|
April/May 2006
The April/May Momentum explores faith formation from several aspects. In her guest editorial, Diana Dudoit Raiche, executive director of NCEA’s Religious Education Department, reminds readers, “While God ignites the flame of faith within the human heart it takes human action in cooperation with divine action…to sustain faith.”
Michael Theisen of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministries tells how he developed skits to help students engage, examine and explore the meaning of Scripture. Sister Patricia Helene Earl of Marymount University believes that adults need to understand prayer before they can develop a prayer life in children. She offers useful suggestions for integrating prayer life into the daily school routine. Jeffery Kaster from Saint John’s University School of Theology-Seminary in Minnesota offers a lengthy review of catechetical literature in the magazine's continuing series exploring the state of adolescent catechesis today.
Rebecca Rakoczy tells how even a basketball tournament can be a faith-affirming activity as she outlines the annual tourney sponsored by Atlanta’s St. Pius X High School. Barbara Glynn of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Riverside, Connecticut, takes readers on a nostalgic look at the past 30 years of the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors. Fred Herron of Fontbonne Hall Academy in Brooklyn, New York, suggests ways to find faith in the midst of popular culture. “One thing that is obvious in our reading of Scripture is that Jesus did not begin with theology and doctrine,” he states. “He always began with a story. That story was rooted in the everyday experience of the people of his time.” Patricia Sheahan of Mother of Sorrows School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, closes out the special theme section by explaining how the school used student art projects to make Catholic identity the bedrock of the school. “Everything we do—from curriculum choices to the way students and teachers interact—is rooted in the Catholic faith,” she writes.
In the issue’s general articles, G. Joseph Peters explores why Archdiocese of Indianapolis Catholic schools have been successful in obtaining No Child Left Behind/Blue Ribbon School recognition from the Department of Education. Kathy Joyce, principal of St. Peter the Apostle School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, explains how Catholic schools can become Supplemental Education Services providers for students in failing public schools. In addition to helping students, being a provider increases a school’s visibility and generates additional income for teachers. Regina Haney, executive director of the National Association of Boards, Commissions and Councils of Catholic Education, describes how new online seminars—called webinars—are designed to improve leadership of school governing boards. Recipients of NCEA awards presented during the April convention also are profiled in this issue.
The vocation section in this issue looks at vocations from different viewpoints. Joe Connelly of St. Monica Catholic Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, writes of his vocation as a layman in the church. “I have faith in God that there will always be a wellspring of lay people to assist the clergy in making the body of Christ both a received Eucharistic gift and a lived gift to the world,” he writes. Jean LaCross from St. Mary School, Lake Leelanau, Michigan, tells how her school celebrated the vocation of marriage by honoring parish couples married 50 years and more. And Michael J. Daley of St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, explains how a school Web site can increase vocation awareness, with a little help from its friends—he priests on the school faculty.
Sister Dale McDonald writes in her Capitol Info column about the administration’s education priories and budgets and in the Technology Trends column Sister Angela Ann Zukowski salutes 12 Catholic schools being honored for innovations in education.
 Top
February/March 2006
Social Justice takes the forefront in the February/March issue of Momentum. NCEA president Karen Ristau leads off by reminding readers that social justice involves both thinking and doing. “Programs of social justice, which provide a healthy balance between thinking and doing, are sound educational ways to help people grow in the life of Christ,” she writes.
Christopher Scalise of NCEA’s Secondary School Department reports on a study of how Catholic high schools integrate Catholic social teaching into their life and mission. The survey revels that 73 percent of schools require a course dedicated specifically to Catholic social teaching. Several articles detail social justice activities in Catholic high schools. Joyce Smith of Marymount High School in Los Angle tells of the school’s “teach-in for the 21st century” during which social justice concepts were explored. Robert Larcher of Aquinas High School in Augusta, Georgia, explains how students turn social justice concepts into action. Eileen With of Creighton University tells how Stake Jesuit High School in Houston came to the aid of New Orleans Jesuit High School in the aftermath of last fall’s hurricanes.
Roselyn Smith of Blessed Trinity School in Ocala, Florida, explores stewardship as an element of social justice that provides a Catholic education for all those who participate. Erick Goldschmidt, Mary Walsh and Katie Kelly of Boston College present detailed information about school-based health programs in Catholic schools. “Catholic schools ethically are obligated to ensure that their students…are given an equitable chance to succeed in life by affording them access to society’s resources,” the authors state. David Byers, executive director of the Committee on the Home Missions, helps students understand the "church resilient" and provides ideas for creating student awareness of the home missions. “Whether they wanted to or not—and they usually didn't—the missions have become a test site for building strong, self-reliant Catholics communities under trying, unstable conditions,” he writes.
