At the end of Haiti Solidarity Week (January 24, 2014) the following prayer was offered on the Public Address system for the school community.

Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of G-d.

Last June I traveled with a group of Lasallian educators from our district of Eastern North America to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti to visit our new Lasallian school. I consider myself very fortunate in my life to have had the opportunity to travel extensively, both here in the U.S. and internationally in the developed and developing worlds. I speak before you today humbled and deeply troubled by my time in Haiti. Not solely because of the devastating earthquake, but more so, because of the pervasive and overwhelming hopelessness that lies underneath the ruins of the quake and has its roots in the European colonization of this tropical island for sugar, spices, and other minerals and resources and the legacy of the slave system-driven production. To be truthful I spent the first two days wondering how I could sell off all the United Nations Land Rovers driving around in circles to instead buy trash trucks so Haitians can have basic trash service. The problems seemed so big, all I wanted to do was leave.

My attitude began to soften on the third day when I asked Brother Nicholai what is going to happen to all of the students when they graduate and have to face the brutal challenges of survival in Haiti and if he gets depressed thinking about that. He looked at me, put his arm on my shoulder and told me that every kid that walks through the school’s doors is treated with dignity and respect, given self worth and leaves knowing that they will always be safe in our school. And not that this is the best that we can do, but what we are simply here to do. I hope that the video you watch now in your home rooms of the various delegation trips our district has taken to Haiti over the last two years is evidence of the spirit of the brothers and sisters in Haiti, the work they are doing to bring value to children’s lives, and the role that we can play to help their work flourish and prosper.

Gregg DeMaria (Architecture Teacher and Director of the Academic Resource Center)

On Friday, 31 January 2014, La Salle Academy celebrated the end of Catholic Schools Week with a Dress-down Day and collection for our brother school in Haiti.  The goal was set at $11,000.00–enough to pay for the tuition of and to supply uniforms and school supplies for 40 Haitian students at our brother school, St. John Baptist de La Salle School, in Port-au-Prince.  Due to the extraordinary generosity of students and their families, faculty and staff, the school collected $11,059.00–surpassing its goal.  This is what “Enter to Learn–Leave to Serve” really means!!  Special thanks on behalf of the St. John Baptist de La Salle School and the District of Eastern North America.

Brother Frederick Mueller

This was the final prayer during Catholic Schools Week–a prayer offered on the Public Address system on the morning of Friday, 31 January.

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

Slogans, mottos, themes… they aren’t really things we think about on a regular basis, yet this week we have been hearing in prayer about La Salle’s motto, our theme.  “Enter to learn, leave to serve.”  We live this every day.  We come to school to learn.  But at the end of the day, when we leave La Salle, it is what we do outside of the walls of the building that stays with us and that impacts others.

During the past few summers, a few students have realized what it really means, during the Lasallian Youth Summer Assemblies.  For a week during the summer, students from Lasallian schools all over the northeast gather to learn from one another and to serve others.

Two years ago, the Assembly was held in Buffalo, New York.  Each day groups went out into the community to places like soup kitchens and nursing homes.  The drive to one particular soup kitchen was scary.  The houses along the way were all foreclosed, and the line outside the soup kitchen formed at 9 in the morning even though lunch was not served until noon.  One person really stood out in particular.  This man would come in every day, eat lunch with his two kids, share his joy and big smile with the volunteers, and then leave.  One day as the van carrying the volunteers pulled up, the man could be seen standing outside looking through the dumpster.  He pulled out a bag of moldy bread that had been discarded by the soup kitchen staff the previous day.  The man opened the bag and started to feed the birds.  Here was a man who had nothing for himself, much less to give away, yet his concern that day was for the birds.  Even though they were birds, he put their comfort and well-being above his own.  In this one moment, it became clear what an amazing effect one human being can have on another.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, my group was at a nursing home, beating the summer heat with an ice cream party.  After delivering bowls of ice cream to each resident, I sat down next to a lady, who was about 85 years old and wheelchair bound.  After just a few seconds, my own bowl lay off to the side, forgotten, as I observed the lady beside me.  I was watching her hold her spoon.  A simple thing, really, something we all do every day.  But all of a sudden, she dropped it.  She tried again, picking it up from the table, only to have it slip from her fingers again…and then a third time.  Finally, she looked at me, a little embarrassed, and told me, “I think you are going to have to feed me.”  Although she was nervous at first, she grew more and more relaxed with each spoonful of ice cream I fed her, eagerly enjoying every last drop, and having fun at the party as well.  As I pushed her back to her room when we were finished, I came to recognize that I was able to take something light and fun, like an ice cream party, and serve another, helping her enjoy it as well.

