GLANCEMaking a Connection

Through CreationDear Parents and Friends,

Catholic schools take great pride in the academic programs that represent the heart of our mission. How-

ever, Catholic educational programs involve more than just being a student in a classroom. Our students give witness to Christ’s good news of hope, justice, love, reconciliation, and peace to people of diverse backgrounds.

Picture this fictional, yet accurate, sce-nario: It’s 1959, and St. Procopius Catholic School is flourishing. There are two of every grade and 18 religious sisters who serve the students. Sister Mary Pius has recently told all the eighth-grade boys that God may be calling them to the priesthood, and six of her girls are going out to the motherhouse in the spring to talk about joining the order after high school. Sister Walburga is getting the seventh graders ready to start the algebra textbook. Sister Mary Regina is teaching the second graders on how to receive Holy Com-munion (using Necco wafers). Father Keller is helping the fifth-grade servers learn the Latin responses. And the rest of the student body devoutly believes that Ora pro nobis is really “O, rubber noses.” This Catholic par-ish and school have created a loving commu-nity that immerses over 900 families in their faith. It is their whole world.

Flash forward 50 years to St. Procopius: There are 306 students in the school, and about 45 percent are Catholic. The religious

By Teri Cangelosi

Children are born creators. I emphasize to the students that all of their cre-ations are wonderful and that there is no right or wrong way to express themselves through art. If they follow their instincts and keep practicing,

they can each achieve beyond their own expectations,” summarized Mrs. Jenn Pro-chaska, St. George Art Teacher. “My brother was the artist in our family but I loved

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thea publication of st. george catholic school

vol. 20, no. 1 • SUMMER 2013

Second grade student Kira Stevens painted a woman with zinnias in Clementine Hunter style.

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Catching the SpiritBy Teri Cangelosi

A wise man once told me, ‘You can’t teach about the Holy Spirit, you have to find a way for the stu-

dents to “catch” it!’ And that’s what we try to do each year with the religion depart-ment activities. Our goal is to reach the students where they are and help them be-come enthusiastic about our faith,” noted Mrs. Molly Rose, Catechist Grade 6 and Coordinator of Religious Education.

Fostering the spiritual development of our students is the primary mission of St. George Catholic School and we are blessed with exceptional catechists who fully embrace our faith and their min-istry. Instruction in the faith permeates every aspect of school life and the teach-ing of Christian doctrine receives special emphasis in every grade. The liturgi-cal life of the school is vibrant as daily prayer, opportunities for the reception of

the Sacrament of Penance and weekly school Masses provide our students with a rich liturgi-cal experience. Personal, fam-ily, local, and global concerns are addressed from a Chris-tian perspective. St. George, in partnership with the par-ents, endeavors to provide the students with a strong moral framework and religious edu-cational foundation that can help them to live a good Chris-tian life. Students are encour-aged to respond to one another with love and a sense of justice and to reach out to the needy of this world in their Christian Service projects.

Mrs. Rose reflected, “At the beginning of the school year we sat down and discussed ways to improve on our “activities”

from the previous year. For example, the Living Rosary was changed from the way it was celebrated in prior years. This school year we decided to move to the gym and create a bigger than life Rosary out of helium bal-loons. After praying the rosary together, faculty and students moved to the courtyard where our Rosary was released. Stu-dents cheered with excitement as they watched the Rosary disappear into the sky. They definitely “caught” the Spirit that day!”

Some special liturgical and religious educational activi-

ties occur throughout the school year and are eagerly anticipated by the students. “Our fifth graders truly enjoy participat-ing every year in the Living Rosary dur-ing the month of October. Most students will hold one of the beads of the rosary. This year the beads were balloons that the students sat next to. Several students will sing in the choir. The remaining students process around the rosary, such as the candle holders, Bible holder and flower holder. Students are given the opportunity to be a part of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s life in a powerful way. This celebration allows them to connect in a special way with both Jesus and Mary as they reflect on the mysteries. Also, the entire student body is able to come together as one en-tity and worship Christ in a most profound way,” added Mr. Josh Boudreaux, Cat-echist Grades 5 & 7.

