Denver Catholic

6 I EDUCATION FEBRUARY 12, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER Rubber band craze helps sick kids bounce back BY JULIE FILBY A current fad with tweens, Rainbow Loom bracelets, be- came the vehicle for a recent mission project by third-grad- ers at St. Vincent de Paul School. Together with a team of nurses and doctors from Children's Hospital Colorado, the students provided 400 colorful bracelets, along with notes handwrit - ten in Spanish, to hospitalized children 2,500 miles away in Guatemala. The idea to mass-produce the popular bracelets for kids pre- paring for surgery—made by looping rubber bands together on a plastic two-by-eight inch pegboard loom—came about last September. "My son gave a bracelet to my aunt who's a nurse at Children's Hospital," said Margie Burns, St. Vincent de Paul parent. "The next day while consoling a young boy who was nervous about an upcoming surgery, she distracted him with the bracelet. His eyes lit up when he saw it! Seeing the joy it brought him she decided to give him the bracelet, and from that moment his fears subsided and he was ready to go to surgery." That reaction set the stage for organizing a larger long-dis- tance effort. Heidi Childs, staff nurse with Children's anesthesia care unit and the Global Health Initia- tives Foundation at Children's Hospital, heard about the bracelet and saw an immediate fit with one of the foundation's pediatric missions. Through GHIF, each year a Denver-based team from Children's travels to Guatemala for general and cosmetic surgeries for patients ranging from one month old to 21 years old. Childs visited St. Vincent's third graders to tell them about the Guatemalan mission, its surgery recipients and its med- ical professionals. She also taught them about the coun- try itself, its culture and the fact that they speak Spanish, a subject that has been in St. Vincent's kindergarten through eighth-grade curriculum for 10 years. "Spanish helps our students open their eyes to the world around them and see the uni- versality of the Church," said Spanish teacher Josh Florence, who assisted students with the messages that accompa- nied the bracelets. "Our Span- ish program not only prepares students to participate in a global economy, but also to see Christ in their growing world- view and to have the needed tools to share their faith with those they come in contact with throughout their communities and the world." Students spent time both at home and in class working on the project. "It feels good helping peo- ple," said third-grader Mariah Mahoney, "and knowing that when they wake up after sur- gery, they'll realize that people care about them." The project was a response to the spirit of service and mercy demonstrated by the school's patron saint, as well as Pope Francis' call to service. "The Holy Father has called us all to serve Christ's people," said third-grade teacher Shan- non Yoder. "Here at St. Vincent de Paul we try and live out that service in a way that affects not only our community, but as far as we can reach. "We are so proud of our stu- dents for wanting to learn about those in other places who need our help," she continued, "and giving in even the smallest of capacities." Teachers foster connections, encourage students' hearts BY DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER Educators marking 25 years of service in Catholic schools of the Denver Archdiocese are profiled below. Mary-Jeanne DeMarie St. Mary's Academy, Englewood In 25 years teach- ing at Cath- olic schools, Mary- Jeanne De- Marie, has worked to help every student believe that he or she can be a successful language learner. "Long after the classroom experience is over," she said, "there are still unlimited op- portunities to be active read- ers and speakers of French and Spanish." For the last 12 years she has taught High School World Languages at St. Mary's Acad- emy in Englewood. Prior to that, she taught at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora nine years, Bishop Machebeuf High School for a year and St. Vin- cent de Paul School for three. She holds a bachelor's degree from State Universi- ty College at Buffalo, and a master's in education from State University of New York at Buffalo. Paulette Evans Most Precious Blood School, Denver Paulette Evans has taught students in a diverse amount of settings and schools. She's taught in England and in the United States in Alabama and Denver in both public and private schools. Her career path led her to Most Precious Blood School, where she's taught for more than 20 years. Her career began after gradu- ating from Colorado State Uni- versity in Fort Collins when she taught seventh-grade through ninth-grade students at Thom- as Jefferson High School and then Hamilton Junior High. "Choosing to be a teacher was a natural choice," she said. After taking a break to raise her daughters, Evans said she "longed to be back in the classroom sharing my love of English and literature." Her search for a new school ended at Most Precious Blood, which she's come to see as an extension of her family. It's been a rewarding and invigo- rating experience, she said. "It is a community that supports and encourages each person to become the best that they can be," Evans said. "Being able to share my life and teaching with this community has made this second stage of my career a wonderful, growing and challenging experience." Joseph "Woody" Green Nativity of Our Lord School, Broomfield Woody Green said education is more than test scores. The whole child's spir- itual, intellectual, emotional and physical development should be considered equally important. Green has spent 25 years fo- cusing on physical education at Nativity of Our Lord School in Broomfield. "My goal is to have the kids find something activity-wise they will do the rest of their lives so they can stay healthy and have a good outlet," he said. Green earned his bache- lor's degree in environmental conservation and a second bachelor's degree in physical education. He is married to Lorraine who teaches music part-time at Nativity. He began coaching at Casey Junior High and later at Fairview and Centaurus high schools before joining Nativity. He was the athletic director for 10 years and is now the cross-country coach. Green credits the family atmosphere at Nativity as the reason he has stayed for 25 years. "Everyone looks out for each other," he said of the school. "We all share the same values and concerns. We're all pretty close." Sydney Timme Regis Jesuit High School, Aurora For 25 years Syd- ney Timme's educational philosophy has been to "foster con- nection, encourage the hearts of my students, and recognize the divine in all things." Timme has been teaching English, music and physical education at Regis Jesuit High School in the boys division since 1996. Prior to Regis Jesuit, she taught music and English at St. Mary's School from 1989 to 1996. She holds a bachelor of sci- ence degree from the Univer- sity of Colorado at Denver, and a master's of education from Regis University. Gayle Japp St. Anthony, Sterling Gayle Japp, hon- ored for a quarter-cen- tury in Cath- olic educa- tion, began teaching fifth grade at St. Anthony School in Sterling in 1989. "Teaching here has been, and continues to be, a joy and a wonderful blessing in my life," said the mother of two grown sons with her husband Roger. Currently Japp's two grand- children attend St. Anthony's. She holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Northern Colorado. Natalie Travis St. Joseph, Fort Collins Natalie Travis, a 25-year educator at St. Joseph School in Fort Collins, strives to educate students to become life-long learners while living the Gospel. "I am very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful min- istry," she said of her role as a second-grade teacher. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Irvine, and Ele- mentary Certification from the University of Northern Colorado. She has also earned catechetical certification, and loves sharing and living the faith with her students each day. Travis is married and the couple has three children, all have attended St. Joseph's. She enjoys reading, sports and spending time with her family. PHOTO PROVIDED THIRD-GRADERS at St. Vincent de Paul School work on bracelets.

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