Catholic Schools Week

Dearest Families of 1A,

As Catholic School's Week comes to an end, I just have a few thoughts to share with you about myself, the kids and pure joy.

As some of you may know, I am a product of Catholic Education. This year, I celebrated my 22nd Catholic Schools Week. That is 9 years at St. Theresa's, 4 at Xavier and 9 as a Catholic school educator. What an absolute honor to have been a part of this wonderful system for so long. There was never a doubt in my mind that I just had to teach in a Catholic school. All that I am, all that I believe I have gleaned from my amazing parents and my Catholic education in the Diocese of Phoenix. There is not a year that goes by, that I don't write my parents a thank you letter for all the sacrifices they made so that I could go to a Catholic school.

I know that times are tough and paying for education is difficult. I want you to know that I appreciate your investment in this education for your child. I also want you to know that while I am an adult and can thank you in those specific words, your 6 and 7 year old students feel that way too. They may not express it in quite the same way, but I get to see the greatness Catholic education has on your children. How lucky am I that I get to see a glimpse of that daily? I hope you see that at home with your child or just when you step on campus.

When preparing for Catholic Schools Week, the children and I talked a little about sacrifice and the differences between Catholic and public education. We laughed and  prayed about it, we said thank you out loud and then we wrote about it. The theme of Catholic Schools Week was: Faith, Academics and Service. I asked the children to think about which one out of those 3 that they would like to reflect on for our classroom door decoration. So, to make sure we evenly wrote about each, I asked them by a show of hands, which they wanted to write about. I called out "service" first... 3 kids raised their hands. Then I called out "academics", 4 hands went up. Lastly, I called "faith" and 12 hands went up(which was the total class, then 1 more, then 3more. So I had to ask who voted twice and those 4 kids said they changed their mind and wanted to write about faith instead. I sat back and thought... this is a great problem to have. Your children, your students, your angels were more motivated to write about their faith than anything else. What a testament to you (parents), that your child picks this attribute to write about. If that doesn't thank you for your choice to send them to a Catholic school, I don't know what does. I just had to share that with you, because although they may not thank you the way I do as an adult now... they feel it and their love for our Lord is a thank you.

So, the end of the story goes, I let them write about what they wanted and many said... "I will write about both!" Again much to my surprise, as I was putting the door all together last Friday night at 6pm was that even those who chose academics, chose religion as the subject they discussed. I could not believe it. It was once again the proof that our faith plays a special role in all of our day. They just couldn't talk about their school without mentioning God. That is such a beautiful testament to Pope John and to me, as their teacher... and now hopefully to you, as their parents. If you have ever questioned the sacrifice or the decision to send your child to a Catholic school, I think you have your answer (loud and clear)!

With a Love of Catholic Education,
Miss Church
   Bronco Alum. '95
   Gator Alum. '99
   OLPH Glendale Knight '09
   Bl. Pope John XXIII Pride- current


Pictures of the door and the children from this week to follow...