Now let’s fast forward a year.  Today’s dress down collection is devoted to supporting victims of a natural disaster that wreaked havoc in Haiti, but last October 2012 a disaster hit us all much closer to home.  Superstorm Sandy affected millions of people across the northeast, and months later New York was still recovering from its damaging effects.  That is why this year’s (2013) Summer Assembly was dedicated to serving those affected by the storm.  One group visited sites of wreckage on Long Island where, even in the 100 degree weather, hazmat suits, hard hats, and gloves were all necessities for the Lasallian volunteers.  Despite our discomfort, it was completely worth the heat and exhaustion to see the grateful looks on the faces of those who had struggled for almost a year as a result of the storm.  The weeks spent at Lasallian Youth Summer Assemblies not only grant us the opportunity to learn from other Lasallians, but also, and more importantly, to serve those who are most in need in our communities.

Let us pray.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.  For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Saint John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us.

Live Jesus in our hearts, forever.

Afternoon reflection: Today you came to school to learn something new. How will you use what you’ve learned to serve others when you leave?

Elise Hoy–Class of 2014 and Member of Lasallian Youth

 

During Catholic Schools Week, we at La Salle Academy celebrate Founder’s Day and honor our teachers.  In particular we honor today, Wednesday, January 30th, La Salle Academy’s Distinguished Lasallian Educator for 2013-2014.  The following prayer was offered on the Public Address System at the start of the day.

Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of a loving God….

Chances are if I were to ask you to think of some of your best teachers, my guess is that you would call to mind names of men and women of tremendous patience.  Great teachers tend to be patient people because they can’t and don’t give up on their students.  They challenge and inspire and nurture, but at the end of the day, they know that what matters most is the relationships they cultivate day in and day out with their students. And those relationships take time to develop.  St. John Baptist de La Salle knew this.  Many centuries ago, when De La Salle wrote his twelve virtues of a Lasallian teacher, patience was front and center.

 

This week, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week and today, in particular we honor Mrs. Janice Drolet in the Computer and Business Departments.  Mrs. Drolet has taught at La Salle since 1994 and has touched the minds and hearts of countless young men and women entrusted to her care.  She is also our school’s nominee for the Distinguished Lasallian Educator this past year.  When I spoke to some of Mrs. Drolet’s students and colleagues recently about what they appreciate most about her, all of them spoke of her patience and her generosity.  One student in particular recalled how Mrs. Drolet became like a “mom” to her at school.   “She notices the small things, like when I need to talk after class, or when I need my space.  She never takes it personally if I am not prepared.”   Another graduate of La Salle wrote of the tremendous love and concern Mrs. Drolet showed her on a daily basis.  “She cared for me and gave me advice, but more importantly she took the time to see me and what I needed on any given day.”

 

School administrators and educators have long agreed that year after year, across varying grade levels, demographics, and content areas, students need teachers who notice them and make them feel valued.   Anyone who knows Mrs. Drolet knows that she can be found greeting students at the door of her homeroom, motivating them to give during charity drives, celebrating her colleagues’ milestones and accomplishments with a smile and a hug.  In short, Mrs. Drolet lives knowing that these small things really do matter most.  Long after students graduate, what they remember the most is who really loved them.

 

So, on behalf, of our community here at La Salle, I want to thank Mrs. Drolet for her devotion and tenderness to our students.

 

 Together, let us pray:

Good and Gracious God,

We give thanks for the example and work of Janice Drolet and for all the ways she makes La Salle a more warm and caring place to work and to learn.  And during this Catholic Schools Week, we celebrate all Lasallian educators everywhere who give of their time, talent, and treasure to minister to young people.   In all that we say and do today, help us to be more patient, kind, tender, and generous.

