School year began with terror attacks

The women found out about the bombings at school. Kathryn Peters, a fourth grade teacher at St. Patrick's School in Troy, was so involved with her class that she had a hard time taking in the news. When the principal showed up at her classroom door with a memo, she only glanced at it. It was only when another teacher came by with more information that Miss Peters realized what was happening.

For the women teaching at diocesan high schools, prayer was an immediate response. The schools held short prayer services that day and longer ones the next.

Friends and family were concerned for the teachers' safety since they knew they were living in New York. Christina Tetzlaff said friends in Ohio didn't realize she was three hours away from the disaster.

Meanwhile, she was concerned for her new co-workers. "We have teachers with families that live and work" in New York City, she said.

The day after the attacks, Miss Tetzlaff had bus duty. At that point in the school year, she was still trying to learn all of her students' names. When one girl got off the bus, Miss Tetzlaff was pleased that she remembered her name and greeted her with "How are you?" The girl dissolved in tears; both of her brothers had been in the World Trade Center.

The women took some comfort in prayer. Sonja Johnson explained that the Lalanne community eats dinner together each night. On Sept. 11, when they gathered for the meal, "we sat down to eat and prayed -- and then none of us moved," she said.

Trying to understand what had happened helped the new teachers connect with their students. Miss Tetzlaff had her students research terrorism. "We were all able to learn together," she said. "It brought us together." (MM)

(01-24-02) [[In-content Ad]]