Advent blessings! In this December issue of A LASSCA Minute, you’ll find: 

• Registration details for the LASSCA 2025 Conference. 
• Final call for Brother Michael Collins Award Nominations 
• Resources, including new Method of Interior Prayer bookmarks and screensavers 
• Featured photo from De La Salle High School in Concord, California 

We are pleased to open registration for the 2025 Lasallian Association of Secondary School Chief Administrators (LASSCA) Conference, taking place Feb. 23 – 26 at the Hotel Fera Anaheim in Orange, California. The 2025 conference theme is “New Horizons: Prayer, Pedagogy and Practice for Lasallian Leaders.” 

The planning committee has scheduled speakers and activities that call us to reflect on how prayer grounds our work, how pedagogy shapes our students’ lives, and how our daily practice as leaders can transform not only our schools but also the broader communities we serve. Our two keynote speakers are Dan Fitzpatrick, international education strategist, author and Forbes contributor who has worked with artificial intelligence and education, and Dr. Sarah Wannemuehler, lecturer in teacher education, director of clinical practice at the University of Southern Indiana and national lecturer on private school law.

The Brother Michael Collins Award of Excellence recognizes excellence in a Lasallian secondary school program exemplifying some of the values, standards and passions of Brother Michael and his legacy. Please consider nominating a program in your school that demonstrates excellence in one of the following four areas:  

• commitment to students in an urban environment
• respect and appreciation for cultural diversity
• love of music and the arts, or  
• improving access to education for the poor.

Completed online nomination forms are due by Wednesday, Dec. 18.

Year of Lasallian Spirituality Bookmarks and Screensaver

For the 2025 Year of Lasallian Spirituality, Christian Brothers Conference has created two new resources that make Saint John Baptist de La Salle’s Method of Interior Prayer more accessible for both students and educators. New bookmark and digital screensavers serve as a helpful tool to enter into prayer using the three movements of the method. Order bookmarks here and download the free screensavers here. 

Lasallian AI Priority Preview Group

The Lasallian Resource Center invites chief administrators and District leaders to participate in a select priority preview group to test a new Lasallian AI platform. This text-based AI technology pulls from approximately 2,000 texts from the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Learn more and register.

• Optimizing Use of Title II-A Funding for Professional Development (NCEA) 

• Four Strategies to Help Teachers Embrace AI in their Work (Ed Week) 

• What Does Centering Student Joy Mean? (ascd) 

De La Salle High School National Honor Society students in Concord, California, assisted during the school’s annual teddy bear toss at Catholic Youth Organization basketball games. Parents threw stuffed animals onto the court and elementary school players scooped them up for the toy drive, which will benefit local children in need. Photo courtesy De La Salle High School.

This section showcases a Lasallian ministry in the Lasallian Region of North America. If you would like to submit a photo for consideration, please email communications@lasallian.info.