Easter Season Brings New Life to School
Beginning with the Octave of Easter, Our Lady Queen of Peace School changes tenor, looks different, feels lighter. This season, begun following the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil, will see us through the school year and ultimately culminate in Pentecost Sunday. Right now, we are “enjoying the light” of a sunny springtime, and the daily mass readings are from Acts of the Apostles, the wonderful miracle book of the Holy Spirit that tells the story of the beginnings of the Church. The students are as playful as the “twitter-pated” forest animals in the Disney classic, “Bambi.” It takes all they can do to keep from skipping down the halls at lunchtime. Their joy must surely make God chuckle, as I am inclined to do as I observe their antics.
The academic subjects require concentration, however, and teachers work extra-hard to find fun, exciting ways to keep kids learning when the out-of-doors seems to be calling to them. Confirmation dominates the Religion agenda for the eighth grade. They are such a wonderful class. And through the spirit of service that they have demonstrated so powerfully this year, they are fully aware that they serve God through serving the least of their brothers and sisters in Christ. They KNOW the Beatitudes and the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. And they LIVE them. They know how to measure their spiritual worth: “If you want to be first in God’s kingdom, you’ve got to be the servant of all.”
Church History has seventh graders learning about some of the giants in sainthood, such as Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits he founded. Soon, they’ll be learning about Jesuits like Pere Marquette, whose statue stands near the lodge at the nearby state park named for him. The students are surprised to find out that the lodges at Camp Ondessonk are named for the Jesuits and their companions who were martyred by the Iroquois trying to bring them to the faith.
Sixth graders are ready to learn about the Babylonian Captivity of Judah in the Old Testament, a crucial time in the development of the Jewish people, the heritage from which we benefit in the New Testament. This class has embraced our salvation history and learned so much. I’m very proud of their Psalms and Proverbs, their research into the Hebrew Alphabet, and their comprehension of the very human qualities of such people of God as David and Solomon, Elijah and Elisha.
And the fifth grade has begun their “family life” series. The subject of how God has chosen to share his ability to create new life with us, his human creatures, is stated so poetically in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Here, God establishes humanity as the highest form of life on earth, noting that we are “very good.” God is complimenting himself on what a good job He has done; he is delighted with us. And God says, “Be fruitful and multiply.” So, we begin our journey of learning about human reproduction from the point of view of God the Creator. How blest I feel to be able to work here in a Catholic school where I can tell children the truth about their own bodies.
And so, the last quarter of the 2009-2010 school year begins. As I look at all the youngsters in our school, from Kindergarten to eighth grade, they are growing up, but it’s not a helter-skelter kind of thing. They are growing up so well. I have but one comment for all the faculty, staff, and, most especially, parents and guardians: Well done!
Lent: Palms and Ashes for Your Family
The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which can be either confusing or profoundly moving for your children, depending upon how well prepared they are to hear the words, “Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you shall return.” The words speak to the transience of life. Further, it reminds us that what preoccupies our thoughts may, in the grand scheme of things, be quite trivial.
The smudge of ashes can be a physical reminder of our humanness, our sinfulness, our failures. Do you know where they come from? What do these ashes signify? When is it acceptable to wash them off?
This simple object lesson can be shared in any fifteen minute period when you can gather the kids and parents together. Bring a sprig of the palms you received at Mass last Palm Sunday. As you break apart the palm leaves into a fireproof pan (a disposable aluminum cake pan works well,) talk with your children about the palms. Ask them to recall Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and what the crowds said as Jesus rode the donkey colt into town. (Hosanna to the Son of David!) Then ask them what the crowds said just five days later, when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, who asked them if they wanted Jesus or Barabbas released to them. (The crowd, of course, asked for Barabbas and told Pilate about Jesus, “Crucify him!”) Discussed with your family how easily swayed this crowd was and how it shows how easily swayed we are as well. Talk about how easy it is to turn away from what we know is right, just because “everyone is doing it.”
Now, as the children watch from a window, take the pan of palm leaves out and ignite them. Later, when they are cool, come together again and show the palm ashes. Explain that this is exactly how the ashes are created that will be used on Ash Wednesday. Ask the kids to see in the ashes something that they did today that would not please Jesus. Then ask them to touch a finger to the ashes and smudge their own foreheads. Then bring a dampened paper towel to the table. Tell the children that this is like Jesus’ gift of salvation, coming to wash away our human failings. Remind them that Jesus gave us the wonderful Sacrament of Reconciliation to continue this spiritual cleansing for us whenever we choose the wrong over the right thing to think, do or say.
Ash Wednesday will be every more meaningful because your family prepared
together for the beginning of what I pray will be the best Lent yet!!
