Catholic Schools Week 2009

Students to celebrate service during statewide gathering

By Ambria Hammel | January 15, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

During any given week you’ll find Catholic school students visiting nursing homes, tutoring youngsters or serving meals at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul dining room.

What began as a requirement for Catholic school students has quickly become a way of life, school administrators say.

Catholic Schools Week, an annual event celebrating faith and education, reflects that commitment to service in this year’s theme, “Catholic Schools Celebrate Service.” The weeklong celebration takes place Jan. 25-31.

“If we work with them when they enter our schools, it often makes a huge difference in them understanding service,” said MaryBeth Mueller, superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese.

In addition to a week filled with activities for students, their families and educators at their respective schools, there is also a diocesan-wide spelling bee, a Mass at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral followed by a rally at the state Capitol.

Students serve

During Catholic Schools Week, students at many schools will complete a community service project.

At Ss. Simon and Jude, students will collect food and stuffed animals for the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul pantry, and books for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. They’re also selling glow sticks to help fund a new Loreto Missions school in Bangladesh.

Students at St. Timothy Catholic School in Mesa are helping stock the pantry at Paz de Cristo Community Center. The agency, which started 20 years ago as the parish’s outreach ministry, offers hot meals daily to hundreds of the area’s poor and homeless.

For students at Pope John XXIII School in Scottsdale, the week will be spent collecting school supplies for their underprivileged peers in the diocese. It’s all part of the school’s “Faith in Action” program in which each grade level leads one school-wide project every year.

The second-graders, who are pen pals with students at St. Catherine of Siena and St. Matthew, are spearheading the latest supply drive. The students will personally deliver the supplies when they meet their pen pals at the end of the year.

Older students at Pope John XXIII returned from a service experience at the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s dining room in November, and after noticing the need for assistance, organized a school-wide food drive for bread and vegetables.

That kind of initiative shows the students understand the importance of serving those in need, said Karen Marshall, a second-grade teacher at the school.

Donna Marino, president and CEO of the Catholic Community Foundation, agreed. She is continually impressed with the quality and quantity of volunteer work submitted for the annual Christian Service Awards. Some young students volunteer in hospitals, nursing homes and food banks. One student even works with the Phoenix Fire Department’s search dog program.

“Students share that it really does put their Catholic teaching into direct action,” Marino said, adding that the firsthand experience makes the faith real to them.

This year’s applicants for the Catholic Community Foundation’s Christian Service Awards tallied up an average of 276 hours of service in two years. The diocese’s Catholic high schools require about 80-100 hours over four years.

St. Mary’s Catholic High School students hold weekly tutoring sessions for students at St. Agnes in the afternoons while some St. Mary’s students tutor their peers before the first bell.

Teenagers at Brophy College Preparatory tutor public school students in central and south Phoenix, in addition to the freshmen who spend each Tuesday volunteering at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

But Catholic Schools Week isn’t all about service. Students will also spend the week creating special crafts, hosting open houses and family appreciation days and enjoying other special activities.

The Knights of Columbus at St. Daniel the Prophet Parish in Scottsdale will kick off Catholic Schools Week Jan. 25 with a pancake breakfast for the community. A science fair Jan. 29 along with a family movie night Jan. 30 will round out the week.

Preschool and kindergarteners at St. Anne Little Flower Montessori School in Gilbert will make prayer bead chains and enjoy a staff production of “The Giving Tree” along with apples for snacks.

Teenagers at Seton Catholic High School in Chandler are looking forward to challenging each other to cultural and Olympic games during Catholic Schools Week as well as an evening variety show.

In addition to the many school-specific activities for students, their families and educators, Catholic Schools Week also offers a chance to celebrate as one community. The diocese’s top spellers will face off at the annual spelling bee Jan. 27 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School.

The following day, dozens of representatives from each elementary and high school will gather for a 10 a.m. Mass Jan. 28 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. The celebration is in honor of National Appreciation Day for Catholic Schools. Catholic school leaders will also honor staff members who have dedicated 25 years of service.

A rally at the state Capitol along with an artistic showcase from the diocese’s elementary schools will immediately follow.