A Visit to St. Ann

Imagine a beautiful spring day. A young family comes to visit St. Ann. They have a 4-year old daughter walking in with them. The father is busy trying to control and entertain their 2-year old son in his arms. The mother has a beautiful newborn baby girl strapped tightly and sleeping quietly against her chest. They are new to the Bartlett area and looking for a Catholic home for their family. They are filled with excitement and some anxiety as they look for just the right school. Their daughter has not yet attended school because of the unknowns brought about from the pandemic. Now, it is time to let go and do something they have looked forward to yet dreaded for the some time now.

As they enter the school, Mrs. Westrich is the first to greet and welcome them to St. Ann. They have spoken on the phone in setting up the visit but have never met. They are quickly off on a tour where the parents meet Mrs. Morgan and Ms. Farm, our PK4 teachers. They see the PK4 students busy at work in the classrooms. As they are walking down the hall, they meet Mrs. Slattery in the computer lab where she has a wonderful and hilarious St. Ann story to share. They hear the children singing in Mr. Cooper's class and see them drawing in Ms. Lola's. A quick peek in the gym and they see Coach Angotti leading her students through a stretching exercise. They meet Fr. Ernie as he is heading back to his office after morning Mass. They are so thrilled and excited about their child attending at St. Ann.

As they come back into the office to get more information and learn about the enrollment process, there is still one question they have to ask. They know the cost of tuition because they read through the whole website. Being a young family on a single-income, they know they will need financial assistance to be able to afford to send their daughter to St. Ann.  As the father kind of shuffles back and forth, looking down at his feet, it is time for the question they have been afraid to ask. "Is there any financial aid available to help us?" For a few seconds, they hold their breath and anxiously await an answer.

How many of us have gone through exactly what this family is going through? Remember that feeling of not knowing if you would be able to afford to send your child to a Catholic school? How about the conversations regarding the sacrifices we were willing to make to give our children the best education possible? What if there is no financial aid available to help us? What will we do? What if there was no alumni support, no generous friends, no philanthropic families, no giving foundations, no annual fund drive, no fundraising events, and no Fall Fest to help families wanting a Catholic education for their children?

There are so many families who need your support to be able to send their children to a Catholic school. They want what's best for their children, but it is hard for young families to materialize money when they are starting their professional lives, raising children, and working to make ends meet.

Because we do have fantastic alumni support, generous friends, philanthropic families, giving foundations, an annual fund drive, fundraising events, and Fall Fest, we are able to provide tuition assistance to nearly 100 of our students.

Now, back to our question from the young family asking about financial aid. Mrs. Westrich's reply: "Yes, we have financial aid available. When you fill out the online registration, you can also fill out the financial aid form as well. Once we have all the information, we can evaluate and determine the level of financial aid you will need."

Thank you to the many alumni, friends, families, foundations, volunteers, donors, and supporters who come together to make Catholic education a reality for all families. Last school year's donor board is going up on the donor wall this week. As we kick off the fundraising for the 2021-22 school year, we would love to see your name on the donor board. Come join us. We need your love, kindness, and support. You give families hope and all of us a brighter future.

Click on the St. Ann seal to support a St. Ann family.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

The Good We Do

This blog is a thank you to all the incredible people I work with who give and give and don't hesitate to throw themselves into their work especially when things get tougher and tougher as they have these past 18-months. These are the folks who see the beauty in the purposeful work God created them to do. They truly honor God by participating in their faith. 

The poem "As Kingfishers Catch Fire" makes me think about the good we do.  Am I the person God created me to be in doing His work? In this poem, there are two lines in particular that have me asking this question. The lines are "What I do is me: for that I came" and "Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is."

The way I interpret these two lines is if I am truly a participant in my faith, then I am to be the person God created me to be. Since God created me for a purpose and gave me certain talents, shouldn't I put those talents to good use by serving Him in doing His work? Am I to be seen in God's eye as He sees Christ?

The key is not to be an observer in my faith. Instead, I am to get knee-deep in my faith by putting my heart in the work I do. Christ taught us to participate in our faith by being doers of God's will and not observers. In Mark 7:6-7, Jesus recounted Isaiah's prophesy about the hypocrites who honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. Maya Angelou said, "Life is going to give you just what you put into it. Put your whole heart in everything you do."

This is also how I view James 2:26: "As the body without spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." I can have faith, but if I don't participate in that faith, isn't that a waste of who God created me to be? The good we do is our purpose. "What I do is me, for that I came."

Daily, I witness selfless people participate in their faith by spending countless hours and energy working to better those entrusted to our care. Being Catholic school educators is our ministry. The folks I work with definitely live their faith through the work they do, and get an A+ for participation. God has chosen us to do His work, and it is our responsibility to do our part to help build up the Kingdom of God in the hearts of our students.

Thank you and much love to the faculty and staff of St. Ann Catholic School. The good we do brings our students closer to heaven. You "fulfill your ministry with the affection of your heart." - St. John Baptist de La Salle

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Previous Blog:

https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2021/08/love-your-neighbor-as-yourself.html

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

In this day and age, most everyone is willing to work together especially when things are going their way. When they don't, there's a growing number of people who become angry and uncooperative; many times even belligerent. I've watched some of the videos from the Williamson County School Board meetings. People getting a bit too cra-cra! Wonder what those people think when they go back and see themselves on YouTube? In the words of Sheldon Cooper, "For shame!" 

