Dear Parents and Students,
I am very pleased to announce that Amy Wilkins will be our new third grade
teacher beginning this September, 2005. Ms. Wilkins is currently
teaching at Buckman
Arts Elementary
School in southeast Portland.
She’s a graduate of Jesuit, and the University of Arizona.
She traveled to Spain
for a year and studied in San Sebastian
through the University
of Nevada, Reno Study
Abroad program. She will complete her Masters in Elementary Education
at Lewis and Clark this June.
Ms. Wilkins is very excited to teach at St. Clare. She can’t wait
for September to roll around so she can get started with her new flock of
third graders. I will be arranging a time for parents and second
graders to meet Ms. Wilkins before school is out. We’ll probably
throw a little social after school on some afternoon in May.
She brings to St. Clare a passion to serve the specific needs of
kids. She’s creative, fun, and has high standards
She just happens to be Mrs. Stewart’s sister so you can be sure
there will be an easy transition! Mrs. Stewart has even agreed
to sub on occasion! We are blessed to have someone of Ms. Wilkins’
talent. I can’t wait for you to meet her!
On another note, I have been asked quite a bit this week my opinion of
the selection of Pope Benedict XVI. In as much as we had TV’s in most
classrooms, we watched with anticipation as his name was announced.
Teachers have discussed with our students everything from Pope John Paul’s
death, the role of the pope, the funeral and the election of a new
leader. This is an historic time in our Church, less interesting to
our children than it is to us who have lived with its greatness and
weaknesses. Nevertheless, we should be educating our youth on the
role of the pope, the issues facing our Church, and the stance we can
expect from Pope Benedict XVI.
To date his approach as leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine on
the Faith has been quite conservative, and where some Catholics have
anticipated needed change, hope seemed dashed when Cardinal Ratzinger’s name was announced as our new leader.
The challenges for this next pope are the diminishing number of priest’s,
the role of women in the Church, the de-Christianization of Europe, and the
need for a more collaborative and conciliatory relationship with the
faithful. This represents the opinions of various American and European
theologians.
In all cases, we must show respect for our pope, no matter what we
think of him. If I could encourage you as parents, it would be to
pray to the Holy Spirit that Pope Benedict will begin dialogue around those
issues that find people oppressed and where reconciliation is needed.
When you talk with your children about these issues (age appropriate),
allow for various opinions and move your son or daughter to study issues
and form good rationale to back up his/her stance. This is part of
forming conscience. We don’t ignore what the Church teaches, but we
prayerfully search for truth to better follow the teachings of Jesus Christ
and apply them to our world today. Teaching your child to be a
critical thinker is good; teaching them to reconcile, serve the poor and
marginalized, speak truth as we know it, and work for justice is much more
difficult, and not the sole responsibility of any pope. It’s ours as
well.
Change takes place when we initiate it. Let us not forget, while
we may not see any earth-shaking changes from Rome in the near future, there’s no
reason why some of the things we wish Pope Benedict would change, can’t be
done by us. To this end, I pray. Next Page
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