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Archive for the ‘May’ Category

Mary the Peacemaker – How STC students are being Peacemakers with with Kelso’s Choice

Posted in May, tagged , , , on May 19, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I did a google search on Mary to find out if she was called as a peacemaker. I found a Wikipedia page about the Titles of Mary that were more numerous that I realized. The titles differ from early titles to devotional titles to those associated with images or apparitions.  Yes, I did eventually find that in the Roman Catholic Church she has the title of Our Lady of Peace, Mother of Peace, Queen of Peace or Our Lady Queen of Peace. In this month of Mary, I wanted to talk to you about the Kelso’s Choice program we have introduced which believes that every child is capable of being a peacemaker.

Earlier in the year, we noticed that students were coming up to the adults on supervision to tell them about their problems and then the adult would solve the problem for the students.  Our school counsellor, Miss Ann Elise, suggested Kelso’s Choice conflict management skills program to us which has been effectively used at various schools for over 25 years. We wanted students to Be Proactive (Habit 1) and solve their own problems and conflict. The philosophy of the program fits well with the 7 Habits as it believes that each child is smart enough and strong enough to resolve conflict.

When students are faced with conflicts, the first step for them is to decide if it is a small or a big problem.  A big problem is one that they need adult help to solve and they can make students feel scared, worried or frightened. Examples of big problems are if someone is in danger, a student is hurt or some students are fighting. A small problem is one that students can solve on their own and they can make students feel annoyed, frustrated, embarrassed or have hurt feelings.  Small problems may be the following: not sharing a toy or equipment, pushing or cutting in line, saying you are not out when tagged or arguing about which game to play. In order to solve the problem, Kelso has a Choice Wheel where students can try out a couple of choices to solve their conflict.  If, after trying a couple of choices, the problem isn’t solved then the students can talk to an adult to help them solve it.

The choices on the wheel give both verbal and non verbal options and fit in with what we teach the students with the 7 Habits. The following are the choice the students can make to solve small problems.

Habit 1 Be Proactive: You’re in Charge

These choices remind students that they are free to choose their reactions and are responsible for themselves.  We are asking students to choose to react like water not soda.  If you shake up a water bottle then open it, nothing happens but if you do the same thing to soda, it will explode all over when the cap comes off.  These choices help students act proactively like water.

  1. Tell Them to Stop
  2. Walk Away
  3. Ignore It
  4. Go to Another Game
  5. Wait and Cool Off

Habit 4 Think Win-Win: Everyone Can Win

These choices explore the ideas of fairness and mutual benefit.  We are asking students to consider other people’s wins as well as their own. In using these choices, the students are trying to come up with solutions that benefit others as well as themselves.  They are practicing and learning how to Lead with Love.

  1. Make a Deal
  2. Apologize
  3. Talk It Out
  4. Share and Take Turns

Currently only the Grades 1 and 2 students received the Kelso’s Choice lessons and have practicing the skills.  Next year we are planning on teaching the skills to more grades in the school as we have seen success.  Now, when students come up to us with concerns, the first thing we do is ask them if this is a big problem or a small problem.  We help guide them through the process as needed instead of solving their problems.  The website has a parent page with some information so that you can use the same language at home.  You too can help them to learn to peacemakers at home.

Kelso’s Choice Wheel

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Mary our Model

Posted in May, tagged , , on May 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »

May is the month of Mary, a woman of not only grace and love, but also of patience and charity. Throughout the year, the staff has been working on changing our code of conduct to use Mary as our model.  Our goal is to have our community aim to live like Mary who followed Jesus’ teachings. First, we looked at Mary’s life and her qualities that would set a good example for our students.

Mary’s life was full of difficulties and uncertainty, but she bore them with patience and faith in God’s will.  Mary did not know what being the mother of Jesus would mean. She had to face her betrothed when she was found to be pregnant then, after Jesus was born, she fled to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. The fear of every mother is losing a child and Mary must have been anxious when Jesus went missing for three days and was then found in the Temple.  What must she have had to endure as she stood by the cross while Jesus was crucified?  Despite all these hardships, Mary trusted in God even when she did not understand or when things looked impossible.

Mary also listened to God, was open to His will and obeyed Him.  Even though she was unmarried and pregnant and could be stoned, she said yes to being the Mother of Jesus.  She presented Jesus in the Temple to the religious authorities. She obeyed the government and went to Bethlehem for the census even though she was heavily pregnant.  Mary was also a disciple of Jesus and told the servants at Cana to do as Jesus tells them. Mary was the first to hear that Jesus was the Savior and she lived with Him for many years and follows his example.

Mary also loved God and other people.  When Mary learned that Elizabeth was pregnant and needed help, Mary went to help her even though she was pregnant herself.  It was not an easy journey as she travelled about ninety miles on a rocky, hilly road. At the wedding feast of Cana, she saw that the family was running out of wine and went to Jesus for help and he performed his first public miracle.  Mary was an active problem solver and is someone who will intercede to Jesus on our behalf.

Second, we decided that we were going to use the OLA as a guide for Mary’s qualities. From the stories we looked at we came up with the following ideas:

O Ownership – your attitude.  Obey God.  Openness to God’s word.

L Loving.  Love like Mary.  Loves God and others.  Listen to God.  Leadership – lead with a humble heart. Lives as Jesus teaches.