St. John Baptist de La Salle: Pray for Us

Live Jesus in our Hearts: Forever!

Question for afternoon reflection:  Amid the commitments of this day, how have I tried to be a more patient, kind, and generous person?

Christine Estes (Campus Minister)

During Catholic Schools Week various Lasallians have been invited to offer prayer for the school community on the Public Address system on the theme of the week: “Enter to Learn–Leave to Serve.”  On Tuesday morning, 28 January, an alumna offered the prayer.

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

I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself.  My name is Karen Clements, but many teachers here know me as Karen Carty.  I am a member of the La Salle Academy graduating class of 2003.  It’s hard to believe that just 11 years ago, I was sitting in the same seats you sit in today. Like you, I benefited from receiving the top notch Catholic high school education that La Salle Academy has to offer.  As you know, La Salle individually challenges its students to succeed academically, athletically, and artistically.  But more importantly, La Salle allows students to develop personally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Through the three Lasallian pillars of faith, community, and service, students at La Salle develop more than just a sense of pride for their school.  They develop an identity… a Lasallian identity.   La Salle has played a major role in shaping me into the woman I am today.  It has led me on a journey of unexpected events and has helped me to discover who I am and why I am here.

After graduating from La Salle, I went on to study education at Temple University in Philadelphia.  Despite the fact that I was no longer attending a Lasallian school, I carried the values I learned at La Salle with me.  La Salle helped me to identify a sense of responsibility in helping the poor.  I discovered that I could best accomplish this through education.  I was determined to dedicate my life to providing kids from challenging circumstances with a quality education.  Now, I could have accomplished this goal anywhere, but God works in mysterious ways.  Just before graduating from Temple University with a bachelors in Elementary and Special Education, I received an unexpected phone call from my brother, Mark Carty, whom many of you may know.  He told me that his coworker, Ms. Elissa Cerros, who also happened to be one of my former teachers, explained to him that there was a 5^th grade teacher position open at San Miguel School, which I’m sure most of you know is also a Lasallian school.  Ms. Cerros told Mr. Carty that I should apply.  I was hesitant to fly back home to Providence, right before graduation, for an interview.  However, I was curious to find out more about this Lasallian school, which at that time, I knew very little about.

Now if any of you have ever been to San Miguel, you know exactly what I experienced when I walked through those doors.  To my surprise, 64 fifth through eighth grade boys walked right up to me, looked me in the eye, shook my hand, and welcomed me into their school.  This was no ordinary school.  This was a Lasallian school.  I felt the same sense of respect for others and community that I experienced as a student at La Salle Academy.  I was hooked.  I was hired as the fifth grade teacher at San Miguel School and have been working there now for seven years.  I am proud to say that I am not just a teacher.  I am a Lasallian teacher.

Over the years I’ve discovered that being Lasallian doesn’t end once you graduate from La Salle Academy.  Being Lasallian is a way of life.   I consider myself a life-long Lasallian.  I may have entered the doors of La Salle in 1999 to learn, but I left in 2003 to serve.

Our founder, Saint John Baptist De La Salle, once said, “God led me in an imperceptible way and over a long period of time so that one commitment led to another in a way that I did not foresee in the beginning.”  I believe that I have found my purpose in life.  Every step on my Lasallian journey led me to the next.  It led me to a deeper commitment to Lasallian education and a deeper understanding of the Lasallian mission.  As Lasallians, we are here “to do God’s work”.  Each of our Lasallian journeys may look different, but we must be open to the unexpected ways in which God is knocking at our door.

 

 Let us pray (in the words of Brother Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC).

Jesus,

Your presence is interwoven throughout each day of our lives.

As we continue on our Lasallian journey,

touch our hearts and open our eyes that we may recognize you walking beside us.

Lead us to live in such a way that we discover you

In the quietness and in the spaces,

As well as in the busyness of our lives each day.

Continue to call us your friends

And accompany us

To where we shall see our Creator, face to face.

Amen.

 

St. John Baptist De La Salle, Pray for us.

San Miguel, Pray for us.

Live Jesus in Our Hearts, Forever.

 Karen Carty Clements, LSA Class of 2003