“The Epiphany play in January is a re-enactment of the Gospel that is a story that will be told for all time. The eighth grade

Parker Fontenot walks with Grant Brouillette during the celebration

of the May Crowning.

Taylor Walker won First Place for her Religion Fair project.

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class also takes part in this Gospel for the school and parish community. The students are very excited to take part in the presentations. It is a beautiful cel-ebration of the coming of our Lord. My Goal is to keep teaching His words to His children,” commented Mrs. Karen Gautreaux, Catechist Grade 8.

Another special event in January at St. George School is the annual Re-ligion Fair for the 4th Grade students. The students are asked to pick a topic that is relevant and interesting to them and explore it further. “I think this is a great experience because it incorporates English and Religion at the same time and that is what we are striving for at St. George. This project allows the stu-dent’s to research a subject that wouldn’t be explored during normal religion class time. I love to see the different topics the students choose and their general enthusi-asm for their subject,” reflected Mrs. Lara Bettencourtt, Catechist Grades 3 & 4.

This year the Religion Department, along with the administration, developed a new way in which to observe the Lenten season in which we gathered together as a faith community to celebrate this im-portant Liturgical Season. Every Monday, during Lent, students and faculty gathered in the Church for morning assembly. The 8th grade students led us in praying the Stations of the Cross as a school commu-nity. We began on Monday, February 18 and continued to pray the stations every Monday during Lent. Each Tuesday dur-ing Lent, beginning at 7:20 am, members of SPARK club gathered at the Oak Tree outside the steps of the Library to pray a decade of the Rosary. Everyone was wel-come to join in this powerful and unifying

opportunity for our students and faculty.One of the Holy Week traditions at St.

George is the Passover Meal for our Kin-dergarten and 1st grade students. The Sta-

tions of the Cross during Holy Week is another won-derful celebration and op-portunity to minister to the student body of St. George School. It has a long tradi-

tion of faith sharing in the school, as well as the parish community. “If you have blessed us in the past with your presence on Good Friday you have seen the impact the Living Stations has made on others. The reenactment includes students from the St. George eighth grade class. Several students told me that when they heard the mallet hit the cross, which represented the nailing of Jesus to the cross, it took on a new meaning for them. The stations offer all of us a chance to reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made for us when he suffered and died. We are all called to carry our own crosses. Je-sus teaches us how to carry our own crosses by identifying with his suffering that he en-dured,” noted Mrs. Gautreaux.

May is the month of Mary, and St.

George has carried on the tradition of honoring Mary by celebrating the May Crowning as one of the last events of the school year. “This beautiful ceremony in-corporates one student from each grade as they process up to place a flower at the feet of a beautiful statue of Our Lady. There is also a student from each grade who reads the symbolic meaning of each flower. Music is played in between the readings. We are reminded by this special devotion that Mary is truly the Mother of us all,” reflected Mr. Boudreaux.

Recognizing that parents are the pri-mary religious educators of their children, our faculty and staff supports, supple-ments, and enriches the faith education of our students. Together we form a commu-nity in which we respond to Christ’s invi-tation to “Let the little children come to me…” Through the example of our school community and the daily experiences of the curriculum, children learn the truths of our faith, study and appreciate Scripture, participate more deeply in parish life, ex-perience a variety of liturgies and prayer services, and respond to the call of service to those in need.

“Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”

(Luke 5:10)

The Kindergarten and First Grade students enjoy the Passover Meal celebration.

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Connection Continued from page 1

to sketch as well. I was determined to achieve the level of skill that his art showed, so I practiced… and practiced!” It’s quite apparent that practice “pays” as Mrs. Prochaska has achieved a very no-table level of accomplishment with acrylic paintings. She has been showing with Mid City Artists and her paintings were included in the recent Hot Art Cool Nights in Mid City on May 10. Look for Mrs. Prochaska to also make an appear-ance with sculpture and jewelry in the near future as well as she returns to her “artistic roots.”

