Happy Easter! Christ is risen, alleluia! Victimae Paschali Laudes (Praise the Paschal Victim!)

Check out my Easter playlist to help keep the joy of Easter alive during these next 50 days - we all need the reminder of Christ's victory. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeJbF0kyJYvjjxhGy3DrvPTPCSOrU8ORO

The Easter season lasts 50 days and the first eight of those are contained in the Easter Octave, which is celebrated just like Easter.

Here are some activities you can do to keep the season of Easter holy:

A) Listen to this playlist. It includes a lot of music that you would typically hear at an Easter vigil Mass, including the Litany of Saints and the Exultet. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeJbF0kyJYviUz-27BFWF3gH3d834XoSc

B) Renew your own Baptismal vows. Better yet, have a renewal service with your family. Do you have any Holy Water? Ask your parents if you can sprinkle everyone with it after the renewal! Here are the words: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1047

C) Read the text of the Exultet right here: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/easter/easter-proclamation-exsultet.cfm

D) Read the readings of the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041120.cfm

E) At this link, download the PDF and check out the list of 50 things to do to keep the Easter season holy - one for each and every day of this holy and blessed season! https://www.looktohimandberadiant.com/

F) Pray the traditional prayer "Regina Coeli" ("Queen of Heaven") which traditionally replaces the Angelus during Easter season. (My homeroom always prays the Angelus after lunch, and I had intended to teach them the Regina Coeli after Easter.)

O Queen of heaven rejoice! alleluia: For He whom thou didst merit to bear, alleluia,

Has risen as he said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.

R. For the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray: O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; grant, we beseech Thee, that through His Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

G) The Easter Sequence, "Victimae Paschali Laudes," is one of the most beautiful and ancient pieces of poetry in our liturgy. Listen to the Easter Sequence in English, Latin, or both:

English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdt9_3G9OQk

Latin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt-adJFJT_g&list=PLeJbF0kyJYvjjxhGy3DrvPTPCSOrU8ORO&index=4&t=0s

Read the text in Latin and English here: http://catholicchant.com/victimaepaschalilaudes.html

Try writing your own Sequence! If you could write a poem or song to tell people what they need to know about Easter, how would it go? Set it to a common hymn tune and sing it!

H) There are many other beautiful pieces of music that I didn't get to put in my Easter playlist ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeJbF0kyJYvjjxhGy3DrvPTPCSOrU8ORO ) Ask a grandparent, parent, or other friend to teach you their favorite Easter hymn.

I) Read the readings of Easter Sunday right here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041220.cfm

J) Watch Pope Francis celebrate Easter Vigil in Rome right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8v0XrjbgfE (at the time of my typing this, the link for his Easter morning Mass has not been released, but it will be on the same channel.)

K) Every Easter and Christmas, the Pope gives a special blessing to the world called "Urbi et Orbi" ("City and World"). Because of the coronavirus, the Pope decided the world needed extra blessings and gave it two weeks ago. You can watch him do it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXTCW-WaIs4

L) Make an Easter card for someone you know who lives alone or is elderly, or someone you would normally get to see at Easter who you weren't able to visit this year, and mail it. Or, give them a phone call or video call. Make sure to wish them a blessed Octave of Easter!

M) Decorate your home for Easter! Make tissue paper flowers and construction paper banners, or (with a parent's permission) gather flowers and greenery from the yard. Make an empty tomb decoration from clay or by gluing together rocks. If you have a picture or statue of Jesus, enshrine it on the kitchen table, near the computer where you watch Mass, or in another important place with bright-colored cloth and flowers. Make a banner that says "Alleluia!" or "He is risen!"

N) Choose a song from the playlist or another song and listen to it repeatedly while doing homework so that you have it memorized. Then, video call a grandparent or another lonely friend and sing it for them! They will love to have some Easter joy from you!

