St. Patrick’s Blog Week of December 16th, 2013

St. Patrick’s Blog

Week of December 16th, 2013

In recognition of the third Sunday in Advent, we lit the rose coloured candle this weekend.  The rose candle is a stark contrast to the deep purple of the other three candles around the wreath.  Advent is a time of expectant waiting and the three purple candles represent the symbols of peace, hope and love.  During the third week of Advent, also known as Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday, we light a different coloured candle to remind us of the impending joy associated with the birth of Jesus.  With the commercial hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, we are challenged to find the true meaning of this time of year.  

Our students were reminded of the true meaning of Christmas through their participation in the readying of our Christmas Hampers for our community.  As a school, we were able to prepare dozens of baskets of food and household items to help compliment the special season for those who might be experiencing a difficult time.  We appreciate the work of our students and staff, and especially our Chaplaincy Leader Paul Kozak who did all of the arranging and organizing.

We had a number of activities taking place at the school this past week.  As indicated in my previous blog message, Thursday December 12th was National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples.  This past Thursday, we had a very unique presentation by some of our own students including a traditional aboriginal dance and cultural throat singing performance.  We also had the mother of one of our students come in to demonstrate to students how to make traditional aboriginal jewelry.  It was great watching our students participate.  

The St. Patrick’s Intermediate Band, Jam Session and Glee Club provided a fantastic opening to our Christmas pageant Thursday night at the high school.  The students sounded great, and it was a fitting warm-up to the school’s production of Christmas Scene Investigators.  The play was a very entertaining and funny take on a fictional school’s Christmas production.  It was very evident that the students involved both in front and behind the scenes have been rehearsing for a long time.  A special thank you to Ms. Reilly, Mr. Leury, Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Rupert and Ms. Walker for helping to prepare the students.  

We say goodbye to Mr. Lutfy at the end of this coming week.  He has been taking over for Ms. McKenna while she has been on leave since September.  Mr. Lutfy is now taking a position at Mother Teresa High School while we will welcome Ms. Beernick following the break.  Best wishes in your new position Mr. Lutfy!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of those in our school community a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday.  We are looking forward to starting up again on January 6th, 2014!  Until then, have a happy new year!

Have a great week!

Sean Kelly

National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples

A reflection from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on the occasion of the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples:

The National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on December 12 every year, on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, who appeared to a humble Aztec peasant, Saint Juan Diego, in Mexico in 1531. The Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council celebrates this day of prayer, solidarity and reconciliation by issuing an annual message honouring Indigenous people who have been inspired by their Catholic faith.

?ehtseo Ereya – A Dene prophet who preached the good news of Jesus

Ereya was the original Dene name of the prophet now lovingly known as ?ehtseo (Grandpa) Louis Ayha. Born in 1857, he became known throughout the Northwest Territories as a great spiritual leader. People used to travel many miles to visit with him, and today they still come to visit his grave. All the elders that knew ?ehtseo Ereya talk about how special he was in the eyes of God.

The local priests also appreciated the holiness of ?ehtseo Ereya. Father Jean Denis, O.M.I., a long-time pastor at Deline parish, was impressed with the holiness of ?ehtseo Ereya’s life, his healthy melding of Dene and Catholic spirituality, and the positive effect his teaching had on the people he visited with.

?ehtseo Ereya was raised in Tlicho territory, in the Behchoko area of the Northwest Territories. Together with his family, ?ehtseo Ereya traveled around the Sahtu area. He built his first log home in what today is called Deline, a community on the shores of beautiful Great Bear Lake (the largest fresh water lake solely in Canada and the seventh largest lake in the world). He chose this place for its good fishing, hunting and trapping.

Later in his life, ?ehtseo Ereya said that when he was young he was visited by two angels to share the teachings of the Holy Book. These visits continued for years. Once he had grey hair he was told to share his knowledge and to speak to Dene people everywhere. Even though he had no knowledge of written words, he had a rich knowledge of the Bible. Throughout the day, he would go from home to home, talking to the people. The Dene people have a tradition of prophets: good people who have some sense of the future and good words of guidance for the people. ?ehtseo Ereya is seen as one of the most gifted prophets. Some people would doubt his wisdom, but he was able to read their hearts and often predict their actions. He predicted the future for the people and the land. He would also do anything to help people in need. ?ehtseo Ereya would often say, “Remember to always share and to love one another.” He also said, “Remember to always keep the words that I taught you. Use them and teach them to each other.”

?ehtseo Ereya’s nephew remembers how he would say that you must not be stingy with your food. He would say, “If on your table cloth you have served tea many times and have said prayers over the food many times, what is placed on that table cloth will not disappear.” This was in one of the harshest climates in Canada where hunger and starvation were common.

?ehtseo Ereya also warned the people about the “yellow poison” that would be mined at Port Radium, also on the shores of Great Bear Lake. This first Uranium mine was open from 1942 to 1960. The uranium was used for the bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Early mining practices were very primitive, and many of the miners suffered from exposure to uranium.