Many of our parents may remem-ber Mrs. Prochaska from several years ago when she joined the St. George School faculty as the 1A As-sistant. Seeing a need with the struc-ture of the former art department, she stepped into the Art Assistant role where she could share her gift with the students. It was a natural fit that brought new opportunities to the program. Thrilled to rejoin the faculty this year with Mrs. Sharyn Lithgoe as the Art Assistant, Mrs. Prochaska brings a unique perspec-tive to the art program – that of an artist. Her goal is to share her love of art and the process of creating and merge it into relevant applications for the students.

It’s that style of teaching that Mrs. Prochaska is effectively focus-ing on. “I strive to enrich the stu-dents. I continually ask myself ‘What can they learn from, and through the use of art, that they can’t in other ways?” This year’s art curriculum has focused on incorporating lessons the students are learning in other classes into the art instruction. When the third graders were learning about the flora native to Louisiana, it was a wonderful opportunity to include a lesson on sketching trees and visualizing the lines that distinguish Oak trees from Pine trees, for example. Children may “see” a tree in a book or in their yard as unique but that concept doesn’t always translate when recreating it on paper. Helping the students grasp the un-derstanding as they process the concept through the creative side of their brains can help the students evolve their sketches from “lollipop” trees to more realistic images.

Another tool that Mrs. Prochaska incorporated this year to demonstrate relevance was to invite guest speakers from the art

community to share their experiences. Through a series of coin-cidental events which began with her husband’s aunt and uncle who asked her to go to a book signing of their next door neigh-bor in Charlotte, North Carolina, to an FBI bust of art forgeries in Baton Rouge, to her husband who introduced her to Eric Gilley

(also the father of Regan, a first grader at St. George), who is an art dealer, ev-eryplace Mrs. Prochaska looked pointed to folk artist Clementine Hunter. So on February 21, Art Shiver and Tom White-house who wrote the book Clementine Hunter, Her Life and Her Art, visited St. George’s 4th, 5th and 6th grade classes. Art Shiver was recently nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and Tom was a friend of Hunter’s and early collector of her work. Mrs. Prochaska also invited Eric Gilley, owner of Gilley Gallery in Baton Rouge, who deals in Hunter’s paintings and is an expert on her art, Marie Gilley, Eric’s mother, and Robin, his wife. They brought with them some of Hunter’s paintings and were able to share some of stories about her life on the cotton plan-tation in Natchitoches.

What began as an art lesson be-came a fascinating history lesson for the students. They learned that Hunter was born in 1886 on the plantation that was said to be the inspiration for Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She is credited as an im-portant social and cultural historian for her documentation of plantation life in

the early 20th century, including picking cotton, picking pecans, washing clothes, baptisms, and funerals. Hunter was noted for painting on anything, particularly discarded items such as window shades, jugs, bottles, and gourds and cardboard boxes.

The students were truly inspired by this quirky woman whose paintings incorporated artistic elements that are today seen as “in-correct,” such as her use of perspective. Hunter painted objects that she deemed most important in the painting as larger in size and objects that were in the background typically float in the “sky” of her paintings. Yet these flawed pieces of art are currently sold for up to $40,000. What a wonderful example for the students that there is no “right” or “wrong” in art. It also demonstrated to the students that even though Hunter could not read or write,

Clementine Hunter style of artwork graces the walls. Many paintings display the artist’s

initials written backward as Hunter did.

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I met a man that had a pan full of ice.He put it down my back twice. He was going to space and I tied his lace.By: Matthew Beall

From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.

—Dr. Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel is undoubtedly everyone’s favor-ite doctor. Just the mention of Dr. Seuss’ name has most people thinking of green ham and grinning. His colorful

characters and memorable phrases have taught children to read for generations.

In May 1954, Life magazine published a report on illiteracy among school children, which concluded that children were not learning to read because their books were boring. Consequently, the director of the education division at Houghton Mifflin com-piled a list of 348 words he felt were important for first-graders to recognize and asked Geisel to cut the list to 250 words and

write a book using only those words. Nine months later, Geisel, using 236 of the words given to him, completed The Cat in the Hat that was similar to Geisel’s previous books but could be read by beginning readers.

“To celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday, the students wrote silly rhyming poems to recite to the class. We made Dr. Seuss hats and read many Dr. Seuss books to review our reading skills. We made Seuss Juice and wrote recipes for it, wrote alliteration sen-tences using our names, and created different crafts related to Dr. Seuss. The Cat in the Hat visited as well,” commented Ms. Sarah Twal, 1B Teacher.

