Every year, all of the Catholic school principals in the Diocese send a summary of their Celebrate Catholic Schools Week activities to the Office of Catholic Schools. Each member of our team picks a few events to attend so that we can join in the festivities of Catholic Schools Week, which takes place annually during the last week of January.
A former colleague had an uncanny knack for finding and attending all of the events that included food, such as cultural festivals, lunches with grandparents and candy bingo. In my 12 years in the Diocese, I have successfully avoided arriving in a suit to a school celebrating students with a pajama day. One year, I was invited to participate in a free throw contest at an elementary school pep rally, where I thoroughly embarrassed myself by not only missing a dozen foul shots, but airballing about half of them!
A person could reasonably ask what a pep rally, free throw contest, candy bingo, or wearing pajamas to school have to do with Catholic schools. It is true that the rigorous academics and purposeful discipline for which Catholic schools are well-known become relaxed during this week. However, while the fun or silly occasions might stand out the most, when you scratch the surface, Catholic Schools Week truly is a celebration of the values we hold most dear.
Consider this: The most frequent type of events held during Catholic Schools Week in South Jersey’s 29 Catholic schools are religious events. The most common single event across all schools is Mass. Whether opening Mass, alumni Mass, family Mass, Mass with the parish or closing Mass – schools find ways to draw their communities together around the Eucharist. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the Lord finds ways to draw school communities to Him.
Why should this surprise us? Catholic school communities are centered on the person of Jesus Christ, who is present in the Eucharist. It makes sense that the most frequent – and most important – celebration of Catholic Schools Week is our “family meal.”
In addition to Mass, students learn the vocation stories of priests, sisters and deacons. Through panels and presentations, students also learn about the many ways that the laity live their universal call to holiness.
School communities respond to the call to “go forth to love and serve the Lord and one another” during Catholic Schools Week, as well. They make cards and gifts for retired priests and sisters, and those in formation. Older students collect, organize and deliver food to their parish food pantries across South Jersey. Younger students make blessing bags filled with toiletries, socks and other essentials for those in need.
The second most common type of activity during Catholic Schools Week is community and family events. These include intergenerational gatherings such as lunches with students’ grandparents or another influential person in their lives. Activities also include food festivals that celebrate the cultures of our students, teacher appreciation events, and assemblies that invite those such as firefighters or police officers into the school to build community and celebrate the bonds that already exist.
While the relationships that these events celebrate are nurtured all year long, it is important to take time to recognize these bonds together so that they are not taken for granted. After all, behind all of these relationships is a belief that we are created to be in community with one another.
The third most common type of event can be summarized as school spirit – and sometimes just plain fun. Pep rallies, door decorating contests, themed dress down days, school dances with the pastor as DJ, field days and other sporting competitions, and teachers switching classrooms for a period are just some examples. It might be tempting to think about these activities as “fluff,” but if we strive to educate the whole person, shouldn’t we spend some time in leisure? These events help members of the school community to see one another as human beings, made in the image and likeness of God, who exist outside of well-defined roles, such as student or teacher.
Of course, there are academic events during Catholic Schools Week, too, such as quiz bowls, spelling bees and academic-themed assemblies. Indeed, Catholic Schools Week isn’t so much a “break” from learning – though classwork continues, albeit at a slower pace – as it is a reminder that all learning is inspired by the person of Jesus Christ and our call to relationship with Him.
God created this world, and in Catholic schools, students learn about His creation and that they, too, are special creations of God, invited to relationship with Him, and with a destiny to spend eternity with Him. That is the air that students breathe in a Catholic school, and it impacts all that students and teachers do. Catholic Schools Week helps each school community to recognize and continue to build this culture.
That is something worth celebrating. Dr. Bill Watson is superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Camden,
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