Category: School

Deer in the Headlights Meets Dinner for 100

franciscanmom1 Comment

Today’s project:  sending a long email to 100 people (at least half of whom I’ve never met) to beg them to donate some food for 7 nights of dinners for 100.

I’m not a professional fundraiser. I’m a Stage Mother. And I do this because I really get behind the high school’s tradition of feeding the cast, crew, orchestra and staff of the spring musical during Tech Week each year.

This van is fully loaded and on the way to one of last year’s Tech Week Dinners.

It’s good for the kids. They get camaraderie, lots of laughs, and a good meal before a grueling rehearsal.

It’s good for the staff. They know the kids will be at rehearsal on time, since they’re required to eat dinner together beforehand.

It’s good for the parents. They know their kids won’t be crossing the state highway that fronts the school to get hoagies or chicken nuggets for their dinner. They don’t have to give their kids dinner money for those 7 rehearsal days. By my estimate, they’re saving at least $50.

Nobody wants the job I’ve taken on, but I love it. There are 3 parts to the job:

  • Plan the menu and figure out how much food will be needed each day
  • Beg for donations
  • Show up and get those dinners on the table

That last is where the deer in the headlights comes in. When 4:00 rolls around and dinner is in an hour, you get that 30 minutes of panic when you wonder if all the donated food is going to show up, and whether all the people who said they’d help will show up, and you run around like a crazy person making 5 gallons of lemonade, baking tater tots and plugging in extension cords for the crockpots of taco meat and having people who never signed up to bring food show up with 100 more meatballs…

But the kids are unfailingly beyond appreciative. They thank us when they show up, when we fill their plates, and before they leave. Some of them come back through the line to say how much they liked something we served that night.

It’s worth every moment of hard work and every panic attack.

And GO!

Small Success Thursday: New Blog Edition

franciscanmom8 Comments

Small-Success-Thursday-400px-1-

Shortly after Little Brother was diagnosed with diabetes, I received a message from my friend Katharine Grubb (she’s also an author! You should read her books!)

She was urging me to begin a new project. As if I need more new projects. She wanted me to use the information I was gathering about cooking for my Type 1 Diabetic child and share it with others who could use it.

I knew she was right, but I had to let some things settle in first. Finally, yesterday, I took the plunge and pressed the “publish” button on my new cooking blog.

Cook and Count has the carb-per-serving count for each recipe I feature. I also plan to include Little Brother’s story as well as other things we learn about dealing with diabetes as a family.

-2-

I taught FIRST grade the other day when they needed a substitute at school! I used to teach first-grade Spanish, but I had a new batch of kiddos every 35 minutes. All day long is another story entirely, but we had a great day. Best line of the day, after I wrote my name on the blackboard:  “I can’t say your name! It has too many words!”

-3-

I’m taking advantage of the better weather (and lack of early-morning ice)–I got to Mass twice this week and the gym once. I’m hoping to do better on both counts, but it’s a start.

Stop over to CatholicMom.com and read about everyone’s Small Success! Share your own in the comments or link to your own blog!

Never Off Topic

franciscanmom5 Comments

I spent Monday as a substitute teacher in second grade at the parish school. As my training is in secondary education, I’m used to students trying to derail any discussion in order to avoid doing work. Seven-year-olds don’t generally display that level of guile, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t stray off the subject during our school day.

Children that young just want to share. As soon as you mention anything, they make a connection and need to tell you–and the whole rest of the class–about it. Every once in a while, that can be a good thing, if you can manage to capture the moment.

raised handWe were in the middle of a language-arts lesson based on the story of an injured child riding to the hospital in an ambulance. Up goes a hand. “My mommy says that when you see an ambulance you should say a Hail Mary.”

Me:  “Yes, a lot of families do that. It’s a really good thing to do. When you see an ambulance, you can pray for the person who is sick or hurt and for the people who are helping.”

Student:  “And police cars too.”

Me:  “Right. That’s another good time to say a prayer.”

Other student:  “But just for the police. Not for the bad people.”

Me:  “We should definitely say a prayer for the bad people. Do you remember that Jesus told us we should do that?”

Class:  “Yes.”

Me:  “Jesus said that we should pray for people who hurt us, not just for our friends and family. Maybe the people who hurt us need even more prayers.”

Moments like this are why I love Catholic school. Our faith isn’t confined to the schedule block reserved for religion. It can (and should) pop up at any point in the day. I love that the children in this class feel free enough and comfortable enough to bring up the subject of prayer when the thought enters their mind–even during a story about a fictional ambulance ride. I pray that these lessons will be put into practice during a real emergency.

image credit

Small Success Thursday: Winter Wonderland Edition

franciscanmom2 Comments

Small-Success-Thursday-400px

This week, so far, we had 5 inches of heavy, wet snow and then an ice-to-rain “event.” Thanks, Punxsutawney Phil. Thanks a whole lot.

