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By Jinger Woodring

As St. Casimir’s Catholic School in Wells reflects upon the end of the 2023-24 school year, we are reminded of all the changes that our students have gone through. From physical changes such as height and shoe size, to silly changes like the number of teeth we seem to lose on a weekly basis. Although we educated children up to grade six, evidently toothless grins are a coveted look for the kindergarten-second grade students! While we are certainly looking forward to a long break this summer with time to breathe and sleep, we are going to miss these children and the stage they are at right now. Next fall they will be older. Next fall their teeth will have grown in. Next fall perhaps they will be too cool to hug their teacher. But time waits for no one, including children.

The passage of time accentuates the importance of what we do and say here at St. Casimir’s Catholic School. Our mission at St. Casimir’s is not only to provide an outstanding education but to also build a solid and firm foundation based on our Catholic faith. One of the first lessons I taught last fall was inspired by the work of John Paul II in his lessons on the Theology of the Body. On the level that I’m teaching, which is K-2, our main focus is to learn that we were created in the image and likeness of God. This means that not only did God create us to be good, but he made us very good! Those two words have become our theme for the entire school year. Whenever we faced a challenging day, I would ask the class, “What does God think of you?” To this they joyfully responded together, “We are very good!” This affirmation brings smiles and reinforces the lesson that we are all gifts to each other. I’ve even integrated this phrase into our daily routine, arranging our frequently used memory words so that “very” and “good” follow each other during class time. This constant and daily reminder helps both the children and me to see ourselves as God sees us.

I pray that this message stays with our students throughout their entire lives. I would like to thank all of the St. Casimir’s parents for sharing their amazing children with me this year. Each and every one of them are special. Please remind your children daily that they are very good and how their unique gifts will continue to build the school and thus our future church. This is the ongoing blessing offered by all Catholic schools to their sponsoring parishes and communities.

Jinger Woodring is a classroom teacher at St. Casimir’s Catholic School in Wells.