The Catholic Sun
CSW 2010-VARIOUS SCHOOLS-4
Faith-filled learning environment leads to greater academic success, service to community, say supporters
By Ambria Hammel | Feb. 16, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
Catholic education doesn’t just help a student now. The full dividends play out over a lifetime.
That was the overarching theme students throughout the diocese celebratedduring Catholic Schools Week Jan. 31-Feb. 6. Students organized special activities, projects and dress-up days to honor the vital role a Catholic education plays.
“There’s more focus on God and religion, not just academics. I like that,” John Paul McCann, a fifth-grader at Blessed Pope John XXIII, said about his Catholic school experience. “I think it’d be good to have more people learn about God.”
Fr. Dan McBride, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Chandler and a St. Jerome School alumnus, concelebrated a special Mass at his alma mater Feb. 4. Six other priests, active and retired, joined him.
“When we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we celebrate our identity not just as students in a private school. We celebrate our Catholic identity. We know that to learn and to grow in faith are part and parcel; they go together,” Fr. McBride said.
Fr. McBride recalled his daily outlook at St. Jerome: “I was going to learn something I didn’t know and I was expected to do things I didn’t know I could do.”
Other Catholic school alumni visited various campuses throughout the diocese touting the dividends Catholic school provided.
“Catholic education taught me that it’s OK to ask questions and open doors and explore options,” said Vickie Jennett, communications coordinator for St. Timothy Parish in Mesa. She shared her testimony with seventh- and eighth-graders at the parish school Feb. 2.
Jennett — who has worked for a university, several newspapers and now the Church — spent 15 years in Catholic school and still appreciates its focus on faith, the family and discipline.
“I cannot tell you how important my vocation of wife and mother is to me,” said Jennett, whose children are both in their mid-to-late 20s.
Deacons, priests and sisters at various campuses shared their vocation stories with students too. Deacon Dick Petersen also spoke at St. Timothy School.
The Catholic school alum has spent more than one-third of his life in Catholic education — including medical school. He told students that, among other benefits, the prayer life fostered at Catholic schools gives students an advantage in life.
Today’s Catholic high school students already appreciate the strict discipline. Bourgade senior Michael Weikamp is among them. He has grown up in Catholic education and is grateful for so many life lessons.
Weikamp already plans to finance a Catholic education for his future family.
Adelyne Gomez, a seventh-grader at St. Louis the King School in Glendale, also finds value in her Catholic education.
“I know what’s right and what’s not right. I know that if I’m ever in trouble, I can pray to God and He’ll help me,” she said.
Parents of the diocese’s youngest students don’t take that for granted either. They repeatedly named prayer and faith on their list of the top 10 reasons to choose a Catholic education at Our Lady of Joy in Carefree. They unveiled the top 10 list in the parish bulletin during Catholic Schools Week.
Some schools celebrated the week with breakfasts, lunches and spirit rallies saluting public servants and civic leaders.
Fr. Patrick Mowrer, pastor of San Francisco de Asís School in Flagstaff, blessed and recognized a 2005 alumnus during a student Mass Feb. 3. Vincent Johnson, who said his school experience gave him purpose, is joining the Navy next week.
Community service
Other students saw Catholic Schools Week as a chance to do a community service project of their own.
High school students made rosaries, collected toiletry items for André House and organized a blood drive. Students at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler raised $5,000 for St. Vincent de Paul.
Elementary school students held benefit drives for Maggie’s Place, servicemen and women and the Department of Public Safety. Several collected food for neighborhood outreach ministries.
The St. Vincent de Paul chapter at St. Benedict Parish in Phoenix benefited from the “Cans Across Campus” project at St. John Bosco Interparish School. Students donated canned goods, toiletries and other non-perishables. Some 550 of them paraded items across campus to the parish food closet.
The student council also brought wagons heaped with donations for eighth-graders to sort and stock.
Students at Annunciation Catholic School in Cave Creek donated money to the Poor Clare Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Black Canyon City by paying to be “out of uniform” by sporting a hat.
Some of the sisters gave a vocations talk to the students Feb. 5. They gave a similar talk in several classrooms at Blessed Pope John XXIII School in Scottsdale earlier that week. They discussed their habits, hobbies and vows.
Priests throughout the diocese also shared their vocation stories with students at several campuses. A couple of priests said that simply praying, talking to priests and having good priest role models helped foster their vocations.
For Fr. Pat Robinson, that included a recap of his time at seminary. He addressed kindergarteners Feb. 2 at Blessed Pope John XXIII School. Wanting to expand their vocabulary, the teacher encouraged the boys and girls to put the word “vocations” in their head.
“I’m going to superglue it!” one young boy shouted.
--
Catherine E. Hanley in Flagstaff and Andrew Junker and J.D. Long-García in Phoenix contributed to this story.
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2132 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2010 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.
