"Empowered by the Spirit...we make a Difference!"

 In previous years, the focus of all our school themes has been the social teachings of the Catholic Church.  Those teachings are: 

1.                   Each person is sacred.

2.                 Each person is social.

3.                 We take care of the poor and vulnerable.

4.                 Solidarity is our call:  we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.

5.                 Workers have rights; work has dignity.

6.                 All people have rights and responsibilities.

7.                 We care for creation.

Last year, we reviewed the Pope’s encyclical on Love.  The Letter of John says, “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him”.  This inspired our theme of “The Love of God is All Around Us.”  Through prayer, rituals, liturgies and activities, the school family became aware that God is in all people and all things.

This year, we thought it would be important to choose a theme that would look toward a hope-filled future while taking time to appreciate our roots.  To begin the process, we briefly discussed Prophetic Imagination and were reminded that, as prophets, we are called to look lovingly at our past, learn from it, and be courageous enough to work at building a future that will challenge us to do what God wants us to do.  We realize this requires an enormous amount of faith, hope, and love.  It is our hope, then, to achieve this goal by studying the "fruits of the Spirit" and by making every attempt to live out God's call to us in a very practical way.

The "Fruits of the Spirit" will be studied monthly.  A specific grade level will be responsible for introducing the "fruit of the month" as well as its practical application - character building - to all of us at an all-school assembly.  The presentation will take place on the last Monday of the month and will introduce the work for the month ahead. The presentation will include the following:

* naming the "Fruit of the Spirit" and an explanation;

* naming the "Daily challenges" that show how that "fruit" will be practiced throughout the month;

* introducing the "Saint of the Month" with a biography and any other data;

* praying the portion of the "Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary" with the title selected for that month.

Each classroom will have a visual display symbolizing our lives being "Empowered by the Spirit...we make a Difference!"  Each month another "Fruit" will be added to this display.  Students will work in their classrooms, through their "Spirit" journals, and with the entire student body as together we grow in wholeness and holiness. 

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