Kindness Diaries

There is so much to write about for this week's blog that I'm not really sure where to start. But, it is 8:45 pm right now and I'm just getting started. Don't want this to be a late night so I better type fast because wherever I am in the blog at 10:30 pm, that's where I'm going to stop.

The last line of our prayer every morning at St. Ann is "Perform small acts of kindness throughout the day." Have you ever watched the Kindness Diaries on Netflix? In the Kindness Diaries, a gentleman by the name of Leon travels the world. He does so with no money. He does not accept money from anyone. He only accepts food and a bed for himself, and gasoline for his motorcycle named Kindness One. He relies 100% on the kindness of others to make it around the world. If he receives no food, he doesn't eat. If he receives no invitation to sleep, he has to brave the elements.

Not sure where I'm going with this except to say that this is what I am trying my best to teach our students; KINDNESS! It is important to show kindness to everyone we meet be they strangers or the classmate sitting two feet away. We must show kindness; this means in the way we talk, act, react, including our body language and facial expressions. Part of being kind is to be inclusive and not exclusive.

Unfortunately, we live in a time when it is easier to be negative than positive. In our modern world of social media where people feel invincible and invisible, we are surrounded with fault finding, blaming, insults, and passing on responsibility that we often times forget the simple act of kindness, forgiveness, and not condemning others as Jesus did in today's Gospel reading;
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more." Jesus was not concerned with a person's past. He was and still is concerned with what lies ahead for each and every one of us.

If we spend more time and give more effort to being kind, we wouldn't have to waste so much time and effort trying to correct situations that come about because of a lack of kindness. "Neither do I condemn you."

I am using the Kindness Diaries with my 7th grade World Geography class to help them understand the importance of kindness, and how kindness can improve the lives of the giver and receiver.

My 7th graders had a 100 point test last Thursday. It was a pretty tough test. But to help the students, I always give at least one extra credit question. Their extra credit question was: "What act of KINDNESS have you performed today?" Half of my students answered the question. I can be an optimist or pessimist about their response. I can be happy that half of my students performed an act of kindness that day. Or, I can be sad that I'm failing in teaching half of my students to be kind. I think I'll take the optimist road because I know bad things spread fast and good things take time to cultivate. By the end of the school year, I'm hoping my 7th graders all create their own Kindness Diaries.

On another front, you know I'm very big into communication and transparency. I don't like rumors so I don't give people an opportunity to create rumors due to the lack of information. Please understand that I am limited in certain situations as to how much information I share. With that understanding, we have made a change in the Art program at St. Ann. Kathy Herbert will be the art teacher for this week until we can find a permanent replacement. I have several people interested in teaching art at St. Ann, and the interviews will begin this week. That's as much as I can say about any developments in our Art program at this time. 

Student Spotlight:

Marcella Han is a first grader at St. Ann. She is part of a competitive dance team. She and her teammates competed in their last competition of the year this weekend at Starpower at the Cannon Center. They earned 4.75 stars out of possible 5 points, a first place in their category, and a third place overall. Marcella has danced for 4-years, and this is her second competition this year. Back in December, she also auditioned and was casted in Moscow's Great Russian Ballet Nutcracker. Congratulations Marcella.

With all the dancers at our school, maybe we should start a dance team. I am working to hire someone who will bring theater/plays back to St. Ann for next year. Our dancers can all perform there. More news to come on this front.

Ansley McLure competed this weekend in the Delta Regional Championship with her club volleyball team, Memphis Metro. Her team closed out the competitive season with 6 match wins! Ansley was a starting player this year for her team, playing the positions of setter and all around. 

In this student spotlight, I want to write about the great work of our band. I have asked Mr. John Baum, our band director, to take our band program up a couple of notches. I asked and he has responded with flying colors. Our band has performed and will continue to perform in several band events and competitions. The solo and ensemble band competition took place on Saturday. Below is a list of results for our band students.

SUPERIOR (Blue medal):  Chloe Nguyen, Jonathan Clowney, Alex Yong,  Ethan Christian (2), Laci McGhee, Ethan Nichols, Caleb Brapoh,  Jacob Myers, Devin Eaton, Adeolew Adebiyi, Conor Dwyer, Gino Anzovino

EXCELLENT (Red Medal):  Ian Ladd, Adam Locke, James Kargauer, Sarah Eaton, Vincent Bomprezzi, Rahmad Caster, Luca de Young, Jake Fister, Joyce Galvez, Jan Galvez. 

GOOD:  Brett Battle, Isabella Bomprezzi, Hunter Burgess, Aiden Dickerson, Isaiah Hence, Bryce Sones, Nick Clanton, Taylor Damore, Brendon Descovich

We had no student score lower than  “GOOD”!

Earlier today, both the band and 5th grade choir performed at the Catholic Schools Concert at St. Benedict. Both groups did an excellent job of representing St. Ann. They were outstanding, and I'm extremely proud of our band, choir, Ryan Cooper, and John Baum. Thank you everyone for a job well-done!

Lots going on this week as we rapidly approach Easter with 2nd graders preparing for First Communion and the 8th graders preparing for Confirmation. We also have the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the final easyCBM coming up soon. The 5th and 8th graders will also be taking the ACRE (Assessment of Catholic Religious Education) Test.

So, the final Jeopardy answer is "The end of the school year is rapidly approaching and we have much to accomplish." The final Jeopardy questions is "Why do we need your prayers for our teachers and students?"

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School