Mrs. Kola’s classroom happenings - from School Newsletter Oct 23 2012

Mrs. Kola’s classroom happenings:

 

Life is good!  Wowie Zowie!  Yippe Skippy! -- We have our first ever American Indian Saint, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.  She was declared a saint JUST TWO DAYS AGO, Sunday Oct 21, 2012!   She has been the focus of some class discussion in the upper grades Religion classes.  We are watching the canonization coverage from Rome and watching a movie/documentary on St. Kateri in Gr 7/8, and reading her story in Gr 6.  I am happy to loan out the DVD to any adults who would like to borrow it.

 

Thanks to some student help, we have an image of St. Kateri on the school doors heading out to recess.  Megan Kola & Alex Schmidt traced the image and Emma Nockerts did an amazing job coloring it in.  Stop by to see it if you have a chance.  This image will remain on the door for years to come (hopefully)!

Gr 6-8 has been participating in 40 Days for Life, by fasting and praying for an end to Abortion.  This is a worldwide program and over the past 5 years has accounted for over 6,000 babies lives saved.  If you are not aware of the program, please check it out at 40DaysForLife.com.  This campaign runs from Sept 26 – Nov 4^th…. so those pre-teens that gave up candy will really be sacrificing come Halloween night!

 

Gr 6-8 hopes you can join us this Friday Oct. 26 at 1:30 PM at St. Paul church to pray the rosary for the intention of a greater respect for life.  October is the month of the Rosary and Respect Life month. 

With the upcoming election at hand, the 8^th graders have been looking over last week’s edition (Oct 12, 2012) of the Compass Newspaper (our GB Diocesan newspaper) and reading up on the moral issues we are faced with this election. 

 

Earlier this fall the 8^th graders took a field trip to the Monastery of the Holy Name of Jesus.  We attended 7 AM mass (that was early!) with the cloistered nuns on the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux.  This is a very special day for the nuns, as it is a patron saint of theirs.  Fr. Daniel Schuster, director of vocations at the GB Diocese, said mass and joined us for breakfast at D&G Restaurant afterwards.  It was a priceless experience to learn beforehand about the lives of cloistered nuns and then to be present with them for mass. 

 

There is so MUCH good stuff going on in Gr 6-8 … too much to mention…, this is only a glimpse of what we have been up to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mass with Carmelite Nuns on Oct 1 2012

The Eighth grade class of

St. Clare Catholic School

attend Mass at the

Monestary of the Holy Name of Jesus

in Denmark, WI

on October 1 – the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux.

 

Fr. Daniel Schuster (Vocations Director at the Diocese) said Mass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That week in school, prior to attending Mass, the students participated in a Novena to St. Therese with the intention of “the students being able to recognize their vocations when they are called, and to be able to willingly accept that call”.  They also watched a documentary film called, “The Nun”, to get a little insight on the lives of Cloistered Nuns.

 

It was a priceless experience!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here are some responses from the students in regard to the trip:

 

What did you like most about Mass at the Carmelite Monestary?

·         Receiving a real rose as a gift after mass to celebrate the Feast of St. Therese.

·         The nuns singing, it was really pretty.

·         How it was so solemn and quiet.

·         It was cool that parts of it were in Latin.

·         I liked how the nuns participated in the Mass.

·         It was so quiet.

·         The smell of the incense.

 

What surprised you most about your visit to the Carmelite Monestary?

·         How beautiful the church/monestary is.

·         That Father Schuster sang parts of the Mass.

·         The holiness of the church.

·         How well the nuns sing.

·         How silent it was in certain parts.

·         That there was so much singing and Latin used.

·         That they sing the whole Mass.

·         The quietness.

·         How the church was so nice.

·         It was small, I thought it would be bigger.

 

What did you learn with your visit with Fr. Daniel Schuster (Vocations Director)?

·         That the nuns have a beautiful funeral ceremony.

·         That when the nuns join the cloistered life, they can’t take anything with them from home.

·         That the nuns go to confession.

·         We are sheep and there are wolves everywhere trying to attack you.

·         That when the nuns eat, they don’t eat a lot, only until they are satisfied, not stuffed.

·         That the three points on the roof at the monestary are symbols from the Gospel of the Transfiguration, where St. Peter wanted to build three tents, for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

·         That once he was invited inside the Monestary.

·         That Fr. Schuster travels from place to place a lot.

·         There are only 20 nuns at the most that are living there and if more come, they will need to consider building on.

 

 

 

Breakfast after Mass at D& G Restaurant in Greenleaf.... with Father Daniel Schuster
Were you aware of this treasure in our Diocese?    Here is their web address if you are interested in checking it out: www.holynamecarmel.org

 

 

 

After 7 AM Mass, the students enjoyed breakfast at

D & G Restaurant in Greenleaf, joined by Fr. Schuster.