The Catholic school teacher is called to plant and nurture seeds that will bear fruit during the school year. Today, I thought I’d share 5 tips on how to prepare for the upcoming school year. These are things I found particularly helpful from my teaching days.
5 Ways Catholic Teachers Can Prepare For The School Year
- Take care of your own spiritual life. Go on a retreat. Spend time in prayer daily. Read Scripture. Read a spiritual book. Go to daily Mass. Take advantage of the time to refresh your soul so that you can be a more effective conduit of God’s love this upcoming year.
- Pray and intercede for your students and their families. Spend time praying for each of the students you will be teaching as well as their families. Pray that the Holy Spirit will open their hearts to what He has in store for them this year and that He will use you to be an effective witness of His love. One of my favorite things to do before the new school year began was to take all my class rosters to adoration and pray for each of my new students by name.
- Stimulate your mind. Take some time to grow professionally. Read a book that will help you improve as a teacher. Attend a good workshop focused on your subject area rather than on school regulations or processes.
- Engage in true leisure! Relax by the pool, read good books, spend time with friends and family, and take a vacation if possible. Find some time during your week to completely disconnecting from all things school.
- Lesson plan with intentionality. Invite the Holy Spirit into this process and spend some serious time thinking through and planning your lessons. Take your call to spread the Gospel to your students seriously and look for ways to make your lessons engaging opportunities for your students to encounter Christ. Don’t rely on your textbooks to do the job for you, because they can’t; trust in the reality that God has placed you in this role and He will use you if you let Him.
Starting a new school year can be exciting but also overwhelming. Make sure you prepare well. Our Lord has big plans for you and your students this next year. Trust in that and abandon yourself into His care. I know that you will bear much fruit for the Kingdom.
I invite you to find more tips in Christ In The Classroom. This is a FREE weekly Virtual Workshop on various topics that you can listen to from the comfort of your own home, classroom, or vehicle.
- Enjoy presentations from dynamic presenters
- Explore practical strategies, lessons, and receive spiritual nourishment
- Access teacher and catechist written lessons and activities
- Receive a certificate for 1 hour of catechetical formation for each session you participate in
- If you have questions visit our FAQ page or contact us directly.
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