Regal Leader
Volume 48 - April 30, 2018
A look to the week ahead
Prom seemed to be a success. Thank you to the chaperones that stepped up and devoted their Saturday night to helping out. Extra special thanks to Katie Welter for all of the work she put in organizing prom.
We are almost in May. This means the rest of the year is going to be over before you know it. I will be organizing materials for our teaching vacancies on Monday and Tuesday. If you are part of one of the committees then I will let you know when the materials are ready for review. Let me know if you were not asked to be on an interview committee and would like to be on one. I hope to schedule interviews starting next week, if not sooner.
We also have the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony on Wednesday night. It is at 7:30 at St. Mary. I know everyone is busy, but the students would love seeing you at this important ceremony. Thank you to Lynne for all of her work with NHS and organizing this event.
Looking ahead...
AP tests are the weeks of May 7 and May 14. Students taking exams will be missing classes during their exam times.
The Awards Assembly and last day for seniors is May 23. Seniors will not be in classes that day so their last day of classes is May 22.
Baccalaureate Mass is at 7:30 at St. Wenceslaus Church on May 23. Graduation is at 2:00 on Sunday, May 27. All teachers are expected to attend Baccalaureate and graduation.
Wednesday: RVC BOC @ 2:00 in Monticello, Mass @ 2:15, NHS Induction @ 7:30 at St. Mary
Thursday: Individual PD until 3:30, 403 B Review @ 3:30
Friday: Grandparents Day in the Elementary (parking will be limited)
Have a great week!
This Week's Morning Prayer
4/30 Loving God,
I am drawn closer to you this day,
knowing that I am loved by the Father and Jesus;
and from their love for me, they send the Spirit.
Grant me the grace and the patience to quiet my life and open my heart
so I can recognize the Spirit who advocates for me
and teaches me the message given by Jesus.
Help me to know that I don't have to wait for you:
you have already come to me and make your dwelling in me.
All I have to do is become aware of your presence in my life.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
5/1 God who gives me eternal life,
What I need this day more than anything, is your peace.
You are clear: it is not peace that the world gives me, temporary and un-real.
You offer me the peace that lets my heart be untroubled and without fear.
Your early disciples had so many challenges, yet filled their lives with joy,
and strengthened the spirits of your followers.
Give me the courage and joy to spread your word as they did.
Give me your peace.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
5/2 God of joy, growth and resurrection,
In this Easter season, I feel connected to you in a deeper way.
I am a branch that holds fast to you, the life-giving source of my life.
With grace, I sometimes become aware that without you, I can do nothing.
Give me the focus to keep my heart always directed toward you.
Guide me in everything to walk the path of your light.
Let me be always grateful that you fill me with an abundance of your gifts.
Bless this day with your Spirit, and stir my heart to your awakening.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
5/3 Stay with us, Lord.
Our fears and the world get in the way
and we don't always serve as your presence on this earth.
You know my heart, you know my love for you,
and you hold me in your warmest embrace
despite my wavering hope and courage.
Let me rely on you in every moment.
Guide my feet in the path of peace and
lead me to offer your love to those on the margins.
It is then that I will really feel you in my heart and my joy will be complete.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
5/4 Lord, it is the joy in my heart this season
that allows me to be open to your boundless love.
I know that you choose me to be your friend
and to have a real and loving relationship with me.
You say we should "love one another as I have loved you."
I did not understand that before, but now I see
that you ask that I love others without limits,
without judgement and in the same generous way you love.
That is how I can love as you love - but only with your help.
Thank you for laying down your life for me.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Mass on Wednesday This Week
Thursday Afternoon Meeting
Yearlong Reflection Journal
Links to past videos:
Week 3 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/week-3-2/
Week 4 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/week-4/
Week 5 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/2001/
Week 6 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/week-6_201/
Week 7 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/week-7_/
Week 8 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/big-mansion-episode/
Week 9 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/truth-person-episode/
Week 10 - https://beingcatholic.com.au/jesus-and-the-poached-egg/
Week 11 - https://beingcatholic.com.au/the-nobility-episode/
Week 12 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/new-missionaries-episode/
Week 13 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/2788/
Week 14 - https://beingcatholic.com.au/the-pope-francis-episode/
Week 15 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/internet-episode/
Week 16 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/rigorous-curriculum/
Week 17 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/power-witnesses/
Week 18 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/okavango-episode/
Week 19 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/human-rights-episode/
Week 20 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/european-sports-car-episode/
Week 21 - https://beingcatholic.com.au/the-lost-sheep-episode/
Week 22 - https://beingcatholic.com.au/the-unity-of-purpose-episode/
Week 23 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/?p=3441
Week 24 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/great-cloud-witnesses-episode/
Week 25 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/going-deeper-ep/courage-episodes-part-1/
Week 26 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/?p=3578
Week 27 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/?p=3596
Week 28 - http://wp.me/P3nYbb-Yf
Week 29 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/the-perfect-dinner-episode/
Week 30 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/week32/
Week 31 - http://beingcatholic.com.au/?p=3664
Reflection questions:
Week 3 - Popular culture brings many challenges and pressures to our students. What do you think the Church can bring them to help them deal with all of the outside influences they face? How does Regina do this? Can we do more? How?
Week 4 - What structures or opportunities exist at Regina to help students build a deep sense of community? Can we do more? What?
Week 5 - What kind of balance exists between a Regina student’s intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual lives? Are we happy with the current balance? If so, what can we do to change it?
Week 6 - What practical ways could we incorporate periods of silence into our school day?
Week 7 - Is Jesus the genuine foundation of Regina? In what ways can we improve in making Jesus the foundation of Regina?
