Challenge

Every once and a while Katie and I give each other challenges if one of us is having a rough day or just to shake things up a bit.  A few weeks ago I challenged Katie to convince one student that her Grandfather is Zorro. The video above shows her mastery over this particular challenge.

Pictures From Pro-life Happenings

2S Classroom Chalk Art

3H Classroom Class Chalk Art

Banner made by 4M Students

4H Class Chalk Art

Pro-life Month

This month (January/ February) our school was celebrating life in a special way. We had different activities going on to emphasize the importance and dignity of life, and also a few fundraisers to help our local Seed of Life Pregnancy Center.

To kick  it all off, Katie and I, with the help of classes 4C and 3C, held a "fun night" at the school, where we stayed at the school late and had students come and play games and eat lots of delicious food (cheese dip!). Katie and I played music because the kids told us they wanted to dance, but it ended up just Katie and I breaking it down on the dance floor and our students laughing and acting embarrassed for us. This is a great fundraiser because the kids love to come and hang out at school (strange, right?).

We also took four students (Patricia, Evan, Gene, and Francisco) to a radio station and we did a show on chastity. I love listening to the students when they speak about things they have learned and truly understand. I can tell when they are simply spitting out information at me and when they really believe and take to heart the truth of the matter. It's beautiful, and more than once I was tearing up listening to them talk about true femininity and true masculinity. Praise God for such an opportunity.

Also, there was a pro-life themed chalkboard competition.  Every class had the opportunity to participate in decorating their chalkboard with pro-life messages and drawings. There were many boards that were beautifully decorated, it was hard to chose a winner! 

In addition, we had a clothing and baby item drive. We, along with 4H and 3H,  were able to collect many used and new baby items to donate to the Center. This teaches the kids about generosity and how to take from their surplus and help those in need.

And lastly, our biggest event, we had the second annual Pro-life run/walk. Last year this was started by Lucia, a volunteer who is now living in the States. Katie and I decided to take up the torch and make it happen. With the help of the classes 4M and 3M, we got the whole school to obtain sponsors for themselves in the run and had the opportunity to "spiritually adopt" a baby who has been or is in danger of being aborted. This event was significant because it emphasized to the kids the necessity of prayer in winning the battle over the culture of death.



This video was made by our wonderful secretary, Irvin. Shout out to Michael Downey, who doesn't even go here, we miss you!

If you are reading this, please offer a Hail Mary or and Our Father for our students to realize and uphold the dignity of their own life, and the lives of those around them. Thanks!

Miss! I want to be a teacher!

           
            I just have to laugh when I hear many of my students say this to me. Why are my students telling me they want to be a teacher now? Funny you should ask.  Since coming back from Christmas break the 4th formers (12th graders) have been preparing to give chastity presentations to primary schools and high schools in the area.  Each year 4th formers take what they have learned and put it into a presentation to give to others students at neighboring schools.  Topics include: what is the purpose of dating, three types of love, how far is too far, what is chastity, etc.

            They were put into pairs and given the task of putting together an interactive presentation on how and why it is important to live a life of chastity. I had given the students different ideas of skits or demonstrations they could do. Each group took it and really made it their own. I was impressed with the creativity and thought each group gave.  Many of the students tried to convince me not to make them do these presentations. Throughout the course of three days I got to watch these students I have been able to teach this past year put into practice everything they have learned from their time here at Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School.  I think I was more nervous than they were before they got ready to present.

            Watching them give their presentations was such an experience for me. In a way I felt like a proud mother sending her little babies off into the real world to make it a better place.  After the presentations there was so much joy, excitement, chatter, and sharing of everyone’s experience.  Most if not all the students really enjoyed the class they were in and said they would do it again. 

            What was it that made them say they wanted to be a teacher? Why do I say I want to be a teacher?  Was it because they really enjoyed and got into the topic they were presenting on? Was it something one of the students said to them?  What is it that drives us to do the things we do? Does the passion I have come from things that pass or is it truly rooted in Christ?

Walking to the bus station with Ms. Elisabeth 

So excited! 

This is going to be so much fun :) 

Jennifer and Byron 

Irma, Jazmin, and Samuel 

Charles and Dayanira 

Lissinia and Leonardi 

The students LOVED Danica and Jesse 

Look how excited they are to present!

Anaberta and Julio rockin' it 

Jose Miguel and Martita doing great!

JuanPablo and Delsie answering questions from students 

Evelin and Ian saying a prayer with the class 

Lessons From a Not-So-Wise Missionary

A few days ago I was in the staff room talking with another teacher and he was telling me that he could get the students excited for anything. I was taken aback at first by what seemed to me as arrogance, but  I smiled and said “can you get them to love Jesus? Heaven knows they need Him.” He looked at me and said “Miss, are you in love with Jesus? How can you expect them to love something you don’t?” I replied by saying “well, I guess, yes. I am.” He then pushed me further and said “does everyone who knows you know that you are hopelessly in love with this guy? If you aren’t sure, than you can bet your students aren’t sure.”

Aaaaaand cue freak out.

He wasn’t being arrogant, he was trying to make me think about my own relationship and if it matched with my expectations that I have for my students. I walked around for about a day and a half thinking, “can they tell? Do they know? I hope they know! How can I make them know? Should I carry my rosary around? Is that false piety? I should just ask someone, no that would sound ridiculous…I really do love Jesus. But I am so human, so full of misery.” It was as if every sin and mistake I have ever made came rushing to my mind, and I was horrified. Am I doing anything for these kids here? I don’t even know if I am right for this, they need someone holier than I.