Nothing wrong with disagreeing; just need to disagree agreeably. That's how we compromise and find solutions to our disagreements. My way or the highway isn't a good managerial or relational strategy.

This morning's gospel reading was from Matthew 22 where the Pharisees tested Jesus on the greatest commandment. His response is what we should always be doing as children of God. "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Unfortunately, we don't love God the way we should. And, we definitely don't come close to loving our neighbor as ourself. For many, hating our neighbor is probably more common than loving our neighbor especially if they don't think the way we do. Jesus never said for us to love our neighbor unless our neighbor does not look, act, or think the way we do. Sometimes, I'm as guilty as the next person, but I actually do try to follow the greatest commandment.

Loving God and our neighbor does not mean we are supposed to make everyone happy. Actually, trying to make everyone happy is a recipe for disaster and should not be our goal because it will never work. If our actions and decisions are made out of love, yet some people aren't happy with our actions and decisions, then so be it. We aren't all going to be happy, but we should all get along. Here's a great quote to follow: "Stop trying to make everyone happy. You are not tequila!"

Winston Churchill once said, "Never let a good crisis go to waste." We are approaching 630,000 COVID deaths in this country and 4.4 million world-wide. Don't know about you, but I would categorize this as a crisis. During this crisis, it might be a good time to learn to love God, our neighbor, and ourself.

We should all work together for the common good. Br. Joel McGraw (one of my favorite people on this earth), once told me, "In a disagreement, put on your velvet gloves and kill them with kindness." That was his way of loving his neighbor as himself. Let's be a lot like Jesus and Br. Joel by using this crisis to look for ways to love our neighbor.

I will end with some great advice from St. Teresa of Calcutta: “People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

God bless you, Didier Aur

A Sense of Déjà Vu

Pit and the Pendulum

Why am I getting a sense of déjà vu? Have we seen all this before? Do you have a foreboding and ominous sense that we are stuck in some type of time warp where we keep getting sent back in time as if Doc Brown's flux capacitor or Bill & Ted's phone booth are stuck in repeat mode?

For eighteen months, nothing has been easy. And, I get this feeling that a pendulum is swinging right above me as if I am stuck in a horror novel. I'm waiting for the rats to rescue me by chewing through the straps binding me to the table. Maybe those rats are the vaccine. How 'bout that for some symbolism. 

During these months, a chasm has developed where we have alienated ourselves by cynicism to the left or right. Sense and sensibility have been kicked to the curb replaced by agitation and irrationality, causing a lack of cooperation with and compassion for our brothers and sisters.

We are at the point where we can no longer rely on politicians and news media for truth. Every fact, statistic, and scrap of evidence placed before us is refuted by the other side as lies. Are truth and integrity no longer virtues?

I see ethics as a combination of truth and integrity. Unfortunately, ethics has been replaced by power and greed. Since ethics disappeared, truth and integrity, like Jolting Joe DiMaggio, have left and gone away. No wonder we have become jaded and cynical. For many, that cynicism has turned into hate. When hate rears it's ugly head, the middle ground quickly erodes, and we become a left or a right.

The latest issues causing this chasm are a face covering and COVID vaccination. How do we overcome these issues? If you ask me and you didn't, the answers are pretty simple.

Step 1: Stop talking and start listening, but listen to the right people.

Step 2: If you received or did not receive the vaccination because of your political affiliation, I just rolled my eyes in disbelief. That determination should be made or have been made by you and your physician, unless your physician is Dr. Vinnie Boombatz. If your doctor says you should take the vaccination, then do it. If not, don't. Doctors are actually scientists who constantly do research in their field. And, they want you to live because they don't make anymore money off of you and your health insurance company if you die. Just sayin'.

Step 3: If you are asked to wear a face covering, please do so. It is an inconvenience but an easy thing to do. Here's the way I look at this issue. I wear a seat belt when driving, bike helmet when riding, and shin pads when playing soccer. I would rather do none of the above, but I do so because they are required, meant for safety, and easy to do.

Step 4: Set a good example for the everyone. When in public (especially indoors), wear a face covering. When you are outdoors, don't. We are in great need of people setting good examples like using a turn signal, holding the door for the next person, and just being a nice person. Everyone going out in public will be wearing some type of face covering for the next few weeks. If the delta variant in this area continues to track like in the UK, we will be out of the mask mandate before we know it. 

Step 5: Wash your hands, disinfect everything you touch, social distance, stay home if you don't feel good, and keep your germs to yourself. It worked last time. It will work again this time.

Working together is way past due but never too late to start. While working together, maybe we can actually learn to get along again. Wouldn't that be a novel idea and a nice thing to do!

God bless you,

Didier Aur

When is Han Solo Going to Slow Down the Millennium Falcon?

If you are a Star Wars fan, you know Han Solo used the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon to make the jump to light speed. I feel like we are on the Millennium Falcon with the hyperdrive fully engaged, going light speed, and not being able to slow down to enjoy the ride. When is Han Solo going to slow down the Millennium Falcon?

After experiencing the most exhausting of all years, this summer leading up to the 21-22 school year has been even more exhausting. If anything, time has accelerated, and we only have one more week to prepare for teacher in-service and the new year. Wow!

