The adolescents worked so hard to make the set professional and complete for the Christmas Play last weekend. Pictured above, they are working hard to paint a canvas in order to cut out the hills for the scene with the Shepherd and the angel. Their help to the play was not only necessary but very forming - they learned the value of work that doesn't get noticed but is necessary for the final product. This role in the play taught them the pleasure of working with their hands and the humility of performing work that may not get acknowledged in the same way as being on center stage.
In November, the adolescents and I ventured into St. Paul to watch Hamlet performed by Park Square Theater. This play was marvelous and inspired us all to study Shakespeare with a fervor as well as prepare for our Spring Showcase where our very own adolescents will be performing Hamlet. Stay tuned for more details!
These students did AMAZING at the HEM Ballroom Dance Class presentation on December 8th. They have worked so hard this semester and made themselves uncomfortable in order to grow. Not only did they learn new dances and participate in a greater community, but they gained a life long skills of dancing! Many thanks to Mrs. Stanbury for teaching them so well.
The last couple of days, I have been reflecting on the past trimester. The good things, the bad things, and everything in between. This past trimester has been great. We have explored so many new things and learned more about previous subjects too. We have continued to enhance our skills in every subject. This includes math, language, history, spanish, art, geography, geometry, and literature. We have also been going to dance class and Mass at the Church of Saint Paul every other week. We have guest speakers come talk to us about a variety of different subjects. Photography, basketball, vocations, and more to come. Our morning prayer consists of praying the Liturgy of the Hours and saying the eternal rest prayer for all those who have died. Overall, we have learned a lot since the first day of school.
I am looking forward to learning even more in the next trimester. I'm especially excited to start learning algebra. I think that next trimester will be a new and exciting adventure with many challenges to conquer. We are going to be making some Christmas art projects for gifts to give. I am looking forward to working on them over the next couple of weeks before Christmas break. We are also going to be participating in operation Christmas child. We will be having a fundraiser to raise money. Then we will pack a shoe box for a a child in need. I think the next trimester will be awesome. This blog post we were suppose to write about how our first trimester went. It was a great first trimester. At the beginnig of the year we had prayer right away in the morning. But now we have it at ten forty-five. At the beginning of the year it was really hard to stay concentrated but now it is easier. There seemed to be a lot of work at the beginning of the year but now it seems better. We usually have about two and a half hours to work in the morning. In the mornings we usually have two lessons and sometimes three. Then at ten forty-five we do Christian prayer. We pray the passage stuff, the reading, the intersessions, the canticle and the responsory.
After that we have morning meeting. During morning meeting we do some sort of greeting that someone chooses. Then we say announcements and daily news. After that we say compliments and do stretches which someone leads. Then we eat lunch which is really boring listening to the book. Then comes the best part of the school day, recess. We usually play soccer or basketball. After recess we come in and work and sometimes have special things like Spanish, Art, or speakers. Today were actually having a coffee house and correcting our children's books. Then we have jobs and we clean the classroom and the bathrooms. Then finally at two forty-five we get to go home. On Friday, Mr. William Goodwin came to visit the A1 classroom and shared about SPORTS. An avid basketball player himself, he shared about his own journey of athleticism. He discussed the joy of going to the gym and playing on the court, he talked about the strategies of basic plays, and he shared about who his favorite teams are now. However, he went beyond just talking ABOUT basketball. He discussed what he had learned from it and how it shaped his character and how it is such a metaphor for his relationship with the Lord.
He discussed the importance of teamwork in basketball - that everyone does better when everyone does better. How oftentimes one needs to be humble and pass the ball and give up the limelight for the good of the team rather than taking the chance for a crowd roaring three-pointer. He discussed the need for patience in basketball and the recognition of the process it takes to play - the training, practices, and long season - and that the process is what is fulfilling rather than simply winning every game. Finally, he discussed the joy that comes from using your gifts - that God has given us certain talents and that we have a responsibility to use them the same as in basketball as in academics or arts. Finally, Mr. Goodwin discussed how basketball is a metaphor for his relationship with the Lord. That in basketball, as the season progresses, there is more pressure to win, to perform, to work harder as a team. But as you work harder, as you practice more, the responsibility always increases. He said the same is with prayer and a relationship with the Lord. The more we pursue the Lord in prayer, the more responsibility he gives us to grow in virtue, to grow in holiness, and to work harder to bring about the kingdom. He encouraged the adolescents to play hard in whatever sport or activity they are in - to give themselves 100%. He encouraged them to recognize how sports and activities are forming their characters - challenging them in humility, patience, and other virtues. Finally, he encouraged them to run after the Lord in prayer just as in sports you pursue the win by putting in hard work and determination. Mr. John Hayes, a seminarian at the major seminary at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, came in to talk to the adolescents about the trifold nature of Vocation. He discussed how vocation is from the latin word "vocare" - and how we are each under the Universal Call of Holiness. How God looks at each of the adolescents and says: "St. Matthew, St. Samuel, St. Ava, and St. Catherine." He spoke on the manner with which we are to reach heaven depends on our Vocation with a capital V - what lifestyle is each of our means to holiness - priesthood, religious, single, or married. Finally, he discussed the specific vocation (career) we are called to - a way to make a living, fulfill our talents and desires, and glorify the Lord through our work.
The students asked him about his own vocation story - how he knew he was called to seminary - and what his daily life looks like in minor seminary at St. John Vianney and now at the major Seminary. Not only did he tell them about himself, he asked about them, engaged with them about their own interests, and popped the bubble around the idea that religious and priests are "weird" or "different." It was a blessing for him to visit and share about his vocation and how the adolescents can begin to discern their own vocation. When asked the best way to begin discerning for them - he replied, "Prayer." |
Mrs. Goodwinand the Adolescent Classroom Students Archives
May 2019
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