How Are You Doing?

This morning I received a text from my sister-in-law asking the question; How are you doing? Thought I would take that question and make it the subject of this week's blog.

How am I doing? I'm doing well. Thank you for asking and for your concern.

In a running email conversation with a St. Ann parent, I wrote that I actually thrive on a bit of chaos. When things are smooth, I’m not at my best. I need to constantly be challenged. What is happening now, is definitely a challenge. This is my ideal work situation with fires everywhere!

There are three phrases that just drive me crazy. They are 1) Let's maintain the Status Quo, 2) I don't like change, and 3) We've never done it that way before. That cannot be said of our current world situation. If you want status quo, don't like change, and never done it another way, this is now a time for you to grow and embrace the changes in our lives. Time to change your way of thinking and doing. Definitely cannot bury your head in the sand.

Albert Einstein said, "Creativity is intelligence having fun." I absolutely embrace the opportunity we have been given to use our creativity to the fullest to improve our global situation. I think many people are just now realizing we have to start thinking globally and about others. We had a few days to change the way we live our daily lives. We've had to change the way we work. We've had to change the way we interact. It is a time for us not to despair, mope, think and act negatively. Anybody can complain. So don't. We are given an opportunity to shine. So, Shine! Every day, I see more people using creativity in helping to make everyone's situation just a little bit better. I want to be a part of that!

I took yesterday off from school work. I figured out yesterday that I had worked 17 days in a row and put in more hours each day than I normally do. Staying on the leading edge of this process we are creating is exhausting. I’m beat. Yesterday, I stepped back and let my mind rest. Spent most of yesterday doing chores: gardening, washing clothes, cleaning the house, even went shopping at Aldi’s and Big Lots (my two favorite stores along with Lowe's and Barnes & Noble). I also purposefully stayed away from the computer for most of the day. Today, I'm much better and looking forward to starting up again, but just maybe slowing down a bit.

View from my front porch

I am writing this blog while sitting on my front porch enjoying this cool, calm, beautiful morning, while soaking up some much needed sun, and listening to the birds chirp and sing. Since I have been sitting here, very few cars have driven down my street but lots and lots of neighbors have walked by with their dogs. Dogs are loving this.

A squirrel just came by and didn't notice me working on my blog. Neither did the squirrel realize it was going to become part of my blog. The squirrel was about 20 ft. away from me. It dug a little hole in the grass, buried some food, covered it up for safe keeping, and scampered away.

The reason I am sitting on my front porch is because our "Shelter at Home" ordinance and I cannot go anywhere. I don't want to sit inside on such a beautiful day when it is nice and peaceful out here. I could complain about the situation, but it is not in my nature to complain. To me, the glass isn't half full, it is overflowing. So, I'll make the best of it. If I would not have made the best of the situation and come sit out on my front porch, I would have never witnessed that squirrel burying its food in the ground. I've never seen that before. To me, squirrels are something my dogs chase, who climb all over my trees, and are constantly trying to chew their way into my attic. Today, I witnessed something different. I witnessed another one of God's creatures doing what it does every day, trying to survive.

Gacha Life Mr. Aur

All this to say, with the long weeks and days we have endured and will continue to face for God knows how long; with all the work that is required of us in these changing times; with the little sleep we are getting; and for the many unknown challenges we all face in our new world, let's embrace what is happening with some gusto. Be creative, do something different, accept the challenge, and thrive on the chaos.

In yesterday's homily, Fr. Ben Bradshaw said. "Let's hope that this will have some meaning and God will make us stronger." What we are going through will only have meaning and God will only make us stronger if we accept the challenges before us with love, compassion, generosity, and patience in making the best of what we have. After this is all said and done, I hope to be a better person, husband, father, son, brother, friend, educator, and most of all a better Christian.

So, as far as my situation and how I'm doing? Think I'll follow the squirrel's example and go plant some flowers, a few tomato plants, and maybe even some okra because my wife loves okra.

St. Ann...Pray for us!

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Previous blog: https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/03/apollo-13ed.html

"Apollo 13'ed"

Ken Buck is a school board member in Lancaster County, South Carolina. He posted the following statement on his Facebook page:

We gave educators almost no notice. We asked them to completely redesign what school looks like and in about 24 hours local administrators and teachers "Apollo 13'ed" the problem and fixed it. Kids learning, children being fed, needs being met in the midst of a global crisis. No state agency did this, no so-called national experts on curriculum. The local educators fixed it in hours. HOURS. In fact, existing state and federal policies actually created multiple roadblocks. Local schools figured out how to do it around those too. No complaining and no handwringing - just solutions and amazingly clever plans.
Remember that the next time someone tries to convince you that schools are better run by mandates from non-educators. Remember that the next time someone tells you that teachers have it easy or try to persuade you that educators are not among the smartest, most ingenious people in society. And please never say to me again, "Those who can't do anything else just go into teaching."

Get out of the way of a teacher and watch with amazement at what really happens.

Thank you to Jennifer Podesta for posting this on the Colt Parent Facebook page. I see Jennifer's post as an appreciation of the work being performed not only by the teachers at St. Ann, but teachers everywhere.