O) Here is a link with 25 Easter coloring pages! (Make sure to have a parent do the downloading to make sure that there are no viruses or inappropriate ads.) https://www.laurengreutman.com/religious-easter-coloring-pages-2/

P) Make your own Paschal candle! Get an ordinary white candle and paint a cross, the number "2020," and the letters Alpha and Omega on the side (Alpha looks like an "A" and Omega looks like a horseshoe or an upside-down letter "U.") Get a parent to help you!

Q) Eggs are a symbol of Easter because an egg seems like it is dead, like Jesus' tomb. But there is new life inside, and the egg breaks open to reveal the new life just like the angel opened Jesus' tomb. In many cultures, decorating Easter eggs isn't just a fun activity, but a work of art! Check out the pysanki ("piz-ank-ee") of the Ukraine and Poland!

https://lamusdworski.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/pisanki/

https://www.globetrottinkids.com/pysanky-ukrainian-easter-eggs/

R) Write a song or poem about Jesus' Resurrection. A good way to do this is to imagine that you are present at the scene you are writing about. Take a few minutes to imagine, then jot down your thoughts. Another way is to think of a question that you have and to write about it. Or, you can draw a picture or get your siblings to help you put on a Resurrection Play. You can build a tomb out of blankets and pillows (i.e. a pillow fort) and use robes and pillowcases for costumes and veils. Be sure to have an angel dressed in white, Peter, John, Mary Magdalene and the other women, and of course Jesus!

Here are some activities you can do to keep Good Friday holy at home! (I would love to hear about what you decide to do!)

A) Watch Sacred Heart's Good Friday service on livestream at 7pm. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoitKG0zcML9dJG--g5kLyw

B) Start the Divine Mercy Novena. Jesus asked St. Faustina to ask people to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day from Good Friday until the Sunday after Easter Sunday, known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Each day he wanted the Chaplet to be prayed for a specific set of intentions. You can find those intentions, and everything else you need to pray the novena, here: http://divinemercysunday.com/novena.htm

You can see a reminder of how to pray the Chaplet here: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/pray-the-chaplet

sing it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qolkxGqt6JY or pray along with it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAayZ7xRqkc

C) Listen to the beautiful, sorrowful music of Good Friday. You can start with this playlist I've put together for you! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeJbF0kyJYvgFvO5UGBamoeDHizsATnkS I would love to know which one is your favorite!

D) Pray the Stations of the Cross.

There are many videos with various Stations. Here are just a few.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvY3ZkbSC8g with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, according to St. Alphonsus de Liguori

https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/liturgical-year/lent/stations-of-the-cross/multimedia-stations-of-the-cross-for-children - downloadable booklet and multimedia presentation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYoRl4jYxAE - Children's Stations with illustrations and on-screen text

https://www.saintanneshelper.com/printable-stations-of-the-cross.html Printable booklets and coloring pages with audio

E) Do a Living Stations of the Cross. This is when a group of people act out the Stations of the Cross to make them more real for the people who are praying them. If you can get a few siblings to do this with you, I would love to see a video or a picture! If you can't get siblings to do it with you, you can always act it out with toys or dolls.

F) Do a Passion Play. This is a very ancient and revered tradition in our Church whereby people act out the story of Jesus' passion and death as it is told in the Gospels, as a way to help people meditate on Jesus' love for us. One town in Germany, in the year 1632, was experiencing a terrible plague. They promised God that if he would protect them from the plague, they would from then on always perform a Passion Play every ten years to show their gratitude. The people of Oberammergau claim that from that time on, no one died, and that ever since they have kept their promise. You can read more about their performance here https://www.passionsspiele-oberammergau.de/en/play/history but why stop there?

You can use the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to write your own Passion Play, or you can just choose one and have a narrator and readers read the exact lines that are already there for you. Find simple props and costumes around the house - bathrobes and capes make great costumes, and you can make pretty convincing soldier helmets out of milk cartons. Remember that when you perform your play it should be a form of prayer.

G) Make Hot Cross Buns. This traditional Good Friday breakfast reflects on Jesus' sacrifice for us... and it brings a sweet treat to a day that's otherwise filled with sacrifice and fasting. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/easy-hot-cross-buns-recipe

H) Consider giving up TV, games, and unnecessary use of devices for this day. Use the time instead to pray a Rosary or to read the story of Jesus' death for us, or to listen to Good Friday hymns and learn some of them.

