Catholic Schools Week (CSW) is a nationwide celebration of Catholic education. This year, the theme was “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community” and took place from January 28 to February 3.
Director of Mission and Ministry Deacon Ken Goedeke said, “While governed by an independent Board of Trustees, our school is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church and operates in communion with the ministry of the Archbishop of Baltimore. Our Catholic identity should influence and inform everything that we do as a school.”
“While being welcoming and inclusive of all people, our approach to educating the young people entrusted to our care is a shared mission among all Catholic schools worldwide. At the core of this approach is the understanding that every person is created in the image and likeness of God and has inherent dignity and worth,” he continued.
To kick off the celebration, John Carroll encouraged students to attend Sunday Mass at their local parishes. Then, students could share their photos from the event using #CSW2024 in their posts.
Each day of CSW followed a theme, which helped to guide events and activities.
Monday’s focus was “Celebrating Vocations.” The sophomore class attended the annual Vocation Awareness trip. On this trip, the girls visited the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen while the boys visited St. Mary’s Seminary to learn about the lives of religious women and men.
At JC, students wrote letters of thanks to priests, deacons, and religious sisters and brothers from local parishes.
The theme for Tuesday was “Celebrating Your Community.”
“Celebrating the Nation” was the theme on Wednesday. In addition to the FCA’s morning prayer, the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament was held in the Chapel during the lunch mods to ask for prayers for the nation.
A school-wide Mass was held on Thursday for “Celebrating Faculty, Staff, and Volunteers.” At the end of Mass, English Teacher and alum Shannon Olsen ‘13 gave a speech about her experience in Catholic schools.
Sophomores also received their class pins that evening.
On Friday, the theme was “Celebrating Students.” To end the week, teachers received thanks and a gift from the Campus Ministry team while students cheered them on.
Sophomore Colleen Bauer said that Catholic Schools Week “fosters a sense of community, emphasizing the development of students in a faith-based environment, which has had a huge impact on my personal, academic, and spiritual growth.”
Deacon Goedeke added, “My hope is that through our celebration of Catholic Schools Week, our Patriot community can both celebrate and grow stronger in our Catholic identity.”