Sierra Vista Sister-Franciscan: To Disturb a Tarantula or Not--That is the Question!

This was inservice week for the teachers at All Saints Catholic School. One of the students-Tarantula Furry - arrived early. Some teachers were in awe of him and others asked," Are you just going to let him stay there?" "Aren't you going to knock him down and kill him?" I thought-he isn't hurting anyone right now and during daylight hours is when he is sleeping. He stayed there for 2 days and 2 nights in the same spot. He really must have been tired.

One inservice day was a retreat. We prayed the rosary as a faculty for blessings upon our new year together at ......

Our Lady of the Sierras in Hereford, Arizona

Coming down the side of the mountain-The Chapel-newly rebuilt from last summer's fire.

Our Lady of the Sierras - pray for us!

We then went to La Purisima Retreat House to hear inspiring talks from Fr. Greg Adolph, pastor of St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Sierra Vista. Not a note he needed and he held our attention for hours!

After our retreat day there was the opportunity for adoration at our parish church - Our Lady of the Mountains. Adoration is held for 24 hours the Thursday before First Friday.

Friday was a day of technology. We all learned how to use Option C as a teacher, secretary, school nurse and principal. Wow! To know exactly where to find all the amazing time saving actions it has for each of us. One of our school goals is to get more technology into our school. We have taken the first step. Now we can have online grades, homework assignments, attendance, report cards, immunizations etc. Practice! Practice! is all we need now and for the parents to learn their part. That is already on the calendar!

Also, on Friday, one of our retired parishioners is helping us out by putting 6" of gravel in every place a PreSchooler could fall from their playground equipment. This is checked with a ruler in the ground by the state when they come to inspect. The custodian and I shoveled gravel one night-it takes a lot of little stones to make a pile 6" high under swings and all along the slide.

Friday night brought another prayer opportunity from another culture in our parish, the Filipinos. On the first Friday of each month the statue of Santo Nino-Holy Child-comes out and we have a Mass in Tagala, pray the rosary and the novena to Santo Nino asking for His intercession. A meal was held afterwards.

One of the orginal statues was in a church in Cebu City in the Philippines. During the last World War, a bomb fell inside the church but the image was found unscathed.

The week was still not over-Saturday-the Hispanics of our parish put on a steak fundraiser for our school and parish.

Hispanic men grilled the steaks outside while the ladies made the tortillas and bagged them inside the kitchen.

We also had live entertainment-check it out!

Such a captive audience-dreaming that some day they could do that too!

We never miss a chance to advertise our school. The Bowers girls came to the Sat. night Mass and steak dinner in our new school uniform. We added a blazer, dress blouse and tie. The girls love the new look! Even the Prek sister wanted a uniform even though she could wear "regular clothes".