The ling ding had a ring

and he had a thing on his ring.

Tick, tick.

Oh no, is it so that he is sick?

I bet he will feel better.

After he is better

His brain feels much wetter.

By: Juliette Buffone

Feet! Feet!I like my feet.I wonder what it would be like to meet my feet.

By: Tommy Blanchard

Cats in Hats: Mrs. Tracy LeBlanc, Ms. Sarah Twal, and Mrs. Jackie Lauve pose with Tommy Blanchard.

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By Teri Cangelosi

How does one describe free-dom in 300 words? The word “freedom” has inspired

countless books, poems and songs for centuries, and today it still re-mains a thought provoking and emo-tional word.

What does freedom mean to stu-dents in the seventh grade who may not have experienced the situations that bring to mind a person’s free-dom but probably have family and community acquaintances whose personal stories may have encour-aged some reflection? This was certainly the case for two students, Easton Hollis and Catherine Fuller from Mrs. Alaina Reed’s English class, who embraced an essay con-test and gained a broadened insight into the meaning of “freedom.”

The essay contest was sponsored by the Baton Rouge Sertoma Club. The mission of the club is to give “service to mankind” and through multiple service events during the year, the club strives to enhance the Baton Rouge community. The essay contest, which was optional for the students, was entitled “What Free-dom Means to Me.” The students were instructed not only to address what freedom means to them, but also to address the responsibilities that come with those freedoms.

Mrs. Reed noted, “The first place win-ner, Easton Hollis, won $200, and the sec-ond place winner, Catherine Fuller, won $150. Both winners received a plaque. I even received a $100 gift card for having a student place first. The winners, their parents, Mr. Nelson and I were invited to a lunch at Ralph and Kacoo’s Restaurant where the winners were recognized for their awards. They also read their essays to the club. There were over 160 essays

submitted for this contest. Mr. Eugene St. Martin of the Sertoma Club said that all of the essays were well written and that Easton’s and Catherine’s essays were a

great representation of the whole class. I was very impressed by all of the essays as well.”

Easton noted, “Ms. Reed encouraged us to participate in the essay contest and I had a lot to write about freedom because my family has a friend, Joe Schiro, who is serving in Iraq. He has a wife named Meghan, and a little girl, Abigail, who just turned one. Joe could not be at home for Abigail’s first Christmas or her first birthday. My grandpa always told me that freedom was not free and I didn’t really understand what that meant until

now. Someone does have to pay for us to be free by making sacrifices like Joe, Meghan, and Abigail are doing. We pray for them everyday and cannot wait for

July when Joe is coming home!”Catherine reflected, “When I think

of freedom, I am reminded of my grandparent’s childhood. When Cas-tro came to power the Cubans’ basic freedoms were taken away. My grand-mother left Cuba without her parents with more than 14,000 other children at about the same age I am. These children are all part of a group of kids called “Operation Peter Pan”. Parents feared their children would be taken away and put in military schools or camps to be brain washed by Cuban government. My grandfather’s family also left Cuba. Che Guevara camped on my great grandfather’s land and made threats that my great grandfather should give up the land or something may happen to his kids. Their prop-erties were slowly taken away. My grandmother left Cuba with her sister and was placed in a Catholic boarding school in Covington (St. Scholastica Academy). She had aunts and uncles that had come from Cuba and were in Louisiana. She met my grandfather while still in high school. Three years later she was reunited with the rest of her family. So it was a happy ending!”“When I won the essay contest, I was

glad,” added Catherine. “I knew my grandmother and grandfather would be proud that I wrote about their story be-cause they would want people to know more about freedom.”

While for most of us, the term “free-dom” can conjure up images of red, white and blue, these students’ essays also vividly express an appreciation for the special relationships centered around our families and the freedom to hold them as one of our greatest incen-tives to fight for freedom.

“What Freedom Means to Me”

Joe, Meghan, and Abigail Schiro. This picture was published in

The Advocate the day of Joe Shiro’sdeployment. After Joe found out about

Easton’s essay, he had a flag flown over the army compound in Iraq in Easton’s honor.

