A Day To Celebrate Our Teachers

(Prayer offered on the Public Address system for the entire La Salle Academy educational community on Tuesday, 8 May 2018—Teacher Appreciation Day)

Let us remember we are in the holy presence of God.

Today is Teacher Appreciation Day, a time to celebrate the guidance of all of the teachers in our lives. Members of Student Council have chosen eight words that encompass what our teachers mean to us.

The first word is gratitude: Today is a time for us to step back and thank God for giving us teachers who not only work persistently to ensure our academic success, but who genuinely care about our development as people. We are grateful to our teachers for all of their hard work.

The second is faith: In the Lasallian community, especially, our teachers show us what it means to live out our faith in and outside of the classroom.

Next, is compassion: Today we celebrate the compassion our teachers have for us, understanding and helping us through the challenges we face. They are examples to us of how to be compassionate to others.

Inspire: Sometimes we all have those moments where something clicks. We understand that difficult concept in class or we discover something we love or we’re good at. Many of these moments come at the hands of our teachers.

Create: Teachers help us to use what we learn to create projects or form ideas that we can be proud of.

Motivate: When we begin losing our motivation, as many of us are at this point in the school year, our teachers are always there behind us offering us a push to follow through.

Determination: Teachers always seem to have the remarkable determination to help us learn in any way they can, because they are passionate about what they teach and want us to be too.

Finally, success: When we reach our goals, we can be proud of all that we have accomplished. And standing right behind us is an equally proud teacher, happy that they could guide us to success.

Looking to the examples of Jesus, St John Baptist de La Salle, and the Brothers of the Christian Schools, we as Lasallians have a special connection to all of our teachers. Yes, this includes those teachers in the classroom, but also those other teachers in our lives: like our parents, coaches, club leaders, and anyone else who acts as a guiding presence for us.

Teacher Appreciation Day is about reflecting on our teachers’ impacts on us. With this in mind, let us pray.

 

Heavenly Father,

Grant our teachers an abundance of your wisdom. Prepare their hearts to welcome all of their students and families, and remind us to show them love and respect in return. Give them grace as they guide their students, courage to say what needs to be said, and strength when they feel weak. When they feel unappreciated, remind them that their efforts do not go unnoticed. They are shaping the future by nurturing our generation through their actions, large and small. We are thankful for the knowledge that they share with us. Bless them, Lord, and may they understand how their hard work and faithfulness have impacted us, their students.

St. John Baptist de La Salle… Pray for us.

Live, Jesus, in our hearts… forever.

Katie Kerr–Class of 2019

The Student Council invited teachers to choose a smooth stone with one of the eight words inscribed upon it from its display (see picture above).