?ehtseo Ereya died on September 23, 1940, at the age of 83. He is remembered as a great prophet who worked hard and preached to many Dene people the Good News. He was loved and respected by young and old alike because of his strong belief in God. ?ehtseo Ereya was a great teacher, and so the local school has been named after him. His stories continue to be a gift for the people. ?ehtse Ayha in his own life tried to live out the best of two traditions. He prayed with the drum, participated in drum dances, feeding the fire ceremonies, and in many ways was fully active in his Dene traditional culture. At the same time he was a faithful Catholic. He had great respect and love for Jesus, for the stories of the Bible, and for the sacraments. He encouraged his people to practise both their traditional culture and their Catholic faith.

In the 1980s, ?ehtseo Ereya’s log cabin was rebuilt and made a place of prayer. In 1991, a spiritual gathering was organized to celebrate his life and teachings. This gathering occurs annually in mid-August in Deline, and is attended by many Dene from near and far. In many homes throughout the Northwest Territories there is a picture of ?ehtseo Ereya on their wall. His continuing positive influence on his people supports that he truly was a holy man.

?Ehtseo Ereya reminds us that the particular spiritual legacy and gifts of our aboriginal brothers and sisters have much to offer our present-day society. He also calls us to respect both Catholic and Indigenous spiritualties, and to celebrate what is common between them. As ever, our Church needs good prophets.

St. Patrick’s Blog Week of December 9th, 2013

St. Patrick’s Blog

Week of December 9th, 2013

This week we discussed the passing of Nelson Mandela.  He was celebrated as a great leader and principled individual whose accomplishments included the uniting of a country in South Africa.  Mandela’s approach focused on the forgiveness of past wrongs, as opposed to any sentiment of vengeance, despite his lengthy imprisonment at the hands of apartheid supporters.  Mandela can be a model for us all as we build relationships among our friends and community despite challenges.  This is a quote I shared with our students and staff this week:

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”

- Nelson Mandela

A common theme during the second week of Advent is that of Hope.  The Hebrew word tiqvah from the Bible reflects a feeling of eager anticipation or waiting.  We are waiting for the birth of Jesus at the end of the advent season, but also eager for the second coming in the future.  We are asked to continually review our own place and ask ourselves if “we are ready”.

We had a number of visitors at St. Patrick’s over the last week.  Our student services department organized a career fair for our grade 7 students.  We had representation from public health, Ottawa Fire department, numerous banks and financial institutions, a real estate agent and author among others.  Students came up with some great questions for our community representatives as they completed “career passports” at the displays.  Thank you again to our community representatives who gave of their time to assist with our students.

We also had a visit from the residents of Billings Lodge who are working on a project with Ms. Sweeney and Ms. Kilbride’s class.  Our English class students have been visiting the lodge to complete an assignment on generational stories with their senior friends.  This week the lodge residents came to the school to see the culmination of the work.  

An additional reminder that we are encouraging our students to “speak out” to provide some information to the Ministry of Education.  As part of the Ministry of Education's "Great to Excellent" initiative, they are collecting feedback from students about the education system.  Students have an opportunity to share their opinion at either of the following links:

http://fluidsurveys.com/s/speakuphere  or on Facebook.https://www.facebook.com/speakupontario/

We are continuing to raise money for our Christmas Hampers as students are able to purchase raffle tickets in the cafeteria for a chance to win some great Christmas gifts for family members.  Winners will be able to choose from a number of presents on display in our “Christmas Corner” that Miss Sue has set up in the caf!

Have a great week!

Sean Kelly

St. Patrick’s Blog Week of December 2nd, 2013

St. Patrick’s Blog

Week of December 2nd, 2013

This weekend marked the first Sunday of Advent.  We will spend the next few weeks in homeroom taking time to gather around the advent wreath to prepare for Christmas.  It is a significant opportunity during the hectic days of December to take time out in prayer to reflect on our level of readiness as we approach this very important Catholic celebration.  We link our continued support for the Philippines and our Christmas Hamper drive to our Advent preparation.

Our St. Patrick’s Family congratulations Paul Kozak (our Chaplaincy Leader) and his wife Aleksandra on the birth of their daughter Cecilia Magdalena who arrived a little early this past week. Both mom and baby are fine. Not a bad Christmas gift!

Our students raised several hundred dollars on Friday during our dress down day to support our Christmas Hamper initiative.  The students had a great time attending the dance, or the movie afternoon in our learning commons.  It was a great spirit raiser with the proceeds going to a good cause.  

We are encouraging our students to “speak out” to provide some information to the Ministry of Education.  As part of the Ministry of Education's "Great to Excellent" initiative, they are collecting feedback from students about the education system.  Students have an opportunity to share their opinion at either of the following links:

http://fluidsurveys.com/s/speakuphere  or on Facebook.https://www.facebook.com/speakupontario/

This coming Friday, December 6th, all of our grade 7 students will be participating in our Career Fair at the school.  This is an opportunity for students to consider a host of different career choices, presented by volunteers in the positions within our community.  We have wide representation for the students to review including Accountants, a Speech Pathologist, Public Health Nurse, Youth Worker at John Howard Society, Ottawa Police, Social Worker Business Consultant, Lawyer, Web Developer, etc.  Students will be bringing a career “passport” which they will fill out during their time with our community representatives.  Be sure to ask your son/daughter what they thought of the experience!

Finally a reminder that we will be having a School Council meeting this Tuesday, December 3rd in the learning commons at 7:00pm.  I will be reviewing the St. Patrick’s School Improvement Plan for Student Success with our attendees.  Please make a point of joining our group for some additional information.

Have a great week!

Sean Kelly