Catholic Schools Week, 2010
Catholic Schools Week, 2010, has as it’s slogan, “Dividends for the Future.” What kind of dividends? The logo states that the dividends will accrue in four areas: Faith, Knowledge, Discipline and Morals. What “edge” do children who attend Our Lady Queen of Peace have as a result of their Catholic education here? It’s a challenging question that teachers ponder often. I am convinced that the “dividends” are real, though intangible, and that they do cause tangible differences in the lives of these students.
Let’s begin with the “Morals” dividend. Our children have learned from Kindergarten and even in Pre-School that the benchmark for behavior is Jesus. “Jesus wouldn’t like what you just did!” is the typical reprimand for primary children here. What could be a greater lesson in morals—live life as Jesus would.
And on to “Discipline.” The only discipline that ultimately leads to maturity and growth is self-discipline. Students know that, even if a teacher did not see their behavior, “God saw it.” They know that they cannot fool God, therefore they are more inclined to not attempt to fool themselves. I see great integrity among the children here. They are willing to admit when they have made a mistake, take the consequences and learn from them. They know that it is not the teacher who is punishing them; instead, they have punished themselves by their poor choices. And when the class “gets it right” for a period of time, they enjoy a reward of their own choosing—free dress, pajama day, a meal off campus, treats brought in. They feel that they have accomplished something and encourage each other to try harder. Our school policy of “Positive Discipline” helps students develop self-discipline.
“Knowledge,” of course, is the ultimate goal of all education. Certainly, as our Terra Nova test results prove, we have instilled a high degree of knowledge in our students at each of the grade levels. Especially in Religion, we seek to push beyond knowledge to wisdom. Wisdom is a life style that benefits from the knowledge a person has acquired. A wise person makes wise choices in every area of life. Biblically speaking, wisdom is equated with doing God’s Will, and being “foolish” is equated with overlooking God’s Will. The best application of knowledge is in a lifestyle that invites the young person to become what God called him/her to be when he/she was created.
And, lastly, “Faith” as a dividend is, as the Master Card commercials say, “priceless.” We send God along with our students when they graduate from our school. They know that they are never alone. They are secure in their place among the People of God. Faith banishes fear. It enables an unswerving commitment to fulfilling one’s vocation. In a world devoid of absolutes, where people routinely justify the wrong and call it the right, our students have the 2,000 years of teachings of the Church to look to for guidance. Ultimately, they have the teachings of the head of the Church, Jesus Christ himself, to lead them into their own future.
Thank God for Catholic Education!
Morning Prayer - October 2009
Teachers at OLQP gather each morning for “morning prayer” in Mrs. Collins’ classroom. They recite a simplified version of the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayer of the church. The roots of Liturgy of the Hours goes back nearly a thousand years ago in church history, when western monasticism was is full bloom. Monastic life is based on “ora et labora”, i.e., to work and to pray. Monks gathered at fixed times throughout the day and night to pray the psalms (all 150 of them, every day!) Matins, Lauds, Vespers, Complens—are names identifying the time of the day that each group of prayers were offered. What the teachers pray is a version of matins, or “morning prayer.” Each day, visitors to the school, the parents and especially the students know that they are being lifted up in prayer by their teachers. By praying together for the common good of the school and parish, teachers grow closer to each other and to God. When you see the teachers in the Religion room, sitting or standing in two parallel lines, they are praying antiphonally, “choir to choir”, as the church says, and they are praying for you! Please join your prayers to ours as we serve God by serving the children you have sent us!
Beginning of School Year 2009-2010
Welcome back to Our Lady Queen of Peace School for our students, teachers, families!! There is something magical about the start of the new school year, something that at once brings a smile to our faces and squares our shoulders. It will be an enjoyable yet challenging endeavor, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for growth and learning. We know that we will be better for the journey.
Faith is like that. No wonder we describe ourselves as “practicing Catholics.” We know, at the very depth of our being, that to know God requires a lifetime of striving. We will be “in faith formation” until the last breath of life. How much God still wants to teach us!
And yet, we often find the most profound “knowing” of God in the “least of these.” Oftentimes, it’s a child’s simplistic approach to God that tugs at my heartstrings, and I’m sure they tug at God’s heartstrings as well. My students teach me so much about God. When we pray together, particularly, I see the selfless concern that they have for everyone and everything—grandparents, pets, world crises, someone they saw weeping in a car driving next to them on the way to school. No issue is too small or too large to call forth their willingness to offer a prayer. They know they cannot do everything, but they can do something. And they are willing to ask their fellow-students to join with them in prayer. What a beautiful community of prayer they form!
Click here to read the past school year's Religion Corner