Saturday, December 23, 2017
I just now learned of the passing of Sr. Claudette Cecile. She taught me for both Grade 3 and Grade 4 (lucky me!) at St. Joseph's School in Chatham and I adored her. Little did I know what a new teacher she was at that time -- we all just loved her and wanted to please her! She was very funny and creative, and way ahead of her time in terms of how she taught -- holistically, engaging all of the senses, and stimulating her students' creativity in "out of the box" ways. She sang to us a lot and I think she even played guitar?
I still recall a Class Talent Show where each of us did something and it all got recorded on audio only, on one of those huge, reel-to-reel machines of the 1970s. We were incredibly excited about this for weeks leading up to it! I remember some kids feeling shy or not knowing what to do for their "talent" and how gentle, patient and encouraging Sr. Claudette was with these children. She knew how "allow" children to "be"...and any space shared with her was sacred space because she cared that much and had a heart of gold.
When we made our First Confession, she hand-made bookmarks as gifts for each of us with just fine markers, felt, and a Bible verse. I had mine for years and can still envision it: It was a simple tree drawn with brown marker and its leaves were red felt hearts. The verse was, "I am the vine, you are the branches." Imagine the love that went into making 20 or 30 individual bookmarks like that for us... This is why I still remember it -- as Mother Theresa said, it was a seemingly small thing done with great love and so it had tremendous impact. When my niece made her First Communion, I borrowed Sr. Claudette's idea and made similar bookmarks for all of the guests at her luncheon.
I will always, always remember Sr. Claudette Cecile's profoundly positive effect on me and I am thankful that my soul knew hers and that our lives intersected. What a privilege it was to have been taught by her. God bless her soul.
