St. Dominic School Gears Up For Catholic Schools Week

The last week in January is always an exciting and activity-filled time for Catholic schools across the country, as they celebrate the annual Catholic Schools Week. Our St. Dominic School staff, faculty, students and parents will be celebrating Catholic Schools Week 2021 during the week beginning Jan. 31.

As with most things during this past year, this year’s Catholic Schools Week will look a bit different with the COVID-19 precautions in place. But even with these changes, Principal Mrs. Carol Frericks looks forward to celebrating the gift of Catholic education with the entire school.

Back in September, staff members were looking for a way to safely celebrate the Back to School Bash. So, they took Mass outdoors — everything was moved outside and the altar was placed under the school overhang. This same format for the ever-popular Grandparents’ Day.

“We had grandparents who hadn’t been in a church since March, so for some, this was their first time receiving the Eucharist since then,” Mrs. Frericks says. “It was beautiful and a really nice event.”

Mrs. Frericks says the school will replicate this for the parent Mass on Wednesday of Catholic Schools Week, which is a staple of the annual celebration at St. Dominic.

This year’s theme for the school is “Holy Heroes — the Catholic Saints.” This will also be incorporated into our Catholic Schools Week celebrations. The week will follow the same format as last year, with some modifications.

Monday is a celebration of community. Tuesday is a celebration of students. On Wednesday, the staff, teachers and students celebrate the nation and parent appreciation. Thursday is reserved for vocations, and on Friday, students celebrate teachers and staff.

Mrs. Frericks can’t wait to celebrate Catholic Schools Week with all the students, teachers and staff — in particular, she looks forward to celebrating “holy moments,” the special moments that the students, teachers and staff focus on all year.

Mrs. Frericks says the students can always spot “holy moments” in their daily interactions. She shares a story from the first week of Advent when the focus was “hope.” During a time when the students and teachers were distance learning, one of the students was in the Learning Lab at school. The students were making cards for homebound parishioners and nursing home residents. The student said, “This will give them hope and help them know they are loved by us. We all experience love in the most beautiful way at the end of Advent when we meet the baby Jesus in the manger.”

“She learned that hope leads to love,” Mrs. Frericks says. “That realization was a ‘holy moment’ for her.”

Now, thanks to the hard work of the Marketing and Enrollment Committee and Katie Klauser, there is even more excitement happening at the school, with a new app having been launched in December. The app has a live-feed function that will likely be used for events during Catholic Schools Week, and it also includes the lunch menu.

“This will allow closer communication with school parents through social media and text messaging, as well as traditional email,” Katie says.

Katie and her husband, Scott, feel fortunate to have a school like St. Dominic for their children, Ellie and Ava.

“If I had to write a list of all the things I love about St. Dominic’s, my list would be unbelievably long!” she says. “So, in a nutshell, I love how everyone at St. Dominic School fits together like one, big, happy family, and our amazing faculty and staff go above and beyond to provide academic excellence and care to our kids in a faithful learning environment. It’s such a happy and holy environment that we are so thankful to be a part of.”

If you would like more information onSt. Dominic School or our upcoming CatholicSchools Week celebrations, please callthe school office at 217-224-0041.

Students gather by the Holy Heroes for Divine Mercy display.

Muffins with Mom was held on the front lawn.