De La Salle Blackfeet School wishes to extend our gratitude to Katie DeMasi and Zack Wojick for their two years of service as volunteer teachers.
Katie DeMasi accepted placement at DLSBS when she joined the Lasallian Volunteers and committed herself to a second year of service concluding this year. Katie has coached the 7th Grade Girls Volleyball team; has taught Language Arts & Reading, and Social Studies.
Zack Wojick began his first year at DLSBS as an American Indian Catholic Schools Network (AICSN) & ACE Fellow and in the following year joined the Lasallian Volunteers while continuing to partner with AICSN. Zack has coached Cross-Country and Track; taught Math, Social Studies, and Health & Wellness.
Please join us in celebrating these two dedicated educators and praying for their continued success in the next steps of their lives. Thank you Katie and Zack for the time you have shared with our community- We are incredibly grateful for you!
-Katie has provided a letter and Zack a video to share their message to our community-
-Letter from Katie DeMasi-
The COVID-19 pandemic has uprooted many plans over these past few months. For me, it has delayed my plans to give some proper goodbyes. I will not be returning to De La Salle Blackfeet School next year. My plans are to continue my education in graduate school. More importantly, it has become apparent to me that I need to return home to my family and friends. This decision was made much before the current circumstances.
To my students: This is definitely not the way I wanted to say goodbye. If school had continued as planned, I would have mentioned it sooner. Since the world is so crazy right now, I didn’t want to give you any more potentially upsetting news. I want you to know that I love each and every one of you immensely. You have taught me so many lessons over these past two years. To the 4th graders, your rambunctious energy is amazing. To the 5th graders, I am sorry that I will not have you next year; you are a fantastic class. To my 7th grade team volleyball girls, you have brought me so much joy. I will never forget our hilarious car rides to games. To my 6th graders, your intelligence and humor astound me. I have no doubt you will all rule the world in the years to come. To my 7th graders, my first class, you will always hold a special place in my heart. To the 8th graders, it has been a pleasure to see you grow as leaders of the school, but just as you are moving on to high school, I too have to move on. Thank you for welcoming me into your lives.
To the parents/guardians: Thank you for allowing me to teach your children. It was truly extraordinary to see them grow in academic, social, and emotional understanding. During these times of remote learning, I have been extremely grateful to you for actively taking on my role at home, even though you are all professionals and have many other demands on your time. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be your child’s educator.
To the community: Thank you for welcoming me so openly when I arrived two years ago. I will never forget attending my first worship service at Little Flower Parish. Hopefully the tradition of the sign of peace can continue when the pandemic is over because it is incredibly special. I have learned so much from your culture and traditions as well. My time here has shown me that the Piikuni people have been and will always be resilient. Thank you to all those in tribal government, healthcare, and essential services who continue to protect and provide during the COVID-19 pandemic. I appreciate everything you are doing.
To the faculty and staff: Thank you for your guidance and friendship. You took a chance on a college student who was eager to do a year of service. The community of teachers, staff, and administrators that we have at De La Salle is one of a kind. I have loved the collaborative energy of our teachers, the dedication of our staff members, and the inspiring hard work of our administrators. I will miss you all dearly.
My hope this summer was to attend North American Indian Days, but since that was postponed, it looks like I’ll have to come back every summer to make up for it!
Sincerely,
Katie DeMasi