CSW 2010-VARIOUS SCHOOLS-4
Faith-filled learning environment leads to greater academic success, service to community, say supporters
By Ambria Hammel | Feb. 16, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
Catholic education doesn’t just help a student now. The full dividends play out over a lifetime.
That was the overarching theme students throughout the diocese celebratedduring Catholic Schools Week Jan. 31-Feb. 6. Students organized special activities, projects and dress-up days to honor the vital role a Catholic education plays.
“There’s more focus on God and religion, not just academics. I like that,” John Paul McCann, a fifth-grader at Blessed Pope John XXIII, said about his Catholic school experience. “I think it’d be good to have more people learn about God.”
Fr. Dan McBride, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Chandler and a St. Jerome School alumnus, concelebrated a special Mass at his alma mater Feb. 4. Six other priests, active and retired, joined him.
“When we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we celebrate our identity not just as students in a private school. We celebrate our Catholic identity. We know that to learn and to grow in faith are part and parcel; they go together,” Fr. McBride said.
Fr. McBride recalled his daily outlook at St. Jerome: “I was going to learn something I didn’t know and I was expected to do things I didn’t know I could do.”
Other Catholic school alumni visited various campuses throughout the diocese touting the dividends Catholic school provided.
“Catholic education taught me that it’s OK to ask questions and open doors and explore options,” said Vickie Jennett, communications coordinator for St. Timothy Parish in Mesa. She shared her testimony with seventh- and eighth-graders at the parish school Feb. 2.
Jennett — who has worked for a university, several newspapers and now the Church — spent 15 years in Catholic school and still appreciates its focus on faith, the family and discipline.
“I cannot tell you how important my vocation of wife and mother is to me,” said Jennett, whose children are both in their mid-to-late 20s.
Deacons, priests and sisters at various campuses shared their vocation stories with students too. Deacon Dick Petersen also spoke at St. Timothy School.
The Catholic school alum has spent more than one-third of his life in Catholic education — including medical school. He told students that, among other benefits, the prayer life fostered at Catholic schools gives students an advantage in life.
Today’s Catholic high school students already appreciate the strict discipline. Bourgade senior Michael Weikamp is among them. He has grown up in Catholic education and is grateful for so many life lessons.
Weikamp already plans to finance a Catholic education for his future family.
Adelyne Gomez, a seventh-grader at St. Louis the King School in Glendale, also finds value in her Catholic education.
“I know what’s right and what’s not right. I know that if I’m ever in trouble, I can pray to God and He’ll help me,” she said.
Parents of the diocese’s youngest students don’t take that for granted either. They repeatedly named prayer and faith on their list of the top 10 reasons to choose a Catholic education at Our Lady of Joy in Carefree. They unveiled the top 10 list in the parish bulletin during Catholic Schools Week.
Some schools celebrated the week with breakfasts, lunches and spirit rallies saluting public servants and civic leaders.
Fr. Patrick Mowrer, pastor of San Francisco de Asís School in Flagstaff, blessed and recognized a 2005 alumnus during a student Mass Feb. 3. Vincent Johnson, who said his school experience gave him purpose, is joining the Navy next week.
Community service
Other students saw Catholic Schools Week as a chance to do a community service project of their own.
High school students made rosaries, collected toiletry items for André House and organized a blood drive. Students at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler raised $5,000 for St. Vincent de Paul.
Elementary school students held benefit drives for Maggie’s Place, servicemen and women and the Department of Public Safety. Several collected food for neighborhood outreach ministries.
The St. Vincent de Paul chapter at St. Benedict Parish in Phoenix benefited from the “Cans Across Campus” project at St. John Bosco Interparish School. Students donated canned goods, toiletries and other non-perishables. Some 550 of them paraded items across campus to the parish food closet.
The student council also brought wagons heaped with donations for eighth-graders to sort and stock.
Students at Annunciation Catholic School in Cave Creek donated money to the Poor Clare Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Black Canyon City by paying to be “out of uniform” by sporting a hat.
Some of the sisters gave a vocations talk to the students Feb. 5. They gave a similar talk in several classrooms at Blessed Pope John XXIII School in Scottsdale earlier that week. They discussed their habits, hobbies and vows.
Priests throughout the diocese also shared their vocation stories with students at several campuses. A couple of priests said that simply praying, talking to priests and having good priest role models helped foster their vocations.
For Fr. Pat Robinson, that included a recap of his time at seminary. He addressed kindergarteners Feb. 2 at Blessed Pope John XXIII School. Wanting to expand their vocabulary, the teacher encouraged the boys and girls to put the word “vocations” in their head.
“I’m going to superglue it!” one young boy shouted.
--
Catherine E. Hanley in Flagstaff and Andrew Junker and J.D. Long-García in Phoenix contributed to this story.
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2132 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2010 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.