Saturday, February 10, 2007
Notes of Support for Sister Pat & Sister Ellen
For those of you that don't know, Sister Pat and Sister Ellen have been taking care of our Notre Dame children for over 20 years. These highly educated (both have Master degrees!) nuns have been a true asset of Notre Dame. One of the main reasons I love Notre Dame School is because of them. They are wonderful people and they FIGHT for our children. They always do what is best for our kids. We may not always agree with them on grading & discipline, but we all know that our children are safe and well taken care of. Our children are their children...they love the children, like they are their own. I am proud to call them...friends.
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18 comments:
Hi Sister Pat and Sister Ellen!
I still remember your kindness to me and my family. You are wonderful and charitable people. May God bless you and answer your prays.
Hi Sisters! I'm with you all the way!
I have worked with Sr Ellen and Sr. Patricia for many years and have observed how helpful, understanding, kind, and dedicated they are to the Notre Dame children, teachers and parents. They have worked very hard to make Notre Dame what it is today. They have helped my family and many others in time of need, now I hope there is someway I can help you.
This is a disgrace and a shame. Seems like Fr. Sheehan is like many other priests these days.. out for the almighty dollar for himself and not the welfare of the people who matter. How and why is he being allowed to make this decision by himself? Since when did he become the one to control the fate of all the children? And to decide the services of those two wonderful sisters are no longer needed? Where are the powers that be from Newark during all of this? This is disgusting!
The "powers that be" agree with whatever father says...they make their judgement by the checkbook...that's what matters to them...if the school is not making a profit...it must close.
Sister Ellen and Sister Pat have dedicated their lives to the education of our children. They have provided a loving christian inviroment for them to learn. I find the treatment of them horrifying. Is this the example we want our children to see of christiam fellowship? Give us 20 years of your life and then the gratitude if FIRING you and EVICTING from your home? Shame on Father Sheehan..at some point he will have to answer to someone.
Can we rally outside the churches and the schools to draw attention to this disgrace for the next few Sundays say perhaps 12:30 till 1:30 pm students, parents, grandparents, graduates and others who have been involved in our school and get the petitions signed to reinstate the nuns, replace Father Sheehan and SUPPORT this school that the NUNS have worked so dilligently to create then proceed to Newark maybe March 5th with those petitions and demand some answers?
Sister Patricia and Sister Ellen...I cannot believe what is happening. I also regret not telling you how special you are. I truly love you. You have always been there for me and my family. You are so kind and always have a positive word for me or even better a good joke! :) I will pray for the success of this campaign. You are worth the effort.
Sister Ellen and Sister Patricia,
You have both taught me so much and I owe you and Notre Dame for all my success to date. You mean so much to our family. Please know we have all the love and support in the world for you, no matter what happens.
Dear Sr. Ellen and Sr.,
Although I have been out of Notre Dame for many years, I can still remember how loving and caring you both were to me and all the rest of the students. You both made the school the success it is today. My family and I will be behind you 100%!
You take care of HIS children all day.
You feed HIS children.
You clean up after HIS children.
You focus on getting HIS children a good education.
You are the spiritual guide for HIS children.
You cloth HIS children.
You miraculously purchase everything HIS children need with the meager allowance HE gives you, while HE spends HIS money on anything HE wants.
HE never spends any quality time with HIS children.
He barely acknowledges HIS children's existance.
Then after years of taking care of HIS children he claims that you were not faithful to him and did not serve him properly. So HE abandons you leaving you with no money and HE steals your home (that he claims he "paid for") and, even though he has never been around, HE takes credit for everything you have done with HIS children and HE claims he can do even better.
Gosh...Father Sheehan really is just like any other typical GUY!
I know that all of you are not going to like what I have to say however if you are fighting for freedom of speech for these nuns then you will allow me to post my thoughts as well. There are probably as many parents who feel as I do, which is not in favor of these nuns, as there are parents in favor of keeping them. I felt as you do when I heard parents speak badly about the sisters, I didn't believe them and felt well there must be something wrong with you or your child. Until out of the blue it happened to me. For no reason the sisters turned on me and my family. Hurtful comments were made to my face by Sister Patricia for no reason. I am one of those families that had to leave. I am in full support of Notre Dame, my support of the school dates back to when I attended the school as a child. I was in 8th Grade when Sister Ellen became Principal. It is time for the Sisters to retire and have some new blood take over. They have chased so many good families away. Your loyalty should lie with the school. Sister Ellen has been stubborn regarding so many issues and the joining of the two schools was just one more. I will be contacting Fr Sheehan and the newspapers and the Achdiosis in favor of their decision. All of you there is a better way of running a school, trust me, another Principal can return this school to its Glory.
I am so sorry for your bad experience.
I can only say that the same nuns who you say are so selective with their likes and dislikes of students have reached out to so many of the students and families of Notre Dame over the years.
In the recent years, to a family who had gravely ill child...a student of Notre Dame . They visited the child and family while in the hospital out of state(multiple of times a week)and were very supportive in many ways.
To multiple families who were expecting a new baby. They were supportive and helpful in ways beyond the call of duty.
To families who had a sick or dying family member. They have been there. They have listened , acted and been there.
They have done all of these things and more. Are they tough? You bet!
Do they demand respect? You bet!
Do they teach and educate our children? You bet!
Just for reference, the name of the blog is.....Helping Notre Dame.
The news was a complete shock to me. I was one of the fortunate students to have attended Notre Dame from pre-k to 8th grade. Notre Dame was not just a school to us but also a second family. Sister Ellen and Sister Patricia were close to all our families. I still run into some of the other kids that i grew up with at notre dame, and all we talk about are our memories that we took away from there. Even when i had to sit in the corner because i was always the one still talking when they would shut off the lights. Even then, i agree that i am a better person today for being under their supervision.
As someone who is 23 years old and still best friends with the other kids that I met there, says something about the Notre Dame environment.
Our memories were only made possible by Sister Ellen and Sister Patricia. Father Sheehan would be making the biggest mistake, because he will never find two better people in this world that give children a sense of community, tradition, and caring then Sister Ellen and Sister Patricia. There are no two better women. We want them to stay!
I had the great fortune of working for Sister Ellen when I became a teacher in 1996. Notre Dame is a family of professional educators, caring parents, and gifted students dedicated to ensure future successes. I was so honored to work for an institution that truly placed the welfare of all their children before everything. The faculty and staff of Notre Dame became my second family headed by the matriarch, Sister Ellen. Eventually I needed to leave Notre Dame for financial reasons, but not because I wanted to leave. Since then, I have had the privilege of maintaining my friendship with Sr. Ellen and the Notre Dame family. Sister Ellen is a fellow educator, a children’s advocate, a devout Catholic, and a friend.
I wanted to send a note of support to Sister Patricia and Sister Ellen. It is unimaginable to me that Father Sheehan would terminate you. I chose Notre Dame School for my daughter because I could see the moment I walked into the school how well behaved the children were, how each child was addressed by his or her first name, how the children reciprocated with, "Yes, Sister Patricia" or "Yes, Sister Ellen." In addition, I have seen in my daughter a welcome reinforcement of her manners at home and to everyone around her. Her knowledge of the catholic religion has shown through in how she cares for people in trouble, she asks questions about their plights and tries to focus on a solution for their troubles. This is taught in day-to-day lessons she learns at Notre Dame. She is more than ready for Kindergarten next year and all of this is due to the excellent teaching staff and Sister Ellen and Sister Patricia. I haven't seen this posted on any of the websites I've been viewing on the subject, but the children themselves have been affected by this turmoil brought on by Father Sheehan. Having to combine the two schools was one thing, but taking away the two people (Sister Ellen and Sister Pat) who made the School what it is today seems ludicrous to me. I was in church with my family the Saturday evening mass that Father Sheehan had three children from the school speak to how much they loved Notre Dame School. Father Sheehan then asked for our support of the Archbishop's Annual Appeal. It was only two weeks later that he fired our administrators of the Primary School. What is he thinking? How can we support giving to the Archbishop's Annual Appeal or St. Matthew Church when the very core of the Church Community should be our families and our children and in this instance, he has lost sight of them. I believe it is in St. Matthew Church's best interest to support the community and get the families back into the church. That in inself would bring money to the church, which then could be filtered into the necessities that the church and school need. Instead, he's turning us away.
I want to thank Sister Ellen and Sister Patricia for their dedication to the children of Notre Dame. Their devotion to the Notre Dame community has made the school into the excellent educational facility that exists today. They are two of the most wonderful individuals that I have had the pleasure of knowing. Their kindness and compassion has made one of the most difficult years in my family’s life a little easier. Their ability to teach the children to understand and show compassion to another in a less favorable position is uncanny. The love and support that my son received from the students was so fantastic. It certainly helped in his recovery. They have exemplified what I believe the teachings of the Catholic Church are all about. Unfortunately, the priests of the parishes and the archdiocese seem to have forgotten their lessons of Christianity.
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