In other parts of the issue, Maura Thompson Hagarty explores what the church has been teaching about adolescent catechesis and Aubrey Schoepner traces the 10 successful years of the NCEA SPICE (Selected Programs for Improving Catholic Education) program. Sister Lou Ella Hickman of Sacred Heart Parish in Rockport, Texas, offers lesson plans for using three movies in religion classes and Sister Anita Louise Lowe of the Diocese of Evansville Indiana offers two resources for vocation education.
A special Catholic college section commemorates February’s Catholic Colleges Week. Michael James of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and Lucas Lamadrid of St. Vincent College explain that Catholic colleges offer values for the money. Chicago writer Katherine Tobin explores how Catholic colleges came to the aid of other college students displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Gail Devine of Louisville High School in Woodland Hills, California, details a highly successful case studies night that prepares students for the college admission process. Brian Lynch of the National Catholic College Admission Association offers hints for dealing with “helicopter parents,” those who hover over their child in the admission process. Fifteen colleges and one association advertised in the special section to help high school students become more aware of the diverse offerings of Catholic colleges.
Top
November/December 2005
The Learning Process is the focus of the special section in the November/December 2005 Momentum. Brother Robert Bimonte of NCEA’s Elementary Schools Department begins his guest editorial by asking, “If your class were optional, would anyone attend?” He continues, “You must be willing to go through every fact and skill in your curriculum and honestly answer the question: ‘Is this preparing my students to live in the world of 2012 or 2025.’”
The special theme section offers several approaches to the learning process. Patricia McCraken from Immaculate Conception School in New Madrid, Missouri, outlines thoughts on cooperative learning as a classroom management strategy. Judy Harris of Northern Kentucky University explains how the Diocese of Covington expanded the use of differentiated learning in her article, “Curriculum + Differentiation + Learning.” Helen Dahlman, principal of Risen Christ Catholic School in Minneapolis, was faced with the reality that many students didn’t understand enough English to pass a test. Her article—These Student don’t Speak English, Now What?—explains how the school improved the skills of English-language learners. Mike Norris, a parent volunteer from Saint Lawrence Regional School in Lindenwold, New Jersey, describes a simulated space mission for middle school students. They never left New Jersey, but their space exploration project drew attention from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Jo Ann Daley and Sandi de Levant from Virginia’s Marymount University describe a project that improved the educational Web sites of two Virginia Catholic elementary schools.
Delmer Wagner from Holy Trinity Catholic Schools Division in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, suggests that focusing on our strengths is the surest way to manage and improve our weaknesses. “Let’s help our students realize that they don’t need to hide their weaknesses or be ashamed of them, for God intended that they gain power from them,” he writes. Dr. Joseph Pedulla of Boston College and Dr. John Poggio of the University of Kansas explained the process that led to the refinement of the IFG (Information for Growth) assessment instrument that will be available this spring. The Momentum editor conducted an interview with Archbishop Michael Miller, the Vatican’s Secretary of Catholic Education. Asked if his move to Rome broadened his viewpoint of Catholic education, Archbishop Miller replied, “You realize quickly, and are made to realize, that the United Sates has 6 percent...of the world’s Catholics. So it is not the center of the Catholic world and there are many other ways of educating people in the Catholic tradition.”
Paul Henderson, executive director of the Office of Publishing for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, reports on the results of a SWOT analysis on the state of adolescent catechesis. Sister Noel Marra, social justice coordinator for the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, Ohio, offers a tribute to the church women martyred in El Salvador 25 years ago.
Elsewhere, Bridget Olson, assistant director of vocations for the diocese of Venice, Florida, explains how educators can play important roles in a vocation ministry. "The goal of collaborative efforts is to help each person discover his or her role in God’s plan and to help them achieve all that God hopes for them,” she says.
Top
Momentum Awards
Throughout the years, Momentum has received many awards. In September 2006, Momentum received a Thoth Award (first place) in the magazine category from the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
During the spring 2006 Catholic Media convocation, the Catholic Press Association presented Third Place in the essay category for professional magazines to an essay by Brother Stanislaus Sobczyk titled “Venerable Sister: A Letter of Thanks.” Brother Robert Bimonte’s guest editorial, ”If Your Class Were Optional, Would Anyone Attend," received an Honorable Mention in the editorial category for professional publications.
The magazine received First Place in the professional interest category in the 2005 competition sponsored by the Catholic Press Association. The Religion Communicators Council presented an Award of Excellence to the journal in the 2005 DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards competition; Momentum was the only Catholic publication in the list of seven excellence awards.
The February/March 2005 issue received an Award of Excellence in the Apex Awards for Publications Excellence sponsored by Communication Concepts and the April/May 2003 issue received the 2004 Crystal Award 2004 in the same competition.
Format
Each issue is built around a special section highlighting an area of particular interest to Catholic educators. Momentum also includes editorials, pertinent book reviews, ads of interest to educators, short essays based on personal experiences, and columns on Trends in Technology, DRE Directions, Educational Policy, and Research.
Top
|
)){kind=link}