Today the class was told that their first test will be on Wednesday, February 6. The students will need to know the three Bible verses we’ve reviewed, the 12 patriarchs, 12 apostles, five reasons why it is important to know that creation is good, the five principles of creation, and the arguments for the dignity of the human person (which will be discussed in greater length on Monday). We’ll review for the test together on Tuesday.
Today the class did a great job with the prayers from their prayer book. We seem to be getting the hang of it. After prayer, we reviewed the Twelve Tribes of Israel and the Twelve Apostles. The small groups (”tribes”) presented information on their Old Testament patriarch, and had some group time to choose an apostle as a patron, elect a leader, and discuss a symbol for the group. The groups were asked to research their patron apostle and be ready to present on him this coming Monday.
Before class today, it was a blessing to see the seventh grade serve and assist in the School Mass. They all did a great job! In class, we reviewed the past few days on creation, and discussed the dignity of the human person as the summit of creation. We’ll be returning to this subject soon. It’ll need some more development. The students were asked to write Genesis 1:26 in their “disciple’s guidebook”: ”Then God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness…”. After this brief lesson, the class was divided up into three small groups. The groups were asked to take a name from one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The class “tribes” are currently: Benjamin, Naphtali, and Zebulun. Tomorrow the tribes are suppose to explain something of the biblical figure of whom the Old Testament tribe was named. The tribes will rotate their membership in March. The goal of the tribes is to foster group work, leadership, service, and teamwork. The students were encouraged to study their notebooks, and memorize the three verses of Scripture they have received: Genesis 1:31; Revelation 4:11; and, Genesis 1:26.
In class today we started with our daily prayers from the student’s prayer book. It’s getting better, but we still have some work to do. After prayer, we reviewed the five benefits of knowing why creation is good (from yesterday’s class). After this review, the class was taught the Five Principles of Creation: 1) God creates by wisdom and love; 2) God creates “out of nothing”; 3) God creates an ordered and good world; 4) God transcends creation and is present to it; 5) God upholds and sustains creation. Each of the principles was discussed, and the students were asked to write them in their “disciple’s guidebook.” The students were told to review and be familiar with the five reasons and five principles. Further, they were asked to memorize Revelation 4:11, which reads: ”For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” At the end of class, there was a little free time and so some of the students entertained the group with various singing and dancing skills.
Today, the class attempted to pray from the student’s prayer book. It went well, but we have some room for improvement. After our prayer, the students had their quiz on Genesis 1:31. After the quiz, we continued our discussion on creation. The students were asked to write in their “disciple’s guidebook” the question: Why is it important that we know that creation is good? We discussed the following answers: 1) It gives us a foundation; 2) It helps us to know the true God; 3) It helps us to understand our dignity; 4) It encourages us to do good; 5) It frees us from false views which lessen who we are. The students were asked to write these reasons in their “disciple’s guidebook.” Our lesson ended a little early today so that the students who were leading a prayer at the School Rosary could go and get ready.
The students were informed that on Monday morning there will be a quiz on Genesis 1:31. The students will need to have the verse and citation memorized.
Today in class we started by reviewing and praying the Liturgy of the Hours from the students’ prayer books. It went well, but we’ll need to work on it for a little while. After prayer, we began to discuss our first topic together: the goodness of creation. The students were asked to write Genesis 1:31 in their “Disciple’s Notebook”: ”And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” We began to discuss the creation account in Genesis, and how the story is revolutionary to our fallen world. The ancient people thought that the world was created and ruled by warring spirits, fighting gods, and bad omens. Modern people can sometimes think that the world was created only by chance, randomness, or evolutionary natural selection and mutation. God breaks through these empty explanations and begins by telling us that creation is good. That it has a plan and a purpose. We ran out of time in the midst of this explanation, but we’ll pick things up on Monday. Their homework assignment was to memorize Genesis 1:31.
In conformity to the school’s “Handbook for Students and Parents” (pp 40-41), the policy for missed homework assignments will be: an after-school detention (without a demerit) and ten points off the grade.
Today was still a lot of preparation and ground-building for the semester. We started class by discussing the DVD on Jesus’ life which the class viewed yesterday. The conversation was engaging and helpful in seeing what the students received and understood. After this discussion, I asked the class to move their chairs into a “Horseshoe” format. We’ll be trying this arrangement for the next couple of weeks. It’s my hope that the format will lend itself to more involvement by the students in class question-and-answer and discussion. After moving the chairs, each student was given their own copy of “The Catholic Youth Prayer Book.” They’ve been asked to mark page 124, and to “personalize” their prayer book over the next couple of weeks. Perhaps they can use pictures, drawings, signatures of friends, etc. The goal is that the prayer book truly becomes “theirs.” After we viewed the prayer book, the homework assignment was collected. It was disappointing that four students did not have their assignment. They’ve been asked to bring it in tomorrow. If they do not have their assignment tomorrow, they will be given an after-school homework detention. At the end of class today, the students were given letters for their parents (a basic syllabus of the course). There is a signed portion of the letter that has to be returned tomorrow.
I leave in a little while for the March for Life in Washington, DC. I won’t be in class with the seventh grade tomorrow (Tuesday). I’ve left a DVD for them to watch. The DVD is on the life of Christ, acted out by young actors from the Cenacolo group in Florida. We’ll be spending several weeks on the life of Jesus and this DVD is a good introduction to these lessons. The first homework assignment is due on Wednesday (see below).
