Stories from the Field Archives - Page 53 of 61

A Mixed Bag

So last evening’s class was kind of a mixed bag. The main focus was on the “Ten Commandments Two-Minute Drills” that I wrote about yesterday. Here’s the scoop: All ten students were present and in good spirits. During opening prayer, one of the boys prayed for Brian Campbell, Blackhawks’ defenseman, who suffered a broken collar bone and cracked ribs as a result of a vicious hit by Alex Ovechkin on Sunday. I thought that was […]

Ten Commandments – Two-Minute Drills

Joe Paprocki

I’m pretty excited about this one! I want to do something to reinforce the Ten Commandments as we move in to this last unit on Morality. I also want to place more responsibility on the kids now that they are confirmed, so that they sense a difference between how I taught them before Confirmation and how they are learning now. As a result, I’ve come up with something I call The Ten Commandments Two-Minute Drills! […]

Post-Confirmation Reflection

Joe Paprocki

Congratulations to all of the 8th graders who were Confirmed yesterday, including my class of 10 students! I pray that they will feel the abundant graces of the Holy Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit, flowing in and through them all the days of their lives! As promised, I put together a guided reflection that I’m going to use tonight to help the young people reflect on yesterday’s experience. I think this will give […]

Confirmation This Sunday – Hope They Come Back Monday!

Joe Paprocki

This Sunday, my 8th graders will celebrate their Confirmation! I look forward to the opportunity to participate in this wonderful celebration and to witness the completion of their Christian Initiation, knowing that I had a hand in bringing them to this day. Thank you Jesus! On this coming Monday evening, we cross our fingers and hope that they all come back for class! Luckily, the DRE has established a culture over the years that expects […]

Confirmation Exam Results

Joe Paprocki

I finally got a chance to correct the Confirmation exams that my students took on Monday evening and I was generally pleased. They all passed! 4 students earned scores of 100+ (extra credit section on the Nicene Creed allows them to score over 100 pts) 3 were in the 80s and 90s 2 were in the 70s 1 took the exam with the DRE on Tuesday because he could not attend Monday night…I’ll have to […]

Last Night's Class, Tonight's Webinar

Joe Paprocki

Last evening, my students took their Confirmation exam. I haven’t had a chance to correct them yet, however, I can tell from a quick glance that there are no disasters awaiting me. In previous years, I had one or two kids who left full pages blank. Not this time. Before the exam, I gave them time to study and to quiz one another. I then told them that the Catholic faith was like a family […]

Not Bad!

Joe Paprocki

Our experience of playing a Jeopardy-like review was not bad at all last night. Of course, games can rile kids up so we were walking a fine line between having fun and laying down the law last night. However, overall, I’d have to say that fifty 8th graders in one room behaved pretty well! The nice thing was that they did a pretty good job of answering the questions. All of us were pleased that […]

Alex Trebek (or Art Fleming?) Tonight!

Joe Paprocki

Tonight, we’re doing our Jeopardy-like review to help the kids get ready for their confirmation exam which will take place next week. Of course, for many years, the TV program Jeopardy has been hosted by Alex Trebek, but some of us older catechists 🙂 recall the original host, Art Fleming who hosted the program from 1964 through 1975 and again from 1978-79. Don’t forget that I have links on last Thursday’s post to the 4 rounds […]

A Jeopardy-Like Review

Joe Paprocki

This coming Monday, we’re going to do a Jeopardy-like review with all 5 of our confirmation classes in preparation for the Confirmation exam they will take the following week. Our emphasis for this will be on “Catholic literacy” – the ability to talk about what you believe in and to be more familiar with Catholic vocabulary. We’re going to impress upon the kids that, in just a few short years, when they go off to […]

Kids’ Silly Behavior Plays Right Into My Hands

Joe Paprocki

Every once in a while, it pays to be patient with kids’ silly behavior because it can play right into your hands. Last night was one of those occasions. As I was teaching about the anointing with chrism at Confirmation, I focused for a while on the fact that the chrism has a fragrance (sometimes referred to as “perfume for the soul”) which symbolizes how the Holy Spirit helps us to give off the “aroma […]