The workload for the administrative team is heaviest during the summer. Preparing for the new school year takes place in a two-month span; June and July. The to-do list for getting the school ready has been longer and more involved than any of my previous 33 years in education. The long list isn't just for me; it is for the administrative staff, IT, teachers, maintenance, custodians, fall fest, PRE, and Home & School. Everyone has more on their plate than ever before and busting their tails making sure we are ready.

Life is sure going by quickly, and I don't have the energy I once did. Yet, the workload and number of hours spent at St. Ann continue to increase. Because of this, my hobbies have taken a back seat. Haven't spent nearly as much time on the soccer field or on my bicycle as I wish I had.  After an extra hard day at work, it is sometimes difficult finding the time and energy for either. My trip to ride the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska never did materialize. Disappointing, but glad I live .2 miles from the Greenline, and able to go for a quick ride now and then.

I'm not complaining by any means because I actually enjoy going to work every day. I am thankful to be at St. Ann and work with the most wonderful people. I am thrilled the whole team is on board to make St. Ann the best and continue to build such an incredible culture for our students and families. Our team will walk through fire for each other and the children. For those who might take our school for granted, the grass at St. Ann is a beautiful, lush, deep green.

This year is going to be a mix of pre-COVID and COVID times. It is almost as if we are reinventing education once again. That's why all the extra work. Planning last summer was a monster. We have had to almost completely revise our plans all over again this summer. When we just about have everything figured out, here comes the Delta variant. Yay! This yay is followed with an eye roll, sigh, head shake, and a few expletives. Here we go again.

We successfully and safely made it through last year. We will do it again together this year. Keep calm and persevere. 

If St. Ann is not on your prayer list, please add us. If you normally don't pray, please start. If you already pray for St. Ann, thank you.

Dear God, please give us the faith, strength, fortitude, wisdom, humility, and passion needed to continue to move St. Ann forward, and keep our people safe. Bless us all. Amen.

Hey Han Solo, how about you slowing the Millennium Falcon down a bit! Much appreciate you doing that.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

Sunsets to Sunrise

By Anthony Maranise, Obl.S.B.

Endings are so difficult for me. I simply do not do well with endings. I never have. Yet, as we all know, endings are inevitable. Too, so many of us often must face endings far more momentous than those of a meal, a song, or a book. Perhaps the ending we face is that of the life of a loved-one, or the dissolution of a relationship, or the stoppage of meaningful work or employment. These sorts of ‘ends’ can be and often are somewhat ‘soul-crushing.’ To be sure, I have faced all these endings in one form or another and am still here writing. Words poured onto a page are often hollow solace for the soul that must mourn the loss that comes with each ending.

What can, what does help in the healing process, then? I might contend that it is certainly not my words, but rather, the Word; that is, the verbum Dei – the very Word of God.

If I were a betting man (and let us be honest, I am), I would bet that Jesus – like most persons – was also not too keen on endings either. Granted, I could certainly be wrong in my conjecture, but Sacred Scripture certainly paints the picture of the God-Man as One who relished in and enjoyed perseverance, overcoming, and fresh starts as opposed to One who passively accepted the inevitability of loss or endings.

 I would like to highlight for you, now, but two examples from God’s Word wherein we see Jesus speaking about, if not promising, that finality may not be as final as we suspect… at least on this side of eternity. To be sure, the point of this brief exercise is not to shift focus away from the very real – and palpable – pain of having to face endings in this life. Rather, it is to demonstrate that just when it seems as if though we have reached an end of our own, there, in our brokenness, lostness, and uncertainty, we can encounter the God of Newness and Unlimited Beginnings.

The First Example

Our first example comes from within the context of what theologians and biblical scholars refer to as ‘The Last Supper Discourses’, or the intimate conversations Jesus had with the Twelve Apostles during The Last Supper before his ultimate arrest and Passion. It is in the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel wherein Jesus makes a beautiful promise to His Twelve, and by ‘spiritual succession’, to us also.

Jesus says, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you” (John 14:18-20).

Jesus’ promise not to leave His Twelve (and all of us) as orphans illustrates, clearly, His refusal to abandon those He loves and has taught in the ways of love. Moreover, the reference wherein He says, “I will come to you”, is an allusion to the sending forth of the Holy Spirit. In the ‘eternal silences’ of the Trinity, God dwells forever as an inexhaustible fount of newness which overflows from the continual exchange of love between the three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Apart from His promise to come to us Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit, Jesus also directly promises us life, but there is even more still.

The promise of life Jesus gives is qualified by what He says after this, namely, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” This deep interconnectedness between the Father and the Son is also held out to us as possibility should we choose to accept it. Think about what Jesus says: “…I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” Thus, if Jesus is in His Father (God, the Creator) and we are in Jesus, then through, with, and in Jesus, we have our access to the Father and all that the Father is, namely, a Trinity of inexhaustible love, mercy, newness, forgiveness, hope, tenderness, and compassion.

The Second Example

Our second example also comes from John’s Gospel and is only about two chapters later than the first. In John’s sixteenth chapter, we see Jesus again speaking to His Apostles. But, this time, something is different about Jesus’ words. There is an unexpected, if not startling, tone to them… at least on the face of things. But it is never ‘the surface’ of the matter with Jesus. The content of His words are always meant for spiritual, emotional, and mental ‘digestion’. That is, we must really ponder what He means. Some context, here, would prove helpful so let us look at the entirety of the passage which serves as this second example.

