This document provides a Christmas message from Dr. Raquel Castrodad highlighting the importance of service, compassion, and bringing joy to others during the holidays. It then summarizes several school events that occurred in November and December, including the elementary girls volleyball team winning a championship, a graduate participating in a semester abroad program, high school students providing community service, Thanksgiving celebrations, and the junior national honor society initiation. The document promotes virtues of dedication, responsibility, compassion, and bringing hope and joy to others during the holiday season.

1. Of Math, Science, and Technology
Christmas Edition, December 2013
A Christmas Message
Mankind’s Most Precious Gift
continue writing the pages of this story and who will hopefully
be the builders of a better world.
Dr. Raquel Castrodad
The morning breeze is accompanied by a scent full of love
and humility. We only have to stop to appreciate them, savor
their taste, and add it to the menu of our homes.
"The bright star of Christmas gives hope to the helpless, awakens the virtues of each human being and
leads them on the path of peace". ~ Raquel Castrodad
Dare to do so! It is Christmas! Hit the streets to show kids
that they can make a difference. Demonstrate that mom and
dad are in the first seat in the first row of love. Invite
ecember arrives with its fresh air, cheerful music,
grandparents, friends, neighbors, and prepare a feast of solicarols and songs that take us to a time everyone
darity.
wants to relive from our childhood, Christmas.
Take to the streets and give to My idea of Christmas,
Sweet and pleasant memories of our parents, siblings,
others! Get ready for the true whether old-fashioned
friends, and grandmother’s delicious food come to mind.
Christmas spirit!
or modern, is very
Christmas is the most appropriate time of the year to
That this Christmas and every day simple: loving others.
internalize the importance of service and to remind ourselves
of the upcoming New Year illuminate
Come to think of it,
of the opportunities we have had to serve.
our youth and that the star that hails why do we have to wait
from the East may flood the world
Let us reflect on the joy of living and helping others!
for Christmas to do
with joy! These are the wishes of our
that?
How beautiful it is to establish the goal that this be the
great Radians School family!
Christmas that finds us in a rebirth of the heart, of the soul, of
~Bob Hope
life, and of hope!
D
We give the most precious gift that will endure and will be
with us always - to teach what love is in all its dimensions!
We can give the experience of a love that is not influenced by
color, social status or age.
The time is perfect to awaken in our children the gifts of
compassion, generosity, justice, humility, and perseverance.
These are essential virtues needed to achieve the academic,
social, and professional success of these young citizens that are
the hope of our society.
This Christmas, let’s invite our children to perform an act
that demonstrates their love for others.
These upcoming vacation days offer us a wonderful
opportunity to go out and show the face of love. This is a great
moment to visit a sick person or go to an elderly folk’s home,
to bring food to homeless people, or to collect toys for children
who are in shelters because they have had to flee a home
where abuse is the order of the day.
These are real-world experiences of which our young people
should not be alienated because they will be the ones who will
Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year 2014!

2. Elementary Girls Volleyball Team Wins COPSAA Championship
W
hat a wonderful Thanksgiving present!
On Thursday, November 21st, our elementary
school Mini-Feminine Volleyball team won the COPSAA
Volleyball Tournament by defeating Edison School.
These students have worked hard to maintain their academic
work while juggling a myriad of other activities, among them,
volleyball. This requires that our students develop maturity
beyond their years.
In an age where these values are little noted, and rarely
recognized, at Radians School this is the underlying pin that
sustains our educational philosophy.
We recognize the support of parents, teachers, coaches, and
administration in helping our students do their best.
We congratulate the athletes on their wonderful achievement.
Once again, our students demonstrate what the virtues of
dedication, responsibility and commitment are capable of
helping our students achieve.
Graduate participates in Semester-at-Sea Program
O
ur young graduate of the Class of 2011, William José BurgosVega, is currently participating in Semester at Sea, a program
that allows students to study while travelling the world. He
embarked in Southampton, London in August 24, visiting the countries of
Russia, Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Morocco,
Canary Islands, Ghana, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and Bahamas. He has learned about the different cultures of the countries visited. It
has been a wonderful experience.
At left, we see Willie with school children in Ghana. Willie is the son of
our beloved office records administrator and proud mother, Vilma Vega.
High School Students offer Community Service
L
ast Saturday, 23rd of November of 2013, our eleventh grade
students visited the central office of Hogar Ruth Albergue
para Mujeres Maltratadas, Inc. located in Vega Alta. They were
part of an orientation on the objectives and tasks that are
performed at that entity. It is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that
provides services to victims of domestic violence with their sons and
daughters such as: services of temporary shelter, guidance and profesAbove, Keishlyann Baéz, Tania Machicote, Lizbel
sional counseling, services for children, individual (Center Director), Xavier Colón, Kevin Puentes.
psychological therapy, legal advice, and support in
applying for orders of protection. After the talk, the youths made a collective donation which
included home, personal, school, and office supplies, among other items.
Page 2
Radians School

