On Sunday we will join Catholic schools here in the United States and elsewhere as we begin Catholic Schools Week. My sister, a teacher in Dublin, and I have been sharing news as we both prepare for this week. What are we celebrating? The defining characteristics of Catholic schools include our Christ-centeredness – that Jesus Christ provides the most compelling example of how we should love each other, serve, especially the poor and marginalized, and be just. We commit to educating the whole child and to striving for excellence in all we do. We place an emphasis on the school as a community, an educational community as well as a faith community. At St. John the school-wide learning expectations are that students are Christ-centered people, active learners, and empowered disciples. When they are ‘caught’ showing those traits they receive business card-like awards and they bring them to the jar in my office.
A dip into the Soaring Eagle jar demonstrates the story at St. John:
- Ella and Charlotte received Soaring Eagle awards for being Christ-centered students when they helped a student in need
- Natalie showed how she is an Empowered Disciple when she was very helpful in PE
- Niels showed how he was an active learner by persevering during STAR testing, and Ada persisted with his writing project
- Maliyah, Sophie, and Caelen were awarded for being Christ-centered students
- Charlotte, Hannah, and Oakes are empowered disciples, showing a good example to their peers.
There are so many more cards in that jar. It is such a delight when the students bring me their Soaring Eagle cards and tell me the stories of how they earned them.
Come to Mass and Open House on Sunday to see for yourself the fine work that is going on at St. John! See you there!
Beannacht,
Bernadette O’Leary
