The Present Dei

By Daniel Garrido, Staff Writer  

Verbum Dei High School is replacing its outdated, decades-old fire alarms.  The newly updated fire alarms are equipped with smoke detectors and new alarms. This project was assigned to Jeff Bonino-Britsch, Vice President of Operations, and the upgrade project was called “Code project,” as the preexisting fire alarm system was no longer up to city code. 

The fire alarm systems are being installed in every classroom, the gym, and the Multi-Purpose Room. The new fire alarms are currently still being set up, but they will be up and running by the beginning of November. Initially, the updated fire alarms were supposed to be operational in late August, but according to Bonino-Britsch pricing concerns and vendors made updated fire alarm installation lag. The new, updated fire alarms are expected to bring the Verbum Dei High School community an enhanced feeling of safety. 

“I did not know that the fire alarms were not up to code,” said senior Brian Cisneros.  Every student of Verb didn’t realize that these vintage walls also contained outdated fire alarms.  “The updated fire alarms will bring another layer of safety to the Verbum Dei High School campus,” Cisneros conceded. 

In the days leading up to November, the campus will witness many people coming in and out of Verb, and it will not the students leaving but the technicians who are setting up the fire alarms system.

The downside to this installation affects Fr. Stephen Privett, SJ, President of VDHS.  He will be withstanding the loud alarms sounding in his office, as everything links up near his office in the Administration Building. 

The updated fire alarm system is not the only thing that is under renovation. There will be be renovations to other things including new safety systems and fresh paint in affected areas.

By Benjamin Rivera, Staff Writer

After years of running the outdated Windows 7, John Galloway, Verbum Dei’s Director of Information Technology, has been working diligently to upgrade all computers on campus to the latest Microsoft Windows 10 operating system.

The upgrade is being realized as a result of Microsoft, creators of the Windows operating system, decision to discontinue all updates of Windows 7 in January of 2020.

“This calls for a very near deadline of around Christmas time,” Galloway said.

The problem with this mass upgrade; however, is that the software has to be installed manually on each device, and with about 300 machines on campus, it is a long, tedious process.

“We have to go through every single machine and update each one,” said Galloway.  “We had all of the faculty computers done during the summer.”

“Windows 7 was very good – I would say legendary,” said Galloway. “However, I will say this, Windows 10 is just as good, and [Microsoft] made many improvements overall from previous versions of the OS [operating system].

“They came out with something good here, and I’m glad we can finally take advantage of it,” said Galloway. His praise for the OS continued, “These machines are some of the oldest on campus,” he said, referring to the computers he was working on in Computer Lab II. “Despite their age, they run Windows 10 incredibly smooth.”

Galloway was also ecstatic about noting that Verb computers will also get the latest version of Microsoft Office.

“A huge part of this update is the changes made to Office, which all Verb students have as a resource through their Outlook email addresses,” Galloway said. “The school pays about $18,000 annually which is a rough figure of the student body so that the students can have access to all of the Microsoft services like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, even after they graduate.”

Gloria Rivera, a Verb senior parent, expressed her approval of the updates.

“I’m glad they’re finally making this happen,” said Rivera.  “Through this, there will be no excuses when it comes to schoolwork; the kids have access to the latest technology [that] they may not have at home, and the fast nature of Windows 10 promotes productivity.  I hope they finish soon so that everyone can take advantage of it.”

In the meantime, a large number of the machines on campus are up and running Windows 10 for students who want to try the new OS.

By Robert Turner, Staff Writer

New clubs are providing more options for students of every grade level at Verbum Dei High School to explore interests beyond the classroom.  Additional clubs were brought forth to the existing array for the 2019-2020 school year.  There are six completely new clubs this school year: Fame, the Spanish Honor Society, Math Honor Society, E-Sports, Audio Visual Club, and Project Litt. These clubs represent new opportunities for Verbum Dei students. Teachers and staff members serve as moderators to assist students in the responsibility of running their clubs.

“It’s going to be a fun experience,” the coordinator of Verb clubs Maribel Andrade stated, referring to the new clubs.  The students are going to have a variety of options from which to choose, said Andrade.   With a greater number of options, there will be fewer students in each club, which can help create a deeper bond among the student club members, said Andrade.

Clubs meet throughout the campus of Verbum Dei during Friday’s co-curricular period and occasionally after school dismissal.   Fame meets in Room 307, Spanish Honor Society in 205, Math Honor Society in 306, E-sports in Computer Lab 1, Audio Visual Club in 401, and Project Lit in 304.

“The Club destinations are at a distance to give each unique club a proper amount of privacy,” said Andrade.  Clubs help students to become more open with one another, to form friendships and bonds, and they ensures them that they will always have someone to talk to, said Andrade.

Senior Massai Walker, a member of the Black Student Union stated that over his years at Verb, he has always felt comfortable in his clubs by just being in a environment where all the club members are engaged in what is being discussed during their session.

“With the new club Fame, I feel at home; it’s fun and educating at the same time,” said senior Jacob Salgado.  “I never felt like I was welcomed in other clubs – not because they didn’t accept me but because I wasn’t really interested in what was going on.”

Clubs help the students to find themselves and to figure out what their passion and desires are, and club membership affords a distinct community within the greater VDHS community.  When participating in one’s club, one focus is on the club, not on the many distractions outside of it.  Choosing among the new clubs help the students recognize how to make the proper decisions in their best interest, and, in a way, picking a club gives the students a responsibility for what they are committing themselves for the school year.

During the week of October 7-11, 2019, the clubs will be participating in various activities for Homecoming’s Spirit Week. There will be club competitions such as mini basketball tournaments. Some on the clubs are planning to all dress the same for “Twin Day,” Monday, October 7.

“I’m excited for the club activities,” said senior Amaan Pinchem.  “BSU is going to win all the [Spirit Week] activities.”