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Fash Foundation Awards $25,000 to Cassata
 Cassata High School extends a warm thank-you to the Fash Foundation for a $25,000 grant.
Mr. Ralph Fash was a long-time supporter of the school and a friend to Sister Mary Bonaventure. Mr. Fash passed away in early 2009 at the age of 95 after a successful career as an electrical engineer and a lifetime of unwavering kindness, strength and determination.
Cassata was honored to have Mrs. Linda Bush, Mr. Fash’s daughter and current president of the Fash Foundation, visit the school in early December. President Sal Espino, Principal Nancy Martin, and Director of Development Heather Parker offered Mrs. Bush a tour of the school and showed her a special plaque on the Sister Bonaventure Tree purchased in Mr. Fash’s honor.
Cassata's Thanksgiving Luncheon
Cassata hosted its annual Thanksgiving Luncheon on November 24, 2009.
Approximately 400 were in attendance at this celebration—all family members or friends of Cassata’s students and staff. Students volunteered to bring in most of the food, plates, cups and drinks. The Sister Bonaventure Room filled quickly, and students and their visitors were invited to sit at tables in the hallways and classrooms.
Principal Nancy Martin said the luncheon is all about bringing everyone together in the school, like a big family.
Verizon Foundation Awards Literacy Grant to Cassata
 Cassata High School is pleased to announce the receipt of an $8,500 grant from the Verizon Foundation that will be used to purchase literacy software for the Adolescent Literacy & Fundamentals of Reading program.
The new software will allow students in Ms. Haefling’s reading class to complete assignments on a computer, do vocabulary assessments and take quizzes that are specific to their individualized reading material.
The software is an ideal fit for Cassata since students work at different grade levels and paces in accordance with their personalized learning needs.
The Verizon Foundation supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education. In 2008, the foundation awarded more than $68 million in grants to non-profit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
“In today’s world, students must have a solid ability to read and write in order to perform jobs, conduct their lives and be productive citizens of our society,” said Carl Erhart, Verizon Southwest Region President. “This Verizon grant will fund programs that build better futures for these students and our community.”
The students and staff of Cassata extend a warm thank-you to the Verizon Foundation for their very generous gift.
Come, Be a Mentor: Cassata Connections
A Cassata Connections mentor offers guidance, moral support, encouragement and special recognition to a Cassata High School student. Bring your own life experiences good and bad, accomplishments and mistakes, and connect your past with a student’s future.
Student participation is by invitation only. The CHS administration identifies students who can benefit from a caring mentor and who express an interest in the Cassata Connections program. They must maintain good academic standing and a good attendance record, as well as exhibit acceptable behavior with no unresolved disciplinary issues.
The ideal Cassata Connections mentor has a little extra time (and extra funds if a sponsoring mentor) to meet with a CHS student preferably twice a month but at least once a month. Mentors and students will be matched by CHS administrators after interviews and careful consideration. At a ‘Meet & Greet’ gathering, mentors and students will meet for the first time and begin what is hoped to be a connection of one life to another.
Mentors can communicate with students by email to arrange get-togethers for breakfast or lunch at Cassata or to make other arrangements to meet. Some students attend classes all day while others are only there in the morning or afternoon to better accommodate their work schedules. Frequent communication between mentors and students is encouraged to build the relationship and trust.
A mentor is a role model who nurtures self-development, promotes growth and self-respect and generally guides the student through the oftentimes bumpy road of adolescence and young adulthood. Students at Cassata often have added stress and challenges that make their journey even more difficult to manage. A sponsor mentor is a mentor first and also contributes financially to assist with tuition for the student.
To be a Mentor: Contact Heather Parker (hparker@cassatahs.org) or call the school at 817-926-1745 to obtain an application.
Help Beautify Cassata
Summer improvements to Cassata’s drainage system and foundation meant that workers had to remove most of our bushes and landscaping.
The entrance to Cassata, facing Hemphill Street, now has two vacant flower beds filled only with dirt. In addition, new sidewalks poured in the back parking lot means that bushes and shade-giving trees near Cassata’s back exit have been removed. As a result, students must wait for their rides without protection from the rain or hot sun, and without a place to sit.
Students and teachers are eager to plant new flowers and bushes, particularly ones that are drought tolerant and low maintenance. In addition, the school is hoping to add an awning on the back of the school with benches underneath so students can sit in the shade while waiting on their rides. Unfortunately, with limited funds and many critical capital needs on the horizon, this project is on hold.
“Students, faculty and staff are eager to beautify the exterior of our campus,” Principal Nancy Martin said. “We are poised and ready to work on this project through our community service class and student council. The last remaining need is the funds to support this type of project.”
To help this project come to fruition, the students and staff of Cassata respectfully request a very special person to consider donating plant material, benches or money to purchase these items to help beautify the school.
“Fixing our landscaping sends the message to students, parents and the community that we care about the education of these students and we want to demonstrate that by creating an attractive environment to support student learning,” President Sal Espino said.
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