To Contact Us
Write:
PO Box 1603
Lafayette, IN 47902
Phone:
(765) 742-2050
Fax:
(765) 742-7513
E-mail
our office
Buy, Sell, Trade or Rent with Classified Advertising
Happening ... in the Local Church
 From
left are Daniel Ochoa, Mark Masaka, Anita Hillis, Rodolfo
Sebastian-Miguel and Brian Pineda. (Photo by Caroline B. Mooney) |
“It’s a truly Catholic environment. The only thing we need in common is Jesus ...”
By Caroline B. Mooney
The
Catholic Moment
LOGANSPORT
— Anita Hillis’ kindergarten class at All Saints School is a pint-sized
United Nations — 18 students represent five countries. Brian Pineda’s family
is from El Salvador, Rodolfo Sebastian-Miguel’s parents are from Guatemala,
Daniel Ochoa’s family hails from Mexico, and Mark Masaka was born in
Nairobi, Kenya.
There are three different dialects of Spanish spoken, and one student’s family speaks only Swahili at home. One classmate who moved away recently was from Belgium; in his home, Dutch was the only tongue.
When asked what games they like, the boys gave the all-American answers: playing blocks, basketball, soccer, tag, Nintendo and Wii. Gym is a favored class, along with Spanish. All Saints’ students have Spanish class twice each week.
While all the students are Catholic and attended Easter Mass, only one of the boys received candy from the Easter Bunny and went on an egg hunt.
Father Michael McKinney, pastor of All Saints, said people are surprised by the ethnic diversity in Logansport.
“We have a significant Latino population, and we have actively worked at helping that group,” he said. “Other ethnic groups have come into town for jobs and we work hard to make the parish and school a welcoming environment.
“Our school is a community,” Father McKinney said. “We take care of each other and each other’s kids. These kids will grow up and it will be no big deal for them to be around different cultures. It’s a truly Catholic environment. The only thing we need in common is Jesus — that’s what these kids are experiencing. It’s nice to know they are getting off to a good start.”
Hillis, who has taught kindergarten for 22 years at All Saints, has never had such a multiethnic group.
“At the beginning of the year, a couple of the kids had language difficulties, but we got past that quickly and the language barrier hasn’t proven too difficult,” Hillis said. “Now they can read, but comprehension is an issue. The kids may learn how to spell and pronounce a word, but they never heard of the word. ‘Grin’ is a word one student was unfamiliar with. One of the boys didn’t know the work ‘tuck,’ so he was at a loss when told to tuck in his shirt.”
Hillis and her assistant, Beth Slusser, use gestures to help get meanings across.
Kindergartener Evan McNeany said he lives near Brian Pineda and they play at each other’s houses.
“I hear a different language in his home and they have different foods there,” he said.
Classmate Hannah Plauschin has a German father who speaks his native language at home. Hannah teaches German words to the class, and the students noticed that some words are the same in German and Spanish.
“We go to Germany a lot, and the food there is different. I like it better — especially the bread with chocolate,” she said.
A native of Kenya, in east Africa, Mark Masaka had never heard of hot dogs before, but he enjoys them.
“Mark’s family is used to cooking goat, and his parents were sad because they can’t find goat meat here,” Hillis said. Her son-in-law was able to buy a goat from a 4-H member, and the family enjoyed eating it.
On school pajama day, instead of eating pancakes for breakfast, the family from Belgium served Belgian waffles and syrup to the class.
Preschool teacher Julianna Callaway also serves as the school’s “English as a New Language” teacher and works with the students each week.
“Vowel sounds are hard and confusing to the students,” Hillis said. “They are taken out of the class, sometimes every day, for language help when we can see they aren’t comprehending well.”
The parents of two of the children don’t speak English, so Ramona Rodriguez, wife of Deacon Juan Rodriguez, translates newsletters and notes that are sent home.
One student’s father brought an English-speaking relative to translate at a parent-teacher conference.
“When I told him his son was doing very well in class, tears started running down his cheeks,” Hillis said. “I asked him why he was upset, and he said, ‘I’m not upset — I’m happy. I go over every paper my son brings home. I learn, too. You are teaching me how to speak and read English.’ That had a huge impact on me when I realized that everything I sent home was being gone over by this father so he could learn as well.”
She said the differences in language and appearance don’t matter to the classmates. They are very accepting of one another.
“I think it’s a wonderful experience for all of them at this age,” Hillis said. “There’s something about being in a Catholic school. I think there is a different kind of acceptance and tolerance for one another.”
All Saints’ first-grade and kindergarten held their own Olympics this winter, and students carried flags of their native countries to start the games.
Hillis hopes to see a school multicultural night to teach students and their families about each other and their customs. She thinks that would be better when the children are a bit older.
“And now, while some of the parents can’t speak English well, we wouldn’t want them to feel uncomfortable in any way at such an event,” she said. “I want to make sure the parents and children really get it. Interpretation is lacking at this point. I might ask for crayons to be sent in to class, and through misunderstanding, instead of a box, parents might send a single crayon.
“It’s a fun thing to have all these different people here,” Hillis said.
Principal James McNeany said the multicultural class makes him very happy, particularly because, “As I have learned more about the roots and foundations of Catholic schools as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton started them in America, they were here to serve the immigrants.
“We’re kind of accomplishing the mission she saw for Catholic schools,” he said. “I’m happy that we are serving Catholics from different parts of the world who ended up here in Logansport. I am just glad that we can serve so many cultures that have one thing in common — our Catholic faith.”