Spring is in the air! March has no days off...but that just means we will be extra busy!! We have so much planned for this month, and are hoping you can be part of the learning experience. Please be on the lookout for parent teacher conference notices in your child's red folder!
For the past month, I have been a tutor for adult foreign students who are beginning ESL classes at Dorcas International Institute in Providence, which offers a variety of programs to refugees/immigrants.
At its foundation in 1989, some 28 years ago, the RJM mission center at St. Timothy's was designated as a community of “active retired.” Although there was no official commitment to parish service, over the years many sisters have given their time and talents to minister in the parish. That is no less true of the present community, as you can see below:
In December of 2016, Sr. Elisabeth Ides, a member of our General Government, and liaison with AFJM groups throughout the Congregation, visited Haiti. Her principal purpose for going was to connect with the AFJM in Port-au-Prince, a group deeply affected by the loss of Sr. Isa Sola, who had started the group. Given below are Sr. Elisabeth’s reflections on that visit.
In November, Sr. Mary and Sr. Jackie began volunteering at RIRAL (Rhode Island Regional Adult Literacy) located in Woonsocket, RI. The mission of this agency is to assist adults in the process of reaching their academic, occupational, or personal goals through education, counseling, and training. RIRAL provides instruction in English language, reading, writing, math and technology, as well as college readiness.
“Within the child lies the fate of the future.”
- Maria Montessori
Upper Elementary students (ages 9-11) at Thevenet Montessori School are using the “Peace Flower” pictured below, to learn about the connectedness of all life and each person’s and community’s influential call to care for humanity and wildlife.
There are a good number of Americans who find the current political atmosphere to be mean-spirited, and in stark opposition to some fundamental values of our country. For RJM, many of those values also reflect the imperatives of the Gospel, as well as the recent call of our Chapter:
“We desire to live our prophetic mission:
Forgiveness, Reconciliation…;
Responding to the miseries of our world;
Living a commitment to justice, peace, ….”
In December the children sang their hearts out in preparation for the Winter Concert. We couldn’t be more proud of them and their performance! Thank you for attending and for your continued support in making Thevenet West projects and events so successful.
We learned about Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. We listened to some of the Nutcracker composed by Tchaikovsky and read the Nutcracker to learn the story.
Birth: February 3, 1936
Profession: March 30, 1964
Death: January 11, 2017
The Stuart Center, where the Provincial Offices are located, has published these suggested resolutions, that we all might…
Light the way into the future!
We have received many Christmas greetings, both paper and electronic, from the provinces and our sisters throughout the Congregation. Tucked into each are thoughts, prayers, wishes for Christmas and the New Year -- and much love for each and all of us!
At the risk of singling out any one message, we will share three that have Haitian “connections” -- one is from Cuba where our postulant, Middia Doute, is in her second year of postulancy; the second is from Middia herself, and the third is from the Port-au-Prince Family of Jesus and Mary.