Holy Family Catholic School is honored and blessed to include one Religious Sister and one Deacon. Sister Elena, a member of the Manitowoc-based Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, is currently teaching the third grade. Deacon Dan Gray, ordained by Bishop Ricken in 2020, teaches middle school religion classes. They both serve on the Faith Committee and collaborate to look at options for spirituality in the school.
Having been a religious Sister since 2007, Sister Elena has taught in a number of Catholic schools in Wisconsin, Hawaii, Arizona and Mississippi before coming to Green Bay. Her insights into teaching are meaningful.
She says, “Teaching means to share God’s wealth of graces, truths, and love with His children. My students are a fun class to teach. Teaching isn’t solely about the teacher teaching students; it is also about the teacher learning from the students. They have taught me a ton of God’s joy. Each day while teaching I enjoy meeting God in the children. God is truly among us with each other. I begin every day with religion class because it’s a great way to begin the day with God and then throughout the day we can associate our faith with something else we learned that day. Plus, I enjoy that Catholic schools are wonderful safe places that foster reverence for God and respect for others. I totally enjoy sharing with the students a higher education of God and academics. It is wonderful to see students become independent and responsible while completing tasks that were once challenging.”
Outside of her school commitment, Sister Elena loves to pray in nature, go for walks in neighborhoods or on trails, visit state or national parks, take photographs, create watercolor paintings, visit the elderly, and watch football games. Sister enjoys cooking meals and baking for the Sisters that she lives with in St. Agnes Convent.
She quips, “But most of all I love to grill!” She also hosts the Franciscan Moment Podcast for the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity.
Deacon Dan Gray brings a wide range of experiences to his current calling. Having spent much of his adult life as a respiratory therapist, upon that retirement, he decided to become a substitute teacher with GRACE. He now spends part of his week teaching religion as well as serving two area parishes as their deacon.
Regarding being a teacher, Deacon Dan shares, “I love teaching. I am grateful for the opportunity to be with these kids and to be part of their faith journeys. I want to encourage them to think about and understand their faith so that it becomes a part of who they are at every moment in time. Every day and every class begins with prayer. I especially enjoy the energy of middle schoolers. Watching them grow and mature over the past years has been fun.”
HFCS humbly acknowledges the service and contributions that these two gifted educators are making to the school community and also thanks them indeed for their dedication.
Holy Family Catholic School is part of the Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System. It is a private Catholic school serving Preschool and Elementary through 8th grade (PK3-8) with open enrollment. Holy Family provides an individualized education in a faith-based environment. Each child is supported not only academically, but spiritually.
The best way to learn more about HFS is to visit! Schedule a tour here.
