The Learning Must Go On
Sisters embrace technology to connect with students during School Closures
Sister Jo Goolish shares an online art project she’s working on from afar with her students at St. Gerard Catholic High School in San Antonio, Texas.
Sister Carol Ann Papp shares an art link with her students, who all received a black and white copy of Brother Mickey Mcgrath’s latest drawing of Our Blessed Mother protecting doctors and nurses. The students were encouraged to color them in and send them as thank you notes to doctors and nurses they know.
In the uncertain environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important that learning continues, even if it can’t happen in person. That’s why our sisters working in education – along with their fellow faculty – are using best practices and online learning resources for students to work remotely. Needless to say, they’ve come a long way from the days of chalkboards and ditto machines.
Sister Carol Ann Papp, who teaches religion and art at Northside Catholic Assumption Academy (NCAA) in Pittsburgh, connects daily with her classes via Google Classroom. Lessons are posted, then students view them and respond with inspirational thoughts and feelings during these trying times.
“I was having a very bad day, and after viewing the religion link and listening to the song you sent, I felt so much better,” one student wrote. “Thank you!“
Rosanne Kwiatkowski, NCAA principal meets weekly with faculty via Zoom to discuss procedures and how to reach those families in most need. The biggest challenge was getting laptops to the 30 NCAA families who had no technology in their homes.
Sister Maria Derecola’s second grade students at St. Matthias School in Somerset, N.J., have their own homework website where assignments are posted daily. Completed work is then sent back via Sister Maria’s email for grading. Various online formats are used throughout the school, including See-Saw and Google Classroom.
Eileen Brett, school principal, frequently sends out updates to faculty and parents and also connects with staff through Zoom meetings.
Sister Jo Goolish, a teacher at St. Gerard Catholic High School in San Antonio, Texas, also is tapping into technology to continue teaching her college, high school and middle school art classes. She posts a lesson online in Google Classroom. The students do the assignment, photograph their artwork and send it to back to her for a grade. She also uses Zoom to connect directly with her students and address any questions.
Although online education has made great strides in recent years and our sisters in education are up to the challenge, they all agree that they miss their students and look forward to returning.
Sister Maria Derecola connects with her second-graders from the comforts of her bedroom at St. Matthias Convent in Somerset, N.J.