Day Number Three: 12th Grade Service Project

I had my first taste of what gym is like for third graders at Saint Therese today, and I can say without a doubt that it is the absolute best way for them to blow off some academic steam. We played Indian Ball inside the gymnasium. It is a game with rules similar to baseball, except they had me, the pitcher, sit cross-legged and then pitch. I was extremely impressed by the level of physical fitness and athletic aptitude displayed by all of the third graders. Every single one of them could hit the ball, and since the game uses a small recess ball, some of them could really blast it. The school also went to mass today, first thing in the morning, and it really seemed to fly by much faster than any Regis Mass. The service was organized by the sixth graders. I found out that Saint Therese now has weekly mass, and each class of the school organizes four or five masses in a year. This consists of the class being responsible for the readings and presentation of the gifts. Although it seems to me that attendance at Saint Therese might be in decline, overall there is a happy attitude among the faculty and students. I believe that this decline in students might be connected with the aging of the Saint Therese Parish. Simply put, it feels like the church and school are past their prime, hopefully this is not truly the case.