Viking & Alumni News

“There is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than its teachers. Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools”

-Ken Robinson

Read any of Ken Robinson’s books, watch a TED talk or two, or follow his work and you're sure to be inspired by his lofty goals for education reform and strong belief in teachers as key leaders of this much needed reform. He excites audiences by showing what could be possible in the academic world for students. So while this year especially, it has been easy to get ground down by the stressors of daily life in school, his reminder that teachers are our lifeblood is important and necessary. When teachers are on fire, inspiration flows from our schools. 

We recently experienced firsthand that inspiration flowing here at Saint Olaf Catholic School in Bountiful, Utah. Our 4th grade Teacher, Ms. Kelli-Ann Allen and her colleague, librarian and art teacher Mrs. Kathy Dorich took the entire student body on an odyssey through their own version of Read Across America Week. Although this national program was created in 1998 in conjunction with Dr. Suess’s birthday on March 2, the program has blossomed into and encourages reading all year long, as it is critical to all learning.

Here, at Saint Olaf, Ms. Allen started our own version of Read Across America several years ago, keeping the original week long celebration in March. In non pandemic years, Ms. Allen has had donuts with grandparent/parent reading buddies, invited parents and community guests to read with and to students throughout the week, offered before and after school snacks paired with reading time, had students read to other grades and with each other, snuggled in the library, or in corners of their classroom. She incorporated games, art projects and class/school challenges into the week. Students and parents alike also participated in an all school book exchange where each day of the week, a book could be donated and another chosen, refreshing home libraries.

However, with the pandemic, Ms. Allen and Mrs. Dorich knew this year would look different and would need to be creative and fun in its own socially distanced way. Students need exciting things to look forward to, and to not lose all “special” activities due to COVID-19. So where there had been parent, family, student, and community close contact interactions, this year the presentations, reading, and activities would need to be spaced. It was an amazing coincidence or perhaps divine inspiration that Saint Olaf had recently caught the attention of the NCEA and catholicmom.com, with a representative contacting the school to see about a possible working partnership.  

What followed were several weeks of conversations and emails between our Principal, Simon McFall, these 2 teachers, and multiple authors, including a very well-known and accomplished illustrator and Saint Olaf Alumni, Pete Oswald. Although he wasn’t able to join us via zoom for Read Across America Week, we are thrilled to have reconnected and look forward to future projects in the works. We were able to set up zoom presentations with 5 Catholic/Christian Authors, also all very accomplished and published through Paraclete Press, and 1 local Utah Author. Not only did 6 authors do zoom presentations with our students throughout the week, they sent multiple copies of their books to be distributed to students. Lisa Hendey, creator of Catholic.mom.com led a mini retreat for our staff on Friday, closing out a full and fabulous week. Our Author guest list was as follows:

• Jon M Sweeney, The Pope's Cat
• John Gray, Keller's Heart
• Lisa Hendey, I'm a Saint in the Making
• Laura Alary, Breathe, A Child's Guide to Ascension, Pentecost, and the Growing Time
• Karen Kiefer, Drawing God
• J Scott Savage, The Mysteries of Cove Series

Other activities students participated in included designing or redesigning favorite book covers, dressing as favorite characters or authors, playing a week long Bingo game-encouraging daily reading and storytelling at all levels, and a fantastical scavenger/trivia treasure hunt campus wide. Ms. Allen and Mrs. Dorich would love to see the program grow every year, with more to look forward to. Ms. Allen’s students also participate in a reading program all year, where they must select books from every literary genre, trying them out. Both teachers report wanting to make this year extra special because of the extra burdens students and families have felt. However, truth be told, these exceptional teachers are always doing more, pushing for something new and different. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to these teachers and many other teachers working with our students. With more than 80% of our students reading on or above grade level, the inspiration of our teachers is flowing stronger than ever! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each year as Advent season begins, hopefully you find a few quiet moments of reflection-for the coming Savior, for the past year, and for new beginnings ahead. In your evaluation, what were successes of last year and what were failures? Did these experiences provide growth, improvement, or connections? For the office staff at the school, we keep returning to our building project first, as we evaluate all we do, because it is such a critical step. It is one of many in a long line of steps needed to shepherd our school into a new and ever improving era for this community and we feel a tremendous weight and responsibility for this mission.

 

As Christmas villages emerge from decoration bins and the soft lights begin to glow from the tiny windows, we can't help but think of our village here. How do people describe it, how has it changed over 60 years, and how does it need to change to remain a significant light here in Bountiful? Besides the badly needed building updates and addition, the next things identified as desperately needed this year were renewed and reinvigorated relationships with our parish and alumni, the people who have shared and experienced this place. We hope, that it isn't just a place that you experienced, however, but that you felt true community, a village, surrounding you with love and the light of Christ as you were shepherded toward your best self. That is still our goal and we continue to pray that you will actively join us again in helping this generation of children find their best selves. It is hard to say how successful our attempts have been in strengthening bonds with our parish and alumni. We have certainly reestablished many connections, but are eager for more-more relationships, more community, more shared vision. In this time of Advent, we wait with anxious anticipation for so much more...

 

At this moment, we sit on a precipice, with everything completed to begin our building project except final funding. Plans are complete, paperwork is in order, permits are in hand, and yet, we wait. We wait for responses from our school families, we wait for parishioners, for alumni, for grant boards, and for friends. The waiting is hard, but in the waiting we find time for prayer, reflection, and growth. In the waiting we keep telling our story, keep pushing our dreams and vision for our village, clinging to hope, and always keeping our light burning. We wish you all a blessed Advent with much time for reflection, prayer, and hope. We wish you a Very Merry Christmas as we welcome the light of the world once again into our hearts!