Catholic Teachers' Lounge

As Catholics, our rituals are a wonderful way to grow in faith, but unscripted, group prayer can also be an intentional community builder for any classroom as we share concerns, hopes, dreams and understanding. The benefits of class connections are a testament to investing the time in each other.

Let’s talk Advent cards. Jill and Colleen talk about how to encourage students to consider what they say YES to, from a kindergartener thanking Mary for her YES, to high school seniors considering which vocational YES God is asking of them.

Colleen and Jill explore what’s happening in schools as we begin Advent. It’s a time of preparation, and the prayer of the moment is that even those who are secularly preparing for Christmas are awaiting something even much bigger: the coming of Christ.

Consider adding an Advent Wreath to your classroom, beginning the season with an advent wreath blessing. Jill and Colleen discuss the Loyola Press lesson on blessing an Advent wreath.

What if students had five minutes to talk about the test between handing it out and starting to answer questions? How do we help students reduce tension and settle their thoughts so they can regulate themselves before sharing what they know?

Public prayer can be intimidating for some teachers — especially when doing so one on one with parents instead of leading children in memorized prayers — but mandated faith behavior comes across as forced. How to work through fears to encourage and support fellow teachers to do hard things.

E-Sports is gaining traction from college down to grade school. Strategy, teamwork, and communication can boost comaraderie and life experience for students, but it also increases screen time and encourages potentially addictive games. How to unpack a challenging opportunity that brings both benefits and threats.

When we open our minds and hearts, there is much to learn from the students we serve. We believe in their growth and can be pleasantly surprised by their amazing examples of grace, wisdom, forgiveness, and faith. There is much to be thankful for when engaging with young people.

Prayer can be a unifying experience for teachers and staff when facilitated in a personal and flexible fashion because teachers have challenges too. Prayer can help bridge gaps and provide support for those in need when they need it.

Over communication is critical, but maintaining a sense of privacy for the child is important as well. When it comes to juggling mental health challenges, what does success look like and does student health or achieving learning standards become most important priority?

Exploring the reach of parents as primary educator of the child when parents excuse their kids from school for vacation. Whose responsibility is it to keep the students up to speed while they are gone?

Artificial Intelligence can create classroom havoc or magic solutions. On the positive side, it can feed the planning process with ideas and suggestions. But as with any new technology, it requires conversation and discernment for teachers and students.

What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say about patriotism? How can we best honor veterans in our Catholic schools? This episode honors the stance of the Church on duty to country as well as prayer ideas for those who serve.

Fundraising is a necessity for Catholic high schools, but the duties of fundraising can be shared among staff and students. In this episode, Jill shares a recent fundraising victory when she challenged the students to take charge and raised the bar on expectations.

Applying for colleges today is so different than when we went to college! This episode shares insights from a college counselor on the current reality of applying for colleges as a high school senior

Everything you learned about teaching, you learned in Kindergarten. Explicit instructions, patience, manners and more. Channel your inner Kindergartner and bring your teaching to the next level.

Arriving early, leaving late — what is your preparation routine to make the most of classroom instructional time while maintaining a reasonable personal balance of work and home life?

From handshakes to interview questions and communications skills to leadership oppportunities, there are many ways to prepare students for the real world, no matter the grade level. How to connect the classroom to the world.

Its easy to blame the pandemic for every current classroom challenge, but the reality is most of these challenges have been present for a long time. Becoming more deliberate in helping students improve their working memory with consistency, multi-sensory cues, and other techniques can go a long way to make the classroom “normal” again.

As the adult in the room and subject matter experts, it’s easy to make teaching all about the teacher, but students surprise us every day with their insights, gifts and talents. Finding ways to connect with every student — even the tough ones — can open the door to not only inspiration, but lifelong impact through recognition and strength-based learning.

Every teacher has a unique, go-to lesson or activity to capture the imagination of their students and many times it can involve animals or insects. Tapping into God’s creations can be a powerful lesson about life, death and the environment we all need to share, but it can also lead to funny and unpredicable experiences for all!

Practice makes perfect, but so does self and peer review. How to effectively use peer to peer reviews of student writing to help everyone improve.

Assigning group work can be a recipe for disaster no matter the age of the kids. However, disciplined assignment of roles and responsibilities can successfully help students navigate this critical, real world skill set.

In a world dominated by social media and electronic communication, facilitating classroom discussion that includes peer to peer eye contact, active listening, and mutual respect can be a significant challenge as you bridge the socratic method of yesteryear with the digital habits of today.

Electives and specials can be few and far between for some Catholic schools, but there is a concerted effort to make specials a bigger priority to help elevate kids in new ways by doing new things outside traditional academics.