“A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ [of which he speaks]? We do not know what he means.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. (John 16:16-22)

Here is, before our very eyes, an instance wherein Jesus foretells of His own impending death. But we mustn’t stop there. What does the Lord say? “A little while and you will no longer see me…” Certainly, here, He is talking about His betrayal, arrest, passion, crucifixion, and death. There was, after all, some time (though briefly) that Jesus had to spend in the tomb. However, read on. What does the Lord say? “…And again a little while later and you will see me.” Here, He is talking about His having conquered over the gates of hell, sin, and death as well as His own resurrection!

This is, for us believers (or it should be, anyway), an absolute earthquake! We should be shaken and moved, but not with sadness, fear, or trepidation, but instead with joy unspeakable. Very God of Very God knows He must suffer and die, but He has no plans of remaining in the realm of death. He has plans to conquer, to overcome, to emerge victorious from the grave!

Personally, I love the last verse of this particular section and example. In the twenty-second verse, Jesus says, “So also now you are in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” While these words may have been veiled in mystery for the Apostles, we all have the advantage of hindsight. The Apostles also later would come to understand these words spoken by their Master and Our Lord.

Moreover, His words, here, have a triple meaning. On the one hand, certainly, Jesus is referring to His need to die (“You will no longer see me”) and to His resurrection (“A little while later and you will see me”), but He is also referring to His ascension (“You will no longer see me”) and the descent of the Holy Spirit (“A little while later and you will see me”) as well as His own coming again in glory at the end of time (or what theologians refer to as ‘the parousia’).

In all the cases cited above, Jesus expresses intentions to return to us, His beloved children!   

So, what, then are we to make of all of this? My own words could not summarize the impact of what these scriptural examples mean to those of us who are persons of faith. I will, for my part, say merely this: Jesus is not one for endings. He is the God of beginnings.

Saint Clement of Rome perhaps said it best when he penned these now infamous words, namely, that “The Lord has turned all of our sunsets into sunrise.”

To the God of Beginnings, then, let us pray:

Last Supper by Nando Martins

 Lord, You have promised to “make all things new” (Revelation 21:4-5). I believe that You have already begun Your new creation on earth as it is in Heaven. Renew the strength within me and enable me to recognize that, when it seems as if though I am entering into a sunset, You promise me the renewed hope of a sunrise to follow. You have never left me alone, Lord. Do not now forsake me so that my faith, confidence, and hope in You may abound without disappointment. As the God of Beginnings, I ask You, Most Gracious King of my heart, make a new way forward where even now there seems not to be one. In you I have placed my trust. Let me never be put to shame. My God, My Hope, My New Beginning, all my love is Yours. Amen.

We Did It!

Class of 2021

Only a few days left of the 2020-21 school year, and then we can say, "We did it!" We made it through the year of the Coronavirus when schools all over the world shutdown to in-person learning. We didn't shut down. We stayed true to our families; touching the hearts and teaching the minds of our students. We followed the advice of the medical experts, planned fiendishly for the unknown, took precaution after precaution, all while demonstrating fortitude. 

No one could have predicted what would happen, but we didn't back down in fear. We did what was best and the results speak for themselves in high test scores, back-to-basics education, with advanced learning, all while participating in Mass and other religious activities, and providing our community with service. To me, the most wonderful part was St. Ann witnessing a substantial number of students (and several with their families) in all grades coming into the Catholic faith through Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation. This has been an incredibly beautiful and challenging school year. Faith, science, planning, precaution, and courage prevailed.

Dr. Colleen Butterick is the head of counseling for the Catholic Schools of our diocese. This weekend, she shared a letter with the Catholic School principals. With her permission, I am sharing this letter with you, our Catholic School families, because Dr. Butterick hit the nail on the head with this letter.

Dear All,

When we began this journey together in March, 2020 we collectively decided that our main goal was to educate the children in our Catholic Schools.  We set forth a plan and steadfastly followed that plan, resulting in providing a full and solid academic year for our students.  While we have always been supportive of one another, this year has stood out as one where we were true colleagues in every sense of the word.  We supported one another, helped one another with decision making, and approached our decisions with every school's best interest in mind.  I have always been proud to be a part of this leadership team, but never as proud as I have been this year. You have been true educators and leaders.

There has been some discussion nationally that students have suffered due to this pandemic.  But, quite frankly, I think they have gained enormous emotional strength and emotional intelligence throughout this year.  Our students witnessed a devastating experience but they also witnessed all of us banding together and overcoming fears and conflicts to survive and carry-on.  Our children learned that when difficulties happen the answer is to have faith, tenacity, optimism and cooperation, and situations will improve.  They observed their parents, teachers, administrators and their friends collectively working together towards the common goal of keeping our schools open.  I believe that these students will be able, throughout their lives, to draw upon this experience and put in place what they have learned as they are faced with other life crises.  

Thank you for your leadership, dedication and selflessness throughout this year.  We did it!!

Thank you Dr. Butterick. We came together and prevailed! We (students, parents, volunteers, teachers, staff, and administrators) did it!

Have a great summer, and let's get ready for the 2021-22 school year!

God bless you and with much love,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

I Chose You!

As the final week of this very unique (don't ever want to use the word unprecedented again) school year quickly approaches, I want to share with you an email I sent to the wonderful people who make up our St. Ann staff. Let's finish the 2020-21 school year strong! 