Week 8 - Does the sense of Regina achieving its mission ‘depending chief!y on you’ make you feel excited or burdened as a community?
Week 9 - An authentic Catholic school will try to reveal to students the deep truth that they are made in the image of God, that they are loved and that are needed in the world. How effective do you think Regina is at the moment in helping young people know these truths?
Week 9 - It takes courage and effort these days to present Jesus both to the hearts and heads of young people. Do you think your school has the courage to first make Jesus a priority for staff and then proclaim Him to young people in the many opportunities of each day or is Jesus given an occasional mention? What could change and how?
Week 9 - The idea of your subject being a way that students encounter truth can be a paradigm shift. Being totally honest, do you think your school values academic and teaching excellence more in terms of rankings and its appeal to parents or in terms of leading students to truth and Christ? Could both be possible?
Week 10 - What ways currently exist to really encounter the person of Jesus at Regina? What could change or be given more emphasis?
Week 11 - In what ways do you see your school currently developing ‘strong habits of virtue’ in each student that will ‘sustain them in the struggle of life”? What is one thing that could be attempted to strengthen this?
Week 12 - How effectively do you think Regina addresses the spiritual hunger that exists in every young person? Could more be done?
Week 13 - Try and define two or three core elements that truly capture what living the Gospel means.
Week 14 - Do you feel your strengths and expertise are creating a community where love for others is increasing? If not, what could be attempted or done differently?
Week 15 - How could Regina, “...bring warmth and stir hearts.’ through how it understands and uses social communication?
Week 16 - What is your sense of the quality of Regina’s religious education curriculum? Do you think students are given the chance to engage deeply with the Catholic faith on a rigorous level?
Week 17 - If observers spent a week at Regina what would they encounter? What ways exist at Regina for staff to deeply encounter Christ?
Week 18 - John Paul II saw Jesus as the centre of the universe and of history. Would it be fair to say that Christ is the centre of Regina?
Week 19 - Do you think that Regina is currently a place where students, ”...sense their dignity even before they have a definition for it”? What things make this likely or unlikely? What needs to change or what more can be done?
Week 20 - As a staff how do you see the current balance at Regina between a focus on knowledge and outcomes and the bigger picture of human and spiritual formation of staff and students?
Week 21 - How are we meeting the needs of the poor at Regina whether that be financial, relational, social or spiritual? What do we need to do more of? What could we start doing that we are not doing at the moment?
Week 22 - Describe the ‘purpose’ of Regina in a single sentence.
Week 23 - In what ways are we currently bringing the brokenhearted in our Regina community, ‘...rest for their souls.”? In what ways can we help them encounter Jesus who wants to be closer to them? In what ways are we being the presence of Christ to them? What could we attempt?
Week 24 - What role does tradition play in the life of Regina? What is our most valued school tradition? Could new traditions be started that would create a more vibrant Catholic community?
Week 25 - How can moral courage be lived out as a staff at Regina when it comes to witnessing to the Catholic faith? What would it cost people?
Week 26 - In terms of finding the courage to be a faithful Catholic school that is committed to sharing the Good News what do you think are the biggest fears and obstacles to this courage that need to be faced and overcome at Regina?
Week 27 - As well as the focus on Jesus and the need to value every person, what other basic principles do you feel matter at Regina? What opportunities currently exist at Regina for reflection and self-criticism?
Week 28 - In what ways if any do you think Regina is undertaking missionary work in the lives of young people?
Week 29 - As a staff do we love our students equally? How well do we love the most difficult of our students? What strategies can we share with each other for loving those that test our capacity?
Week 30 - How do you feel as a staff about the idea of teaching truth in a very relativist world? Is is hard or easy for you?
Week 31 - What could we do as a staff to know Jesus more deeply and discover the joy that scripture and tradition tells us can be found in Him?
Easter Resources
Easter arrives early this year on Sunday, April 1, 2018, offering all of us the wonderful opportunity to celebrate the entire Easter season with our students before the school/catechetical year comes to a close. There are a myriad of resources and opportunities parishes and schools can use during the Easter season. As you prepare to guide your faith community through all 50 days of the Easter season, take a peek at some of the amazing tools available at the 'click' of your mouse!
- Church Life Journal posted an outstanding blog about celebrating the Easter Season in the classroom. Here is the link to the article.
- Busted Halo is a great website especially for those who work with teens and young adults. Take a look at Holy Week in Two Minutes.
- Joe Paprocki's Catechist Journey arrives in my inbox every afternoon with helpful and insightful suggestions for Catholic school teachers and parish catechists alike. His Easter Folder contains an amazing list of helpful ideas, articles and learning activities.
- The Liturgical Catechist has become one of my favorite sites for video clips, articles, links and ideas. I highly recommend looking through their list of Easter resources. Click here.
- Loyola Press has also assembled a series of resources and lesson plans. Click here.
- The Diocese of Albany, NY has assembled an excellent Digital Library for anyone to use. Take a peek at their Easter Folder and then explore the entire collection.
- Catholic Family Faith has curated excellent suggestions that you can look through and share with the families you serve. Click here.
- The Religion Teacher website has great Easter activities click here as does Building Faith click here.
- The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) website is always a good place to start. Their overview of Easter is worth a look, click here.
Submitted by Lisa Orchen, M.Div., the Archdiocese of Hartford's Director of Catechetical Initiatives
Glenn Plummer
Email: glenn.plummer@regina.org
Location: 2150 Rochester Avenue, Iowa City, IA, United States
Phone: 319-321-4234
Twitter: @gap_4