CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, Letter from the superintendent: Dr

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS Letter from the superintendent

Seeds of hope, an oasis of opportunities

By Dr. Rosemary J. Henry

Contributor T heir world has been rocked. Their lives have been turned upside down. Their connections and encounters, with others, have been robbed by debilitating isolation. Their feelings of community have been shattered. Their sense of time distorted. Their minds and hearts are fraught with the unknown and frequent despair. This is the immediate world our youth struggle and attempt to navigate through during the ever-looming pandemic crisis. Still, they yearn for a different reality. Though the anxiety and loneliness rages on, they embrace that tiny but ever-critical glimmer of hope. Perhaps it is the hope that Pope Francis speaks of: “Let us never set conditions for God; let us instead allow hope to conquer our fears.”

Social and Emotional Learning

Spurred by the love for our students and our mission to nurture the whole child, our Catholic schools have adopted the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Program entitled “Friendzy.” This comprehensive program, predicated on educational research and a biblical base, rich in scripture, helps us form each child. Students in Pre-K-3 to grade 8 will develop core competencies, including: • Developing social awareness • Forming healthy and rewarding relationships • Respecting all humanity and perceiving others as gifts from God • Making critical and responsible decisions • Managing personal emotions and behaviors • Demonstrating empathy for others

This program offers a guide to achieving supportive classrooms and improving outcomes for youth. While the program offers strategies, it is our loving teachers who face the daunting challenge to make a difference in the lives of each child. School staff, working in partnership with parents, help our youth to cope, overcome and thrive in an uncertain world. Students with reduced stress levels and improved academic performance emerge. Thus, we see resilient and supported students, eager to take their place in our vast and global society.

Safe Schools Alert

Our Catholic schools are valued for their safe and secure Christ-centered environments and robust academic programs. As part of this ongoing commitment to safety, we strive to maintain clear and frequent lines of communication and to respond, in a timely manner, to any presenting issue. The SafeSchools Alert platform enables safety tip reporting by students, staff and parents. School communities may report tips on bullying, drugs, harassment, vandalism, threat of violence or any safety issue to school administrators to prevent escalating issues. Our goal is to provide timely assistance, help and support to all those in need.

Emergency Management Plan

Based on a strategic framework, each school developed an Emergency Management Plan for the school community. Hazard-specific information prescribed in the plan is intended to reduce the effects of natural, accidental or malicious incidents affecting infrastructure, safety, security and health. Such a plan provides direction during emergencies such as a bomb threat, fire explosion, suicide danger, serious injury, threats of violence, hurricane watch, emergency drills, hostage situations, etc. Planning of this nature requires a focus on mitigating hazards and vulnerabilities matched by a love for students.

Standard Response Protocol

Safe and secure communities require a well-planned and regularly practiced school response to a potential incident. A well-communicated procedure and common vocabulary provide a uniform classroom response regarding weather events, fires, accidents, intruders, and other threats to student safety. This system helps to fortify our

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS Letter from the superintendent

readiness to navigate through crises with knowledge and confidence. All this, and more, are essential to maintain a caring school culture for those entrusted to our safe-keeping.

Charting our Future Through COVID-19

Although the global pandemic explodes with a toll of epic proportions, health and safety issues must be met with rigorous, comprehensive planning and the implementation of safety best practices. Thus, the Office of Catholic Schools crafted a comprehensive guide for all COVID-19 related topics to safeguard the safety, health and well-being for our students. The framework provides guidance in Catholic identity, student health/safety, educational models, school operations, communication and technology. This resource is supported by our myriad of partnerships with national, state and regional medical, health, educational and governmental agencies. Creating a landscape of safety for our students and staff is our highest priority.

