CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
REBECCA ESPARZA | FOR STC
Grounded in Faith
Kindergarten teacher Sylvia Rodriguez leads her class through the parking lot at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Academy during a ceremony celebrating Catholic Schools Week recently.
Teaching with love By Rebecca Esparza Correspondent
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ylvia Rodriguez can clearly recall when she first realized she was meant to become a religious education teacher. She felt the happiness in her heart when speaking to her kindergartners about how much God loves them. “I remember asking them to stretch their arms out as far as they could and telling them that God loves them so much more than that. They were filled with joy, and I knew from that moment on that I never wanted to be anything other than a religious education teacher,” she said.
Rodriguez, an educator for 24 years, has been a religious education teacher at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Academy for the last seven years. As such, she has fully committed herself to helping her young students understand they are truly loved by God. “I faithfully believe young children need to know who they are in Christ and what they believe as Catholic Christians,” she said. “My students know their prayers, and we pray together. They learn Sacred Scripture through various religion lessons and activities, which helps them understand their faith.”
M AY T H E Y A L L B E O N E
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SPRING 2021
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