Featured: Meet Ms. Kathol!

Ms. Natalie Kathol, our Director of Religious Education and the Grade 5 Religion teacher this year, says that she enjoys experiencing God in nature.

This week's post will shed light on the incredible work that our fifth graders are doing in Religion class with their teacher, Ms. Kathol.

The Thanksgiving Tree project, featured below, is a way for our students to visually remind themselves of all that they are grateful for in life. Each grade will complete a tree that will be brought forth at our Thanksgiving prayer service on November 26 to recognize and celebrate our blessings.

In class, the students have started a long-term project that they will continue working on throughout the year: Write Your Story on My Heart. It is a reflective assignment about finding the presence of God in every day life and includes different narrative writing prompts, creative projects, and experiential learning opportunities in the form of field trips and retreats.

Last week, fifth grade visited St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church and then shared their experiences with second graders through a personal letter. As the year progresses, Ms. Kathol hopes to take the class on their own spiritual retreat, where they can connect with God through nature and share in prayer, reflection, community building, and fun!

Finally, as part of their long-term project, Ms. Kathol had the students select an image in which they truly see God. Their interpretations are paired with powerful words that tie into their faith and memories of how God has influenced their lives. I encourage you to ask your child about their own project. Thank you, Ms. Kathol, for all that you do for our students!