"Why St. Ann?" by Liz Wehmeyer

Liz, Olivia, and JT

This week's guest blogger is Liz Wehmeyer. Liz is an elementary school teacher with Bartlett City School and a mother of two students at St. Ann. J.T. is in 6th grade and Olivia is in PK4. Liz is also an Apple Certified Teacher, Webmaster, Social Media Coordinator, and 2nd grade teacher at Altruria who over the past two years has trained our teachers in using the iPad in the classroom. We now have about eleven teachers and one principal who are Apple Certified Teachers. Here is Liz's answer to "Why St. Ann?"

When Mr. Aur asked me to write a blog entry discussing my thoughts about St. Ann, I felt immediately overwhelmed. How could I possibly fit all the amazing things I witness in one blog entry? Where do I even begin? He suggested I just start writing and let my thoughts fill the page. So, I guess I will start at the beginning.

Mrs. Harty visits Olivia at home

When you teach at an awesome school less than a mile away from St. Ann, you get hit with the “Why don’t you bring your kids to school with you?” question pretty regularly. My standard answer is, “We are Catholic, and St. Ann is our parish.” That gets most people to accept the answer, but some press on. We always hear, “Can’t they just go to Sunday school or PRE?” I guess they could, but honestly, it’s the people and the relationships at St. Ann that are pretty high up on the list of reasons why we continue to sign our kids up year after year.

JT was only supposed to go to St. Ann for preK and then to school with me for elementary. Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Sexton changed that plan pretty quickly for us. I attended Catholic Schools growing up in New York and Ohio, and these two amazing women quickly reminded me how important a Catholic education really is. The St. Ann teachers, administrators, staff, and volunteers help shape my children’s lives, moral compass, and religious base that help us navigate through this crazy life. They get to capitalize on those teachable moments and bring God and prayer into every aspect of life. 

JT and Online Learning

Over the years, we have watched change, growth, and innovation blossom at our school. Father Ernie and Mr. Aur have outlined a clear course to a strong future for St. Ann School and a bright future for our kids as learners. I have had the privilege to work with the students of St. Ann for the past two summers at Camp Invention. Y’all, these kids are thinkers! These teachers are teaching these kids to think outside the box and really break the mold. I was amazed with the thinking, planning, and experimenting that took place in the Innovation Lab.

Now that I have covered the “Why St. Ann”, let me switch gears and tell you what I have witnessed in the adventure that is remote learning. The COVID-19 pandemic launched into our worlds pretty quickly. St. Ann teachers and administration left their spring breaks early to come to school and learn in about 48 hours how to continue teaching without being at school, how to create a blog, post to a blog, record lessons, use new tools, and make a plan to be ready to start Monday. The fact that every teacher had a blog and assignments ready to roll for first thing Monday morning was nothing short of a miracle. I checked in with teachers and Mr. Aur to see what I could do to help. Not one teacher had a bad attitude. They were all working together and helping each other do what needed to be done to make sure our kids didn’t miss one day of instruction. How incredible is that!

The St. Ann family has truly come together to make this quarantine a strangely beautiful time where every person is doing their part to keep the learning going. Parents and grandparents are helping explain lessons at home and helping kids get assignments submitted, teachers are planning amazing and engaging lessons, our kids are being provided with meaningful feedback on work and making stronger connections with teachers.

JT on the first day of school

I know it is easy as parents for us to feel overwhelmed (me, included!) and sometimes feel frustrated hawking the online grade book to see what remote grading even looks like or wondering when the next assignment will finally be posted. I hope that we all remember that the teachers are working harder than ever in a way none of us were trained for in our college studies. Thinking of creative ways to deliver lessons, posting online, meeting virtually, and then waiting on a steady stream of work being emailed in a variety of formats to organize, grade, and provide feedback. We have asked so much of the St. Ann teachers, and they keep showing up with a smile and a new lesson for our kids. I am in total awe with the magnitude of excellence in this remote learning adventure. 

Shout outs!

• From day one of the quarantine, Ms. Ostrowski asked every 6th grader to pray a rosary every day.
• Ms. Angotti’s remote PE class is fun and hilarious. I have watched JT do yoga with his class and play basketball with socks while racing against his buddies through Google Hangouts. 
• Mrs. Wendenon’s shadow art project looks amazing, and I totally want to try it. 
• Mrs. Langford easily doubles her time on Google Meets to make sure every student is really mastering the skills. (And they better be showing their work!)
• Mrs. Harty is having Google Hangouts with her class and even did remote calendar time with the kids. And when one kid is really sad because she can’t be in Mrs. Harty’s real classroom, she totally drove to our house for a safe, social distanced visit to cheer up my Olivia. 
• Mr. Gage has assigned the coolest, real world assignments for the middle school kids. They have corrected celebrities social media, created memes, and written creative stories. 
• Mr. Cooper has the kids singing and also critiquing music from around the world.
• Mr. Maranise shared a beautiful Easter meditation for the 8th graders because we can’t attend mass
• Ms. Ostrowski sends the most thoughtful emails giving her feedback on assignments. I LOVE listening to her religion and social studies class. Her enthusiasm in contagious, and she loves our kids.
• Mrs. Metaxas has such variety in her lessons, and her animated tree project is awesome. 
• Mr. Green got every middle school student set up with a working email address in a matter of days so kids and teachers can communicate daily.
• Ms. Ghio’s blog has been incredible since JT was in 3rd grade (and probably before!), but she still is finding new and innovative ways to teach.
• Ms. Sellers’ blog is filled with pictures of our littlest learners completing remote learning projects.
• Ms. Lola has got our kids creating beautiful artwork and pushing them to get creative in every project. 
• Mrs. Griffith answers every email and hangout message even when the emails are blank and the hangout messages from 6th graders are asking if it’s legal to pick up birds or just to tell her they are hungry. (God bless these middle school teachers. For real.)

Online with Mrs. Harty

I know this is just a sampling of amazing things happening from PK3 to 8th grade at St. Ann. I love seeing my Facebook feed filled with pictures from these learning adventures. We will all get through this together, and because of the amazing leader and teachers at St. Ann, our kids will be smarter, ready for the next grade level, and will have a stronger connection to their faith. 

Stay strong, hold the course, we’re all in this together!

Liz Wehmeyer

Thank you Liz for sharing. We appreciate your kind words. You help to make St. Ann a better school. You have been there for me and all the teachers. We cannot thank you enough for your constant smile and positive words.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School