like our students in the classroom (or at their jobs). I think that is the best way to prepare them for college success. But sometimes they benefit from a perspective on arts and culture that they would not normally receive.

Thanks Motor City Lyric Opera!

This week, the Cristo Rey Network will be having its annual meeting. We will be gathering in Omaha, the home of St. Peter Claver High School, a Cristo Rey school in its third year. The theme for this year’s meeting is “No Money, No Mission.” It is a reminder that without donors and job sponsors – we cannot achieve our goal of preparing all of our students to become future college graduates. I look forward to discussing with other schools what successful strategies they are using in the areas of development and work study. 

I also want to thank our friends at PPG for a great day last Friday. They arranged for 17 of our students to visit the River Rouge automotive plant. It was a great tour, as we learned about the history of the “Arsenal of Democracy” and then saw first hand how Ford F150 trucks are assembled. As part of my prior career, I have been in automotive assembly plants many times – but it is fascinating to me every time I visit. If you have a chance, check out the River Rouge facility.

Have a great week and pray for Detroit Cristo Rey High School.

Earlier this year, Detroit Cristo Rey was contacted by Catalyst Connection to see if we were interested in participating in a project known as Adventures in Technology (AIT). The goal of AIT is to increase the interest of high school students in science and math. They do this by connecting schools and corporations to work on a real life business problem.

Cristo Rey decided to take advantage of the opportunity and we have been paired with PPG. This is going to be a voluntary activity for our students and I was really pleased when 18 students (and two teachers) signed on. On Tuesday we piled on a bus (paid for by Catalyst Connection – thanks) and headed to PPG’s Automotive headquarters about 25 miles north of our school. We meet with Jane Harrington (Manager, Color Styling), Mike Millar (Manager, Strategic Planning) and Matt Marek (General Manager) from PPG. We were also joined by Scott Dietz from Catalyst Connection. We were there for over two hours and it was a great experience. The folks from PPG explained to our students how car makers decide what colors cars get painted. We learned that it varies by type of vehicle (sports car versus luxury car) and even by geographic region (China versus the US). The students were stunned to learn that even a basic color like black can have countless different variations and designers spend a lot of time choosing the best one for the vehicle.

Our project is to determine what the best color palette would be for a new hybrid vehicle. There will be many components to the project, but one assignment will be to survey potential car buyers. If you would like to be part of the survey, send me a note at mkhoury@detroitcristorey.org. The people at PPG were wonderful (and they learned that ordering pizza for twenty adults is not the same thing as ordering pizza for twenty teenagers). We are looking forward to the project and we will keep you up to date on our progress.

Also, if you have not done so, read Father Foley’s (Cristo Rey founder) blog from March 24th titled How Embarrassing. It is just wonderful.

Have a blessed Easter and keep Detroit Cristo Rey High School in your prayers.