CHANDLER, AZ – Seton Catholic Preparatory will host ten schools from the local area for its annual Unified Field Day event on Friday, February 3, 2023. The schools include Cactus Shadows High School, Casteel High School, Chandler High School, Dobson High School, Hamilton High School, Marcos deNiza High School, Mesquite High School, Mountain Pointe High School, Mountain View High School, and Perry High School. In a collaborative effort with Special Olympics Arizona, Seton will host around 350 guests for an inclusive day of activities, food, music, and unity. What started off as a small weekend gathering has become a Friday, all-school event, with more and more guests attending every year.

Current Seton Catholic students and staff organize field games appropriate for guests with disabilities. Such games include, ring toss, water balloon toss, soccer tricks, parachute, and the relay race. The event will also have music, face painting, and food trucks.

This event marks Seton Catholic’s 7th annual Unified Field Day. Seton graduate from the class of 2017, Ms. Sarah Thompson, founded the Seton Buddies Club. “Starting Seton Buddies was an act of love for my sister Mia. Mia has Down Syndrome and has motivated me throughout many aspects of my life. I am proud of the work and the mission this club has carried out over the last several years. At its core, Seton Buddies was built on a foundation of love.”

Seton Catholic faculty and Buddies Club Moderator, Mrs. Nicole Garcia shares, “Seton Buddies, the club that organizes Unified Field Day, is incredibly special to me! Twenty-six students and I spend the year creating this joyous event that brings our community together. On a personal note, our daughter, Mariah, is a sweet 15-year-old with intellectual disabilities. As a guest, she attended our event last year, and it was one of the most memorable events we’ve shared with her! This event is so important because it allows students to work hard for the sake of others and to employ loving kindness for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I am immensely proud of Seton Buddies for their leadership and thankful to have support from Seton Catholic Preparatory and Special Olympics Arizona. Most of all, I feel especially blessed for the response we’ve had from our guests. What a celebration this will be!”

“Our commitment to being prolife calls us to celebrate the inherent dignity of all God’s children, and this is on display at our Unified Field Day. Our students spend countless hours organizing this event and they look forward to welcoming our guests onto our campus,” says Seton principal, Mr. Victor Serna. The Catholic Schools Week theme for 2023, set by the National Catholic Education Association, is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” Serna continues, “Unified Field Day is an event that celebrates our Catholicity and mission of leadership and loving service to others.”

Current Seton Catholic senior student and Seton Buddies president, Katie Thiele, says “Unified Field Day is a very special event in the life of Seton Catholic, allowing us to open our campus and our hearts to students with special needs from across the Valley. It’s a fitting culmination to Catholic Schools Week. Unified Field Day is the perfect platform to practice this year’s charism of love, reflecting the steadfast commitment of our Sentinel community to embracing, valuing, and accepting all God’s children as He made them. I am sincerely grateful to the whole student body for supporting Seton Buddies Club in this collective effort to make this Unified Field Day the best yet. I cannot wait to warmly welcome our guests!”

Seton Catholic Buddies Club shares this link inviting schools to participate in Unified Field Day.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19LFfwQ4kHjbOIstx-XodKNrOrjaHUFGS/view?usp=sharing

Guests plan to arrive around 9:30am and the event concludes at 12:30pm.

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About Seton Catholic Preparatory

A National Blue Ribbon School, Seton Catholic Preparatory is a diocesan, coeducational high school in Chandler, Arizona, open to students of all faiths and dedicated to academic excellence, leadership and loving service to others. For over 65 years, Seton Catholic has served the East Valley of Phoenix as the only Catholic college preparatory high school, serving young men and women from parochial, private, charter, public and home-schooling backgrounds. Seton Catholic graduates earn scholarships to attend an array of selective colleges and universities, including state, private and Ivy League schools as well as service academies. Seton Catholic is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, and the Western Catholic Education Association. www.setoncatholic.org.

About Catholic Schools Week

Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week, which in 2023 is January 29 – February 4. The theme for National Catholic Schools Week 2023 is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” Schools typically observe the annual celebration week with Masses, open houses and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members. Through these events, schools focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation.