Course Evaluations
Calgary Level 1, Part A
Formation Facilitators:
Registrar:
Ellen Schlosser
Paula Sabatini
Anna Boyagoda
Part 1 - Formation Experience
The Pace
The pace was extremely fast, so it felt overwhelmingly intensive. I understand that there was a lot to cover, which would need more time, but I do think that a slower pace and extra time would be very beneficial.
Challenging but manageable.
I felt there was a good balance between practicum sessions, group work and reflective time in the Atrium. I appreciated the small breaks in between to network with group members and let the mind step away from the intensity of what was being taught.
The course was very well planned and the facilitators were respectful of the time. There is a lot of material to cover and they were conscientious about asking people’s questions.
Excellent
The Pace was a good standard and helpful
the facilitators provided a lovely rhythm between the atrium presentations and adult reflections. They invited response from the participants and modeled the type of listening we can offer to the children
The entire team was amazing at keeping the pace consistent.
I think the pace was good. This is an intensive work so it can't be tackled lightly. The balance between adult sessions and presentations was good. Maybe could have had more opportunities to reflect and process as the breaks end up being an actual bathroom break or a time to connect with peers.
The course content was presented in the adult reflection periods at a pace that encouraged participation and reflection from the learners that amplified the importance of allowing time for response after presenting a gift
Very slow and meditative
A lot of context and brain work but I appreciated the many breaks provided. Pace was fast but doable knowing well in advance of the short timeframe.
A bit fast and confusing at the beginning. I feel we could have learned to use our materials first to know where to find information.
The lecture was very fast. There was plenty of material to learn in a short time. When the facilitators were lecturing the pace extremely fast.
The Presentations
Excellent, clear, beautifully delivered! All the beautiful materials were hugely helpful.
Brilliant!
These were such a gift. They are surprisingly so powerful to take in visually and to experience as an aid to personal prayer and reflection.
It was obvious that both facilitators were very experienced in presenting and knew the presentations very thoroughly.
The Presentations was very good, it covers all the three books and handouts that we use
the facilitators modeled the contemplative pace of speech and movement that will help us build an atrium conducive to prayer
Smooth, natural, mesmerizing. I loved the personal element as well as the discussion around how to present after. There was always a connection made between child's developmental spiritual and physical needs and how various presentations are connected.
It was great to see the "break in character" in presenting to the children. It becomes a sacred teaching space. I felt well-equipped to sit with these and ponder.
The facilitators modeled a contemplative pace of speech and movement in the atrium that helped me enter into the spiritual space of the young child
Very slow, allowed for lots of time for reflection and sharing as adults as well.
All of them were mesmerising, both Ellen and Anna communicated clearly and concisely. I enjoyed both practical life presentations and CGS presentations. After practicing in the atrium myself, I know the patience and practice it takes to present well!
Awesome. I really liked them and they were engaging.
Great pace. Nice and slow. Plenty of time!
Album Page Writing
This was considerably confusing in terms of the Direct Aim and the Christian doctrinal message. I understood that the direct aim was intended for young children, but I didn’t realize that the doctrinal message was also meant to be comprehensible to them. I would have assumed that the doctrinal message, due to its intrinsic nature, was meant for the catechist. In any case, more clarification is needed for both sections, as they are inherently abstract concepts. Thankfully, most of the other sections of the album pages were already filled out for us!
Collaborative and very helpful.
I was very appreciative of the online album builder as a guide and tool to help us complete our page. It was easy for me to follow and fill out. It was so nice that we could focus on the two main sections while the other sections have been generously filled out for us already. I liked working as a large group to develop some of the pages together. I really appreciate being able to submit our page to the facilitator for suggestions and edits. I am thankful that we will come out of the course with album pages shared with each other. I enjoy the collaboration and it makes the process less overwhelming.
I really appreciated the way that the album page writing process was explained and how we worked together in groups to get them written. The album page builder wasn’t always that easy to get into.
Super helpful
Album page is a very good work is going to help me through this Journey of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
The Album Page writing tool provided by the CGS website was very helpful and the Google classroom platform made editing easy. The prompts provided on the white board were very helpful and it would be good to see the prompts built into the Album Page writing tool
Enjoyed using the album builder but am not proficient in google docs.
Clear instruction on how to write them and given good resources to assist. I feel confident in writing the rest of my pages.
The Google classroom Album writing tool was very helpful. We were provided with content prompts on the white board that would build into the Album building tool. Eg: direct aim beginnings for Scripture, Nomenclature, Celebration and Liturgy
This was confusing to me, I think it could be presented better as I wasn't really sure what to write. Doing a presentation, then going back and doing the album page together for that presentation would be helpful. I think we tried to do this, but for some reason was still confusing to me.
I preferred working on the album pages alone and appreciated the time available during the course to do so. Having an opportunity to review with Ellen and Anna and our classmates before submitting was extremely helpful.
At first it was unclear to me. But as time went on I found it easier.
A bit scattered. Would be nice to have a visual modelled album writing page done from the facilitators step by step on the screen.
