Educators celebrate their peers at annual conference

By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald

At the annual conference dedicated to Hawaii’s Catholic school educators Jan. 31, it was perhaps not a surprise that many of the hundreds of teachers and staff attending from across the state arrived early for the first part of the day — Mass, followed by the distribution of service awards.

The pews and aisles of St. Patrick Church in Kaimuki were overflowing by the time Msgr. Gary Secor, the morning’s celebrant, two deacons and a dozen priests from parochial schools processed in. The Annual Conference for Catholic School Educators got underway, with a jolt of energy provided by the Maryknoll School choir and enthusiasm for the day’s events rippling through the congregation.

Msgr. Secor began his homily by proudly outlining his Catholic school upbringing, from St. Anthony School in Kailua to Maryknoll School in Honolulu to Chaminade University of Honolulu (and later St. Patrick’s Seminary in California).

He noted that the ACCE was being held on the feast day of St. John Bosco, a priest and educator who is the patron saint of educators and youth.

“In the late 1800s he did heroic work in Italy, mostly with very poor and disadvantaged children who came from very difficult situations, and helped to form them,” Msgr. Secor said.

Likewise, he told the educators, “what (you) are all doing in Catholic education is so important because of the influence that (you) have — the possibility that (you) have in a lifelong way to influence young people.”

Msgr. Secor highlighted how crucial it is for educators to be aware of their impact on their students, because children spend much of their time in school and thus staffs “function as their second family.”

“We know realistically how much it is important for us to be there as well as to be an important part of their formation process” — intellectually, spiritually, morally and emotionally, he said.

Another reason St. John is an appropriate patron for educators is the example he set in ministering to the young people around him, Msgr. Secor said — he did it with compassion and love.

If one reads St. John’s writings to his friends and followers, “what he told them quite clearly (was that) you need to treat these young people with compassion and love, and even though they may need discipline, the way you discipline needs to be with love,” Msgr. Secor said.

Msgr. Secor described Catholic education as a high-quality “filet mignon,” built upon thousands of years of tradition, but also warned that the quality would be wasted if it were offered in a subpar manner.

“John Bosco knew that it always needed to be served out of love” even though it can be challenging, Msgr. Secor said.

Msgr. Secor closed his homily by noting the “great blessing” Catholic educators have of being able to work among like-minded people, even as they respect those who don’t share the same faith.

At the end of the day, he said, relying on the Lord is “what’s going to help us (serve others and) effectively minister to young people.”

As Mass came to a close, Hawaii Catholic Schools Superintendent Llewellyn Young and Associate Superintendent Mandy Thronas-Brown teamed up to honor educators marking milestones in their careers, from 20 years to 50 years in Catholic schools.

In all, 13 educators with some 400 years of service among them were celebrated with service awards bestowed by Hawaii Catholic Schools and the ACCE’s title sponsor, Archangel Education and Technology:

20 years

• Wendy Castillo, St. Theresa School, Kekaha
• David Crosier, St. Anthony School, Kailua
• Marianne Guevara, Maryknoll School, Honolulu

30 years

• Caryn DeMello, St. John Vianney School, Kailua
• Cleo Eubanks, Sacred Hearts Academy, Kaimuki
• Conception “Bernie” Gora, St. Theresa School, Honolulu
• Lyman Lacro, Mary, Star of the Sea School, Waialae-Kahala
• Bridget Olsen, St. Anthony School, Kailua
• Renaye Oyer, Sacred Hearts Academy
• Rowena Reynon-Agcanas, St. Philomena Early Learning Center, Honolulu

40 years

• Deborah Gibo, Holy Family Catholic Academy, Honolulu
• Joan Gomes, Mary, Star of the Sea Early Learning Center
• Frances Wong, St. Theresa School (total of 50 years including part-time work)

The second part of the ACCE took place at Sacred Hearts Academy, across the street from St. Patrick Church. It began with a keynote address by Micah Shippee, director of education technology consulting and solutions at Samsung Electronics America.

In his talk, “The Future of Teaching and Learning,” Shippee discussed the ways that new technology, such as artificial intelligence, is changing education, and how both students and teachers can capitalize on the evolving landscape.

Conference attendees also briefly heard from Steven Cheeseman, president and CEO of the National Catholic Educational Association, who has been visiting Catholic campuses across the country since his appointment last August.

Educators then attended a variety of workshops across Sacred Hearts Academy’s campus to further their own education and formation.