News Release
November 4, 1999
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES SCHOOL RECEIVES
PHILADELPHIA BAR FOUNDATION APOTHAKER AWARD
The "Peace Program" at Saint Francis de Sales Parish Elementary School will receive the Louis D. Apothaker Award presented by the Philadelphia Bar Foundation on
6:45 p.m.
Preceding the Andrew Hamilton Ball
Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue
The Clover Room - Ballroom Level – First Floor
Broad and Walnut Streets
Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Bar Foundation's Louis D. Apothaker Award honors the inspirational work that nonlawyers are doing in our community to further the cause of justice. The award includes $5,000 and a commemorative crystal. The school was nominated for the award by: District Attorney Lynne Abraham, Police Commissioner John Timoney, and Gerald McHugh Jr., Esq. Attending the award ceremony from St. Francis de Sales are: Father Roland Slobogin, pastor, Sister Constance Marie, principal, Sister Mary Gibbons, Superior, along with Mrs. Kara McCann and Sister Jeannette Lucey, coordinators of the "Peace Program."
The "Peace Program" began at St. Francis de Sales School in 1992. The program teaches conflict resolution and peer mediation, empowering the students to solve problems peacefully. The centerpiece of the program is its "Peace Room," where students with disputes of any nature are asked to sit at a table to mediate their differences. The students are asked to find a solution that will avoid further conflict or violence. The school also sponsors an after school "Peace Club" and maintains a "Peace Wall" where photos of students embracing the ideals of the program are featured.
Saint Francis de Sales School is a Roman Catholic parish elementary school located in West Philadelphia. Sixty percent of its student body is non-catholic, and sixty-five percent fall below the federally-established poverty line. The student body is comprised of children from more than 25 different countries, many of whom are recent immigrants. Among the non-Catholic students are Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims.
Contact
Marie Kelly
Associate Director
215-587-3747