Dear St. Ann Educators,

As Jesus prayed for the disciples in today’s Gospel reading (John 17), I am reminded of our role as His disciples. As the disciples were sent out into the world, we have also been sent out into the world as Catholic School educators. “As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.” In John 15:16, Jesus said, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” We were chosen to do His work. So, the question for us today is: Jesus, what do you want me to do with my life today?

With the school year quickly ending, there appears to be a lot of tension and pressure mounting as we wrap up this most trying of school years. This is causing anxiety and uncertainty with students, parents, and educators alike. Let us remember that He chose us as Catholic School educators for a purpose. Let us deal with the anxieties and uncertainties by putting our faith and trust in Jesus and by moving forward as His disciples.

We have made it this far into this COVID-19 school year. We are tired! We are nearing our boiling point (if we haven’t reached it already)! We need for summer to hurry up and get here! We need for parents and students to calm down a bit (and for us to remember they too are tired and nearing their boiling point)!

Let us continue to focus on our work. The finish line is near, and you are all doing some amazing work. Be happy, loving, thankful, understanding, merciful, and be the disciples we have been chosen to be. Jesus loves you.

Jesus, what do you want me to do with my life today? Amen!

God bless you and love,

Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

Mentorship and the 8th Graders

I have the privilege of greeting our 8th graders as they arrive to school each morning. I give them a few expectation reminders in our less than 5-second interaction. The expectation reminders consist of: "Be a positive leader, work hard, finish strong, and continue to be wonderful/awesome." Sometimes, I'll ask them about their grades, a recent athletic event, upcoming confirmation, or pending assignments and tests. With some of the students, I can hear their eyes roll when I greet them. Cannot say that I blame them. The good thing is that they all acknowledge my morning greeting. I expect nothing less because they are extremely polite and well-mannered.

Why do I do this? Because I genuinely care about my students and want them to all be positive leaders, work hard, finish strong, and continue to be wonderful/awesome. Also, the 8th graders don't realize they are setting an example for all the younger students. The younger students notice the 8th graders through their words and actions. I want them to set positive examples for the rest of the student body to emulate. If the 8th graders do set positive examples, they become mentors to the younger students.

We all need mentors, many mentors. Hate to think where I'd be without my mentors. Most of the time, our mentors have no idea they play this role in our lives. They just do the right things in their everyday lives and we learn from their expertise and examples. "The man of noble mind forms designs and stands firm in his nobility." Isaiah 32:8 That's how I view a mentor; standing firm in his or her nobility.

Our mentors change throughout our lives as we develop. Growing up, my mentors were mainly my parents, teachers, and coaches. Even though they helped shape my life and will forever be considered mentors, they are not necessarily my main mentors today. Our mentors change as we proceed in life and business. Tomorrow's mentors might be different than today's. But then again, some of my mentors have been the same for some time now.

I have many mentors and I'm thankful for the part they play in my life. Through their actions, time, guidance, and patience, these folks have helped me become the educational leader, more importantly, the person I have become. They each unknowingly mentor me in different areas of life. 

We have to keep in mind that we too are mentors to others. Just as my mentors really don't know they play this role in my life, we don't necessarily know who we mentor. This makes it even more important that we are positive leaders in our everyday lives. Our examples tell and show our story to those around us. We learn how to be from positive examples set by those who mentor us.

For our students their parents, teachers, and coaches are their main mentors. One day this will change, but for now we are their mentors and we need to be mindful of our role in their lives. It is up to us to show constant and positive leadership; to stand firm in our nobility. And, it is up to us to not make their lives easier, but to challenge them to work hard and be positive leaders themselves. When we are not setting high goals and expectations of our children/students, we are not being the mentors they need.

Our 8th graders will be leaving St. Ann on a high note. They are performing exceptionally well academically, near completion with confirmation preparation, have their high school plans set, and have helped to make St. Ann a better Catholic school. Even though we are excited that they are moving on to the next phase of their lives, they will be truly missed. For the final 7-weeks at St. Ann, we hope they continue to mentor our younger students and stand firm in their nobility.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

Previous Blog: https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2021/03/be-prepared.html

Be Prepared

On Tuesday of Spring Break, I biked the Delta Heritage Trail for the first time. Started the ride in Lexa, Arkansas, located near Helena, not far from the Mississippi River. The plan was to ride to Elaine, AR and back to Lexa for a total riding distance of 41 miles. This was supposed to be another of my many fun and carefree rides. I actually came up with the idea of making this ride the night before, and wanted it to be a great day of riding. How quickly I discovered that I was not prepared at all for this ride.

Unlike the trails I have been riding such as the Greenline and Gulf State Park, this was a gravel trail with lots of rocks and sand. There is a paved section of this trail, but that section is a short one. The trail blew out both my tires, but not until I was 18 miles into the ride. That's when the rear tire started leaking. Somehow, my patch kit wasn’t in my bike pouch. I have no idea where I had placed the kit. I decided to continue the ride to Elaine to see if maybe there was a store there where I could get some help to repair the tire. No such luck.

I had to pump up the rear tire every 2 miles. At the 28-mile mark, had to now pump up the rear tire every mile. Extremely difficult to pedal through gravel, sand, and rocks on deflated tires. At about the 39-mile mark of my ride, the rear tire finally gave out completely and the front tire started leaking air. Had to walk the bike the last mile and a half. There was no more riding and my ride became a walk.

