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Rally, Mass highlight Catholic Schools Week
By Ambria Hammel, The Catholic Sun
February 7, 2008
From engaging in service activities to thanking their supporters during days of appreciation, students across the nation found many fun and faith-filled ways to mark Catholic Schools Week Jan. 27-Feb. 2.
Locally, students from throughout the diocese held similar celebrations, joining together for a Mass at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral Jan. 30, National Appreciation Day for Catholic Schools. They celebrated how “Catholic Schools Light the Way” for themselves, both spiritually and academically.
The students also reflected on how they become a light for others.
“We join with students, parents, teachers, administrators, pastors and parish communities across the U.S. to celebrate how we as Catholic schools and as individuals light the way in the Diocese of Phoenix, the greater community and the United States,” MaryBeth Mueller, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Phoenix Diocese said.
Phoenix students joined their peers from the dioceses of Tucson and Gallup, N.M., for a rally at the Arizona state Capitol. Everyone thanked the legislators for enacting the tuition tax credit 10 years ago. This year, the credit allowed nearly half of the Phoenix Diocese’s students to earn scholarships funded by such money.
That makes Catholic education affordable and accessible to poorer families within the diocese, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said.
Students spent the rest of Catholic Schools Week playing games and doing other activities to build community.
Staff and students at several schools tested each other’s athletic ability with a volleyball game. Catherine Lucero, St. Catherine of Siena principal, expected her students to “boo” the teachers and cheer on their peers during the traditional match-up.
Students at St. Catherine, as well as St. Joan of Arc Preschool, sported crazy hairdos. Other schools held a free dress day or pajama day.
But Catholic Schools Week wasn’t all fun and games. It also honored teachers, parents, grandparents and the religious and community leaders who support Catholic education. Students at many schools wrote thank you letters to such supporters.
“You try to come up with ideas that are going to be successful and meaningful,” said Salesian Sister Ignacia Carrillo, principal of St. John Vianney School.
“You see the kids respond in such a tender way,” she said of Grandparents Day, noting the campus mood is always warmer.
Sr. Ignacia hoped the students’ career essays and vocation/career days were also meaningful. Two students had already expressed interest in the priesthood and religious life and she hoped to inspire more.
San Francisco de Asís School in Flagstaff held an awards ceremony recognizing distinguished alumni, volunteers and other exemplary students. It also featured an eighth-grade commitment ceremony where the students pledged to become Christian leaders in the community after graduation.
Service marked another aspect of Catholic Schools Week. San Francisco de Asís students held a teddy bear drive and gave the collection to the Arizona Department of Public Safety to distribute to kids in crisis.
Catherine E. Hanley in Flagstaff contributed to this story.
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