I) Find a movie appropriate for your family that shows the story of Jesus' life and death on TV, Formed.org, or whatever video services your family might use. Spend some time together as a family watching it.

J) Good Friday is a day of fasting for all between ages 18-59, and of abstinence for all above age 14. Join in the spirit of things by foregoing snacks and sweet desserts, and helping your mom or dad with the dishes instead!

K) There is a beautiful, ancient custom in Austria of standing guard over a replica of the Tomb of Jesus all night long between Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Set up a little altar in your home, and make a model of the tomb of Jesus out of clay or playdough. Make sure to put a stone in front of the door to block it. Then take turns praying in front of it between the Good Friday service and bedtime. On Easter Sunday morning or after Easter vigil, have someone open the tomb to show that it is empty!

L) Make Resurrection eggs. Take an egg carton and twelve plastic Easter eggs, then find or make small objects that fit inside each egg that tell the story of Jesus' death for us. The last egg should be empty to show that Jesus' tomb was empty, too! You can make up your own twelve objects, or you can use the list given at this link: https://www.kelloggshow.com/how-to-make-your-own-resurrection-eggs/

https://www.thissimplehome.com/2012/03/homemade-resurrection-eggs-printable.html

M) The Latin word "Tenebrae" means "Darkness." In the dark of the night on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, the Church mourns the death of Jesus and laments over his intense sufferings on the Cross by reading aloud and chanting some of the most sorrowful Psalms in the Bible and other passages, such as parts of the Book of Lamentations of Jeremiah. During a Tenebrae service, a triangular candle holder (called a hearse) is filled with candles that are all lit. After each Psalm is read, a candle is extinguished. Finally, when there is only one candle left, it is hidden behind the altar, to represent how Jesus the Light of the World was hidden in the tomb after His death. Then, everyone in the church bangs on the pews to make a "strepitus," or "loud noise," like the earthquake that happened when Jesus died. After this, the candle is brought back out (to show that Jesus' light can never be extinguished) and everyone leaves in silence.

You can have your own Tenebrae service at home with a few candles and Scripture readings. Do it after sunset with all the lights off in the house so that you can experience things getting darker and darker. Here are some prayers you can use:

https://catholicallyear.com/blog/the-triduum-at-home-a-tenebrae-service/

https://mdeporres.com/products/home-tenebrae-service

You can also just read the readings of Good Friday, putting out a candle every five verses or so until all are gone. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041020.cfm

You can read more about it and listen to some music here (Tenebrae is traditionally done in Latin, but you can do it in English, of course!): https://angeluspress.org/blogs/blog/the-history-and-symbolism-of-tenebrae

N) Get each person in your family to draw a picture of, or write a prayer about, one of the Stations of the Cross (or two or three, depending on how many people are in your family). Then choose a time to gather together and pray the stations. Or, do it with friends and schedule a video call in which to pray together.

O) Read the readings of Good Friday here. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041020.cfm

P) Choose your favorite song on the Good Friday playlist and see if you can memorize it and lead your family in prayer. Or, choose some Bible readings, songs, and prayers and plan a prayer service for your family to pray at 3pm, the hour of Jesus' death. You may want to work together with a sibling on this.

Q) Set an alarm on your phone or in your house for 3pm on Good Friday. Whatever you are doing then, stop and kneel and thank Jesus for what he did for you on this very day at this very time almost 2,000 years ago.

R) In Italy, there is a very old piece of cloth called the Shroud of Turin. Many people believe this cloth to be the cloth in which Jesus was buried. You can read about the shroud and see pictures here: https://shroud.com/

Here are some activities you can do to keep Holy Thursday holy at home!

A) Watch real Eucharistic processions here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy-53M65fBs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn_2COZ9Op0 The rattling noise is from the cratalus, or wooden noisemaker, that replaces the bells after the Gloria on Holy Thursday. It will replace consecration bells during Mass, too.

