By Rose O’Connor, Correspondent

The need to foster a sense of Catholic identity within the schools and students of the Diocese was the central focus when Catholic school educators came together for two recent in-service days.

The first, held on March 31 in St. Gregory the Great Parish, Hamilton Square, drew some 800 Catholic school elementary teachers and administrators from the four-county Diocese, while on April 7, 450 high school teachers gathered in Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, for fellowship, presentations, breakout sessions, dialogue and Mass.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C. M., served as celebrant and homilist for the March 31 in-service Mass and offered the keynote presentation to high school educators on April 7.

In a welcome address to both groups, superintendent of Catholic schools JoAnn Tier explained that the in-service days were designed as a “response to the 2013 Commission on Elementary School Sustainability in addressing our Catholic identity. We begin with the basics, informing teachers of the focus on the Diocesan Religion guidelines and expanding to Catholic tradition, practices and the integration of the Catholic faith throughout the curriculum.”

While each in-service day was designed for the unique needs of the educators and their varied grade-levels, the preaching and teaching of both Bishop O’Connell and Franciscan Father Gabriel Zeis, diocesan vicar for Catholic education, was relevant for all Catholic educators. Father Zeis served as keynote presenter for the March 31 in-service, and celebrant and homilist for the April 7 in-service Mass.

Vocation of Teacher

In his March 31 homily, Bishop O’Connell preached on the vocation of a Catholic school educator, speaking of Jesus’ public ministry and the Lord’s call to the disciples who “spread his Word, preached his Gospel, baptized all nations, built his Church, revealed his continued presence, handed on the faith, shared his grace, and continued to fulfil his mission. Two thousand years later, here we are, still witnesses to Jesus Christ – as teachers in Catholic schools.”

To high school educators, Bishop O’Connell pointed out, “You hold the future of human society in your hands. That’s not a cliché. You pick up where parents and families leave off.  Your students spend more waking time with you in school than they spend at home. Yours is a ‘captive audience’ and what you do and how you do it in the midst of their ‘captivity’ is what makes the world a different and a better place.”

The Bishop challenged educators to present an authentic Catholic education – something the students truly need in a world that often portrays an anti-Christian and anti-Catholic view.

“They want something to believe in. If Catholic high schools don’t offer them that; if Catholic faith is not connected to real life as something essential; if Catholic faith is presented merely as an ‘add-on,’ one among many other things of equal or competing value; if the young do not see Catholic, Christian faith lived by us – as teachers and educators in Catholic high schools – by us who have been entrusted with their care and instruction as a source of seeking and finding meaning and purpose in life, then the relevance of truth given us by Christ in the Gospel and taught by the Church will drift and wither away as they graduate,” said Bishop O’Connell.

Challenge and Witness

Dr. Margaret Boland, associate superintendent of Catholic schools and Sister of St. Joseph Kathleen Nace, principal and president-elect of St. Rose High School, Belmar, gave a history of Catholic education, during which they shared the challenges and questions that have faced Catholic education.

“Those challenges are part of our story. This is not a history lesson,” Dr. Boland offered. “Rather, it is your legacy – embrace your legacy,” she encouraged.

In a meeting with high school campus ministers and chaplains, Father Zeis asked a pivotal question for Catholic identity. “We need to allow our schools to be places where students encounter Christ,” he said. “And what does it mean to meet him?”

Father Zeis acknowledged that Catholic schools in the Diocese are doing well in helping students to encounter Christ through liturgy, the Sacraments, in community, and through academics, prayer and school environment. But, he said, “Where we can grow is through the witness of our faculty and staff. Witness is openness to reveal what Christ means for us personally, through our own experiences if Christ is in our life and what Christ has done for us.”

In his keynote presentation, Father Zeis encouraged educators in their own faith journey, “… to broaden it, to deepen it, to know first of all, how much the Lord, Jesus Christ, loves you, cherishes the vocation that he has given to you, empowers you through his grace, invites you to know him more and more deeply so that you can bring that knowledge, that zeal, that witness, to your students.”

Graces of the Days

An important part of each day included teachers gathering for breakout sessions according to their grade levels and subject matters. At the elementary level, all breakout sessions focused on the Diocesan Religion Guidelines and the “Six Tasks of Catechesis” as outlined by the National Directory of Catechesis, including: 1. Knowledge of the Faith, 2. Liturgical Education, 3. Moral Formation, 4. Learning to Pray, 5. Education for Community Life, 6. Missionary Discipleship and Service.

Each session provided an overview of the curriculum guidelines and offered practical applications of each, tailored to grades Pre-K-3, Grades 4, 5, Special classes and the Middle School grades 6-8.

In addition to welcoming the practical aspects of the in-service, teachers expressed their appreciation for the encouragement they found on many levels.

For Kit Canning, a teacher in the science department in St. Rose High School, it was the Bishop’s keynote that served as inspiration and gave her “something to strive to achieve.”

Her colleague, Linda Hand, was also inspired, saying, “Dr. Boland and Sister Kathy have a good grasp of what our challenges are and how we need to remind ourselves of our legacy and the importance of our work.”

Jeff Skalecki, who teaches history in Red Bank Catholic High School, remarked that the Bishop, “hit the nail on the head with the challenges we face as educators and how we have to overcome those challenges and inspire them not only to become great students, but great adults later.”

Brigid Moran, music teacher in St. Raphael School, Hamilton, reflected on how all teachers are called to pass on the faith. “It helps us all remember what we are called to do every day,” she said.

Samantha Powers, Pre-K3 teacher in St. Charles Borromeo School, Cinnaminson, spoke of the responsibility and opportunities for Catholic educators to “incorporate … faith somehow” into their work. “It’s really everybody’s mission and we incorporate it in different ways,” she said.

Mary Dowling, who teaches middle school math and computers in St. Rose of Lima School, Freehold, found Father Zeis’ talk to be “inspiring,” and shared a plan to “bring what God’s love is all about to my students.”

The breakout sessions also proved beneficial for many of the teachers who appreciated spending time with their counterparts from different schools who shared the same disciplines.

“It was excellent. It was good to be with other athletic directors.  We used this opportunity to better our Catholic Athletes for Christ programs in our schools, which overall strengthens the diocesan program,” said Giancarlo Riotto, athletic director in Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton. 

Mercy Sister Carole MacKenthum, St. Catharine School, Spring Lake, reflected on the graces of the in-service, speaking for teachers across all grade levels: “We are all here together as a visual witness and it shows what we do makes an impact and it’s important to support one another. I’ve been doing this for many years and it’s energizing to hear different ideas, inspired by the Church’s teachings.”