Pleasure and Peace

While many folks don't look forward to attending Mass and come up with more excuses for skipping out than for attending Mass, I derive much pleasure and peace from attending Mass. I use the words pleasure and peace because I feel great and burdenless having participated in the Eucharistic celebration.

My favorites aren't the Easter or Christmas Mass celebrations. My favorites are the Friday all-school Masses when we come together as a community to celebrate. I love seeing our students participating and being an active part of the Mass celebration.

Each month during the school year, a different class takes charge of the Mass. The students of the class in charge serve as the greeters, altar servers, gift bearers, and lectors. The school choir leads the singing. Two of the 8th graders run the projection booth. The teachers serve as the eucharistic ministers. The younger students proudly sing the hymns while the older students are too cool to sing. The 8th graders and their PK3 Mass buddies become best friends and attend Mass together. Parents and grandparents attend with our students sitting with them. The priest's homilies are a short lesson of the day that quickly turn into a humorous and entertaining question and answer session. The younger students love participating in these Q&A sessions, while the older students try hiding under the pews so as not to get called on. At the end of Mass, the younger students are excited to greet the priest by the baptismal fountain. At the end of most Masses, there are awards to be presented to our students and educators. All of the pieces of the all-school Mass come together for a wonderful weekly Eucharistic celebration.

So yes, the all-school Mass is my favorite. This Mass more than any other gives me a sense of pleasure and peace. Our St. Ann families and friends are invited to join us for our weekly all-school Eucharistic Celebration and to hopefully experience that same pleasure and peace.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

A New Beginning

Taylor Swift said, "This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change." I like this quote, but I think I'll make a minor yet important "change" to her quote. Instead of "And things will change," I will say "And things will improve." As we continue to grow, the improvements we are introducing deal with the folks who join our Colts family. These folks will help make St. Ann a better and stronger school. Our people are our greatest asset.

The Ghio Girls

As we prepare for the 2023-24 school year, the first improvement is moving Annmarie Ghio from her role as a 3rd grade teacher to being our full-time assistant principal. Ms. Ghio participated in a two-year program at Loyola Marymount University where she earned a certification in Catholic School Administration. Ms. Ghio's main role is to serve as St. Ann's reading and writing specialist. Our testing shows that our students perform well above national and state norms in reading with just about all our students performing at or above grade-level. We want to keep improving and taking our students to a higher level of achievement. Thank you Ms. Ghio for saying "yes" to this administrative move.

Liz Wehmeyer is our new 3rd grade teacher. Mrs. Wehmeyer comes to us from Bartlett City Schools where she taught at Alturia. Mrs. Wehmeyer is no stranger to St. Ann. Her son is a St. Ann graduate and her daughter is currently a student. She is also a techie and has been a technology professional development leader for our teachers for the past five year. She and Ms. Ghio are responsible for all the inspirational artwork throughout the walls of the school. They painted another one this summer. Welcome Mrs. Wehmeyer!

The 3rd grade has been growing to the point that we are adding a second class. Our very own Tina Ostrowski will teach that class. Ms. Ostrowski is coming out of retirement for a 3rd time. At St. Ann, she has taught just about every grade, with her last class being the 1st grade. At St. Michael, she was the 3rd grade teacher.  Thanks Coach O!

The Dooley Family

Dakota Dooley will be replacing John Baum as our band director. Mr. Dooley stepped in at the end of last year to take over for Mr. Baum and did a fantastic job. He will teach at both SBA and St. Ann. Thanks for being a Colt and an Eagle.

Looking forward to seeing all our personnel improvements in action.

Let's pray for all our educators everywhere. Being an educator gets tougher every year, and every year more and more people are leaving the teaching profession. I've been doing this for 35 years with every year bringing more expectations, demands, requirements, and challenges. I say, "Bring it on!" I love the challenge of being an educator and making a positive difference every day!

Painted by Wehmeyer and Ghio

"This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will improve." Time to listen to some Taylor Swift on Spotify.

God bless you and love!

Getting Out of a Rut

Biking at Crystal Bridges

In life, we can sure get into ruts. When we work too much and don't make enough time for ourselves, it is easy to get into a routine where you work all day then come home and do little to nothing until it is time to go to sleep so you can do the same thing the next day. And then, doing nothing becomes a safe and easy habit. For part of this year, I was in that rut of working from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm, coming home to do some more work on the computer and then going to bed. I stopped doing the things I love to do like reading, playing soccer, and riding my bike. I wasn't even going to the gym to workout on the elliptical machine. On the elliptical machine, I can put on a podcast or music and mindlessly get in a good workout.

Excuses have been plentiful. I knew I needed to make a habit change. I figure I have about 18 years left on Earth and probably with not all those being quality and healthy years. It was time for a change because I don't want to be Garfield.

I enjoy reading Dynamic Catholic books. When I knew I needed to get out of the rut I put myself in, I received an ad from Dynamic Catholic about a book by Kate Volman called Do What You Love. Figured that was just what I needed so I ordered the book. I quickly read the book and took the author's guidance and started doing what I love. The main thing is to not fear or let anyone detract you from doing what you love to do. I also learned that it is not an all or nothing change. Make gradual changes so there is a better chance that the changes become habit and the habit grows. 

I'm one of those people who when I decide to do something, I go all out and want to make changes instantly and see results immediately. Those changes tend to be short lived, then I'm back to where I started. Set small goals and work to slowly attain those goals. My goals have been simple and I haven't made them like ultimatums such as I'm going to ride my bike 30 miles every day or I'm going to lose 10 pounds this week.

Elliptical at EMAC

The first change is to not come home and do nothing. Start off by not bringing home the computer every day. I will workout on the elliptical machine for 30-45 minutes at a lower setting instead of 60-minutes at a higher setting. I will read a few pages of a book instead of a few chapters at a time. I will finish 15th in Duolingo instead of the top 5. I'll be just fine and enjoy myself while doing whatever it is I'm doing. 

Another change that I've made is to listen to motivational podcasts. I came across a podcast called ReThinking with Adam Grant. One of his podcasts featured James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. That was just the podcast I needed to hear. I ordered the book and it is next on my reading list. Once again, make small changes and improvements just like an atom, small.

I'm re-reading Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly. This is another book that can help give you a little motivation in life. I have extra copies in my office if you would like a copy.

All this to say that we need to make an effort to be happy and enjoy our lives. No more making excuses. My super-competitive self doesn't need to always win or not compete at all. I just need to live life in a happy and enjoyable way.

So, if you are in a rut and need someone to talk with, please feel free to reach out to me. I'm not the shining example of how one should live their life, but I am taking baby steps to get myself out of this rut I'm in. And one of the ways out of the rut is by simply sharing with you through this blog.

God bless you and love,

Didier Aur