-1-

erins vegetarian chiliWhile it was snowing and I had nothing better to do but stay inside and cook, I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce with meatballs and, later, a slow cooker full of Erin’s Vegetarian Chili (I added a can of pink beans and a generous amount of corn). Middle Sister baked some Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate-Chip Cookies.

-2-

I was the Substitute Librarian/Tech Teacher on Tuesday morning. Not only did I get paid for doing something I love, but I had all kinds of fun

  • reading Snowmen at Work with the first grade. Twice. Because their teacher changes the words to “1A Snowmen” when she reads a Snowman book with them, and they needed me to do the same.
  • reading Pink Snow with the second grade. We don’t usually choose nonfiction books as read-alouds in the library, but I was looking for something not too babyish for this class, and I wanted to stick with the snow theme. The kids were spellbound and asked good questions. One teacher, whose daughter is in that class, told me Wednesday how much her daughter really loved that book.
  • attempting to convince an eighth-grade girl who was working on a “Contemporary Americans” report that you can’t use rumors as sources for a research project, even when those rumors are published in celebrity-gossip rags. Especially when those rumors are published in celebrity-gossip rags.

-3-

I finally got the Christmas decorations boxed up and moved out of the living room. They’re not completely away yet, but I need the snow to melt so I can get the boxes out to the shed. My deadline for getting that done is the next time Big Brother comes home to spend the night, because right now those boxes are in his room.

Give yourself a little pat on the back for things you’ve accomplished this week! Join us over at Small Success Thursday at CatholicMom.com–leave a comment or link your blog.

And while you’re over there at CatholicMom.com, don’t forget to link to your favorite meatless recipes at our Meatless Friday Link Party! We’re getting our souls–and our kitchens–ready for Lent!

Bells Are Ringing

franciscanmom3 Comments

This morning I went to Mass at the school, because they were honoring the parents who volunteered during the school year. Usually I avoid this event (it’s a social-anxiety thing) but Little Brother was persistent in telling me he really wanted me to be there.

He’s 11. How much longer is he going to be happy to see his mom volunteering at school? I returned the form saying I’d attend the Mass and social afterward.

When I got there, dripping from the rain because TheDad had mistakenly taken both our umbrellas to work with him, a smiling student met me at the church door and told me that all the volunteers were supposed to sit up front. So I did, because Little Brother wanted me to be there.

Fortunately there was no naming of names, just a group “all volunteers please stand up so we can thank you” at the end of Mass. I could deal with that.

Afterwards, we went into the cafegymatorium for a nice little reception. There were two decorated tables with these cute gifts that the first and second grades had put together–with handwritten thank-you notes from the kids. There were smiling seventh-graders pouring our coffee and juice and inviting us to take fruit and pastries.

I sat next to a mom whose oldest son is in Little Brother’s class, and across the table from a mom whom I don’t know, but who had a beautiful one-year-old daughter with her. The little girl had made an impression on me during Mass; she was very quiet most of the time, but when the altar server rang the bell, she exclaimed, “Yay! Bells!” Both times.

That reminded me of Little Brother at the same age. Big Brother was an altar server then, and I was up front with the choir. TheDad would sit in the back with Little Brother, and when the servers rang the bells, Little Brother would yell, “Big Brother’s ringing the bells!” You could hear him throughout the whole church.

I was telling the other moms at my table about this, and the mom with a boy in Little Brother’s class said that her sons used to ask her why the servers rang the bells. Her answer was that they ring the bells to show that this is an important moment. Of course, the next week, when the bells would ring, one of her boys would (loudly) say, “It’s an important moment, right, Mom?”

I was dreading that reception, and even thought about ducking out on it, but I’m glad I went. I’m glad I sat with moms who bring their children to Mass. I’m glad my child attends this school where the kids are taken to church and can learn about Jesus and why it’s an important moment when the bells ring. I’m glad that the parents can share, through funny stories about what their own kids did in church, how we help our children understand those important moments.

21st-Century Conclave

franciscanmom5 Comments

Yesterday’s “white smoke rising” moment really brought home just how connected the world is. The Papal Chimney Watch was in full swing in the early afternoon, and I was in the car listening to commentary on satellite radio’s The Catholic Channel. My husband was with me, commenting that he felt sorry for the radio personalities, who had to just keep talking until they had certain information.

