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Catholic Schools Week at St. Anne School Celebrating What Catholic Education Is All About
Excitement 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.
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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 of Catholic education in their families’ lives and the unique benefits of St. Anne School.
“It’s whole-child education,” Mrs. Rainier says. “You can go deeper with these kids, because you can bring your faith into everything you do, really looking at the big picture and the tenets of our Catholic faith. It’s so impactful to be able to say to a kid, ‘Let’s look at God’s plan.’”
“[St. Anne’s] brought my family more into the church,” Mrs. Riginos adds. “I’m a cradle Catholic and I’ve learned so much from being principal, from my colleagues and teachers, and the students and the families.”
The administration, faculty, staff, and students of St. Anne School are grateful for the parishioners who so generously support the school — financially, in prayer, and as volunteers. As a ministry of our local parishes, serving students from St. Anne, St. Philip Neri, and several other parishes, they remind parishioners of the impact of their support. One student became Catholic during her senior year in high school, and another is currently in the process of converting.
Both Mrs. Rainier and Mrs. Riginos hope that, through their time at St. Anne’s, their students build a solid foundation of faith that shapes them personally, and guides their impact on the world around them, for years to come.
“I hope they become critical thinkers who see the world through a different lens, through the lens of Christ and who know how to be the face of Christ to other people,” Mrs. Rainier says.
“I hope they have that moral compass to live their faith, and think about others and serving others,” Mrs. Riginos adds. “Our students recognize that they’re part of something special. They recognize the opportunity, they recognize that they’re building a legacy.”
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.
Students participate in a Living Rosary during Catholic Schools Week.
Mrs. Melanie Rainier, Upper School Assistant Principal, hopes that students leave St. Anne School with the ability to think critically and be the face of Christ to others.
