{"id":1183,"date":"2013-09-04T20:05:22","date_gmt":"2013-09-05T00:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=1183"},"modified":"2013-09-04T20:05:22","modified_gmt":"2013-09-05T00:05:22","slug":"a-new-school-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/a-new-school-year\/","title":{"rendered":"A New School Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, along with many other schools in the area,\u00a0we began a new school year at Immaculate Conception School<\/a>.\u00a0 We have many returning students but there are also new students.\u00a0 The Pre-K3 class is all new, many of the Pre-K4 classes are new but there are new students in other grades too.\u00a0 We have a new Principal,\u00a0two new teachers, and a new aide along with the returning teachers and aides.<\/p>\n

The first day of school can be both intimidating and exciting for new students.\u00a0 We expect it for the new students.\u00a0 I believe the same can be true for returning students.\u00a0 A different teacher, a different classroom, can make them wonder what the year will bring.\u00a0 Will they like the teacher?\u00a0 Will they know anyone in their class?\u00a0 Will they make new friends or feel alone?<\/p>\n

Why do I think even the returning students might feel this way?<\/p>\n

I think we can all feel this way when we face a change whether it be a new school, a new job, moving to a new town,\u00a0and needing to find a new parish.\u00a0 For instance, when we start a “better” job, we can be exciting at new possibilities but we can also wonder how we might fit in.<\/p>\n

We can love new beginnings.\u00a0 January 1st brings a new year and people make resolutions to improve their lives.\u00a0 Lent comes and we give something up.\u00a0 Maybe we give up something we know isn’t good for us.\u00a0 Maybe we spend some extra time in prayer trying to become a better Christian.\u00a0 On the First Sunday of Advent we begin a new church year.\u00a0 During Advent the readings invite us to think about what we need to do to get ready for the Second Coming.<\/p>\n

What helps the students feel safe with the new year?\u00a0 Often it begins with words of assurance from their parents.\u00a0 Our Father in Heaven gives us words of assurance for our future.<\/p>\n

What do you need to change in your life to become a better Christian?\u00a0 What is going to lead you to make the change?\u00a0 Are you waiting for a new year in 2014 or Advent or Lent?\u00a0 Why wait?\u00a0 Why not change today for we do not know the hour or the day?<\/p>\n

We don’t need to wait for Advent or Lent.\u00a0 Jesus makes possible for us to start anew in our Christian Living.\u00a0 Jesus makes it possible when he gives up his life on the Cross so that our sins might be forgiven.\u00a0 All we need to do to start anew is come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation with a contrite heart, confess our sins, and we can begin anew in Christ.<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Fr. Jeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, along with many other schools in the area,\u00a0we began a new school year at Immaculate Conception School.\u00a0 We have many returning students but there are also new students.\u00a0 The Pre-K3 class is all new, many of the Pre-K4 classes are new but there are new students in other grades too.\u00a0 We have a new …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘A New School Year’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMTPk-j5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1184,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183\/revisions\/1184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}