A Accepting and caring for others differences.  Attitude is everything.  Assists others – selfless love to help others.  Acts on God’s word. Aware of a problem and Acts to solve it. 

Thirdly, staff worked together to look at the words and to pick words that encompass the faith, behavioural, social and academic areas of the school.  For each word, they listed gave a description of what that word meant to their group.  The chart below is a summary of the group notes:

Thirdly, staff worked together to look at the words and to pick words that encompass the faith, behavioural, social and academic areas of the school.  For each word, they listed gave a description of what that word meant to their group.  The chart below is a summary of the group notes:

Finally, this information will be going out to the school community.  It was presented to school council at the April meeting.  A survey is going to be created and sent out for parents to give their input into the words that will define our code of conduct.  Please look for the survey to come out through email this month. As we progress through May, let us start trying to imitate Mary who endured suffering with patience.  Let us bear our crosses without becoming upset or annoyed, forgive those who wrong us, follow God’s commandments, solve our conflicts peacefully and always be there to assist others.

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May is Winding Up not Winding Down

Posted in May on May 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »

As spring is finally trying to make itself known, we are coming upon a busy time at the school.  As I look at our calendar, I realize that we only have nine weeks of school remaining and the year is going to finish up quickly. For me it will go much quicker as I be taking a three-week medical leave after my ankle surgery on the 18th.

To kick off May we are pleased to present our annual Musical Production, SWITCHED, which was written by grade eight student Laura B. SWITCHED is an adaptation of the Freaky Friday movie where two fraternal twins switch bodies. Students have been busy rehearsing and getting everything ready since January.  This year’s production features original music written by our director, Miss Barr, and the students. The music is catchy and every time I hear the opening song, it makes me want to join in the dancing! Our first performances are free matinees for our Holy Spirit Schools on Wednesday May 2 and Thursday May 3 and evening shows are open to the public.  Cast 2 performs Wednesday evening and Cast 1 performs on Thursday evening at 7:00 pm at the University of Lethbridge Theatre.  Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and $5 for FLVT students.  Tickets can be purchased through School Cash Online for FLVT students, on our website (https://www.holyspirit.ab.ca/flvt/whatsNew.cfm?whatID=83), at the school office or at the door. I look forward to seeing the performances and to seeing you at our production.

Switched Poster

The rest of May is going to fly by as it is filled with a variety of activities.  The week after the production is over, our grade six and nine students will write Part A of their Language Arts Provincial Achievement Test. We will also be administering the Canadian Achievement Test for our grades 4-9 students and when we have the results at the end of the year, we will be using them to help inform our teaching practices. We honour the achievement of our junior high First Nations Metis and Inuit students with an awards evening at 5:30 pm at Catholic Central on May 17. The Edwin Parr nominees from the South Zone will be honored at a banquet on May 9th and I’d like to wish Miss Barr luck as she represents not only Van Tighem, but also the Holy Spirit School Division.

Other events going on in May are Jr. Hawks basketball for Grades 1-3, Track and Field meets for Grades 6-9, and our fabulous Marathon club for Grades 1-6. I have no doubt that we have the best club in the city due to our detailed training schedule and breakfast program.  The club finishes on the 30th with the Little Souls Marathon run at 6:30 pm at Chinook High School.  There are also book club meetings and numerous field trips going on all throughout the month. May culminates with the Grade 6 Camp at Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp.  Our Grade 6 classes will enjoy 4 days of fun-filled (and hopefully sun-filled) days of activities.  We hope that spring will have truly arrived so our campers enjoy beautiful weather.

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Spiritual: Fruits of Charity

Posted in May, tagged on May 18, 2017| Leave a Comment »

May is the month of Mary, a woman of not only grace and love, but also of patience and charity. Our virtue focus for May and June, Spiritual, is tied to Charity and asks us to follow the example Jesus taught us in the way we think, speak, and act.  What better example to look to than His mother, Mary? Her life was full of difficulties and uncertainty, but she bore them with patience and faith in God’s will.  She had to face her betrothed when she was found to be pregnant then, after Jesus was born, she fled to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. The fear of every mother is losing a child and Mary must have been anxious when Jesus went missing for three days and was then found in the Temple.  What must she have had to endure as she stood by the cross while Jesus was crucified?

The three fruits of Charity are joy, peace and mercy. Patience isn’t easy to practice as it involves the pursuit of peace. In practicing patience, we must resolve conflicts peacefully, without resorting to violence.  When you have a disagreement with a classmate try to resolve it peacefully by talking to one another. We can practice mercy by forgiving others. Holding grudges is not the way Jesus taught us to live so try your best to forgive others in the school community. Going to confession is another great way to ask God to forgive us for our trespasses. Probably the most difficult aspect is the fruit of joy: waiting without becoming upset or annoyed and continuing on in the face of difficulty.  There always seems to be one person in class who annoys you or gets under your skin, but try to follow Jesus’ command of “loving one another as I have loved you”.

Charity is about friendship and communion. This month, let us try to imitate and honor Mary who was the embodiment of patience and charity. Pope Francis tells us that “charity, patience and tenderness are very beautiful gifts.  If you have them, you want to share them with others”. Share your gifts by bearing your crosses without becoming upset or annoyed, forgive those who wrong you and solve your conflicts peacefully.

charity pope francis

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