from the EDITOR
from the EDITOR Published By The Chaldean News, LLC Editorial Editor in Chief Vanessa Denha-Garmo managing Editor Joyce Wiswell Contributing Writers Laura Abouzeid Jacob Bacall Karam Bahnam Justin Fisette Joe Gasso Crystal Kassab Jabiro Mark Kassa Anthony Samona Robert Sklar Alan Stamm Steve Stein proofreader Valerie Cholagh interns Laura Abouzeid Angelic Gasso art & production creative director Alex Lumelsky with SKY Creative graphic designers Zina Lumelsky with SKY Creative Joseph Sesi Photographer David Reed operations Interlink Media director of operations Paul Alraihani circulation Paul Alraihani CLASSIFIEDS Crystal Oram sales Interlink Media sales representatives Jonathan Garmo Lisa Kalou Crystal Oram managers Vanessa Denha-Garmo Martin Manna Michael Sarafa subscriptions: per year The Chaldean News 29850 Northwestern Highway, Suite 250 Southfield, MI 48034 www.chaldeannews.com Phone: (248) 996-8360 Publication: The Chaldean News Published monthly; Issue Date: September 2010 Subscriptions: 12 months, . Publication Address: 29850 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 250, Southfield, MI 48034; Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Chaldean News 29850 Northwestern Highway, Suite 250, Southfield, MI 48034 School days When I was younger, I couldn’t wait for a new school year to start. I looked forward to shopping for my school supplies, and covering my books for the year with my own handmade covers. I anticipated the moment I would find out who was in my class and what homeroom teacher I had for the year. School days create years of memories. I am a product of 13 years of Catholic school upbringing — daily uniforms and weekly masses and religion classes — all a significant part of my life. Sending our kids to Catholic school is common in the community. In fact, several Catholic schools in Metro Detroit are comprised of a large Chaldean populace; some schools are more than 50 percent Chaldean. Our Chaldean News team has worked diligently to bring you a Catholic Schools guide this month. We hope this guide gives you some background on the schools in the area and helps some parents debating on Catholic schools to make a decision. We also wanted to know the advantages of attending Catholic school and why so many families are choosing this educational route over the public school system. We bring you a short feature on this issue to accompany the guide. Prior to being a parent, I never thought I would spend so much time researching schools. I looked at 10 different early developmental preschools before I chose one for my daughter. This year, she is attending a new preschool. What will this year’s school days be like for our kids? Vanessa denha-garmo editor in chief co-publisher No doubt the schools we send our kids to will have lasting effects on their lives from the education they receive to the friends they make. They will always think about their favorite teacher and never forget the one who gave them a hard time. School days are not easy for all kids. Some children are facing learning disabilities or delays in development. This is sometimes in the form of autism. Joyce Wiswell delved into this issue, having candid conversations with parents who are focused on helping their children. Months ago, we featured a debate on vaccines. Some argue that vaccines cause autism. We wanted to cover — more in depth — the autism spectrum disorder. In this issue, we bring you the challenges, the triumphs and the truth about this disorder. Schools days are a faint memory for some of us. Many of us have graduated from school years ago and these school days live with us in memory alone. However, that does not mean we stop learning. There are several organizations and groups who help us continue our education, especially in our faith. We often feature guest columns from the E.C.R.C. and this month they write on idolatry. We also continue our Jewish News collaboration this month. This section was developed out of the desire to educate the Chaldeans about the Jews and the Jews about the Chaldeans. We have spent decades going to the same schools, shopping at the same malls and living in the same neighborhoods, yet we know little about each other. This year has been about educating the community at-large about these two ethnic groups making great impacts on this region. The concept of the Chaldean News is to keep you abreast of what is going on in the community, informed about important events and educated on the issues. This monthly newsmagazine was designed by a team of Chaldeans to supplement your learning experience. Prior to being a parent, I never thought I would spend so much time researching schools. I looked at 10 different early developmental preschools before I chose one for my daughter. Your school days don’t have to end once the bell rings and the diploma is earned. Life is an education and school is what you make of it. I plan to teach my daughter that no matter what school she attends, her education is largely affected by the effort she puts into learning. School days in Metro Detroit — may they be great days for us all. Alaha Imid Koullen (God Be With Us All) Vanessa Denha-Garmo vdenha@chaldeannews.com Dr.MarvinJabero Yourwisdomteethanddentalimplantspecialist Waterford2486740303 Hartland8106324545•Brighton8102272626 •EveningandSaturdayappointments •Sedationandnitrousoxideavailable •ChaldeanandArabicspoken www.ofsmi.com RON GARMO Licensed and Insured Contractor 248.884.1704 runningright@gmail.com “We’re working to keep your systems Running Right!” WE ARE A FULL SERVICE HVACR COMPANY: > HEATING > VENTILATION > AIR CONDITIONING > REFRIGERATION > COMMERCIAL / RESIDENTIAL > NEW CONSTRUCTION > RADIANT FLOOR HEATING NO HASSLE WARRANTIES www.runningrighthvacr.info WE ACCEPT VISA & MASTERCARD CHALDEAN NEWS SEPTEMBER 2010
Her son was born with special needs. Every health plan rejected them, except for one. At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, we believe every health plan should accept everyone, regardless of medical history. While health care reform addresses this critical issue, change is still several years away. In the meantime, we remain committed to our mission of guaranteed access to quality health coverage and being a champion for expanding access to affordable health care. To learn more about Blue Cross, visit us at bcbsm.com/home. Join the conversation about making Michigan healthier at aHealthierMichigan.org. Leading Michigan to a healthier future ṢM SEPTEMBER 2010 CHALDEAN NEWS
