Last month, our 15 Independence Mission Schools took part in Catholic Schools Week, the national celebration of Catholic schools. Here are what our schools did to celebrate the daily themes of parish, community, students, vocations, teachers and families. A big thanks to everyone who helped make #CSW20 great!
PARISH: Many of our schools held special Masses and prayer services throughout the week. St. Rose of Lima (pictured) celebrated their parish with an opening CSW Mass in which classroom Crucifixes from Nigeria (purchased by the parish) were blessed. St. Thomas Aquinas opened their doors for parishioners to tour the school.
COMMUNITY: St. Martin of Tours (pictured) held a Community Helpers Day and St. Martin de Porres students wrote thank you letters to important members of the community. Holy Cross students made thank you cards for our troops and St. Barnabas students collected items to make Hygiene Kits to be distributed to the homeless.
STUDENTS: St. Cyril of Alexandria showcased their students in a special CSW show and St. Raymond of Penafort students (pictured) showed off their smarts and skills in the CSW Spelling & Religion Bees and CSW Olympics. Many schools also held dress down days and dance parties to celebrate our students!
VOCATIONS: The DePaul Catholic School and St. Thomas Aquinas (pictured) celebrated vocations by inviting Seminarians and/or priests to visit and discuss their call to religious vocation with students. St. Gabriel students wrote letters of thanks to religious leaders in their local parishes.
FACULTY & STAFF: A couple of lucky St. Helena-Incarnation students (pictured) got to see what it was like to be Principal for the day and the students of St. Frances Cabrini told us why they love their teachers and school leaders by creating this video! OMSSI had fun showing off their sports”person”ship with a faculty/student/parent basketball game.
FAMILIES: St. Malachy provided coffee and donuts to parents at drop off and held a morning prayer service, while St. Veronica (pictured) hosted a lunch to show appreciation for our parents! Many of our schools also had students made thank you cards or gifts for their parents.