We had our first big assembly on Friday, a special mass was being held. All our younger primary students were lined up ready for this special occasion.
It is a very grand sight, the impressive building that houses the classrooms in the background.
The senior students had the privilege of being inside our sport hall; this is where the ceremony was taking place.
It was hot, really hot inside the hall. There aren’t any fans; you have to hope that a cool breeze is blowing. We had a special guest who was conducting the mass.
I was situated above the main hall area. I had to look after secondary 3 and 4 boys, about 50 boys in all. These boys started to get a little restless as the mass dragged on and on. It was too long. I would say that about 2% of the students would have been interested in attending mass. The rest couldn’t have cared less.
The special guest was presented with some gifts.
Then teachers and students could receive communion if they liked.
This teacher is the head of the Catholic studies and is a really lovely lady.
There were a handful of students who went forward to receive communion, I would say about 20 in all.
For me personally, it was too long. To have the small students sit through it all was a little silly. I am sure they had no idea what it was all about.
I am not religious; I don’t worship any god or so called higher being. These sorts of ceremonies should be optional to students; those who follow the religion can attend the ceremony.
Each year I would lose about 15 to 20 teaching hours, due to ceremonies and other happenings about the school. It is a lot of hours to lose and usually always means I cannot complete the curriculum set out by the school. Even if I taught the complete 200 hours per class per year, I still would struggle to complete the curriculum.
So a week is down and there are 19 more to go in this first semester. Only 9 weeks until the first midterm exams are sat by students. I have already started compiling exams for my older classes. The primary 1 classes sit a very basic test.
I hope next week is as good as the first week. I can only keep my fingers crossed.
Brunty
3 comments:
Brunty, the kids look like they are Scouts in those uniforms.
when you said it was really hot i took a look at the larger views of the hall inside, and man it does look hot. i can just imagine being in the sweltering heat.
Hi Brunty,
From reading your latest post it seems to be the opening Mass for the school year. Your school is a Catholic school so these Masses on feast days and other occassions are to be expected. The special guest appears to be a priest from outside the diocese.
I went to a Catholic secondary boarding school so I knowe all about these things. We had Mass every day at 7 am. Then there was the whole week off for a retreat. Of course we got bored which is natural for teenagers. A special highlight was when someone would let out a loud fart!
My son went to a Catholic school in NZ for 3 years. There were special masses-time had to be taken off.
Then in Thailand, both at state primary school and the state secondary school, there were the Buddhist ceremonies. Many times over the years we had to be at the school at 6 am for Buddhist ceremonies.
So I guess if one goes to a religious school, one has to expect time off for religious events. All the state schools in Thailand are Buddhist and so they have a great deal of Buddhist ceremonies.
I am a little surprised that your school has such a great sports hall but no fans. Why aren't the patrons donating some?
Catholic schools and churches are found in every province in Thailand. Many villages in Nakhon Pannom and Sakhon Nakon are completely Catholic. Yet there are only 105,000 people in Thailand who say they are Catholic. Most of them are of Vietnamese origin. I go to the Sunday 9 am mass in the Ubon cathedral and on most Sundays we get about 300-400 people in the congregation. And most of the people are young! There are 3 Sunday Mass times. Compared to Western countries this is a great turn out especially with so many young people attending.
MJ, they were wearing Scout uniforms. Friday is Scout Day at our school.
It was hot MJ. I was lucky as there was a little breeze blowing but didn't offer much relief.
Michael, thanks for the excellent comment and also info.
It was the school opening mass and also we have a big day for "feast Day"
Kids haven't changed as a fart is still such an amusing thing.
We have the best of both. We get all teh Catholic days and also Buddhist Days to celebrate. This adds up.
We also get a Christmas break that other schools don't.
That is surprising for mass in Ubon, the numbers are more than I would have even guessed.
I am hoping we can coffee and cake this weekend my friend.
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