The Eagle Times

The teacher of the week this week was Ms. Catherine Orzech. Ms. Orzech is an ACE teacher at our beloved St. John High School. We had an interview with Ms. Orzech to see what her life was like and how she liked Louisiana. We have come to learn a lot of useful information from the interview with her. We also researched important information about the ACE teachers.

First we will talk about the ACE program. The ACE program stands for Alliance for Catholic Education. Ace bases their program on three specific things. Those three important things are teaching, community, and spirituality. They want these teachers to have a loving teaching experience in a new place. They get to meet new people, explore new places, and learn about other people’s lives and cultures. The ACE program invites all religions to become a Catholic school teacher. They have many opportunities such as going to a Catholic Mass, going on retreats, and prayer services.

There are 106 different schools around 14 states in our United States that the ACE teachers will be placed. They will live in one of the 32 ACE houses around the country that is around the place where they are teaching. They live in small communities of four to seven people. They get to teach at a school they are sent to for two years. This helps them to learn what it is like to be a full time teacher. This is to make sure the ACE teachers have found their correct calling in life.

Now we will tell you a little bit about Ms. Catherine Orzech. Ms. Orzech was born and raised in a town called Londonderry, New Hampshire. She said that Londonderry is bigger than Plaquemine, but smaller than Baton Rouge. Her hobbies consist of baking cookies, playing the piano, skiing, hiking and running for fun.

She realized that she wanted to be a teacher because of the enthusiasm for teaching. She also wanted to have an impact on the lives of young people. She said that teaching is definitely an option for her occupation. She went to college and got her degree at Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.

We asked her about her experience with Louisiana and the Ace program. She said she likes Louisiana, but not the weather. Her favorite thing about Louisiana was the food. She said, “I LOVE the food! It is amazing and definitely makes up for the weather.” The hardest thing for her to get used to is the weather because it is so hot. She was so used to the mild weather in New Hampshire. Her favorite thing about St. John is the family feel. What she means by that is everyone knows everyone and they get along. She says we are like a family because some people may argue and disagree about something like brother and sister, but we all get over it and love each other.

By Alannah Myers and Brooklyn Landry