Mrs. Woods in her small-group reading classes does what is common with the other teachers throughout the other classes and grade levels at St. Louise, "I ask students at the beginning of class if there's anything we need to pray for. It lets them know that they are part of a big, caring community, and that we turn to God in all things."

          In each grade level, certain Catholic and Christian prayers are learned by heart as part of the religion curriculum. For example, our 1st graders are memorizing the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Angel of God prayers this year. They then can start and end their school day reciting these prayers by heart.

          More personal, spontaneous prayers were said in daily P.E. classes in April.  Typically, Mr. Evans chooses a prayer to say at the end of each P.E. period in the gym, but in April, Mr. Evans encouraged his students to create their own prayers if they would like to, and if called upon they could share them out loud, leading the class with their prayer. The prayer's focus was to be on being thankful for our good health and continued safety. Mr. Evans reported that he received many prayers from a variety of students in all the grade levels. Students were excited to create their own prayers and share them with their classmates. This also provided students with a leadership opportunity as well as a chance to practice the skill of public speaking.

          The 7th and 8th graders work toward being active Christians who seek to develop a personal relationship with God throughout the year as every student prepares and leads prayer in Mrs. Herridge's religion classes, based on an assigned theme. Students have the freedom to choose how they illustrate the theme - some choose a song with lyrics that reflect the message while others choose a video that further explains a topic. In any case, the prayer is personalized through the choices each student makes.
          In Mrs. Herridge's religion class, the 7th graders also took a closer look at Jesus as human person. Following the style of Kehinde Wiley (a modern portrait artist), each student created a portrait of how the Savior might look if He returned today. This project called "Jesus Now" gave each student the chance to give thought to which characteristics of Christ are most relatable to them and how those would be important in a second coming.

          " He who sings prays twice." The fulfillment of this famous quote from St. Augustine is the focus of the efforts of the St. Louise Chorale.  By leading singing, our school's choir has the privilege of modelling full participation in Liturgies for the whole school and wider St. Louise community.  At Chorale practices, Mrs. Cole sets aside time to discuss the lyrics of the songs so her grade 3-8 choir members understand how their message relates to the theme of the upcoming Mass.  This deeper perspective encourages the choir to sing with greater emotion which in turn enhances the prayer of the assembly.  The hope is that the experience of serving as a music minister will translate into a life-long passion for many of our Chorale students.

          This spring, our PreK students are preparing for a special May Crowning service they'll be holding.  Mrs. Salmon's 4 and 5 preschoolers are learning a new prayer and song, which they are using now as part of their daily prayer, and will be making a part of their May Crowning. The prayer is, " Holy Mary, we love you. Holy Mary, we love you. Holy Mary, mother of Jesus, we love you. Holy Mary, mother of our church family, we love you. Amen." The song is, " Oh, Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today. Queen of the angels, queen of the May!"

          The fourth graders in Mrs. Scruggs' and Mrs. Danforth's religion classes each chose a "Faith-Filled Person" to report upon. They had to research the biography of their person and report on what it is about that person that makes him or her a good model of being an active Christian who lives out Gospel values. Below are some of our 4th graders "modeling" their Christian role models.

         

          Finally, our 2nd graders have been preparing both their minds and hearts all year to receive two special Sacraments - the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharist. Most of our 2nd graders have received their First Reconciliation, and most will receive their First Communion this weekend. Soon after, Miss Casey's and Mrs. McAllister's 2nd graders will reflect on their First Communion and write about how special it was to attend this Mass and receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Be looking for their accounts displayed outside the 2A and 2B classrooms soon.

          Now in May, the focus schoolwide is on a new Student Learning Expectation. The SLE of the Month for May is:

• #2.2: "A St. Louise student is a life-long learner who communicates effectively through writing, speaking, and listening."

Parents can help reinforce this expectation by discussing the meaning at home and brainstorming ways you and your family members demonstrate these same actions in your personal lives.