Category Archives: kairos

True Life: I Actually Like Retreats.

Posted on by
I have a love-hate relationship with retreats.

As a highschool student I hated retreats. As a high school campus minister who ran the retreats, I hated them. However, as a Carondelet faculty member, I love retreats.

Last year I dabbled in retreats by attending Alpha and Shalom. This year I went big….Alpha, Kairos, and then Shalom. (By the way, this was my first time every participating in Kairos and I wear my Kai-rock with pride) Each retreat was a unique experience. All of them gave me the opportunity to interact with students and faculty members in a way that created connection.

I led small groups on each retreat and had the privilege of getting to learn more about our students in a more relaxed environment. Kairos and Shalom really gave me an opportunity to sit and talk with fellow faculty members. It was legitimately fun to be able to laugh, eat, and share stories with faculty members outside of my department. It seemed on Kairos and Shalom that faculty members needed the retreat just as much as the students. Just as we hope the students relax and create bonds on the retreats, I hope that we, as a faculty, can relax and create bonds with one another.

Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. – Chinese Proverb

Kairos Letters: What’s your philosophy?

Posted on by

Image result for live the fourthI spent Sunday night cranking out Kairos letters. I was lucky that I didn’t have a lot of grading or homework, so I was able to do them. As someone who went on and lead Kairos as a student here I TOTALLY get how important receiving these notes are to our students. But as a teacher with a full plate, how do you all tackle Kairos letters:

– Do you do generic notes to everyone?
– Do you only write to the students you really connected with?
– Do you not do them because it wouldn’t be possible to give every girl a personal note?
– Do you only do them if you have time?

I NOT am writing this to see who does it “best” just rather as a new teacher who teaches upperclassmen what are the various philosophies out there? Your thoughts are super helpful.