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In Big and Small Ways, Faith Infuses StMCS
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July 27, 2023NOTE: This article appears in the Summer 2023 issue of the DISCIPLE newsletter. If you aren't receiving DISCIPLE, call the parish office at 763-497-2745 to register or update your contact information.
St. Michael Catholic School (StMCS) works hard to ensure that students receive the great gift of the Catholic faith as well as an academically rigorous preK-8 education. From Weekly Welcome and Worship and the Wednesday morning school Mass to sacred art and icons in the classrooms and hallways, there’s no mistaking StMCS for something other than a Catholic school. But perhaps the most profound opportunities for students to encounter Jesus stem from the efforts of individual teachers, staff, and students who look for opportunities to pray and share the faith together.PARTNERS IN PRAYER
“During Lent, fourth-graders work with a partner to deepen their relationship with God through prayer. They remain with the same partner throughout Lent and follow this same format during each prayer time together:- They begin with the Sign of the Cross.
- Each partner states for whom or what they would like to pray, and they spend a few minutes quietly praying for the people or situations their partner shared.
- Then they discuss a deeper-level question from a card I provide. Examples include:
- Name a time you broke someone’s trust and how you earned it back.
- What is a prayer that means something special to you?
- Is there someone in your life you need to ask forgiveness from?
- Each partner shares one thing they are grateful for that day.
- Then they pray an Our Father and conclude with the Sign of the Cross.
Dawn Roberts
Fourth Grade Teacher (now Reading Specialist)
SACRAMENTS FOR ALL
“I was looking for a supplement to our classroom instruction for the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion to help our exceptional learners. I talked with Mae Paluck and Melissa Zachman to see what we could do, and Melissa found Loyola Press’s Adaptive Kits for the Sacraments. These kits help make something that seems abstract clearer for learners in a simple and interactive way. The lessons took some of the fear away for these students and helped them feel more at ease. As we worked through the kits, it was beautiful to see a deeper connection to the sacraments and the excitement in their eyes as they prepared to receive them!”
Cheryl Lenneman
Paraprofessional
“Since May is the month of Mary, I thought we could meet after school as a community to pray the Rosary. I wanted students, families, and staff to be able to come together, pray for our intentions, and bring them to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Mother. It was a beautiful opportunity to see the younger children looking up to the older ones as role models leading the mysteries. Meeting at the Mary Garden at the school was a special place to offer our prayers together for each other and our school. My hope is that next year we can do this again in October as well, for the month of the Rosary.”
MONDAYS WITH MARY
Melissa Burke
Second Grade Teacher
“I’ve been doing a Question of the Day ever since I taught in the public school, as a way to build relationships with the kids—everybody has to answer the question when they walk in the room. It could be anything from, ‘What’s your favorite food?’ to ‘What did you do over the weekend?’ Now, working at a Catholic school, every Monday, my question is, ‘What did you do over the weekend, and what was your takeaway from Mass?’ And also on Wednesdays, when we have school Mass, my question is solely, ‘What was your takeaway from Mass?’
MASS TAKEAWAYS
“The first couple weeks the kids walked in like, ‘What do you mean? Am I supposed to take something away from Mass?’ And I totally get it—I’ve been there myself. But it starts a conversation: If we believe that God made us, do you think He might want to talk to us every once in a while? We sometimes did lectio divina in class so they would be in tune with the gospel reading before Mass, and I would tell them their takeaway might be a verse from a song, a word from the reading that they didn’t know, the color of Father’s vestments, or something we don’t normally do at Mass that we did this time.
“I know not everyone goes to Mass over the weekend, but at a Catholic school, it should be on your radar. It also gives them a little extra motivation, like, ‘Oh man, he’s gonna ask, so maybe I need to listen so I can have something to say.’
“As the year went on, they knew every Monday and Wednesday that was going to be the question and so more and more of them came back with something to say—and, sometimes, with really good stuff that we could discuss as a class!”
Ben Sartori
Middle Level Math Teacher
ANGELUS EVANGELIST
"During school, every Friday at 7:35 AM, I helped Mrs. Melissa Zachman pray the Angelus with the school. I got this idea from my sister, Sarah, and we prayed it every day as a family during the summer. At school, I didn’t get to pray in the morning so when I filled in my form for student council, I asked about the Angelus. And they told me if I could pray it, I could do it.
I pray the Angelus because it reminds me that prayer is important no matter when or where it is said. I wanted my school to know it because I’ve learned that it brings lives to JESUS, and that’s something everyone should experience."
Claire
Grade 7