Our Catholic School teachers don't have to deal with government agencies and national experts on curriculum. We have the blessing of a very supportive Bishop and Catholic School Superintendent to figure out the solutions and move forward with doing our best to help the children. They both stated in our meeting yesterday that we will not stop educating our children. Gotta love it when your leaders support your mission and work 100%! The Catholic School principals are also providing each other guidance with the challenges of online learning for elementary and middle school students.

Ken Buck's statement is so true, and it makes me think about what a great staff of educators we have at St. Ann from the front office to the classrooms. I have the great privilege of working with these folks everyday. I know they would all rather be in their classrooms teaching the students face-to-face and being part of the miracle of learning as they have been for many years. The alternative of posting assignments on a blog page for parents to assist their children is not their choice but it is the best option for education at this time.

As with all parents, their world has been rocked. Their whole way of dealing with everyday activities has completely changed. They are putting in more hours per day than they did when the students were present. When I left yesterday at 4:00 for a 4:30 meeting, the PK teachers were still here trying to figure out how best to serve their students and parents. And, for awhile, it is only going to get more difficult until we can fill in all the potholes and the roads once again become easily navigable.

Think about the work of teachers. How do they put together lesson plans for students who are not sitting in front of them? How do they test the students to see if they are meeting educational objectives? Are they mastering the subjects/skills? Do they need extra help? How do they evaluate students' social/emotional development? How do they model their Catholic/Christian faith to the students? How do they show students love when they aren't present? That's tough to do.

We aren't exactly sure how to do this, but we are all trying to figure it out. It is a lot easier for high schools and colleges to administer online/distance learning. You plan out your classes, write your syllabus, post it, and expect the students to follow it. If they do, they get good grades. If not, that's their responsibility. This doesn't work with elementary and middle school students. They are neither ready nor equipped to deal with education without having the necessary guidance. My heart goes out to the teachers and parents of the younger students. You are the ones with the toughest job of all. Because of this and many more reasons, the faculty, staff, and families at St. Ann amaze me.

This is a teachable moment for all of us. Our children see how we react in times of adversity and learn from the examples we set. The result I hope to see from this is that our children learn to handle adversity without fear and with a level head. This will make them stronger, more compassionate people and be able to deal with whatever life throws their way.

The first wave of the Coronavirus storm is just now hitting us in the United States. The biggest part of the storm is yet to come if we don't heed the Center for Disease Control (CDC) precautions. CLICK HERE to access information from the CDC on how to protect ourselves from the Coronavirus.

We at St. Ann must keep in mind that school is in session, but how we operate looks completely different. Home, work, and school life have changed for all of us. Daily teaching and learning must continue and continue with purpose. We have an obligation to our children to work and continue the education process. Since we are going to fight this battle together, I like the side I’m on.

St. Joseph (today is his feast day)...Pray for us!

St. Ann...Pray for us!

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Update On School Assignments for Next Week

St. Ann faculty members met this morning and many are still here at school working in order to plan how best to continue the teaching and learning process while the school is closed due to the Coronavirus.

Teachers have created or are in the process of creating blogs so they are able to post lessons, assignments, handouts, and videos. Please see the homepage of our website under "TEACHER BLOGS" to see what work is being posted. Only a handful of blogs are listed at this time. As teachers create the blog, we will update the list. Teachers are also sending out emails to the parents to update everyone on assignments.

We are limiting the different online programs to those each grade normally uses: PlusPortal, Khan Academy, IXL, easyCBM, BrainPOP, Istation, ACT Academy, Lyrics2Learn, RQ, ReadWorks, Padlet, Flocabulary, ShowMe…  If we aren’t currently using it, then the teachers probably aren't going to use it. The learning curve of adding a new program will not be helpful to the teachers. One of the exceptions is Starfall. We are sending home activation codes to the PK3, PK4, Kinder, and 1st grade students.

Remote/Distance Learning is something extremely new and different for all of us. It is common for some high schools and all colleges/universities, but not for elementary/middle schools. Even though I am sad we have to close our doors and we will not see the students for awhile, I'm happy about this opportunity for us to learn and grown as an educational community. Our focus is to keep things simple so we may all work together. Some of the things we do might not work, but we won't know until we try them.

I am thrilled with the work my teachers are doing and the positive attitudes as they work during Spring Break because of the love they have for their students. We have an incredible staff of people at St. Ann and it really shows when working through adversity.

Please keep the lines of communication between students, parents, and teachers open so we may support each other in the best ways possible. If there is something you would like to suggest so we may do the remote/distance learning process better, please contact me directly. My email is didier.aur@sascolts.org. We are taking a terrible situation and doing the best we can with it.

The Catholic School principals will meet on Wednesday to discuss future plans and the diocese will make a decision on Thursday regarding re-opening the schools for the following week. We will keep everyone posted.

On Sunday from 2-4pm and Monday from 8-9am, parents are to come to the school to pick up packets with student work and assignments, iPads, Kindles, books, and whatever else teachers want to send out.

Thank you for your support.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal