Category Archives: Marianist

Thank you Bro. LeRoy

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By Elizabeth Gluvna ’04

This past Saturday, August 22, more than 100 friends of Bro. LeRoy Viera S.M. gathered to wish him a fond farewell as he moves to the Marianist Community in Cupertino, California. Alumni, board members, current and former faculty and staff, and Marianists, came to thank Bro. LeRoy for his many years of selfless service to the school.

A Chaminade fixture since 1992, Bro. LeRoy worked in the physical plant department keeping the high school campus beautiful and in working order. Armed with innumerable skills, Bro. LeRoy built cabinets, fixed locks, and repaired drywall, among other functional needs. He also demonstrated great artistic talent through the creation of the ceramic Blessed Virgin Mary statues, found in all middle school and high school classrooms and offices.

Bro. LeRoy has many dear friends in alumni and parents of alumni associated with the Chaminade Players. With former Drama Director Paula LaBrot, Bro. LeRoy taught students how to wield power tools with confidence, helping them construct sets for all high school theater productions. At his farewell party, many alumni thanked Bro. LeRoy for teaching them these skills, while demonstrating patience and understanding.

In 2013, Bro. LeRoy celebrated his 60 Year Jubilee as a Marianist. In conjunction with this milestone, he was honored at the annual Founders Day Mass, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Chaminade.

Born in a grape-growing area of Antioch, California, Bro. LeRoy developed construction skills related to carpentry, plumbing, and utilities. After a stint in the Coast Guard where he sailed through submarine-infested waters along the Aleutian Islands, Bro. LeRoy worked as a carpenter at a paper mill. After one of his friends was killed on the job, Bro. LeRoy considered his own future and, at age 26, joined the Marianists in Santa Cruz. Prior to Chaminade, he served in Honolulu, Rome, Walla Walla, and Gardena. With his capable hands and friendly demeanor, Bro. LeRoy is certain to be a big help in Cupertino – the Chaminade family wishes him well!

Fencing Teams are Back-to-Back State Champions

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Chaminade Fencing competed in the State Championships at Victor Valley High School and came away with impressive victories.

With a total of 142 points, they are now the back-to-back men’s and women’s combined overall state champions! In addition, their results include:

  • Men’s Foil Team – 1st
  • Men’s Epee Team – 1st
  • Men’s Saber Team – 1st
  • Women’s Foil Team – 1st
  • Women’s Epee team – 4th
  • Women’s Saber Team – 2nd
  • Men’s Combined Team – State Champs
  • Women’s Combined Team – 2nd

Congratulations to Chaminade Fencing and their coach, Derek Snyder ’01!

The Greatest, Most Spectacular Chaminade Circus Show in the Universe!

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**UPDATE** Entrance to the alumni section is located in the parking lot closest to the scoreboard. It can be accessed by walking through the Saticoy gate, and proceeding straight through the parking lot towards the east end zone gate. Parking is not available through this gate.

Students dressed as circus animals roamed Chaminade’s West Hills campus on Monday morning, while their middle school counterparts in Chatsworth dressed in circus-inspired outfits filled the DeLong Center for loud and spirited rally. This kind of celebration can only mean one thing – a circus themed Homecoming has descended upon Chaminade.

While alumni don’t officially return for the festivities until Friday night’s gridiron match-up against Loyola High School, students are in a full frenzy all week long. The middle school passed the rally torch onto the high school, and on Tuesday students streamed into the Uribe Center for their rally. Classes showed off their school spirit, while Marianist general administration visitors, Fr. Andre Fetis and Bro. Michael John McAward judged the competition. The guests from Rome deemed the juniors the most spirited and students voted Alex Mansour ’14 Homecoming king.

The fun continues through the rest of the week, with games and competition at lunch on Wednesday and a festival at the high school on Thursday. On Friday, Chaminade’s campuses will be a sea of blue and orange. Homecoming food booths will open at 5:00 p.m. on the West Hills campus, just above Booster Stadium. The game kicks off at 7:00 p.m., and the Homecoming queen will be announced at halftime.

Chaminade alumni are invited to come back to their alma mater for a nostalgic and exciting evening. There will be a special alumni section (adults only), located behind the scoreboard; which is also where alumni can stop by to pick-up a t-shirt. To gain entrance to the alumni section, Eagle alumni will need a wristband, which can be picked up at a ticket booth. The only gate with access to this section is located in the parking lot closest to the scoreboard.

Reunions for the Classes of 1964, 1984, 1989, 1994, and 2004 close out Chaminade’s Homecoming Week.

Chaminade Kicks off Catholic Schools Week

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By Bro. Adam Becerra, fsp

On Sunday, January 26, more than 400 Chaminade students, parents, faculty and staff, from both our middle and high school campuses came together to kick off Catholic Schools Week with the celebration of Mass and brunch. It was an opportunity to honor our Catholic-Marianist heritage and highlight the vision of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade “to be formed by Mary for the mission of Christ.” The goal of this Catholic Schools Week Mass was to remind us of the value of Catholic education. And for us at Chaminade College Preparatory, we take it a step further—we recognize the gift of the Marianists’ brothers and priests who sponsor our institution and help us be formed in the Characteristics of Marianist Education: Formation in Faith; Family Spirit; Service, Justice, and Peace; Integral, Quality Education; and Adaptation and Change. It is through these characteristics that our students are formed throughout their Chaminade career so that they may go out and “transform the world,” as Fr. Chaminade puts it. After Mass, our families enjoyed their time together at a brunch where stories were exchanged about their past and present Chaminade memories.

Throughout the week of January 27 through February  1, we will continue our Catholic Schools Week celebration with many faith-filled and exciting activities, including a Catholic Schools Week Rally on each of our campuses.

On behalf of our Chaminade community, have a happy Catholic Schools Week in honor of our Marianist heritage!

Bro. Skip Honored with Annual Brotherhood Award

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During this year’s Annual Brothers Mass and Banquet, a well-loved and respected figure on the Chaminade campuses, Bro. Francis “Skip” Matthews, S.M. was honored with the Annual Brotherhood Award. Archbishop Jose Gomez and Bro. Larry Moen, C.M.F., presented the award, “Honoring Bro. Skip’s religious commitment to the service of the Lord as a Marianist Religious Brother and his faithful ministry in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles through education and outreach to the poor and the homeless.”

Bro. Skip Matthews is always a welcome sight at Chaminade. He offers a friendly, “Hello” to students, faculty, and staff; and takes the time to stop for a brief chat or in depth conversation with anyone and everyone.

At Chaminade’s Chatsworth campus, Bro. Skip can be found working in Campus Ministry. He substitutes, discusses social justice and supervises the cafeteria. Longtime Chaminade teacher, Joe Rauser says, “Bro. Skip has helped Chaminade by his very presence, his upbeat personality, and his interaction with all of the students and
faculty on both campuses…What makes him special is his honesty, openness, constant wittiness, and his obvious ‘Christ’ like nature. What makes him special is that he is ‘Brother Skip.’”

His ministry extends beyond his work at Chaminade – Bro. Skip volunteers at hospice and the Good Shepherd Shelter, a safe house for battered women and children. He also goes to Skid Row twice a week to help the homeless and spend time with them. For the past 20 years, from December 1 to 24, he has set-up a table with cards so that the homeless can write to their families and loved ones. About 1,000 Christmas cards, donated primarily by Chaminade students, are sent out.

In his early ministry, Bro. Skip served in health care when he directed the Marianist Infirmary in Honolulu. Ten years later, he became a paramedic at a remote medical facility in Zambia. He has also assisted at the Matero Boys Secondary School in Lusaka, Zambia. Bro. Skip was raised in Manhattan Beach, California. He graduated from Junipero Serra High School, and professed his first vows in 1959, in Santa Cruz. He studied with the Brothers of St. John of God at their Los Angeles hospital, and learned the fundamentals of nursing and caring for the elderly. In 1962, he made perpetual profession in the Society of Mary.