In this season of gratitude, we have much to be thankful for. St. Ignatius reminds us to live in a spirit of gratitude for all that God has given to us.
Here is a slideshow of the Magis teachers in action - summer and fall 2009, in celebration of, and in gratitude for their talent, generosity, love, enthusiasm and commitment.
Music is by Tony Ward, at Creighton University, “Blessed Are You, Lord” (www.tonywardmusic.com)
Ordinary time is upon us - both liturgically and academically. Although we have been in Ordinary Time for several months on the liturgical calendar, it seems that we are just moving into “ordinary time” in the classroom and in the school year. The name Ordinary Time is deceiving at because its root “ordinal” refers to the counting and sequence instead of common place events. But, sometimes we slip into thinking that this time is uneventful and commonplace; after all, summer is over, the very beginning of the school year has gone and major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas seem so far away. So, here we are in late September and the schools in our three dioceses started school several weeks ago. The syllabi were distributed in August. The classroom procedures have been taught and re-taught. The newness of the beginning of the school year has settled and dissipated. Walking through the hallways of the schools, there is a hum and rhythm of students busy learning and set in their routine. Students and teachers alike are in the “swing of things” and settling in for the year. The “ordinary time” of the classroom has settled in.
But, as Fr Steve Sanford, SJ, a Jesuit parish priest in Pine Ridge often reminded me at Mass, “there is nothing ordinary about this time.” We are called to notice God’s loving action in the ordinary events of our lives. And when we do take notice, we rediscover that there is nothing ordinary about God working in our lives. God’s extraordinary love for us permeates the routines, the settling, the redundancy. God’s love is infused in the units, chapters, topics and curricula that Magis teachers and their students are moving through. When Molly and I have the opportunity to visit these motivated, young Catholic educators in their classrooms, it is easy to see this. Alive with passion, energy and hope for their students, these 21 Magis teachers give 110% day in and day out. Whether it is planning creative lessons to cater to all learning styles, using technology meaningfully to enhance students’ learning or building community among the school staff, the spirit is alive in these teachers’ relationships and work. There is nothing ordinary about the way Christ works through our teachers to comfort a disappointed second grader, to encourage an unmotivated seventh grader, to cheer on the high school football team.
May God continue to bless our teachers and their students, and all those who support Magis Catholic Teacher Corps, as we strive to become ever-more aware of God’s extraordinary love in the ordinary events of our lives.
Colleen Keller, Assistant Director
TJ gave a very moving, passionate speech about Magis Catholic Teacher Corps on September 17. Here’s the video of his speech. The picture is bit sideways and distant, but the audio is pretty good. If you would like to read the text of his speech, go to TJ Mullaney’s blog, on the right hand side of the Magis Teachers’ Lounge Blog.
Thanks to all who attended our Commissioning Mass with Archbishop Lucas of Omaha and Bishop Dendinger of Grand Island. We appreciate your support! Take a look at some pictures from the Mass & Reception on July 25, 2009.
In May of 2007 I remember quickly moving from Nicaragua back to Cincinnati, Ohio where I graduated from Xavier University one week later. Just four days after graduation I found myself sitting in Tim Cook’s Philosophy of Education course at Creighton University. That whirlwind craziness that drew me to the Magis program and missioned me to teach at Red Cloud Indian School continued for the rest of my two years. When I walked across the stage at the Qwest Center on May 16th it was hard to believe that the two years had already drawn to a close. At the same time, just as teaching continued as I returned to my classroom that following Monday, the experience of Magis, as long as it continues to affect who I am and how I live my life, cannot have a real conclusion date.
While the way in which Magis continues in my life might seem obvious in some sense as I work as the Magis intern for the month of June, the impact is much deeper than that. Six of the seven teachers who entered my cohort came having studied something other than education for our undergraduate coursework. Nonetheless, all seven us were for some reason drawn to this program which seeks to develop Catholic educators. That emphasis of the Magis program on fostering and developing individuals to serve in Catholic education is far more than just a slogan as I believe our actions far more than our words can speak to. At the end of these two years four of the teachers will be staying in Catholic education even though their postgraduate degrees from Creighton University would surely qualify them to earn far more in a public school. Furthermore, the three of us who will not be teaching next year used the past two years not only to try and make our mark in Catholic schools, but to discern vocations to religious life. With seven of us continuing with our decisions to have our Catholic faith as a centerpiece of who we are and what we do, it seems clear to me that the last two years have affected us as much or more so than we can hope to have affected our students.
All that being said I cannot help but use this as an opportunity to thank all of those who make this program what it has been, what it is, and what it will become. Therefore my thanks go out to Molly Davies, my classmates and friends in Cohort 6 (Joe Elliot, John Roselle, Rob Kinney-Walker, Jen War, Jen Toplikar, and Chris Start), our schools, the benefactors who make the program possible, Creighton University in particular the Education Department, and the teachers who came before us and after us. Thank you also to all those who I have neglected to mention. I am not sure it would be possible to truly acknowledge all who work hard to make this program what it is.
God bless-
Jeff Dorr, Magis Cohort 6 & 2009 Graduate
While some Magis teachers from Cohort 7 never left Omaha, those who had, have now returned. Additionally, nine new Magis teachers from Cohort 8 have joined them living and studying at Creighton University for the months of June and July. As far as the Magis program is concerned, summer in Omaha does not revolve around the College World Series but around the coming together of all the Magis teachers as one large community. Even though the summer challenges both the first and second year teachers with rigorous graduate level coursework, it is also meant to be a time to spend together in reflection and relaxation. In addition to learning strategies of classroom management and content area literacy teachers cook and eat together, participate in faith sharing, as well as taking breaks for Omaha Royals games and ping pong tournaments. Through it all, the two months give an opportunity to work and live together focusing on the common goal of growing each individual as an educator and advancing the common goal of Catholic education.
Colleen is originally from the New York City region and received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Religious Studies from Fordham University in the Bronx in 2002. She volunteered for Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota for three years in the Pre-School/Kindergarten classroom as a teacher’s aide, teacher, coach, bus driver, and Girl Scout leader.From 2005-2007, Colleen taught kindergarten at St. Frances of Rome Catholic School in Cicero, IL, and completed her Master of Arts in Elementary Education as a member of the Loyola University Chicago Opportunities in Catholic Education (LU-CHOICE) program. Colleen then returned to Red Cloud Indian School to teach kindergarten and has also served as a volunteer support person for Magis teachers and the Red Cloud Volunteers for the last two years.
Colleen is uniquely qualified for this position. She served as an intern here last June and July, living with the Magis teachers in Kenefick and coordinating their summer programming. She is also a knowledgeable practitioner of Ignatian spirituality and a dynamite elementary school teacher. She joins us on July 1st.
Welcome to the new Magis Catholic Teacher Corps newsletter! With the desire to “go green”, mixed with the request that we share more stories from teachers, we deduced that a blog is the way to go.
If you click a name on the right, you can access that teacher’s blog. For security reasons, we have not allowed comments to be posted. That would require the teachers to do a little more work than we want to demand of them.
There are some fun pictures of our teachers in action in the movie below - be sure to check it out! There are also more fun photos in the Director’s Blog, along with an update on Cohort 8 placements for this coming fall.
Many Lenten Blessings!
Molly Davies
Director, Magis Catholic Teacher Corps
mollydavies@creighton.edu