Practicum Sessions
Very helpful.
Helpful
The material being presented was so refreshing to the mind and heart. I enjoyed learning about the work of Montessori, Caveletti, Gobbi...at times the subjects and readings seemed heavy to process due to the nature of what was being taught but pausing for group discussion, and question and answer time helped to clarify some topics. I will be definitely reviewing my notes and hope to delve into the required reading before 1b.
It was good to be able to work with the materials. I think even more time for that would have been helpful.
Amazing
I love the Practicum, I got the chance to practice and see what was listed in the books
The opportunity to practice presenting and receiving presentations with other learners helped highlight ways to slow down and refine my experience: providing rich food, but not too much! Watching the video on the Montessori classroom was a lovely way to enter the spirit of Montessori instruction, letting the child lead the way
These were so important. The learning of the presentations came through as I worked with the materials. I enjoyed the gift of this and noticed that words were much harder to recall than the actions.
When we had the opportunity to present sessions to our peers that was very helpful. The "Let the Child be the Guide" was a great way to synthesize a lot of what we had learned.
I appreciated the opportunity to try offering a presentation. I enjoyed the Montessori classroom film in lieu of working with children directly
I could have used more time to use materials and practice.
Presenting is much harder than it looks! More practicum time would have been great but if given the choice between being presented to and presenting, it was more helpful to be presented to again so I could take more notes.
It was great to take a moment to interact with materials and take pictures.
Very well done. Visuals were great and pace was nice and slow. Lots of time to discuss.
How the Course Fed Participants Spiritually
I was amazed at how much it did affect and feed me spiritually. So many revelations, moments of profound understanding and emotional experiences!
The beauty of the scriptural and liturgical complémentarité.
Through the proclamations and presentations, I was brought to a new awareness of the gift of my Catholic faith, the liturgy of the Mass, and how personal and intimate God's relationship is with each one of his 'sheep'. I felt safe and encouraged to become a little child, to wonder and awe at the rich gifts presented to me in the Atrium and throughout the course.
I really enjoyed the adult reflections after the child presentations. The sharing was so beautiful and it was inspiring to see how people were being personally touched by the presentations and the new insights they were receiving.
New realizations about covenant and relationships and better appreciation of how well I need to know the doctrine to let the Holy Spirit guide me
The course feed me spiritually of hope
There is hope for me to get there
It was lovely to enter more deeply into the 'pedagogy of desire' and focus on the language of signs.
It felt like I was on retreat. The presentations felt as if they were spoken to me and I loved the opportunity for personal reflection. The debrief helped me recognize how this was feeding the needs of the child.
Oh mercy. It was incredible. I can't write all of my experience in this box. There is great richness in the CGS. There is a deep connection with a lot of my other formation eg. Madonna House spirituality. I can't wait to be in Atrium.
The course was a rich opportunity to enter into the pedagogy of desire applied to the scriptures and liturgical moments that speak to the young child
I learned so much! I meditated on things I had never known or thought of.
So much insight about the Mass and the parables that I’d never thought about. The most striking were the Good Shepherd IS the Body and Blood of Christ and why the priest adds only a little bit of water to a lot of wine. Such small revelations presented to young children that I’d not pondered at all since learning about them but will continue to.
I feel that it was a time of reconnection for me, as I had a feeling of not being where I would like to be in my life. This helped me to ground me. The friendships I made were instrumental too.
It felt like I was on a retreat. The Holy Spirit was present. The community build together was amazing. I learned a lot that!
What Participants will always remember about this course
That the only way to understand, experience, trust in and respond to the love of God, is like a child.
The solid theological and pedagogical foundation and the faithful and delightful people of CGS.
That it didn't feel like a typical course at all but much more of a reflective, personal retreat.
That Christ is the teacher. Christ is taught.
That we are in a covenant relationship with God. Made for relationship. Called to enjoy the gift.
The enthusiasm and openness of all the participants. The clarity I got for myself about this work.
Realizing the wealth of insights and revelation that I have yet to learn/experience about God
Not such a frenetic pace as my last class where we had to do 10 album pages. The teachers were lovely. And this course taught me we don't needall theart stuff we have.
I will always remember how the course was given to me to carryout the good work of God
The beauty of the materials and the gift of slowing down in speech and movement in order to enter the world of the child will stay with me.
That I am a beloved daughter of the Father. This covenant relationship involves a gift and a response. It is a privilege and a responsibility to live this and participate in helping children encounter the same.
Ponder and Wonder and so much more.
The 'culture shock' of moving from my adult approach to more intellectual reflection on my relationship with God, to the wonder of childhood became a gift, and then a practice.
The peace and refreshment to my soul and intellect. That the water that gets added to the wine is our life.
How kind, generous and open Ellen, Anna and Paula were. It was a true gift to be in their presence and learn firsthand from their experience.
I will also remember Paula’s encouragement and commitment to this ministry.
The friendships and insights and connections with my youth.
The love that was put into it from Paula, Anna and Ellen. The excitement we all had to learn and the gift this course was!
What Participants would change
The pace of the course!
