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St. Mary’s School
Proud of my Little Ones on their Cooperation
By Kathy Ayette
I was dating my weekly newsletter to parents last Friday and noticed
that January was about half over. Today as I write we are well on
our way to February. This Friday, January 22, is not only the
last day of the second quarter, but also the last day of the first
semester. The school year is half finished! You would think
that after all the years I have taught I would have ceased being amazed
at the rapidity of the school year. But every year I find myself
wondering what became of the previous month.
The staff and students returned to school on January 4, after enjoying
twelve days of Christmas break. (Hmm…twelve days of Christmas.
You know that would make a nice song, don’t you think?) We opted
to begin school in person. Looking back over the first semester,
I realize how fortunate our school has been. I hesitate to tempt
fate, but we have had no serious outbreaks of the virus. Most
students who were quarantined this year were so due to a family
member’s illness. Our custodial staff have been great keeping the
school safe and sanitized. They have not only cleaned the school, but
constructed plexiglass dividers for the classrooms. I have been
so proud of my little students for their cooperation wearing masks or
shields and washing their hands. In my classroom all the Covid
precautions have produced a side benefit. I was tidying up my
room after school, when I realized how many unopened boxes of tissues I
still had stacked up on top of the lockers, and in various other places
around my room. Usually, this time of the year my classroom is a
cacophony of coughing and sneezing. I don’t ever remember a
January in which no students had colds. Remarkable!
Hopefully, we will be able to continue with in-person learning for the
remainder of the school year. I think I can state with confidence
that none of our teachers wants to go back to online learning.
Teaching is way more fun with the students present.
St. Mary’s School has a long tradition of children participating
actively at Mass. The students look forward to “having the
Mass”. In case you are unaware of what “having the Mass” entails,
it means that each classroom has a turn at planning the music for the
Liturgy and participating in special roles such as reader or gift
bearer. Of course, Covid has caused us to alter that
tradition. Earlier this year, due to health precautions, no
students participated in any of the special roles. We didn’t even
have music. Being a cantor, I found that particularly hard.
Thankfully, we are now allowed to sing parts of the Mass, and a small
number of children are serving as readers. Today the
kindergarteners were the class responsible for the Mass, which meant
that their fourth grade buddies read the Bible reading, the
responsorial psalm, and petitions while the kindergarten buddies stood
in front of the ambo. Talk about overwhelming cuteness! It
is so nice to see the children once again in the sanctuary, and I am
sure Jesus is happy to see them there, also. After all, didn’t He
say, “Let the little children come unto Me.” Yep, He’s happy.
Catholic Schools Week begins the weekend of January 30 and 31 and
continues on to February 5. This is a nationwide celebration of
Catholic education. Naturally due to the pandemic the celebratory
week is a little different. The children will be participating in
the opening Masses, however fewer children will be participating.
The cherub choir will not be singing this year. We are also
unable to have the parent luncheons and Special Persons Day.
However, enough with what we won’t be able do! When discussing
the week, the staff tried to safely include as many of the children’s
favorite activities during the week. First of all, it wouldn’t be
CSW without the Bubble Wrap Stomp! One year when planning the
week, a staff member discovered that National Bubble Wrap Stomping Day
occurred during the week, and a tradition was born. This year,
the students will stomp the bubble wrap outside, socially distanced of
course. There will be special clothing themes, and other special
activities and treats throughout the week. This year instead of
gathering in the cafeteria for a movie and popcorn on the last day of
CSW, students will have their movie and popcorn in their
classrooms. If there is one thing this year has taught us, it’s
if there’s a will, there’s a way.
I have not only come to the end of the first semester, but also to the
end of this column. So here’s asking God to bless you and keep
you safe and healthy.
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