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Catholic Schools Wee Celebrating What Cathol E
xcitement is building, as the countdown begins to one of the most anticipated events of the New Year — Catholic Schools Week. And while our festivities may look a bit different this year, nothing will stop us from recognizing and celebrating the gift of Catholic education, especially here at St. Anne School. This year, Catholic Schools Week takes place the week of Jan. 31. “One of the things we try to do at St. Anne is to not make it just a fun spirit week — it’s fun and we celebrate all the great stuff we do, but we try to bring out what Catholic education is all about,” says St. Anne’s Principal, Mrs. Shaileen Riginos, who is primarily based at the elementary school campus, at St. Anne Parish. This year, the Catholic Schools Week celebrations will include an essay contest, themed “Proclaim the Good News that Christ is Alive.” An annual tradition, these essays often reveal the impact of Catholic education, not only on the students but on their families as well. “One of the things we talk to the kids about is how blessed they are to be able to come to St. Anne to be a part of a Catholic school and receive a Catholic education,” Mrs. Riginos says. “Seeing their joy and the things they’ve learned and how it’s benefited them, on paper, it’s really proclaiming how wonderful Catholic
schools are. The words that they’ll put down on paper are amazing. “A lot of times the children will write, not only about what Catholic schools have done for them, but what Catholic schools have done for their family,” she adds. “They’ll say, ‘It brought my whole family back to church.’” St. Anne Upper School, which is located on our campus at St. Philip Neri, uses Catholic Schools Week as an opportunity to empower students in sharing their gifts through short, informational TED Talks, speaking on topics they are passionate about, during lunch. “It helps them to develop what they’re passionate about,” says Mrs. Melanie Rainier, Upper School Assistant Principal. “And that will help them get involved in the social justice ministry in our parish, or find an internship, or maybe it’s a career path.” Giving back to the community is also a focus of Catholic Schools Week at the upper school level. Although this year’s project has yet to be determined, the students work hard to find an area in which they want to have an impact, and find ways to make a positive difference through service. For both Mrs. Riginos and Mrs. Rainier, their own children were students at St. Anne’s before they began working at the school, so they know firsthand the value
The St. Anne Upper School is located on our campus at St. Philip Neri.
Our third-grade students lead the Living Rosary for Catholic Schools Week.