Easton will also receive a special acknowledgment from the Army.

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“What Freedom Means to Me”by Easton Hollis

The definition of the word freedom is defined as the state of being free. Martin Luther King, Jr., said during his famous speech, “From every mountainside, let freedom ring”. Since the day that America was born, leaders of our great country have spoken about the importance of our freedom. John F. Kennedy once said, “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it.”

My grandpa always told me that freedom was not free. I never understood what he meant. As I learn more about Amer-ican History, I am beginning to understand what my grandpa meant by this saying.

To me, freedom means that I have an opportunity to be-come anything that I want to be when I grow up. I can go to college and get an education and if I work hard enough, I can accomplish great things. I can also enjoy being a kid, going to school and church, playing sports, and traveling abound the country with my family.

I am able to go to sleep at night knowing that our armed forces are protecting us and making sacrifices to keep us safe and maintain our freedom. I remember in my prayers every night a friend of ours who is serving in the army in Afghani-stan. He has an 8 month old daughter and a wife. He missed his daughter’s first Christmas ad he will not be home for a year. This made me realize that there is a price to pay for free-dom just as my grandpa taught me.

To me, freedom means courageous Americans made sacri-fices in the past and present. My responsibility to these brave people is to make sure I honor the opportunities I have to be-come the best I can be and never forget that someone paid for me to be free.

Easton Hollis, Mrs. Alaina Reed and Catherine Fuller display their plaques.

“What Freedom Means to Me”by Catherine Fuller

Freedom is important to men and my family because years ago it was taken away from my grandparents and their families. When they lived in Cuba, religion, property, and education were some of the things that were taken away by a communist named Fidel Castro.

In Cuba, Catholic private schools were closed and the nuns and priests that worked there were sent away. The government sent children to government run schools where they brainwashed them to make kids believe what they want-ed them to believe. Churches were closed and they didn’t want anyone to practice their faith. They couldn’t celebrate Christmas. Imagine growing up and not being able to cel-ebrate Christmas with your family. Also, you couldn’t own any property other than your house.

Freedom is a responsibility for everyone who has it. For example, with freedom of religion comes the responsibility to respect other religions. Freedom of religion is important be-cause my family and I go to church every Sunday to worship as we please. Freedom of speech is another important basic civil liberty. With this liberty you can say what you want to say. With the right to bear arms comes the responsibility to use all weapons properly.

Many people including me take freedom for granted when in fact many people in other countries don’t have it. When I forget how lucky I am to live in a country like this, I try to remember what my grandparents went through.

In conclusion, freedom is a responsibility that many peo-ple take for granted. When you do, try to think about how unfortunate people in places like Afghanistan are.

Catherine Fuller and her grandmother, Lourdes Fradera Alvarez.

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By Teri Cangelosi

Promoting the ideals of academic achievement, character, service and leadership among students is the mission of the St. George Catholic School Junior Beta Club.

The National Beta Club has worked with over six million young people in grades 5-9 (Junior Beta Club) and grades 9-12 (Senior Beta Club). There are now more than 420,000 active members and more than 8,000 clubs nationally and internation-ally. The National Beta Club has become the nation’s largest inde-pendent, non-profit, educational youth organization. Mrs. Renee Sims, Club Moderator noted, “Criteria to be in the Beta Club is excellent behavior, exceptional grades and outstanding service. I am very proud of our students involved in the Beta Club. They are true role models for their peers.”

The Beta Club of St. George meets before school once a month. They attend District Day and the Beta Convention and perform service proj-ects throughout the year. Evan Dille reflected, “The Beta Convention was really fun. Everyone is so supportive of each other and we got to meet new people and try new things.” The Club motto is “Let us lead by serv-ing others.” This year the Beta Club performed service hours at the Ba-ton Rouge Food Bank. Forty of the students at-tended as well as some generous parents who rolled up their sleeves to assist. SGS parent, Celeste Hollis said, “My experience at the Baton Rouge Food Bank with Mrs. Sims and the SGS Beta Club was certaining a fulfilling one. The students were very eager to help and I believe developed a new awareness of the hunger issue surrounding our community. I feel like we all walked away with a sense of appreciation and a responsibility to serve our neighbors through this opportunity. Thanks to Mrs. Sims for facilitating this service project.” The Club also changed out the missals for the new hymnals in the church and prepared the candles for parish-ioners at Easter. Mrs. Sims, remarked, “It’s important for the stu-dents to see the blessings that they have in their lives and be aware of those people in our community that may be less fortunate.”