I have a hybrid bike. It is a cross between a road and touring bike with thinner, smoother tires. The tires are not meant for rough trails. I needed better trail tires to make this ride. It is also a lighter bike than a trail bike. So, the bike gets beat up riding a rocky trail as does the rider.

Because this went from a 3-hour bike ride to an over 5-hour bike ride, I didn’t have enough water to make it to the end. The temperature was 85 degrees, which required even more water. I rode 41 miles, saw no one on the trail, and there was nowhere to stop for help. My one choice was to suck it up and ride. That's what I did.

What did I learn from this ride? Be prepared! I need to be better prepared especially in dealing with the unknown.

I should have learned from our planning for the reopening of the school during this pandemic. We were so ready and so prepared for the unknown that nothing was going to go wrong. Nothing! And, nothing did go wrong. Everything went better than expected. 

I am so proud of everyone who helped plan for the 2020-21 school year. They were all a Godsend with positive, problem-solving attitudes. No one sat back and waited for others to plan. Everyone stepping up and joined-in to make this school year happen. Because of these forward thinking and acting folks, we were ready and prepared. This has turned out to be a fantastic school year. When you think of all that has taken place, I think this has been the best school year of my 31-years as an educator.

In the words of Paul Harvey: "Now for the rest of the story." If you are too young to know Paul Harvey, look him up. He was one of the greatest news personalities this country has ever seen.

At the 12-mile mark is the city of Lake View. There is a nice trail rest stop in Lake View. That's where I was when I received a text from Andrew Post, Layla Post's husband, notifying me of the birth of their son, Andrew Cyrus Post. I took a short break from riding to forward his text to the St. Ann staff members because we had all been awaiting the news. The birth announcement was one of the highlights of the ride.

The other highlight happened just before the 18-mile mark. That's when I started my prayers. I like to pray when I ride. I apologized to God for not praying as often as I should. That's when I felt the rear tire starting to go flat. If you pray, this next part makes sense. In feeling the rear tire going flat, I didn't question, I didn't complain. I just said, "I get it." For the rest of the long and painful bike ride, I thanked God for giving us this opportunity and extra time to spend together in prayer. So, instead of being upset about not preparing properly for this ride, I recognized my need to spend more time in prayer. So, I used this time to pray. What turned out to be one of the most physically demanding and painful things I have ever done also turned out to be a blessing in allowing me time to pray.

My lack of preparation turned into something good and great. On that ride, I learned about the arrival of the newest member to our St. Ann family, and I spent several hours of uninterrupted prayer time. Even though it took me several days to recover physically, I'm glad my Delta Heritage Trail ride took place. On the ride, God used that time to remind me the importance of and the need to appreciate both life and prayer.

Congratulations to Andrew and Layla Post on the arrival of their son. And, thank you God for your many blessings.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Previous Blog: https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2021/03/is-that-light-we-are-seeing.html

Is That a Light We Are Seeing?

Is that a light we are seeing at the end of the narrow COVID-19 tunnel; the light we have been anticipating since last March? I do believe it is! The end of the tunnel is getting closer. The problem is the end is still far away. Yet, the tunnel is no longer quite narrow. Due to the work of our incredible scientists, researchers, chemists, medical professionals, volunteers..., the tunnel is growing wider, allowing more light to shine through giving us a much needed sense of hope that we are getting closer to the end of the tunnel. If we do not continue to do the things we need to do to keep us safe, the tunnel will continue to widen, but the end will be no nearer.

The wider tunnel is an optical illusion giving us a somewhat mythical sense of security. I do not desire to use the term "false sense of security" because we are moving in the right direction safely in opening up society to what we consider normal. The issue is that we can very quickly and easily fall back to the high pandemic transmission levels especially with the new variants of Coronavirus if we let our guard down.

The big step taking place for all schools is with teachers and staff having received the 1st dose (and for some the 2nd dose) of the vaccine. Most everyone at St. Ann will receive the 2nd dose during the Spring Break.

The CDC just announced this morning that fully vaccinated adults can now gather without masks, but asks that we continue to follow COVID-19 protocol in social distancing, hand-washing, and wearing masks. To me, this is good news giving us another opportunity of hope that the light we are seeing at the end of the tunnel is real.

As for children under 12 years of age, there is no timeline for their vaccination. I just read an article in the NY Times about vaccinating children. The part that stood out with me is that "moving below 12 years of age will require a new study and potentially a modified formulation or dose schedule." A vaccine for children under 12 isn't going to happen for awhile. The current vaccines are considered safe for 16 and above. Trials are now taking place for children 12-15 years of age.

The next step for us is to see how well we can control the spread of COVID-19 during Spring Break. Even though our numbers have been declining, will we see another spike with people gathering as they did during Thanksgiving and Christmas? Will we let down our guard and push COVID-19 protocol aside? The answers totally depend on us and our behavior during Spring Break. It is in our hands.

I am fully confident we at St. Ann will remain a safe haven for students, see the vaccination process through for our staff, follow all protocol set by the CDC and our own COVID-19 task force, and continue to see our virtual students return. With only 5% of our students on virtual learning, this is a great sign we are doing the right thing.