We got home just as the announcers stated that the marching band was entering St. Peter’s Square. I refused to get out of the car until I’d started up the satellite-radio app on my iPhone. I didn’t want to miss a moment.
I was frustrated to discover that there was a 5-minute delay between the radio broadcast and the online version, but I set my phone next to me on the desk and listened as I headed to YouTube on my computer for the Vatican TV live feed. I started Twitter on the iPad.
I didn’t even bother with the regular TV. For the last conclave, that’s all I had. But this was amazing–using various media to receive information in real time (or as close as an online app for satellite radio could get.)
Then I watched the clock. It was getting close to 3, dismissal time for Little Brother’s school. I was sure that they’d be watching in class, and didn’t want him to miss “the Big Reveal” while he was on the school bus.
Pope Francis reached the balcony at about 3:15. We barely had time to digest the news and try to find out a little more about him when Little Brother exploded through the front door, yelling, “We have a new pope, and his name is Francis!”
“How did you know? They didn’t announce his name until after you were on the bus!”
“Somebody on the bus has an iPhone and we were all watching it on the 3G.”
This is probably the best use of an iPhone on a school bus EVER.

Day: Made

franciscanmom4 Comments

This afternoon I was handed a packet of thank-you notes written by the 5th grade at Little Brother’s school. Every child in his class wrote me a thank-you note last week, during Catholic Schools Week, because I am a weekly volunteer in the school library. The notes were hand-written on stationery that the kids decorated themselves. I know this class well, because I’ve worked with them for 4 of the 6 years I’ve helped in the library. This is a great bunch of kids–they’ve been together since kindergarten and as a group they’re pretty tight.

As to the sentiments expressed in the letter, they were often at the corner of Funny and Sweet, because that’s where ten-year-olds live. Here are a few of my favorite gems:

“We are all very grateful for you donating your time for the school. You’re a very thoughtful person. As they say in Spanish, gracias!”

“It is a massive responsibility for you to go to the library every single Friday.”

“Every time you come on a Friday it makes me feel happy inside.”

“When you are supporting us we are supporting you.”

“I hope you are proud of yourself!”

“I am thankful because you could be doing something other than helping.”

“You are the greatest book stamper ever!”

Two kids wrote “Go Notre Dame” on their letters as well. (After all these years together, they know me well. And I know them well enough to know that for one boy, that was a big thing–he’s absolutely not a Notre Dame fan. But he wrote it on my letter because he knows that I am.)

And one child made a special point of thanking me for finding a copy of a book she’d been looking for, and setting it aside for her until her class came to the library. That’s what it’s all about.

That packet of letters made my day. I love helping the school by lending a hand in my favorite place!
Plus, it’s good to know that my book-stamping talent has not gone unnoticed.

Not User-Friendly

franciscanmom6 Comments

And now it’s time for my annual Re-Registration Rant.

It’s time to sign up Middle Sister for her senior year of high school. (All together now:  “She’s a senior ALREADY?”)

When registration time comes around, the school emails me a link to her account. (Full disclosure:  This account is not maintained by the school, but by the tuition-management service contracted by the diocese. None of the issues I encountered were things the school could have remedied or prevented.) In the email, it said that that if I signed in using this link, it would display my student’s information. So I signed in at the link, fortunately remembering my username and password.

I should have known I was in for it when I was asked to enter my returning student’s name, despite what the email from the school told me. After filling in that form, I came to a screen that instructed me to click the button labeled “Add Student”–this despite the fact that I’d already filled in the student’s name, and that a little link labeled “Start” was next to my daughter’s name. I followed the directions, though. Doing so took me back to the ADD screen, which I did not want.

Trying again, I clicked that “Start” link and continued registration.

The form remembers none of the information from previous registrations. Everything must be entered again.

Although I checked the box for “Married” after “Parents’ Marital Status” and then the box for “Child lives with both parents” I still could not go on until I filled in Custodial Parent Information. The form is set up so that I would have to designate one of us as Custodial and one as Non-custodial.

I called the customer-service number of the management company that handles the registration website, but I’d have had to wait 12 minutes to (maybe) speak to a person. That’s way too long to listen to cheesy “on-hold” music punctuated by smarmy messages reminding me how important my call is to them, so I bailed. I considered calling the school, as I’ve had to do at least once before when filling out this form and reaching this step. The whole process comes to a screeching halt because the system cannot deal with a child in a traditional two-parent household.

Then I noticed that underneath the boxed for “Name of Custodial Parent” and “Name of Non-custodial Parent” there was a check-box labeled “Not applicable.” The same was true for the addresses (and phone numbers) of the custodial and non-custodial parent. Several checked boxes later, I was able to proceed with the next step.

I’m quite sure that it’s not very hard to have those “Not applicable” boxes automatically fill in when the box “Child lives with both parents” is checked.

I was asked to fill in my student’s religion in two separate places. Similarly, I had to fill in the names of both parents, and our address, several times throughout the process.

If all this is tied to an account that I created years ago, why doesn’t it remember any of that information?