3. High School Celebrates Thanksgiving
The activity ended with the
11th
grade
presentation.
Students sang accompanied by
fellow students playing instruments, and danced a folkloric
bomba and plena with the animation of the Cabezudos and
zancos!
It was an excellent day for all and a wonderful way to
mark the beginning of our Christmas holidays.
As the Holiday Season is upon us, we find ourselves
reflecting on the past year.
We value our relationship with our
students
and their parents, and look forward to the year
to come. We wish you all a very happy Holiday Season
and a New Year filled with peace and prosperity.
By Miriam Montanez, HS Principal
L
ast Friday, November 22, students from 7th to
12th grade celebrated Thanksgiving with a funfilled activity that included presentations, snacks,
lunch, and a surprise!!! Cabezudos and baile de zancos, Spanish folkloric
traditions
typical of the
Christmas holiday celebrations.
The activity, coordinated and sponsored by our Student Council, began during the morning with a
reflection offered by Geraldo Acevedo, Student Council
President, who gave thanks in a manner in which
Ralph Waldo Emerson expresses: Cultivate the habit
of being grateful for every good thing that comes to
you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all
things have contributed to your advancement, you
should include all things in your gratitude.
Afterwards,
we
enjoyed
several
students’
presentations that included short dramas, dances, and
singing, all inspired in our Christmas-time traditions.
Our students showed their creativity, talent, and
excellent taste as they presented a series of musical
and dramatic numbers which emphasized the values
and virtues that form part of our school’s philosophy.
A delicious typical Puerto Rican Thanksgiving lunch
was served and enjoyed by all students, teachers, and
school personnel. Students danced to the tune of salsa
and plena, and shared with peers and teachers!
Christmas Edition, December 2013
Christmas isn't
a season. It's a
feeling.
~Edna Ferber
Page 3

4. Junior National Honor Society Initiation
O
n Thursday, November 21st, the Junior National Honor Society initiated its new members.
The National Honor Society (NHS) and National Junior
Honor Society (NJHS) are the nation's premier organizations
established to recognize outstanding high
school and middle level students. More than just an honor roll, NHS and NJHS serve to honor those students
who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character (and Citizenship for NJHS).
Prof. María Lopez is the Faculty Advisor for the JNHS
at Radians School. She has worked diligently to help our
students assume the responsibilities that membership
in this organization requires. This year 25 deserving
students were initiated into the JNHS. Among the
requirements are that students must fulfill the required
academic grades. They must also be examples of the
virtues of academic excellence, leadership, service and
character.
We recognize the outstanding qualities possessed by
these students and wish
them the best of success as
they begin their careers as
model students and model
citizens.
Above, Dr. José Castrodad offering his opening message on
the importance of being a JNHS member .
Congratulations!
Inside Story Headline
Above, Ambar Soliván,
9th grade student and
outgoing President of
the JNHS welcoming
the new initiates.
Above, proud parents with faces aglow watch as their children are initiated into the Junior National Honor Society.
At left, parents and current
student officials of the NJHS,.
The entire Radians School Family wishes you and your own
a healthy and safe Holiday Season!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2014!
Radians School
Of Math, Science, and Technology
Carr 735 Km 0.4
Cayey, Puerto Rico
(787) 738-4822
www.radiansschool.org
The First and Only School in Puerto Rico
recognized as a
“National School of
Character”