Renewing our commitment, zeal, and hope for Catholic education

It was definitely a neat experience to have NCEA 2019 in our very own city of Chicago this past week. The Archdiocese shut down for two days, and all schools were required to send their staffs. I bumped into so many people - my own current faculty, teachers I used to work with at my previous school, classmates from Remick and ACE, friends & professors from Notre Dame, and other fellow teachers from across the city. Plus, many of my faculty got to meet my twin sister and thought they were seeing double. (We were turning heads right and left, for sure.)

LOVED seeing our high school ACE teacher - she was the best!

Remick 15 representation at NCEA

Always a good time when you get ACE XV friends together
(And the ACE HH was amazing!)

Over the two days, I ended up attending some good sessions, and I also had the opportunity to present about how to engage our Catholic school students in their weekly/monthly Masses. The presentation stemmed from my grad school work, and I was originally encouraged to apply by one of my grad school supervisors. In looking back, I am so grateful for the push - it was a terrific experience (even though I was extremely nervous in the weeks leading up to it), and I believe the people who came walked away with some practical ideas to put into place in their own communities. In fact, I received an email yesterday from one of the attendees, and it truly made my day -->

Here are a couple of pics from the session - the principal I work with and some of my friends snapped some photos -->

I believe this was before the technology cut out...

Pretty sure I was praying for grace and peace at this point!

As teachers and leaders in Catholic schools, we need to constantly seek opportunities, both formal and informal, to renew our commitment, zeal, and hope for our work with the young people in our care. So, in my humble opinion, what probably is the most fruitful thing that came from the conference is the boost of energy and ideas for everyone who attended NCEA - the timing of being right near the end of the school year could not have been better as we make the final stretch toward summer and we work to keep it meaningful, rigorous, and joyful. 

I am so proud and blessed to be working in Catholic education - I believe that just as it was a gift for me growing up, our Catholic schools are a gift to the students who come through our doors each and every day. For all of my fellow Catholic school educators - keep up the good work! And know you are in my prayers.