I did notice at the end, however, that it had my bank account number on file so it could easily and automatically deduct the registration deposit of $490. That was the only convenient part of the whole process.

That’s right:  it doesn’t remember my kid, my address, my phone number, my religion, or what to do when both parents live in the same house, but it’s got access to my checking account. That’s more than a little unsettling.

Library Tales

franciscanmomLeave a comment

I was the substitute for the librarian/computer teacher at Little Brother’s school today. I’m there every Friday anyway as a volunteer helper, so I know the routine–but it is different when you’re on your own.

Someday I want to bring my resume along, because there’s a pre-K aide who seems to think I’m generally clueless and inexperienced. It’s true that I haven’t taught 4-year-olds before, but I am a certified teacher who has taught grades 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and college. Maybe I’m misinterpreting her remarks that I was “brave” to go it alone today. Brave or not, I’m qualified to do the job.

The day kicked off with a very pleasant second-grade class. They like to tattle, but that’s their only issue. I don’t like tattling so I don’t reward it, and that drives them crazy. I love this bunch of kids, though, and we had a good time and enjoyed a story after they checked out their books.

Normally when the librarian brings a class into the computer room I stay in the library to shelve books, make bookmarks or organize displays. When I’m substituting, those tasks wait until the kids are back in their classrooms, and I’m in the computer room with them as they work on projects. I enjoy helping them with their research, though their keyword skills can make me crazy. The 5th grade is studying explorers and using Pages to make brochures with biographical information. Some of them needed assistance, like the boy who found that googling “Cartier” didn’t produce the results he was looking for. “Does ‘Cartier’ mean something else?” he wondered.

One of his classmates, meanwhile, was mystified by her explorer’s cause of death. She wanted to know the definition of “dysentery.” I asked if she really wanted to know, because it was kind of gross, but she insisted that she wanted to know…so I told her. She was horrified. “People died from that?”

“Well, in the 18th century, yes,” I said. “It’s not like they could just take some Immodium. They didn’t have all the medicines we have now.”

I should apologize right here and now to the 5th-grade teacher for my “TMI” description of this disease. I’m kind of curious about how it will play in the final report.

I expected the eighth grade to give me more trouble than they did, after I wore a Notre Dame shirt to school last week and the boys all yelled “Roll Tide!” I was prepared to eat crow over Monday’s game, but a couple of kids made quick remarks and then that was over with. They were chatty, but busy, and our biggest problem was that no one could figure out how to print a Powerpoint slide in “portrait” instead of “landscape.” Finally I gave up and just told them to save their work until the librarian returns and can show them how.

After two 20-minute whirlwind classes with the 4-year-olds it was time for lunch duty, where I supervised the beverage table and then wandered around the cafeteria making sure kids ate their lunches. I called one 3rd-grader by name, which surprised his classmates who then quizzed me on the name of every kid in the class. I got them all except the new boy, and since I haven’t seen these kids since June, I was pretty pleased with that.

Then I had half an hour to eat my own lunch before heading back to greet the kindergarten. Everyone checked out books, then we read a story. They enjoyed the story so much that they didn’t even notice their teacher returning to pick them up.

The biggest wrinkle in the day came after all my classes were done, because the 4th graders came in to use the iPads. The secretary had given me the code to the locked cabinet, but there’s a trick to opening that lock and I couldn’t figure it out. I sent up a distress signal in the form of a text message to the librarian, who clued me in on what to do and the cabinet opened right up. And then I had the chance to kick off my shoes and go on Lysol Patrol in the computer room, wiping down tables, chairs, keyboards and mice. Oddly enough for this time of year, I didn’t have to run Tissue Patrol all day–there was no visible snot. I used the cleaning time to listen to a podcast on my phone. Now the computer room and library are neat and clean and ready for the librarian to return on Monday.

And I am tired.

An Open Letter to the High-School Principal

franciscanmom4 Comments

As the principal, I’m sure you get plenty of emails from parents that concern complaints and problems. I would like to take this opportunity to let you know of the very positive experience I had today with a group of students from your school.

My daughter had asked if we could host a pasta party for the JV girls’ soccer team. When the girls arrived after practice today, they immediately began thanking us for hosting and asking if they could help in any way. I’m sure I heard the words “thank you” at least three times per student:  when they came in, when they got their dinner, and when they departed. Everyone was respectful of me and my home. They enjoyed each other’s company and were a pleasure to have as our guests. The girls on this team were a credit to their families and to the school.

This is my seventh straight year as the parent of a student in your school, and I have come to expect nothing less of the young people you help to educate.

I emailed this letter to the principal after this evening’s pasta party. I know this was a small matter, but it was wonderful to have such a positive experience–it really made my day.