Notre Dame Virtual School’s September focus is Noticing Life — paying attention to peace, our world, and the progress we are making together.
Noticing begins with paying attention. Everyday is filled with signs, sounds, people, ideas, and messages asking for our attention. Selective listening helps us choose where to focus so that we can listen more deeply, recognize what matters, and to respond with care.
Being a Pilgrim of Hope means learning what to notice – and listening for what may be ours to do.
September invites us to notice two special calls to listen and respond: the Season of Creation and the International Day of Peace on September 21. Jump to resources ↓ for ways to pray, reflect, and participate.
Jump To: Monthly Theme | Leo’s Corner | Students’ Corner | Resources
📣 Monthly Theme: September — Peace Day and Progress
Among all the voices calling for our attention, what am I being invited to notice—and what is mine to do?
🕊 Leo’s Corner: Listening with Magnificent Humans and AI
Leo has been traveling lately, meeting all kinds of magnificent humans—and discovering that even artificial intelligence can be a helpful companion when we use it thoughtfully.
AI can find information, suggest ideas, help us ask better questions, and even help us notice thing we might have missed. But it cannot do our listening for us.
- We still have to decide what deserves out attention.
- We still have to listen to one another.
- We still have to notice the world around us.
- And we still have to discern what is ours to do.
Leo’s September challenge:
Before asking AI for an answer, take a moment to notice. What do you already see, hear, know, or wonder? Then ask AI to help you look again.
AI doesn’t replace noticing: used well, it can help us notice more deeply.
🎒 Students’ Corner
What Are You Listening To?
Every day, lots of things compete for your attention — friends, classes, music, videos, messages, worries, and what is happening around you.
You’re already choosing what to listen to. The challenge is to notice what you’re choosing.
Try this:
For one minute, stop and listen.
- What do you hear?
- What catches your attention?
- What might you usually miss?
Then ask yourself:
What deserves my attention right now?
Sometimes listening carefully is the first step toward knowing what is ours to do.
STOP→LISTEN→NOTICE→CHOOSE
🌎 Resources
* Season of Creation 2026 — “Living Water” — September 1–October 4, rooted this year in Ezekiel 47 and the image of life-giving water. The official site has the Celebration Guide, prayer card, youth materials, Via Creationis, and other resources.
Season of Creation 2026 Resources
* Laudato Si’ Movement — Catholic Season of Creation resources — this one fits NDO especially well because it moves Receive → Encounter → Become Living Water, including a 15-minute water contemplation. That sounds remarkably like our Notice → Listen → Discern → Respond movement.
Catholic Season of Creation Resources
* USCCB — Season of Creation — a good specifically Catholic/U.S. anchor, explaining the September 1–October 4 observance and connecting it with prayer and responsibility for creation.
USCCB Season of Creation
* International Day of Peace — September 21 — and this year’s UN theme is wonderfully compatible with our September direction: “Invest in Peace — For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.” It emphasizes the ordinary, local “everyday architects of peace.”
United Nations International Day of Peace 2026
https://youtu.be/k4FAiI2mdaI?si=tLqQHGPRPJwvPzcM
