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Making Memories
"I had a student who had difficulty articulating the words, 'I'm sorry.' When she attempted to say the phrase, it sounded totally different. I explained this to the priest right before the student participated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The priest said, 'That's okay. God knows what she wants to say.'"
- Kathy Gagetta, Resource Room Teacher, SS. Simon and Jude
"A favorite story of mine from St. Anthony's is when one of the students implied that instead of some of their writing looking like 'chicken scratch,' their writing instead resembled 'turkey scribble.'"
- Denise King, Daily Living Skills Instructor
"One memory I have of St. Anthony's was when Serra Catholic School held a field day during the spring and, as part of the field day, they had a basketball shooting contest. Most of the Serra students would never have guessed that one of our students had such a hot shot. Jack was entered into the contest, and to most of the spectators' surprise, Jack shot the basketball like a pro. He made it to the finals of the three-point shoot-out. The crowd began to cheer for Jack as he made his shots, which made him bit nervous. He was up against one of the senior basketball players and it came down to the last basket. Unfortunately, Jack missed the last shot, but was rewarded with all the praise and compliments from the crowd, as well as the satisfaction of knowing he made it further than most."
- Kathy Osiecki, Resource Room Teacher, Serra Catholic
"I used to volunteer in the Bishop Canevin Resource Room, when I was in high school. I really enjoyed my time working with the students there. I used to tutor a girl in math. Every day we would go over the same things - money value. She just was not understanding it, and I thought she never would, until one day in May. On my second to last day, we were going over the money and she finally got it. She knew what a quarter was - yea! I knew then that I wanted to be a special education teacher. It takes our kids longer to do something, but they do get it - and when they do, it is very special."
- Melanie Sobeck, Resource Room Teacher, St. Alexis
"One of the most memorable, moving and special stories I have of my teaching career involves a typical student that recently passed away due to a medical condition. Timmy was in the 7th grade homeroom of my student, Jeffrey. Jeffrey and Timmy were also both on St. Thomas More's basketball team. The coach and the players worked with Jeffrey, and he was always given a few minutes of court time during each basketball game.
"Jeffrey was having a few minutes of play during a home game a few weeks after Timmy's passing. Jeffrey always tried his hardest when he played, but his strength was in his effort and team spirit, not in his points per game. Jeffrey had been fouled and was setting up for his two foul shots. Everyone knew he would do his best, but foul shots were not in Jeffrey's repertoire. The crowd was silent as it was obvious that Jeffrey had special abilities and they respected his need for concentration. Before he attempted his shot, he looked upward and said with great articulation and volume, 'Timmy this one's for you.' With that statement he threw the ball and made the basket. The entire crowd cheered and the people who understood what Jeffrey had meant cried. It was such a powerful moment, it demonstrated perfectly how special and meaningful our program is-- not only to our students and the typical students-- but how much they are affected by each other. We are all God's children and God does not make mistakes."
- Sandy Young, Resource Room Teacher, St. Thomas More
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