Saint of the Week - Maria Cristina Cella Mocellin - On August 30, 2021 Pope Francis declared Maria Venerable on a step to sainthood. Maria was born in Italy in 1969 and she began contemplating her vocation at a young age. She wanted to become a Salesian Sister. At the age of 16 she met a boy named Carlo who she wanted to marry. Despite the discovery of a sarcoma in her left leg, she went on to finish high school and marry Carlo. She went on to have 2 children. During her pregnancy of her 3rd child, the sarcoma came back. She had surgery to remove the sarcoma but held up the chemotherapy treatment in order not to risk the life of her child. Riccardo was born in 1994. After his birth Maria began chemotherapy, but it failed to treat the cancer. The cancer had already spread to the rest of her body and she died in 1995. She is in route to becoming a saint because instead of taking the chemotherapy treatment when she was with child, she decided to wait until after his birth. She wanted to save the life of her unborn child.
Author of the Week: Mary Pope Osborne - Birthday: May 20. When she was 4 years old her father, who was a colonel in the army, was stationed in Austria. Across the street from her house was an ancient castle on a cliff. When she was 5 her family moved to Virginia and lived inside an old fort that was surrounded by a moat. As a teenager, she continued to spend all her free time at a local community theater. She acted in plays or worked backstage. Once Mary graduated from college, she visited faraway places. She finally settled in New York City where she married her husband, Will Osborne, and has been married for 17 years. With her writing, she can still "play" inside an enchanted castle or live inside an old fort any day of the week. Mary Pope Osborne is credited with writing the Magic Tree House series. Currently Mary is 74 years old and is still writing and lives in Oklahoma.
Themes of the Week: Frogs - April is National Frog Month and the Titanic, which sank on April 14, 1912. The students will be introduced to the acronym for FROG. F - fully; R - rely; O - on; G - God. The students will be told about the life cycle of a frog as well as be introduced to the differences between a frog and a toad as well as learn some fun facts about a frog. With regard to the Titanic we will examine the facts surrounding the Titanic and compare them to the movie. The older students will answer the Writing Piece Question: Name 10 things answering the statement: What I like about me.
Word of the Week: Identical - being the same