Each year, the Beta Club participates in a Spring retreat. The retreat typically involves group collaboration exercises that en-

courage the team mem-bers to work together to determine strategies and find solutions. A special emphasis was placed on dividing the students in a manner that would place them into groups with other students that they might not normally work with. “Collabora-tion and teamwork are skills which have rami-fications in so many as-pects of a child’s daily interactions, and there-fore have great value for practice and develop-ment,” added Mrs. Sims.

“What a person per-ceives as impossible isn’t always what it seems.” The Paula Manship

Branch YMCA Y Challenge Course High Elements was specifi-cally designed to teach just that and was the site of this year’s Spring retreat. The skills of balance, coordination and concentra-tion at 40 feet off the ground might have seemed to be impossible to incorporate into a task when one’s knuckles were turning white and knees were shaking. Team members tackled the impossible and left feeling inspired, physically exhilarated and self-empow-ered to face the challenges of everyday life. In addition, operating as teams reinforced the essential skills of communication, coop-eration and leadership. They discovered the unique strengths and talents of their classmates and how to resolve a situation when not everyone is in agreement with the plan. “The ropes course was a great experience. We learned to trust others and we had to work together to succeed in our activities,” said Easton Hollis. Madeline Lemoine added, “The ropes course was a fun opportunity to chal-lenge yourself in the comfort of your friends.”

Mrs. Alaina Reed, Co-Moderator, also commented on the re-treat, “We had a great time. The kids really learned to value team-work since we did many team building low ropes challenges. My favorite part was how supportive the students were of each other when they tried to conquer the zip line and high ropes activities. I hope every student felt a part of a community and that they grew closer as a class.”

Role Models Embrace Challenge

Beta Club participants embrace challenge as they

practice the skills of collaboration and teamwork.

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By Teri Cangelosi

Mrs. Michele Scioneaux’s second grade class participat-ed in several Skype sessions this year. These innovative lessons utilized Skype technology to give the students

access to resources and persons not available to visit or be used in the classroom.

The Skype service allows users to communicate by voice us-ing a microphone, video by using a webcam, and instant mes-saging over the Internet. “I was quite excited about using Skype in my classroom this year. It gives us access to information and guest speakers that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to incorporate into our lesson,” noted Mrs. Scioneaux. Through much careful planning and the wonderful collaboration of the participants, Mrs. Scioneaux developed several very creative lessons for her class.

The first Skype session was with Mrs. Jennifer Parker’s Hon-ors Chemistry students at St. Michael High School in which the Second graders were treated to an interactive lesson in making ice cream as they learned about solids, liquids, and gases. Sky-pe technology enabled the students to participate with their high school “teachers” almost as well as if they were actually in the same classroom. The next session included speaking with Mrs. Judy Brandt (former 2nd grade teacher at St. George School) who now lives in Kuwait. Mrs. Brandt showed the students photos of the city, including photos of products imported from the United States in a Kuwait grocery store that corresponded to a lesson the class was learning about international trade. The students found it fascinating that they could see Mrs. Brandt (as well as have her see them) even though she actually was across the globe.

The last Skype lesson was a question and answer discussion with Dr. David Baker on April 12, 2013 that complemented the curriculum unit on animals and habitats. Dr. Baker is Director of the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine, and Attending Veterinarian for LSU. Dr. Baker also serves as the personal vet-erinarian for “Mike” the Tiger, LSU’s Bengal tiger mascot. Dr. Baker described Mike’s daily routine for the students as well as some tiger facts and trivia. He also outlined the steps neces-sary to become a veterinarian and what the students will need to study should they aspire to a similar career. Not surprisingly, the students were most interested in asking questions of Dr. Baker about his unique experiences with Mike.

