Members of the National Latin Honor Society at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest are commemorating the March 15th assassination of Julius Caesar by "Pinning the Dagger on the Caesar." For a donation to the Adopt-a-Teacher initiative, students are blindfolded, spun in circles, and directed toward a life-sized drawing of the Roman leader. The girls try to pin their paper daggers on Caesar's heart. Successful students are presented with colorful stickers of their choice.
The real winners are teachers in Haiti. Proceeds from this event, and several others at AHA, support the Adopt-a-Teacher initiative established by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, AHA's founders and sponsors. This program will allow teachers working on Lagonav Island to receive training in Port-au-Prince. So far, AHA has already sent funds to support one teacher. The school community is now working to send another to the Haitian capital.
Dozens of students lined up to join the festivities. Participants make a $1 donation, are presented with a paper “dagger,” blindfolded, spun around multiple times, and sent reeling toward a life-sized drawing of Caesar. Those who manage to find Caesar’s heart receive a colorful sticker of their choice.
Contributors also demonstrate the size of their own hearts, since proceeds from this year’s event will support training for teachers in Haiti. Adopt-a-Teacher is a School Sisters of Notre Dame initiative, and SSND-sponsored schools, including Holy Angels, are doing their part. The aim is to send teachers from Lagonav Island to Port-au-Prince for special courses.
AHA has already raised and donated $3,000 to send one teacher to Haiti’s capital. The school community is now working to amass funds to assist a second educator’s training.
