Making over-sized rosary deepens faith for Malick Girls’ RC students

By Kaelanne Jordan
mediarelations.camsel@catholictt.org

October, known as the Month of the Rosary, holds deep significance for Catholics. The month is dedicated to honouring the Virgin Mary and the powerful prayer of the rosary.

Inspired by the creative spirit of her Standard Four class, Jodie Marie Sutherland-Phillip, a teacher at Malick Girls RC School conceived an activity that not only taught her students about the rosary, but also offered a creative way to infuse faith into the classroom.

“Although we are a Catholic school, we don’t have much Catholics so we always have to find innovative ways to teach them our belief so that’s why I chose to do that activity with them,” Sutherland-Phillip told The Catholic News.

The activity involved creating an oversized rosary using construction paper.

Each group was given the task of creating ten links to represent one decade of the rosary. In the end 50 links were created: five decades of the rosary: “And for the crucifix, I was able to tell them that’s where we would say The Creed.”

Sutherland-Phillip explained she dedicated a week to explain the various prayers of the rosary. She said the project was particularly apt considering it fell during rosary month. The entire project was completed during class hours, taking the students just 25 minutes to finish.

Sutherland-Phillip provided the sheets of construction paper, and brown specifically was chosen for the construction of the cross.

Guided by her thoughtful explanation, the students carefully cut and rolled the construction paper strips to create beads.

According to Sutherland-Phillip, each bead-making session turned into a spiritual journey for the students. As they created their beads, they reflected on the prayer associated with each bead, forging a tangible and profound connection between faith and art.

She emphasised the project was not challenging, but acknowledged one of the highlights was the students stating they could wear the rosary as “a big chain and that’s what they actually did having completed the activity….” Sutherland-Phillip said.

Due to the considerable size of the rosary, the class now utilises it as a model for group prayer. This, she underscored, has made the act of praying the rosary more accessible and “children friendly.”

Materials:

· Construction paper in various colours of your choice

· One sheet of brown construction paper for the cross

· Glue stick

· Scissors

Method:

1. Take a sheet of construction paper and fold it in half in landscape orientation. Then, fold each half in half again, creating four strips.

2. Apply glue to one end of each strip and create a loop by connecting the ends.

3. Link each loop to form the rosary chain.

4. Using the same approach, craft the cross bead with brown construction paper.