New elementary school teachers prep for the school year
On August 27 and 28, the Archdiocese of Newark’s Office of Catholic Schools hosted a two-day orientation for new elementary school teachers. The goal was to help educators hit the ground running – offering practical advice like how to set up learning spaces and prepare lesson plans, but also helping teachers to consider the unique nature of their work as Catholic educators.
After the opening moment of prayer, Barbara Dolan, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, asked everyone a simple question: What makes us different?
New teachers worked together in small groups, as they would throughout the two days, to address the question. Their responses drew upon their personal experiences of Catholic schooling as students, parents, and educators.
The Catholic school difference
One teacher pointed out that Catholic schools focus not just on the growth of the intellect, but on the whole person. Another said that in her experience, Catholic education was freeing because it allowed her to share more of herself, especially her faith. Some teachers said that there was simply something different about the atmosphere of a Catholic school.
Dolan agreed. “From the first moment a student sets foot in a Catholic school, he or she ought to have the impression of entering a new environment,” she said.
That is why it is so important to have crucifixes and other visible Catholic symbols on school walls and to create spaces for reflection and prayer in classrooms. The distinctiveness of Catholic education should also be evident in the way teachers interact with their students, Dolan told the gathering.
More than just a job
For Dolan, a key factor in creating a different environment is the understanding that being a Catholic school teacher is not a job, but a ministry.
“As teachers, you are planting those seeds,” Dolan said. “You have been put into the lives of those children not only to teach them, but to help them grow in faith. That’s a crucial aspect of who they are.”
She encouraged the new teachers to continue to reflect on the significance of that fact: “To be an effective Catholic school teacher, that mission has to be a driving force for you,” Dolan told them.
To this end, much of the orientation’s second day was devoted to a retreat-style workshop led by the Archdiocesan Office for Lifelong Faith Formation that focused on catechesis in Catholic schools. In the afternoon, the new teachers also received safe environment training as part of the Department for the Protection of the Faithful’s Protecting God’s Children program.
At the end of the two days, the new teachers came away with a clear vision of their special calling, ready to greet all the children who will eagerly enter their classrooms for the first time this week.
Click HERE to view more images from the new teacher orientation.
Featured image: New teachers attended a two-day orientation organized by the Archdiocese of Newark’s Office of Catholic Schools on August 27-28. (Photos by Shania Mosquera / Archdiocese of Newark)
