CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK: A Celebration of Education Built on Faith, Excellence and Service

In schools across the country, the holidays have wound down and the midwinter doldrums have settled in as students finish out the end of January. But for our Catholic school students, there is an energy filling the halls as they have something special to look forward to. Beginning on the last Sunday of January, Catholic Schools Week has its kickoff celebrating the wonderful education offered by our Catholic schools across the United States. Catholic Schools Week has been celebrated nationally for 49 years, and this year’s celebration takes place with the theme “Faith. Excellence. Service.”

The celebrations will kick off on Sunday, Jan. 29, as students fill the liturgical roles at that weekend’s Masses as servers, greeters, lectors, and gift bearers. Additional festivities include our traditional Pancake Breakfast hosted by the St. Peter’s School after each of the Masses. Students are encouraged to wear their Spirit Day T-shirts to Mass so parishioners can recognize how many of the children in our parish are students at our parochial school.

“We are excited that we can bring back our annual St. Peter’s Pancake Breakfast,” says Principal Cindy Venvertloh. “There is a real entertainment factor as the servers will throw the pancakes — we get some good challenges going to see how far they can throw them. It’s really fun and really exciting.”

Each day of the week includes exciting activities for the students and unique dress-up days.

“We just have a fun week taking the opportunity to celebrate our identity as a Catholic school — to celebrate what sets us apart from our public school friends,” Mrs. Venvertloh says. “We are celebrating the beauty of what we offer to our students. By incorporating our Catholic faith into our education, we provide our students with a well-rounded education that also develops them in their faith and virtue.”

With the implementation of the house system for students, several of the Catholic Schools Week activities will take part within the students’ houses. Each house is named with a saint as their patron and they each have a color as well. On one of the days, students will dress up in their house colors and take part in different activities.

“It allows the older students to assist the younger students,” Mrs. Venvertloh says. “The relationships that the kids develop within their houses is a unique benefit to our house system.”

Students also participate in a service project throughout the week. The Soup-er Bowl of Caring is a weeklong competition between the classes to bring in food to restock the food pantries of Quincy.

“They take pride watching the stacks of food increase in the annex,” Mrs. Venvertloh says. “Each classroom keeps count and at the end of the week, we see who brings in the most food.”

Service is an important part of our Catholic schools’ identity. This competition encourages the kids to continue to think of others even in their celebration and excitement.

“Catholic Schools Week is a week that the students look forward to,” Mrs. Venvertloh says. “It is just a fun opportunity to celebrate being a Catholic school and provide the students with different dress-up days and activities that they just really get excited about. We are proud of our Catholic school and it’s great to celebrate it.”

To learn more about upcoming Catholic Schools Week activities, or for more information about St. Peter School, please visit the school’s website at www.stpeterschool.com.