For more information, see the Conscience Protection Resources from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Natasha Bedingfield

Here’s the good word in Catholic schools around the world this week:

• 10-year-old Catholic school student celebrates birthday by giving to the poor: Fourth grader Charles Knatz of St. Joseph Catholic School in Wapakoneta, Ohio, uses his birthday as an occasion for a food drive.
  
• Pop star Natasha Bedingfield gives private concert to Seton Hall Catholic High School in High School Musical Contest: 550 screaming girls celebrate with Grammy nominee Bedingfield.
  
• Hungerfest students fast so others can eat: 27 students fast for 27 hours and make 500 sandwiches for the needy, at Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, New York.
  

Ben Gullett

Ben Gullett, an eighth grader at Nativity Catholic School in Tampa, Florida, is learning economics the hard way: his dad Mark recently lost his job as a marketing executive with the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey franchise . But Ben is also learning about marketing. He’s created a YouTube video to help his dad get a new job, and he’s drawn almost 20,000 viewers to see him flip through cards that tell his dad’s story.

The video tells potential employers about Ben’s dad, but more than that, it’s Ben’s way of expressing his admiration and love for his father. See for yourself in the video below, and if you know anyone looking for an experienced marketer, download Mark’s work profile and pass it on.

Read more about Ben and his Dad at TampaBay.com.

St. Patrick

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, this week’s video is a retelling of St. Patrick’s life from the adorable series Give Up Yer Aul Sins. Cathal Gaffney directed this short which takes recordings of school children telling Bible and saint stories and animates them in a documentary style. This one of the cutest films I’ve ever seen, and rightly deserved the Oscar nomination it received.

You might consider recording your own students telling stories of the saints and then setting their narrations to pictures using iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, or some other video editing software.

Archbishop Dolan

“We do have faith in our future,” says Archbishop Timothy Dolan in the following 2007 video. Dolan, the new archbishop of New York, speaks about Catholic education in this message to Milwaukee Catholics:

• Priest Receives Award for Support of Autistic Catholic School Children: Fr. Andrew Umberg of St. William Parish in Cincinnati, OH, will be one of thirteen recipients of the NCEA Distinguished Pastor Award.
• Catholic School Teacher Flirts with Supermodel Status: Austin, MN Catholic school teacher Tina Rosenthal decides to stay in teaching in spite of a successful photoshoot for Supermodels Unlimited Magazine.
• Robot Wars: Middle school students at St. Luke Catholic School in Temple City, CA create robots to compete in the VEX Robotics Championship of the Americas.
  

  Catholic Students Building Robots

• Buzzer-beating 7th Grader: Tray Elliot of Prince of Peace Catholic School in Plano, Texas, hit an amazing full court shot. Follow the link to see the video footage.
• Students Serve Lenten Meals: Students at Holy Family Catholic School in Keighley, West Yorkshire served food in order to raise money for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• $2.1 Million Expansion for Elementary School: St. Mary’s Catholic School in Vineland, NJ is about to enjoy a new wing of classrooms, a new stage, and a new indoor basketball court.

Not On Our Watch Catholic Study Guide

If your faculty has a book group, or if you teach high school, you might want to check out the free Catholic study guide (4.8mb pdf) for Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond. Not On Our Watch was written to help people take action against genocide, and the 47-page study guide provides a Catholic context for the material it contains.

The study guide moves chapter by chapter through the book and contains relevant scripture passages, papal statements, prayers, reflection questions, and web resources to help readers fully understand and apply the book’s message within the framework of Catholic social teaching.

For instance, Chapter Two of the study guide includes this prayer written by Jane Deren:

Lift the confusion from my eyes, Lord of sight and insight,
And enable me to see clearly how your children are suffering,
But also to see how your grace is working in the world.
Open the path before me, so I can recognize
The dignity of your people being crushed in Darfur;
Their suffering is terrible to gaze upon.
But your servants keep watch and call out for justice.
Help me comprehend what is happening in our global community
And help me begin to see the part I can play in solidarity.
I am here, Lord, give me vision, give me hope.

The study guide is divided into nine chapters, and could be covered in nine weeks or nine months of a school year. The end of the guide features six specific action steps that can be taken:

1. Learn more about Darfur.
2. Get involved and act.
3. Teach others.
4. Tell Congress to act.
5. Support Catholic Relief Services.
6. Pray for all parties involved.

Having just finished the Rwandan memoir Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza, I want to learn more myself about how to respond to the tragedy of genocide. This looks like an excellent next step for me. Perhaps someone is interested in starting an online book club for Catholic teachers using this book as a beginning.

Tip of the hat to the CNS Blog.

Catholic Teacher Musings

A common myth about Catholic schools is that they cater to the elite and wealthy. While this is not true, there are in fact many Catholic schools whose students come from privileged families. If you happen to teach in such a school, be sure to read Laura’s post at Catholic Teacher Musings, “Signs That I Might Be Doing Something Right.”

The Catholic Church has always taught about a preferential option for the poor, but that doesn’t mean the fortunate don’t need evangelizing as well. As Laura’s friend prophetically said, “Who is going to teach the fortunate to care for the less fortunate?”

Heavenly Father,
it is symptomatic of our life today
that economics play a large part in it.
People labor zealously for a wage
so that they can acquire the needs of life.

They also work for
the so-called luxuries of life,
for the opportunity to have more leisure
to develop themselves in ways,
and to keep up with
their particular state of life.

Right now,
I find myself in a bad economic condition.
I just cannot seem to make enough money
to meet my obligations.
Please help me in this dangerous situation.

Teach me to live within my means
while at the same time
striving to increase those means.
Let me never lose heart
but continue to press on.

Most of all, inspire me
to seek first Your kingdom
in the knowledge that everything else
will be given me together with it.
In Jesus Christ’s name I pray,
who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit
One God
forever and ever.

You can purchase the holy card from Aquinas & More.