B) Check out my playlist of songs appropriate for Holy Thursday: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeJbF0kyJYviK2qXJHyUglIkO2iOvFBRs

C) Enjoy some of the attached coloring sheets.

D) Watch a real Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper with your family next Thursday, such as Sacred Heart's livestream! (not available yet since it hasn't happened yet): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoitKG0zcML9dJG--g5kLyw

E) See if your family can have a modified Passover meal, or another food to symbolize the Last Supper, as described here: https://withthechosen.wordpress.com/2020/03/30/holy-week-in-the-domestic-church/

F) Tune in to Archbishop Carlson's Chrism Mass at 10am on Holy Thursday, or catch the recording afterwards! https://www.archstl.org/live-streamed-and-televised-masses You can also see a slideshow from a previous year's Chrism Mass here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeaKo_N9HG8

G) Khalikidan lives in Israel, although her family was originally from Ethiopia. Watch this video to learn how she and her family prepare for and celebrate Passover at home according to the Jewish tradition. There are a lot of special traditions! https://18doors.org/for_kids_passover/

H) Read the readings for the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the Chrism Mass, or both at this link: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/040920.cfm

I) The story of the first Passover retold and illustrated by animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFU5NrPgutA

J) Check out some famous paintings of the Last Supper. What is similar and different about them? Try drawing your own Last Supper, acting it out with siblings, or setting one up with dolls or toys. I would love to see what you come up with! https://www.artbible.info/art/last-supper.html

K) Read Jesus' Last Supper Discourse in John chapters 14-17, in your own Bible or here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/14

L) There's a tradition at this time of year to watch movies about the first Passover, such as "The Ten Commandments" and "The Prince of Egypt." Only your parents can decide if these movies are appropriate for you at this age, but here's a clip from the animated "Prince of Egypt" showing the Israelites rejoicing at the miracle of their being freed from slavery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTTxywB7b_U

M) At the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the priest usually washes the feet of parishioners as a reminder of what Jesus did. Have a foot washing ceremony with your family. Maybe you can do the washing! Or, recreate the Last Supper with thirteen toys or dolls.

N) At the conclusion of the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the altar is stripped of all its decorations. To imitate this at home, after your family watches Mass, you can strip your house of flowers and unnecessary decorations, covering the TV and pictures on the wall. Then you can uncover them all after Easter vigil or on Easter morning!

O) Jesus washed the feet of his disciples to show us that we need to treat others with kindness and serve them in their need. Do something really kind for your family today without being asked, like cleaning the bathroom, washing the dishes, or making lunch. Or, make cards or send kind messages to someone you know who might be lonely this Easter.

P) Additional informative videos about Holy Thursday - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1R9Z9gkOck

https://bustedhalo.com/video/watch-holy-week-in-three-minutes

Palm Sunday Activities -

Here are some activities you can do to help make Palm Sunday special from home.

A) Watch a livestream Mass from Sacred Heart at 9am and the procession afterwards! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoitKG0zcML9dJG--g5kLyw

B) Go outside your house (if you live near Sacred Heart and your parents allow you) or stand near the windows and see Jesus! Father Mark and Father Gerber will be bringing him to the neighborhood in a Eucharistic procession. A Eucharistic procession is an ancient tradition to praise God together as a community and show how much we love Jesus. In ancient times, saints would lead Eucharistic processions during plagues and other times of danger as well as on holidays, feasts, and festivals, to praise and thank God for his goodness. Stay at least 6 feet away from everyone while watching.