I think it would be ideal in a retreat setting where everyone was together Probably not possible. But ideal. We
Minor, but perhaps a way to organize the handouts better...I felt like sections and specific pages were hard to find at times.
Maybe more time for the practicums.
Let us know where the background info is in the required books and notes so we can read it again
Nothing I can think of.
Not sure
I appreciated the printed materials, and would love to see them made more accessible. I initially found it distracting to try and find the sources being referred to during a talk. After the first day I wrote out two tables of contents, one for the eight CGS documents and one for the eight Montessori Essentials documents. I assigned each document a number then stuck a numbered tab to the first page of the document in order to find them more quickly.
A little more space to ponder and wonder. Even if it's 10 minutes after the lunch break.
I appreciated being given the hard copies of the CGS and Montessori Essentials (ME). I found it distracting to have to locate the document when it was referred to without the benefit of page numbers.
It would be helpful to be receive some tips on how to find the materials being referenced during the talks.
If applying consecutive page numbers isn't realistic then giving learners a moment to create an alternate system would be helpful.
At home, I wrote out two tables of contents, one for CGS and one form ME,
numbered the individual 'articles' (there were eight in each section)
then applied numbered tabs. Eg: CGS 1) Religious Developement of a Child 2) Spirituality of Childhood 3) Art of Observation 4) Catechesis as celebration ... etc
One good thing was the amount of movement back and forth between spaces.
Clarity with album pages.
The temperature in the adult reflection space (only because I’m pregnant and run hot!)
I felt that many times of reflection were cut off and I would have liked to have materials explained before we started.
I would have more visuals for when facilitators were presenting rather than strictly auditory. It’s hard to take notes so fast. Maybe some notes with fill in the blank sections or a PowerPoint with key points .
Part 2 - Formation Team and Course Host
Feedback for Formation Team
The team was excellent in terms of their comprehensive approach, organization, knowledge, presentations and willingness to listen and help, despite the time restrictions.
Thank you. It was transformative.
Thank you Ellen and Ana for offering up your knowledge, time and heart to forming us as future catechists. I felt inspired by you both, especially due to your belief and dedication to the work of CGS. You both were excellent facilitators and lead the group so professionally but so gently and respectfully. I look forward to learning from you both again.
I really appreciated all of the practical suggestions. I also like how the week was organized to follow the year in the atrium, good handouts.
Amazing
Thank you
you do wonderful work, God bless you
Thank you so much for modeling the contemplative pace of language and movement that helps make the atrium a place of prayer. And thank you for balancing your openness to all the learners, inviting responses during presentations, and keeping us on track so that we could cover all the topics outlined.
Thank you. Thank you for showing us by word and action the reverence that the work in the Atrium is worthy of.
Thank you for beginning and ending in prayer
Clear and excellent teaching.
Thanks so much for modeling the contemplative approach to creating a prayerful environment to children and bringing that same spirit to the adult reflections.
Thanks for creating such a welcoming and nurturing enviroment!
It was all really well planned. I do like having titles to specific sections to organize my mind.
This experience was incredible. I am so encouraged by the reminder that this is the ideal, and then there is reality so that we can approach this work as attainable right now instead of aspirational.
Maybe to be more organized.
Thank you for your great work and your passion! I love how calm and authentic you all are.
Feedback for Course Host
I cannot speak highly enough of the dedication of the Host, and her tireless efforts and endless attention to details and everyone’s needs! Her patience and unwavering willingness to help are something to see!
It was overwhelmingly generous. I am so grateful for the kindness of my hosts and how well we were looked after.
THANK YOU PAULA for your graciousness! The lunches and snacks provided were such a gift. You have done a wonderful job bringing the community around you to support this CGS course in many tangible ways.
The host was hardworking, well organized, and very hospitable. Arranging for lunch was greatly appreciated. It helps take away some of the stress when you don’t have to worry about what you are going to it. The adult reflection space was a little cold some of the time.
Amazing
Thanks for the lunch food. The site worked well.
so amazing
Well done! I felt very welcomed and the communal lunches were much appreciated.
Great variety. Above and beyond.
Incredible hosting.
It was lovely to have the communal lunches and easy movement between the atrium and adult reflection space
Great
Course site was great. Food was delicious. Snacks were SO appreciated!
Nothing it was great
You are amazing. Thanks for taking such great care of us.
Part 3 - How can we help you continue to grow in this work?
How Participants Plan to Use Formation
Participants Who Would Like to Be Contacted re: Mentoring
Suggestions for Continued Support
I want to continue learning.
material building manuals (similar to CGS USA)
Links to USA info
Probably need computers in future with the very helpful album page templates
Calgary has a good group of catechists that meet occasionally. At this time I can't think of anything further
Good resource
Materials needed to start Atrium
course
the CGSAC website is a great resource. I appreciate the 'Singing for the Terrified'- I wonder if sheet music could be added for music-readers
Invitation and inclusion
Email reminders of good content.
the orientation to the CGS website was very helpful
- shared resources for presentation tracking
- atriums that are looking for volunteers, catechists