As we move forward, the parents of our virtual students are feeling better about their child(ren) returning to school in-person. Last week, we had two students return with two more returning after Spring Break. There are several others weighing the return to the in-person school option. And, I'm looking forward to the day virtual learning comes to an end and we have all our students attending school in-person.

Children aren't meant to sit at home learning in front of a computer. They need the interaction that comes from being with their classmates all day long. Educationally, they might do okay through virtual learning, but virtual learning doesn't help the social, emotional, or physical development of a child. Unfortunately, virtual learning is the only option many children have been afforded. Now that the tunnel is wider with more light shining through, attending school in-person is an option and a very good option at that.

As we head into Spring Break, let's enjoy the family time together and the warming weather while being mindful that we are still in the tunnel.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Only 4-Months Left

There are only 4-months left of this epic school year; the year of the Coronavirus. In a month and a half, we will reach the one-year anniversary of the March 16th switch to virtual learning for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. On this year's first anniversary, I hope to be enjoying Spring Break 2021 since Spring Break 2020 was pretty much non-existent. That break was spent preparing for virtual learning. For me, March 16th is a day to be remembered like 9/11. Unlike 9/11, March 16th has many positives to go along with it like our staff successfully implementing virtual learning; something we had no idea how to do five days before then.

Since the start of the pandemic, the world has experienced 2.23 million COVID-19 deaths. The United States has had 439K deaths. I, like everyone else, have lost friends and loved ones during this pandemic. Many families that have lost a loved one recently are having to wait up to a week or so to even meet with funeral home directors to plan a funeral.

I heard this simile today. "Life is like a fog, it appears, quickly dissipates and goes away." What a terrible, yet so accurate way of describing our lives on earth. I want to be more than a fog, at least to myself and my family anyway. That's why I love to wake early and get to work each day because even though my life, like the fog, will quickly dissipate and go away, I want to make a positive difference (too much negative out there already) while I'm still here. If I can first make a positive difference in my own life, maybe that will rub off on others, and help make the lives of those around me just a little bit better. As St. Teresa of Calcutta once said, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

During this pandemic, depression and anxiety have run rampant throughout the world. We have seen it at St. Ann with the students, but mainly when the school year started back in August. With the staff, the anxiety was present just before March 16th during the conversion from live to virtual learning. Since then, things have gotten better and the school year has been running smoothly with a few speed bumps along the way to slow things down. Anxiety still exists, but at a much lower level. I feel this is the case because our students and staff are present and our education has been live. For the few who are online, their education has been extremely individualized because of the work of our three online teachers. This has greatly reduced anxiety and increased learning levels.

We have learned many lessons along the way. A number of the changes we have made will be permanent changes simply because they are better. During this time, I have learned more than ever before about education, and it appears our teachers have learned how to educate our students in better ways. With the implementation of a new Math and Language Arts curriculum and the great work of our teachers with the students, we have seen tremendous results in the winter easyCBM scores. The improvements we have seen especially in math are incredible. There was an increase, with some very substantial increases, in both math assessments for all grades Kinder-8th! Just a reminder that math was the hardest hit subject during virtual learning.

With the new strain of COVID-19 approaching and expected to hit us in March (I'm starting to dislike March), and the lack of vaccines available, we will continue with all the current precautions in place.  This isn't the time to let up, but instead to reinforce procedures to keep everyone safe.

There are a lot of things happening in our world. It is up to us to decide if those happenings are negative or positive. I think you know me well enough by now to know that I'm going to put on my rose-colored glasses and look for all the good that I can. Bad things happen and tragedies occur. That's part of life. They aren't fun, but we have to deal with them. Longfellow once wrote, "Into each life some rain must fall." I'm glad I like the rain.

Let us find the positives in our lives and enjoy the fog while it is here.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

St. Ann January Update

Lots going on at St. Ann, and if we are going to continue improving our school, there is no slowing down. So, here are a few of the activities and improvements taking place.

Enrollment: Early Bird registration is from February 1st-16th. You can log-in to your FACTS Family Portal to access your re-enrollment packets. And, if you refer another family and they enroll, there will be a discount on your tuition. Please read Monday Mail for more information regarding enrollment and referring families. Contact Sara Westrich at sara.westrich@sascolts.org or (901) 386-3328 for more information. For our Hispanic families, Mrs. Westrich is fluent in Spanish.

WiFi: After several years in use, the WiFi system final gave out, which means we had to replace our WiFi system. Since our firewall is Meraki, we purchased a Cisco Meraki WiFi system. We purchased it on Wednesday and it arrived on Thursday. Our IT director, Mike Green, installed it that same day and our WiFi is up-and-running. The new Cisco Meraki system should take us to 2030 before having to be replaced.

A special thank you to the P.K. Seidman Foundation for funding the purchase of the new WiFi system. The cost of replacing the WiFi system was over $19K. 

Bandwidth: Since St. Ann is 1-to-1 with tablet technology, we have been working for several months now to increase the current bandwidth from 100 Mbps (Megabits per second) to 250 Mbps. This is taking so long because AT&T is not being very helpful. They have sent us three servers so far that don't work. The first one was dead on arrival and the other two were misconfigured. My guess is that they are so big that one school is not important to them. Unfortunately, because of E-Rate (government funding for connectivity), we have no choice but to go with AT&T.