C) Listen to some of the Palm Sunday appropriate songs on the playlist I made. It includes some traditional ones, some newer ones, and some you might recognize from school.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeJbF0kyJYvhcga5WnEsYvcMv0aRJRms9

D) Watch a clip of Our Holy Father Pope Francis celebrating Palm Sunday at the Vatican in Rome several years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiF-N_cCxOM

E) Check out the other readings from Palm Sunday. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040520.cfm

F) Download and print some free Palm Sunday coloring pages here: https://www.saintanneshelper.com/palm-sunday-coloring-pages.html

G) Have a Palm Sunday procession at home! Choose a favorite song (my parish always uses "The King of Glory," which you all already know from school), and make copies of the words for whoever needs them or play a recording to sing along with. Look up Matthew 21:1-11 in your family's Bible or copy it from: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040520.cfm Tell everyone to dress up in red, like they would to go to Mass. Then have someone read the Gospel reading and process through your house singing your song. Let the procession start at one end of your house (maybe upstairs) and end in front of the computer or TV where you will watch a livestream Mass!

H) Since there are no palm trees in or anywhere near Poland, the Polish people (before you could fly palm leaves by airplane almost anywhere) developed a tradition of making their own palms out of green plants they found in their yards. These are often decorated with tissue paper, crepe paper, flowers, and ribbons! If you aren't able to get real palms this year, why not make some Palemka Wielkanocna ("Easter Palms") of your own?

I) During Holy Week, Jesus saw a poor woman donate a few cents and said that she had given the most of anyone because she gave what she had from her heart. During Holy Week, make a donation to help the suffering or spend some time in service to others. Make a thank-you card for the healthcare workers who are serving the sick people in our county. You can have a parent bring it up to school when the gym is open and leave it in the tub in the middle of the gym. They will be delivered to people who are working hard to help others!

J) Call a grandparent or other special friend and ask them to tell you how they celebrated Palm Sunday when they were a kid. Ask them or a parent to teach you their favorite Holy Week song. See if you can learn to sing it for them.

K) What country(ies) were your ancestors from? Find out if you don't know. Do some internet research (with permission) and see if you can find out what that country's Holy Week traditions are. See if you can adapt one of the traditions for your family to do at home this week.

L) Formed.org, which I use to show you saint movies in class, is doing a 40-day free trial. With your parents' permission, choose an appropriate movie to watch with your family in the evenings this week.

M) Join priests and faithful around the world in praying one of the Divine Office prayers of Palm Sunday. http://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/loh/lent/palmsundaymp.htm

http://www.ibreviary.com/m/breviario.php

N) Have a special meal with your family after watching Mass, without any TV or devices to distract you. Talk about what we're going to celebrate this week and how you're going to make it holy. Maybe choose something as a family to give up during this week or during the Triduum, or an extra prayer to say together each day, to help you stay focused.

O) Read aloud the Passion story. This one is divided into multiple parts, so that everyone can have some lines! http://www.oremus.org/liturgy/lhwe/matthew.html

4/4/20 - I'll be posting here a series of optional ideas and suggestions for helping to keep Holy Week holy. You may use them (or not) as you see fit. None of these are assignments; just suggestions!

1/14 - This week we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord and entered into the season of Ordinary Time. Both grades have been reviewing our major liturgical seasons and their sequence, as well as preparing for tests.

1/6 - Welcome Back!

Happy Epiphany of the Lord! We learned about the symbolism of the three Gifts of the Magi and how they reflect Jesus' identity as King, God, and Sacrifice. Many of the students enjoyed singing along to "We Three Kings" to help us remember the meanings of the three gifts. Several of my classes also greatly enjoyed learning "Adeste Fideles" (O Come, All Ye Faithful) in both English and Latin. Here are both songs with lyrics, in case anyone would like to sing them at home!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDqTL49OwDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1bLxrZEy4g

12/12 - Advent Update

"Soon and Very Soon, we are going to see the King!" We've been exploring the liturgical year, the season of Advent, and the many beautiful feasts that occur during this time, including St. Nicholas, The Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Juan Diego, and St. Lucia. The entire school is participating in the Jesse Tree as part of our weekly Advent prayer services, and 4th grade is also exploring the Jesse Tree in more depth.

We've also been practicing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and familiarizing ourselves with some other classic Advent hymns, such as On Jordan's Bank and Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus, as part of our prayer routine at the beginning of class. We are so excited to welcome Jesus into our hearts as we prepare for his three-fold coming: in History (in Bethlehem), in Mystery (in the Eucharist), and in Majesty (his second coming).

