Catholic Schools Week

What is National Catholic Schools Week?

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 2020 is January 26 – February 1. The theme for the National Catholic Schools Week 2020 is “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.” 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.
 

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We all share the responsibility to promote Catholic schools

 Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M.

This past year, five of our Catholic schools in the Diocese of Trenton were awarded the coveted National  Blue Ribbon School recognition by the United States Department of Education.  That is an amazing accomplishment and a source of pride not only for the individual schools themselves –  administrators, faculty, staff, volunteers, parish priests, students and families – but for all of us committed to Catholic education.  Our Catholic schools have been regularly among those singled out for this recognition but to have five in one academic year is truly awesome!

Each year, the Church in our country dedicates the last week of January to Catholic schools and gratefully lifts them up as one of the most prominent means for the transmission of our Catholic faith to the young.  Building upon the foundations established within Catholic families, our Catholic schools partner with them in opening the minds, hearts and souls of the students entrusted to their care to look at the world in a different, fuller, deeper way motivated by our Catholic faith. 

Continue reading Bishop O'Connell's
2019 Message for Catholic Schools Week.

Catholic Schools Students Enjoy a New Paradigm of Learning
JoAnn Tier, Superintendent of Catholic Schools

Young children approach life and school with open minds, eager for adventure and new learning. At what point does that enthusiasm change to passiveness or the disconnection often experienced in classrooms?

As an educator, I was perplexed when I experienced this disengagement with my third-grade son.  Charlie had a propensity to tune out of class periodically. He would look out the window, watch the contrails of a plane and become lost in thought.  My son was a dreamer. The traditional classroom did not appear to hold his interest. How could that creative dreaming be channeled into productive learning?

Continue reading JoAnn Tier's ... A New Paradigm of Learning.
 

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Our Catholic schools need more champions
Rayanne Bennett, Associate Publisher, The Monitor

As Catholics around the nation are invited to celebrate Catholic Schools Week, much is said and written about why these schools are important, and the many positive ways that they impact their students, the Catholic community overall and even the society at large. 

As it does every year at this time, The Monitor salutes Catholic schools and all that they accomplish in support of their unique mission to prepare students academically, while they pass on the faith to the next generation. This year is no different, and the special center section of this issue of The Monitor offers a collection of comprehensive and detailed articles, along with several compelling messages about the value of Catholic schools.