Q: “What’s the funniest experience you have had with Mike?” –McKenna Newton

A: “Mike will hide behind a bush and think that I can’t see him but I really can!” –Dr. Baker

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Zachary Decuir and Carter Mayeux examine a tiger whisker.

The Second Graders learn to make ice cream during a Skype session with St. Michael High School students.

Jordan Territo and Elizabeth Gordon with a hair from an elephant’s tail.

What’s All the Hype About ?

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sisters have all retired and lay men and women teach now. St. Procopius is still an exceptional academic school. But, to many, it appears to be a private school that happens to be Catholic rather than a Catholic school that happens to be private. Families from outside the parish send their children there for an excellent education, and faith is secondary.

So where does that leave us, the hope-filled faithful, who want our memories of the past to be the vision of the future?

I believe we need to see Catholic schools for what they were originally intended to be: a playing field for evangeli-zation. Our grandparents invested in these schools because they believed that fertile ground was necessary for planting the seeds of faith.

We have an amazing opportunity to bring whole fami-lies back to the practice of faith if we play our cards right. In my years as a Catholic educator, nothing has been more rewarding than seeing parents and their children baptized at the Easter Vigil because a teacher, principal, or DRE in-vited them to become Catholic. There is no finer moment for me than welcoming a newly baptized student back to that first school Mass after Easter and seeing him or her receive Eucharist with the rest of the student body. For you see, Catholic schools are not only about forming minds and bodies. We are there to form souls, and that makes all the difference. Our grandparents knew it, lived it, and literally bet their last bottom dollar on it.

Instead of getting lost in things of the past, let’s begin something new: Catholic schools where the faculty is pas-sionate about their Catholic faith and teach the gospel in everything they do; school families who attend the parish Mass on Sunday and know that school and parish go hand in hand; students who pray and live faith in every aspect of their lives. The vision and the mission have not changed in 50 years. God is beginning something new. God is asking you and me to reach out and evangelize all in our Catho-lic schools. We have a marvelous opportunity to help the Kingdom come.

God bless,

Jack NelsonPrincipal

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Q: “Do you brush Mike’s teeth?” –Max CavanaA: “We give him a frozen Ox tail to help clean his teeth.”

–Dr. Baker

Q: “What’s your favorite thing to do with Mike?” –Brandon DragoA: “I can’t go into his enclosure because it would be too dangerous

even though he knows me but I can pet him through the bars of his den which is behind his exhibit. I enjoy letting him lick my face and I rub his head.” –Dr. Baker

Q: “Has Mike ever bitten you by accident?” –Brock BroussardA: “Yes, recently when he was playing with me. I said ‘Ouch’ and I

saw that Mike felt badly about it. He licked my hand then.” –Dr. Baker

Q: “How do you get Mike into the trailer to go to the football games?” –Watts Goodson

A: “We open the door and let him go in if he chooses to. If he doesn’t want to go that day, he doesn’t have to. We never make him.” –Dr. Baker

The second graders truly enjoyed and benefitted from the unique learning experiences Mrs. Scioneaux developed using Skype technolo-gy. The students never left the classroom yet they visited a high school, a foreign country and LSU. Using technology to expand the walls of our classrooms, it appears that our students can travel and explore the world to the limits of our imagination.

Grace McGibboney holds an emu egg.

Hype Continued from page 9

summer 2013 11

By Teri Cangelosi

Doritos bags, Snickers wrappers, orange peels, eggshells, and milk cartons might often be found in the kitchen gar-bage can of a household. Sorting through the can, we can

easily identify what’s been on our menu for the past day. An owl produces a pellet that is essentially the indigestible “packaging” of its prey. Mrs. Laurie Freeling’s fifth grade science class enjoyed an opportunity to examine these pellets and take a look at exactly what some owls had been eating.

“Owls eat their food whole but their bodies cannot digest the fur and bones so they regurgitate it in the form of a pellet. Owls eat a variety of things like invertebrates, birds, and small mam-mals. Our pellets came from Barn Owls that eat mice, shrews and voles,” commented Mrs. Freeling. “The 5C and 5D classes studied food chains, food webs and predator / prey relationships.”

