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Area Schools Plan Events For Catholic Schools Week
By Carol Arnett
Catholic schools throughout North County will be celebrating Catholic Schools Week Jan. 31 to Feb. 6. The week will mean special activities and events for each school.
At St. Norbert School, students will have a flag ceremony, talent show, and a vocation presentation. In addition, representatives from Purina Farms will be bringing animals to the school for a visit. The school also holds a traditional volleyball game in which the two eighth-grade homerooms compete.
Another highlight, said Principal Pam Gilbert, will be a visit from the Cameo Club, a group of senior woman dancers. “We had them before, and the students really enjoyed it,” Gilbert said.
“The religious aspect, the values that permeate all curricular areas, make Catholic schools special,” said Gilbert. The theme for Catholic Schools Week this year is “Dividends for Life,” and Gilbert said her students are learning lessons that they will use as they go through life, such as faith knowledge, morals, and discipline.
At St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, Principal Ken Morr said the school has planned activities that involve the community and the students’ families.
The school will have student appreciation day, faculty appreciation day, and volunteer appreciation day. The students will be making Valentines for the residents of St. Catherine apartments. “They’re our neighbors and we share activities with them throughout the year,” Morr said.
In addition, each student’s family will work on a project. Each family will make a bank note that represents their family and they will be hung in the school.
“We have solid values and morals that we work with day to day,” Morr said. “Our kids feel a sense of community. They feel safe here; they can be who they are.”
Morr said a program that runs throughout the year that has been very successful with students is a recognition program in which students receive keys when adults see them exhibiting good character. “They are recognized for doing well,” Morr said.
At Sacred Heart, students will have a talent show. The school also invites families to come to mass on Wednesday and sit with their child, and then visit the classrooms.
To kick off the week, the school will hold an open house on Sunday, January 31, that will include science activities in the gym.
“Our kids are supported in a community of faith,” said Principal Lois Vollmer. “We have so many people in the parish praying for us.” In addition to prayer, Vollmer said parishioners help by volunteering at the school and at special events that support the school. Vollmer noted that many of these parishioners do not have children in the school.
“The kids see people doing things for them every day,” Vollmer said. “They have such good models of faith.”
Trinity High School will host over 500 elementary school children from local Catholic Schools for a production of Beauty and the Beast, put on by the Trinity Alumni Players, said Advancement Director Dan Grummich.
Trinity’s motto is “where everyone makes a difference,” and Grummich said the school lives the motto every day. “Kids can find their niche here,” he said. Because of its smaller size, the school has a family feel.”
