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Schools balance year’s triumphs with tragedies Texas school shooting casts dreadful shadow over accomplishments By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@appenmedia.com
JAKE DRUKMAN/APPEN MEDIA
Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer leads Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church’s 50th anniversary celebration June 4.
St. Thomas Aquinas marks 50 years By JAKE DRUKMAN jake@appenmedia.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. — St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church celebrated its 50th anniversary June 4 and 5 with a small festival on church grounds on Rucker Road. The main event took place Satur-
day afternoon into the evening, with children and families enjoying bounce houses, face painting, a soccer tournament and a donut eating contest while the church’s choirs sang songs of prayer. The activities were followed by a large mass delivered in English and Spanish within one of the parking lots. Atlanta Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer
led Saturday’s prayer. “We call upon the Holy Spirit, as the early Christians did, to continue to guide the leadership of the church and the growth of the church and the direction of the church,” Hartmayer said during the Mass.
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See CHURCH, Page 12
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ATLANTA —The school year ended in late May as students and families celebrated their achievements against the backdrop of a national tragedy. During the same week Fulton County Schools seniors were participating in their first “normal” graduation since the COVID-19 pandemic, the town of Uvalde, Texas, was mourning the loss of 19 elementary students and two teachers killed by a shooter who entered the school. Fulton County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney urged the community to come together to support all students and staff. “As we close the school year and head into summer with the complex emotions this tragedy will create, please remember to reach out to each other to provide support and care,” Looney said in a statement released after the May 24 event.
See SCHOOLS, Page 21