Last year, for Teacher Appreciation Day or someday
like that, I bought everyone at school a book. The title is The
Carpenter's Son. If you haven't read it yet, you should. I
started it in the spring but decided not to take it on my vacation, because the
book requires you to read it with a box of tissues handy. It should come
with a warning. Three boxes of tissues later, I finished the book.
It's a very easy read and it says all the things we know in our heart but find
difficult to understand. We know God has a purpose for all that happens,
but at times it is hard to understand the why. Why is there poverty,
sickness, war, tragedy, etc. This book attempts to provide answers
through a work of fiction that is very engaging. There were two things that
struck me beyond the main message. The first is in the excerpt below,
"you never know what you may let in." Sums up exactly how I
have begun to feel about the internet. The other is something I plan to
use the next time a child is sent to the office, and I want them to tell me the
truth. In the book, the main character says, "They are called the
Ten COMMANDMENTS, not the Ten SUGGESTIONS." I love that, and I am
all for using Catholic guilt.
As you can imagine, last week was difficult and it raised everyone’s
awareness of places/times when our students are most vulnerable. After meeting with parish leadership and
sharing our updates with parents in Tidbits, I believe we have addressed
concerns and parents trust our ability to keep their children safe. One of the things we talked about at our
leadership meeting was that the students’ safety is everyone’s
responsibility. Please always be
vigilant and if you see anything suspicious, the first thing you should do is
call Officer Bryan and then me. If you
do not have his contact details, his phone number is 646-204-7985. Save it in your contacts. There are a few things that church personnel have
asked I talk about. These are things
they see as they move around the campus and from their windows in the
church. Please be sure you are doing the
following:
- Teachers MUST spread out on the playground
during recess. At no time should a
teacher be standing still talking with a colleague. Please move around the playground, listen to
their conversations, intervene when there is conflict, and most important, do
not let ANY student open the back gate to get a ball unless you are right
there.
- When students are moving around the campus, the
teacher should always be at the back of the line. Wait at your classroom door making sure all
have exited and have them line up at a designated point until everyone is
out. Have them proceed to the next point
(maybe the door, the gate, the basketball court, etc.) until you get there,
always staying at the back so you can see everyone. If you are lucky to have another
teacher/assistant with you, then one can be in the front and one in the back.
- When returning from Mass, the FLC, or the
playground, students should not enter the main building or Angel’s Wing until
their teacher is present and lets them in.
I have stood with classes in the breezeway trying to get into the building,
but I make them wait for their teacher. Remember,
students must be supervised at all times.
- When moving on the sidewalk from the main
building to the FLC, students should be aware of others who are also trying to
use the sidewalk. Elementary is great at
this because they always walk in a line.
While middle schoolers walk more in a cluster to lunch, they should
still stay to one side of the sidewalk and be respectful of others. It is the same at dismissal time.
- Finally, the gate coming into the breezeway from
the FLC is often found to be open. Because
it will lock, no one has come up with a solution. The issue is the gate is very light and if it
is swung open all the way it bounces on the return, and then the magnet does
not catch. All you need to do is close
it behind you and hold it in place for a second. The magnet will then catch it. If you are alone or at the back of the line
with the students, it should be easy to do.
Also talk to the students about this too, that they should close the gate
all the way until it catches, not just let it go.
Thank you for your help with all of this. I know that we all want what is best for our students. I will have my copy of The Carpenter’s Son
at school tomorrow if anyone who did not get a copy wants to borrow it.
This week the students will be doing the i-Ready Diagnostic and other than that, it's a pretty normal week. Please continue to pray for the families in Minneapolis. Growing up the nuns would tell me to "offer it up," meaning stop complaining and offer up your pains and sorrows to God so that he can use my pain to help others. If you've ever read 33 Days to Morning Glory and consecrated yourself to Mary, you know that if we give everything to Mary, she will use our graces as she sees fit. This week, let's offer up everything to Mary. Don't ask that she use our pains and our graces for anything in particular. She will know where they are needed most. Have a blessed week.
