January 19, 2016 – More than 19,000 students and 1,500 faculty and staff at 49 Catholic elementary and secondary schools will celebrate National Catholic Schools Week from January 24-30, 2016. The theme for this year’s Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.”
Festivities for the week include the annual liturgy at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 26, at Saint Agnes Parish, 1920 Newburg Road, Louisville. Student and faculty representatives from Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Louisville will attend this liturgy, which will be celebrated by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.
At the liturgy, awards will be given, including the Distinguished Elementary Principal (Fred Klausing, St. Bernard School), Outstanding Religious Educator (Thomas Malewitz, St. Xavier High School), and Outstanding School Volunteer (Carole Moch Baines, Presentation Academy). The Father Joseph McGee Award recipient (Kathleen Willenbrink, St. Leonard School) also will be recognized. This award is presented each year at the Salute to Catholic School Alumni dinner, which will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2016.
In addition to these awards, the Catholic Education Foundation will be presenting its poster and essay-writing contest awards to elementary students for winning posters and a high school student for a winning essay. The poster and essay contests invite students to celebrate Catholic schools and the ways in which Catholic schools are “Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.”
The 49 Catholic elementary and secondary schools are located in seven counties in the Archdiocese of Louisville. All schools will schedule special activities throughout the week. The following page includes a few examples of these activities.
St. Nicholas Academy Holds Variety of Community Events
With an emphasis on STREAM education (Science, Technology, Religion, the Arts, and Math), St. Nicholas Academy (5501 New Cut Road, Louisville, Ky.) will be holding a series of in-school field trips that expose students to wonderful programs in the community. The line-up includes:
Monday, January 25
Louisville Zoo Outreach 9-10:30 a.m. Grades PreK and K
Bluegrass Music and Cloggers 1-2:15 p.m. Grades 3 and 6
Tuesday, January 26
Louisville Zoo Outreach 9-10:30 a.m. Grades 1 and 2
KY Shakespeare We the People 1-2:15 p.m. Grades 5 and 8
Wednesday, January 27
Rauch Planetarium 8:15 a.m.-2:15 p.m. Grades PreK-8
Open House and Registration 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. All Grades
Thursday, January 28
Stage One: And Then They Came
For Me 1-2:15 p.m. Grades 4-8
Author: Gail Nall (SHA alum) 9-11:15 a.m. Grades 4, 5, 6
Friday, January 29
School Mass (in Vietnamese &
English) 8:15 a.m. All grades
Frazier Museum (Brother Against
Brother) 1 p.m. Grades 4 and 7
CONTACT: Kathy DeLozier, 502/368-8506
Holy Trinity School Holds Crazy Hat and Sock Days and 8th Grade versus Faculty Volleyball Game
On Monday and Tuesday, January 25-26, Holy Trinity School (423 Cherrywood Road, Louisville, Ky.) will allow students to wear crazy hats, socks, and hair to school to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. On Wednesday, January 27 at 1:00 p.m., the 8th graders will compete against faculty and staff in the annual volleyball game. This will be held in the school gym.
CONTACT: Ashley Davenport, 502/565-9127
St. Leonard Students Hold Performance Geared to the Virtue of Compassion
On Friday, January 29 at 2 p.m. St. Leonard School (440 Zorn Avenue, Louisville, Ky.) students will perform a routine utilizing a song about compassion, which is the school’s year-long theme. Several groups of students will perform as members of the school’s “house” system, and the winning group will have the privilege of designating an organization that will benefit from a future school-wide service activity. These routines will be performed in the school’s gym.
CONTACT: Laura Emly, 502/897-5265
St. James School, Elizabethtown, Holds Mass and Fajita Dinner with Pastor
Saint James Catholic Church is kicking off Catholic Schools Week by inviting parishioners, students and school parents to join in celebrating Sunday Mass at St. James School (401 Robinbrooke Boulevard, Elizabethtown, Ky.) on Sunday, January 24 at 11 a.m. The Mass serving as the kick-off for the week will be followed by a reception and school open house during which Saint James will welcome the visiting Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia. These Dominican Sisters will be leading and staffing the school, beginning with the 2016-17 school year. Sister Marie Hannah Seiler, OP, Sister Maria Clemen Wolf, O.P. and Sister Augusta Nickel, O.P. will be in attendance to meet parishioners. On Thursday, January 28 at 6 p.m., interested families also are invited to a Fajita Dinner with pastor Fr. Martin Linebach, who will share information about the future growth of the school.
CONTACT: Jennifer Moran, 270/765-6268, ext. 247
St. Rita School Mass and St. Vincent De Paul Presentation
Students at St. Rita School (8709 Preston Highway) will be thanking the parish at the Sunday, January 24, 11 a.m. Mass. Student writings will be in the bulletin, and students will serve in various roles throughout the Mass. On Tuesday, January 26 at 1 p.m., Donna Young, Director of Volunteers and Conference Affairs for St. Vincent de Paul, will speak to 4th through 8th graders about the importance of service and how the service of St. Rita School students throughout the year has benefitted St. Vincent de Paul. Every school-wide service project this year is involved with this agency.
CONTACT: Angela Simmons, 502/969-7067
St. Joseph School, Bardstown Nutty Scientist Program and Faculty versus 8th Grade Volleyball
On Thursday, January 28, at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. PK-2nd grade students of St. Joseph School (320 West Stephen Foster Blvd., Bardstown, Ky.) will participate in the “Nutty Scientist” program. This features program fun, hands-on, spectacular interactive activities led by the Nutty Scientists of Northern Kentucky staff. On Friday, January 29, at 1:00 p.m. the 8th graders will play the faculty in the annual volleyball contest. This will be held in the gym.
CONTACT: Michelle Ball, 502/348-5994
For further information please contact Cecelia Price at 585-3291 or 417-7187 (cell).