After a few days, I calmed down, prayed a lot, and came to this conclusion: I am never going to love Him enough.  Now, that doesn't mean that I just live my life passively and and stop trying. But if I start to think of showing others that I love Him, it will become just that, a show. Love isn’t a show, it’s a quiet trust. A trust that says “I know You are in control, do with me as You will. I know You love me, use me to draw others to Your Heart.” One of my favorite quotes from Blessed Mother Teresa (I have many) is: “Give yourself to God, He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you trust much more in His mercy than in your misery.”

Another thing I learned from this conversation was that we need each other’s holiness. I was first introduced to this concept when I read Dostoevsky’s “Brother’s Karamazov.” Father Zosima, a wise elder, tells Alyosha (one of the brothers) “if you had been better, your brother would have been too.” He doesn’t say this to make Aloysha feel guilty or distraught, but to awaken him to the reality of the connectedness of sin and that, as brothers and sisters, we have a responsibility to each other.  This conversation brought to my mind yet again that God wants me to be holy, not just for me but for others as well.  I’m not trying to say that if you make a mistake than the people are around you won’t gain eternal life, because that would suggest distrust in God’s mercy, but your good actions (and bad for that matter) have an effect on people whether you intend it or not.

This was precisely the point that the other teacher was trying to get across to me, my students need me to be holy and I need them to be holy.  Being a good religion teacher requires that I strive after God and live a life worthy of love. Is that daunting? Yes.  But it’s also true.  How incredibly humbling it is when I encounter Christ through one of them, or when I learn more about God through their words or actions. Here I am, trying to teach them theology, and He is teaching me more about His mercy. Praise God.

Lissinia and a Few Random Things

•   Problem #81 with humidity: when all of your unused envelopes are sealed and you are forced to make your own.

•  The other night Katie and I were both going to the bathroom to brush our teeth, when I went to reach for my toothbrush and I noticed it was not in its usual perch. I looked closer at Katie and discovered, much to my amusement, that she was brushing away with my toothbrush. I was in the midst of telling her something about my day and I just casually threw in there “that’s my toothbrush.” She simultaneously screamed and laughed so that the toothpaste came spewing out of her mouth. Our other roommate, Monica, came running and found both of us doubled over laughing. You see, we have been talking about how strange it is that this hasn’t happened yet because they have the same cap and are similar in appearance. The appropriate thing for me to do would be throw the brush away and get a new one. Instead, I slapped some more toothpaste on it, brushed vigorously, and went to sleep.

• Our house has a new gate/fence that is incredibly tall and has barbed wire atop it. Consequently, it now looks like we live in a prison, but I could care less, it’s intimidating.

• Go Broncos.

• Yesterday Betsy (the Matriarch) sent me a short video clip that I watched in the staff room. It’s only three minutes long, but after I watched it the tears were streaming. Was it awkward? Yes. Worth it? Definitely. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEnEjJcvLiY

Student profile:

Who-Lissinia!

What- one of the coolest cats around 
Where- 4^th form
Why- Lissinia is one of those students that is repeatedly nominated student of the month for fourth form. Her dedication to her studies and the responsibility that she exhibits in and outside of the classroom is noteworthy. She has just been named captain of the girl’s football team and has risen to the challenge beautifully. However, she knows when to have fun. She is full of joy and is known for her love of throwing water balloons and buckets of water onto unsuspecting victims. Lissinia is one of those girls that everyone loves to be around because she can light up your day with just a smile.

We love you, Lissinia!

Desmond

Student Profile
Who: Desmond
What: 4th Former at Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School
Where: Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize
Why:Because he is Desmond
Desmond Wade is one of my lucky 4th form students this year. He is in the class of 4M, which to you should just mean the crazy class. This class is the one that gives me a run for my money the most. I never know what to expect with them. Their high energy could mean they are really getting into what we are learning or they can’t concentrate at all. Desmond is the one who tells me “I can borrow his computer for the semester”when referring to my computer. Every Wednesday we go to the Adoration chapel for 20 minutes. He is always the last one in because he is ushering the rest of the classes by telling them how to conduct themselves in the chapel. I never have to worry about not laughing when Desmond is around. He brings lot of light-heartedness to the classroom, which at times can be much needed. He is also one of the members of our boys basketball team. I have also seen him step up a lot this year in terms of leadership. He has become quite a leader on and off the court. He knows what has to get done and he does it. I have seen him call out his friends if they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. He is well respected by them and is listened to. Last week I got to watch him and another one of my students, his best friend Julio, write wedding vows for a class assignment. We have been learning about the Sacrament of Matrimony and I had the kids write their own wedding vows using certain criteria. Some of the kids really got into this project. Desmond and Julio asked me to help them after class on Friday. It was a joy to watch them work together and to watch how much fun they had with the assignment.
I (Elisabeth) had the pleasure of teaching Desmond English A last year. I was surprised when he told me that he loves English A (which is only grammar, English B is literature), and I also didn't believe him. As the year went on, I found out that he truly does love grammar! What a strange student. He is a student with a lot of energy, so there were some days I wanted to give him a tranquilizer, but I was also grateful for his enthusiasm. Desmond is a great kid with a wonderful heart, and a pretty good football player too!