11/27 - Christ the King and Advent -

Last Sunday our Church celebrated the Grand Finale of the liturgical year, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe. Both grades discussed in class what it means to be part of the royal family of God and what makes Jesus the best king ever. We enjoyed learning and listening to the song To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlMzSktcefU

Now we are ready to head into the beautiful season of Advent. This year our whole school will be using Jesse Trees to remember the story of Salvation History, a story that began at the dawn of time and whose most exciting chapter began at the manger in Bethlehem. If you would like to do your own Jesse tree at home, all you need is an empty Christmas tree or a stick standing upright in a vase or cup. 4th graders will have Jesse Tree ornaments sent home with them.

October is Respect Life Month. All classes were given roses and prayer cards from the Sacred Heart Respect Life Committee to spiritually adopt an unborn baby. Every child was invited to name an unborn baby and to write his or her name on a rose's tag. Together we all recite the following prayer:

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to protect the life of the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopted. Mary, our Mother in Heaven, pray for us, and especially for your little ones!"

We then made the following promise: "Because God loves every baby He creates, I promise to pray for my spiritually adopted baby for 9 months."

I (Miss Klein) have also adopted a baby and will pray for her together with my class every day. I will pray for her on the weekends, too. If you would like to powerfully witness to the sanctity of human life, you too can spiritually adopt a baby and pray for the baby every day with your child.

This Sunday, October 6, the Life Chain program will be prayerfully witnessing outside of North County's Planned Parenthood from 2 to 3 p.m., as described in recent Sunday bulletins. If at all possible I am planning to be there to witness to the sanctity of life in our community, and I invite everyone to join the others from Sacred Heart and other North County parishes.

9/20 - Safe Touch - Please review the attached handout. All children in 4th and 5th grade were given a copy of this paper as part of the Safe Touch presentation. We discussed it in class; please also discuss at home. Check your email for a message with another handout intended for adults only that gives further information.

Words of Wisdom from the Communion of Saints

Each day, we take a few minutes to learn about whatever special day is on the liturgical calendar - usually a saint. On Marian feasts we stop and learn about our Mother. We've enjoyed starting our class period with words of wisdom from some of August's saints, including:

"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." - St. Augustine (August 28)

"I think more of the place where I was baptized than of Rheims Cathedral where I was crowned. It is a greater thing to be a child of God than to be the ruler of a Kingdom." - St. Louis of France (August 25)

"Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven." - St. Rose of Lima (August 23)

"A saint is not someone who never sins, but one who sins less and less frequently and gets up more and more quickly. " - St. Bernard of Clairvaux (August 20)

"For Jesus Christ I am prepared to suffer still more." - St. Maximilian Kolbe (August 14)

Hail, holy queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!

Exit Slips

As mentioned at Meet the Teacher night, exit slips - which will not be used every day - are one way to help me know that everyone is listening in class regardless of whether their individual learning style includes speaking up or not. Each student is asked to respond briefly to a simple prompt in a sentence or two, and to turn in the slip of paper before exiting class for the day. The slip does not need to be long unless the student wants it to be. I do ask for, at minimum, a complete and legible sentence that states a clear idea, utilizes capitalization and punctuation, and answers the question (for example, "St. Monica is interesting" would not, by itself, answer the question "State a fact that you learned about St. Monica.")

Due to their nature, exit slips cannot be made up or turned in late, as they should be completed in class while a student is actively learning - think of them as participation points. If a student was present in class on a day exit slips were done but chose not to turn in an exit slip, he or she will not receive the exit slip points for that class. (If a student is absent from school on a day that exit slips are used it will not impact his or her grade.)

You can check FACTS for exit slip grades. For our first exit slip, everyone who turned one in before leaving that day's class (August 27) will receive the full points, although in future not answering the question, sloppy work, etc. may mean losing a point.

When exit slips are sent home, they can double as a conversation starter at home. Ask your child to elaborate verbally on the ideas shared on the exit slip and to explain what it was that he or she learned!