Mental Health Counseling

Our youth wrestle with anxiety, confusion, depression and fear during uncertain times. Individual and group counseling sessions help our youth cope with stress related issues and build a bridge of self-awareness, confidence and new ways of expression. The Office of Catholic Schools has coordinated a mental health and wellness program. The services are provided by licensed and experienced counselors and therapists. Services are available to students in need and to parents choosing this optional program for their children. Working together with parents, teachers and administrators, we help our students transition from feelings of overwhelmingness and hopelessness to peaceful contentment and emotional comfort. Students’ mental health and wellness are key factors in achievement and success in school and in life.

An Education for a Lifetime

The schools that succeed post-pandemic and beyond are likely the ones that pledge a high priority to safety practices, mental and psychological health and well-being, while ensuring accountability with policy and practice. Effective and life-changing educational programs will provide an environment illumined with the light of faith and foster a deep love for wisdom and truth. Our students deserve nothing less.

While planning and engagement are vital, we must never lose sight that our greatest successes come from relying on our faith to find firm and sure footing. Let us recall Romans 8:28, where we are reminded that “In all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” In our world, menaced with erratic and shifting terrain, we must be ever aware that God is in control.

Ultimately, these important health and safety programs support a caring, loving safe school culture where every child is nurtured and celebrated for his/her unique gifts. Our students are formed in mind, body and spirit. Their minds and hearts are ready to explore the great oasis of opportunities. A Catholic school experience impacts the trajectory of one’s life in a positive, powerful way. Catholic education inspires our students to believe that hope opens new horizons, making each of them capable of dreaming what is not even imaginable. These seeds of hope light their fire to learn, lead, love, pray, serve, and succeed.

See story and photos at SouthTexasCatholic.com/BGFriendzy

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS Reflections from a teacher

Reflections on the DNA of Communion

By John McCarthy

Contributor

With love being the Church’s DNA, there are many different ways to love, and everyone can live this out in their own way. The bishop discussed four characteristics of God’s love. Of these four ways, I have found myself loving my students where they are at in their academics and personal lives.

Many of my students struggle academically, and I am constantly reminded of the image of Jesus, leaving the 99 sheep to look for the last one. He leaves no one behind. In the same way, I have tried to reach each of my students where they are to help them grow into their role as children of God.

Just as Jesus calls us by name, I also try to call my students by name and show them that I want to get to know them on a personal level. Dale Carnegie, a famous author, writes in his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. He notes that a person’s name is to that person the most beautiful sound in any language. With this in mind, I call my students by name when they enter and leave my class, ask questions, or have just had fun. I can show them I care about their lives in and outside of the classroom.

I want the best for them. I want my students to get to heaven. During my time as a student at Notre Dame, I spent a lot of my free time participating in and leading programs that helped others grow in their faith. I have always loved working with young people to help them grow closer to God.

In a Catholic school, opportunities to talk about the faith readily present themselves. For instance, the other day in my seventh-grade science class, we discussed famous Catholic scientists like Father Gregor Mendel, the founder of modern genetics and Father George Lemaitre, who fathered the big bang theory. I can share my love for the Church and hopefully instill in my students a sense of wonder for the Church’s beauty and the sacraments.

The best way to foster the love of the Gospel, especially teaching in a Catholic school, is by making sure that I do my best to model a virtuous life. My students naturally pick up on my involvement with the Church and my relationship with God. I know that I need to make sure that I foster my own prayer life and relationship with God to share this joy with my students and those around me.

After I teach for two years with the Alliance for Catholic Education, I plan to go to medical school. I wanted to spend two years teaching in a Catholic school to mature into a better physician for my future patients. Even after only three months of teaching, I know that my students challenge me to become the best version of myself every day. They are helping me become someone who can better love like Christ.

Editor’s Note: After reflecting on Bishop Michael Mulvey’s pastoral letter, “I Am With You Always to the End of the Age,” John McCarthy, a first-year ACE (Alliance for Catholic Education) teacher, shares his views on the section entitled, “The DNA of Communion.” McCarthy is from Spokane, WA. He graduated from Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in pre-professional science and theology and is presently teaching science for St. Anthony Catholic School in Robstown.