The science classes were divided into five groups of six stu-dents each and given tweezers, magnifying glasses, plates, gloves, worksheets, bone and animal classification charts, and owl pel-lets. Mrs. Freeling introduced the lesson, the students watched a video that modeled the experiment, and after being given their guidelines, they were told to measure and then dissect the owl pellet. The experiment required the students to pull away the fur and identify all of the bones in the pellet. Fifth grader Amelia Buffone remarked, “I

thought it was strange that owls can’t digest bones and fur.”

The students were asked to count the number of each type of bone and draw pictures of the bones they found. The students had to examine the contents of the pellet and describe the owl’s diet, for example, how many animals and what type of animals they thought the owl ate. They also had to decide what habitat the owl was hunt-ing in and defend why they came to that conclusion. The students were able to use the bone and animal

classification chart for help. “At the end of the experiment, students were allowed to divide the bones between group members so they could take home the bones to show their family. They really seemed to enjoy the experiment,” noted Mrs. Freeling. An-nie Blanchard and her classmates also commented on the experiment from a different perspective, “It was a really fun experiment but it just smelled bad!”

The Glance is publishedsemi-annually by the

Development Office ofSt. George School.

Teri CangelosiWriter, Editor, Photographer

M. Jason BrownCreative Director

Contributors:Val McGibboney, Photographer

We welcome the submission ofmaterial for possible publication. Please contact Teri Cangelosi

at (225) 293-2212 orteric@st-george.org.

the glance

Hoo’s Bones Are These?

Students examine owl pellets.

Students examine owl pellets.

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and didn’t start painting until she reached her fifties, she didn’t let those challenges keep her from becoming successful. Fourth grad-ers, Grace Gonzales and Sydney Fisher were excited to visit Mel-rose Plantation to see first-hand how Hunter lived. Grace noted, “Clementine Hunter never gave up. Her artwork was so pretty and I think it inspired everyone.” The visit to the plantation by these two girls brought additional relevance to the “art turned history” lesson. Sydney added, “We were able to ring the big bell that was used to signal to the workers that it was time to go back to work.”

In addition to learning about Clementine Hunter’s art and lis-tening to the personal recounts of her life, the students tried their hands at recreating her style of folk art. Oil pastels were done by the first and second graders and crayon/watercolor resist paintings by done by the third graders. “I think it was neat that she painted something how she thought about it and not how it really looked,” noted Juliette Buffone.

“In retrospect, teaching the students about folk art and sharing the story of Clementine Hunter, had even greater benefits that I originally foresaw. It’s difficult for a young child to see the rel-evance in Monet’s or Van Gogh’s paintings. They can’t speak to people who personally knew them and can’t easily visit where they lived and see their works. I was really surprised by the number of my student’s who have a connection to Clementine Hunter or had previously seen her art in person. Learning her story, which is full

of Louisiana history, has excited the students to be more aware of art, especially folk art and its place in our culture. I’m thrilled that they have taken the lesson beyond the classroom.”

Wrapping the love of art around the love of teaching, Mrs. Pro-chaska has spread her excitement about art. “I am really enjoying being here at St. George again and feel very fortunate to have Mrs. Lithgoe as my Assistant. She is truly the wind beneath my wings! The students here are special as well. They are so thirsty to learn and apply the skills into other areas of their lives. Next year having the school-wide ability to use Curriculum Mapping, I’ll be able to plan for lessons that correlate even better with what the students are learning in their other classes. Bringing relevance to English, Science and Math lessons through art can be a highly successful method of teaching concepts. After all, art isn’t just about creating, it’s about connection.”

Mrs. Prochaska’s contagious enthusiasm turned sentimental as she recalled a story about her former art teacher, Mrs. Gene Spann, who became a lifelong mentor and friend. “When she moved re-cently to a nursing home, she gave me her toolbox, sculpture stand and stool,” Mrs. Prochaska said with a catch in her voice. “The toolbox was filled with nothing special, just some rusty tools, but it was the symbolism that was so incredibly special to me. She was passing me the torch.” It’s that love of art that will light the flame for the St. George students as well.

Connection Continued from page 4