Catholic Schools Week (CSW): This year's CSW will take place January 31st through February 6th. The theme is "Faith. Excellence. Service." It goes along well with the St. Ann mission statement. Angela de Jong has created the schedule of activities for the week and will share it at our staff meeting this week. Later this week, we will publish the schedule on our website and social media.

COVID-19 Vaccination: Our faculty and staff have signed up for the COVID-19 vaccination. We were hoping to receive it this past week, but Shelby County is already experiencing a shortage on vaccines. We are hoping it happens this week. We are getting closer and closer to putting an end to this pandemic. 

COVID-19 Transmission: I cannot stress this enough, our parents are the key to keeping COVID-19 out of St. Ann. And, our parents have been AWESOME! The communication between our parents and the school office has been fantastic. Parents aren't taking any chances. A headache, runny nose, stomach, low-grade fever, or just not feeling good and our parents have been keeping their child(ren) home. Even if there is someone at home not feeling well, parents are keeping their child(ren) home. Thank you parents! Because of you and the great work by the faculty, staff, and volunteers, we have created a safe and COVID-free environment for our students.

Fundraising: Hopefully, you know by now, one of my main goals is to keep St. Ann affordable and not raise tuition unless absolutely necessary. Angela de Jong and I are constantly in advancement mode in fundraising for the school so that we don't have to raise tuition. The more support we receive, the more funds we have available to help families afford St. Ann.

On this fundraising note, we have received yet another $10,000 matching challenge. If we raise $10,000, it will be matched. So, as part of Catholic Schools Week we plan to kick-off yet another St. Ann challenge. So, please be ready to help us meet our match.

If you haven't heard, we surpassed our fundraising goal in the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. I said in a previous blog that I hope to proclaim Nike, Nike for a successful 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. So, here it is. Nike, Nike! Thank you to everyone who donated, spread the word, and prayed a decade of the Rosary. Click here to read that blog.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

Beyond Our Comfort Zone

My good friend and great American philosopher, Dennis Myers once said, "In order to grow, you have to be willing to go through some type of transformation. And, you cannot go through any type of transformation if you aren't willing to venture outside your comfort zone." In 2020, individuals and businesses alike, in order to grow and for some just to survive, have had to recreate themselves by venturing outside their comfort zone to lengths previously unimagined.

The Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Memphis have ventured beyond any type of comfort zone and continue "to go where no one has gone before" as we advance in our journey through transformative changes to grow and frankly, stay alive. Each Catholic School has had to recreate themselves into institutions of education never imagined before, and we will probably never go back to where we were.

With 2020 coming to an end (Happy New Year!), even though we thought things would get better in 2021, the hardest part of educating our students and surviving this pandemic is yet to come. With COVID-19 continuing to spread and hospitals being at capacity, we are all going to have to double-down to do all in our power to keep the children and school staff safe.

According to Dr. Bruce Randolph, Health Officer of the Shelby County Health Department, COVID-19 transmission is not taking place in schools. Transmission is taking place at family gatherings and social events.

Our parents have been fantastic and really the first line of defense in keeping everyone safe. Parents have been keeping the school well informed if any family member has been exposed to or tested positive for COVID-19,  and they have immediately pulled their child from school until tested and served the necessary quarantine time. If a child comes to the office not feeling well, parents have promptly come to school to take their child home. And, parents have not sent their child to school if they aren't feeling well. In the past, parents would say things like “it’s nothing” or "you'll be fine." That is no longer acceptable and parents have been fantastic about keeping everyone safe.

Even though the CDC has reversed their original theory on COVID-19 and contact surfaces, we are not going to take cleaning lightly. The students and staff have done an outstanding job of cleaning and sanitizing. We will spend the first couple of days back from the Christmas break reviewing the COVID-19 cleaning rules and procedures.

We will still take temperatures of anyone entering the building. The faculty workroom will continue to serve as the COVID room for any student not feeling well. We will continue to limit non-school personnel access to the school building. We will continue to have lunch in the classroom or outside when weather permits. We will continue to encourage teachers to take the students outdoors when possible. We will continue to run the same drop-off and pick-up procedure because it is working and keeping the students separated. We will continue to enforce the face mask/shield policy. We will continue to follow the PAA guidelines in limiting contact sports. We will continue to contact parents who fail to contact us when their child not be in school. And, we will continue to rack our brains to figure out things we never thought about before in keeping our students and staff safe. That's tough to do.

Also, Fr. Ernie and I decided that for the first couple of weeks back, our students will not attend daily Mass.

This leads me to family gatherings and travel. If your child participated in family Christmas gatherings with family members not in the same household, please make sure no one at that gathering tested positive for COVID-19 or have had symptoms. We have a number of students who traveled to Mexico for the break. Those students will quarantine and go to virtual learning until they are tested and/or serve the recommended quarantine time.

We all did a great job of keeping everyone safe during the first semester. The biggest safety test is upon us. We will have to work together to continue to keep everyone safe. As Bishop David Talley said in his meeting with the pastors and principals, "Schools may be the safest place for our children to be because we shelter and protect them."

Thank you St. Ann parents and staff for working so diligently to put everyone's safety, especially the students', first. Please continue to communicate with school office personnel regarding household exposure and positive testing that could possibly affect our students' health and safety.

And, until May 28th, we will continue to live way beyond our comfort zone so transformation can take place and everyone can continue to grow.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal