Catholic Educators Gather to Reflect and Prepare for New School Year

At the dawning of this new school year, teachers are called to the missionary work of caring for their students through educating them and accompanying them during life issues. 

This was the message emphasized during the Catholic Educators Gathering on Aug. 1 at Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Baton Rouge.

The sounds of lively conversations filled the church as hundreds of teachers expressed their excitement during the day of reflection and preparation for the new school year.

“I am most excited about welcoming a new group of students and getting to know them and see their personalities emerge,” said Alison Millen, a second-grade teacher at St. John Primary School (SJP) in Prairieville.

Fellow SJP second-grade teacher Mallory Jarreau, was also eagerly anticipating the arrival of the students.

“I am excited to teach and inspire a new set of 35 minds,” she said.

Andrew Button discovered during college that he enjoyed working with children as he helped at a nearby school’s after-school care and athletics programs. He now teaches 7th and 8th grade social studies and 7th grade reading at St. Jean Vianney School in Baton Rouge. He also assists with coaching the seventh-grade boys JV basketball team. Interacting with his students and teaching something he is passionate about is what he enjoys most at SJV.

“SJV is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year so we’re going to have some fun celebrations throughout the year at a great school,” added Button.

Zach Leger, a 2003 graduate of St. Michael High School in Baton Rouge (SMHS) is an engineering program coordinator and head football coach at SMHS. In return for the excellent experiences he had as a student, he helps current students lay a successful foundation for the rest of their lives.

“I enjoy working with athletes and helping guide them and being a role model for them. I want to accompany those going through trials and tribulations, and at the same time, give them something that lays the groundwork for a path for excellence in their lives that goes far beyond a paycheck.”
Top right Photo: Teachers sing the opening hymn of the Mass at the Educators Gathering. Photos by Debbie Shelley | The Catholic Commentator
Above photo: Jason Angelette speaks to educators about their crucial mission of accompanying students facing trials. 
The assembly of teachers were further motivated by guest speaker Jason Angelette’s message to “enter into the adventure of Catholic education.”

“You all have this evangelization opportunity to bring the gospel, the good news of love, of Jesus Christ into your classrooms, into your schools,” said Angelette. “That's going to, Lord willing, shape the hearts and minds of those children, to bring them back to their families, to be able to reawaken that faith that the Lord has poured out into their baptism … The bells will (soon) ring and you’ve got to go for it.”

Angelette is the director of the faith and marriage apostolate of the Willwoods Community, which is dedicated to promoting the sacramentality of marriage and providing married couples with opportunities for growth, enrichment, and support. He is the author the marriage enrichment program United in Love United in Christ. He has been involved in campus ministry, teaching theology at the high school and college level.

Angelette shared his story as an example of the power of accompaniment in helping people during trials, suffering, and grieving. 

Angelette and his wife, Elise, married in 2002. Elise died after a six-year battle with cancer on Aug. 16, 2020. The couple, who have five children, co-directed the Willwoods Community faith and marriage ministry and promoted and provided married couples opportunities for growth, enrichment, and support.

Angelette displayed family pictures which reflect how Elise kept a positive sense of faith and hope throughout her cancer journey.

“She was so strong in the fight and was confident in her God,” Angelette said. “She was not afraid to step out of the box. She was, to me, a beautiful light to the world.”

He asked the educators, “There’s going to be experiences when your students all of the sudden get the news that something happened. Can you be that person to help remind the family that there is a Lord and Savior?”
Priests from the diocese join Bishop Michael G. Duca in celebrating the Mass.Angelette remembered that during his wife’s cancer treatment their children’s Catholic school played a critical role in providing a positive environment for them.

“That support and seeing my children plugged into a community that did more than just teach the (subjects) was entering into a deeper mission. That’s something we can’t lose sight of,” said Angelette.

He emphasized, “When I send my children to school, I am not trying to wash my hands of that responsibility. I have to be the first hero of the faith to my children. What I’m trying to say is ‘Will you help? Will you join me in the mission that I have by God to love my children in such a way that they will radiate the love of Christ in their hearts?’ They will come to know who they are and whose they are.”

To do their mission work teachers must first take time to go to a place where they can rest and pray, such as an adoration chapel, Angelette emphasized.

“The Lord is pouring out his love. He wants you to take that love that he is pouring into you and go back into your field to produce some fruit that will not be just for this year but will be the memory for that student and family who was going through something,” Angelette said.

After Angelette delivered his message, Bishop Michael G. Duca and priests in the diocese celebrated a Mass, which was followed by a commissioning ceremony.