Catholic Schools Week is a National celebration sponsored by the NCEA (National Catholic Education Association) that runs the last week of January every year. This week Catholic schools across the United States take time to consider the gift of Catholic education. We spend time being grateful for our families and parish, who support and believe in Catholic education. Our church leaders who have devoted their lives to the Church. Our community for constantly serving others. Our staff, teachers, and volunteers who have answered the call to Catholic education and work tirelessly for its sake. Last, but not least....our students. The students who are learning how to listen to God, follow Jesus, and grow into compassionate and competent adults.
Each year we follow the NCEA's theme, which for 2018/2019 was LEARN-SERVE-LEAD-SUCCEED. We also hold our new student open house at the beginning of Catholic Schools Week so it is a great time to show off our school. This year our school-wide hallway display were rockets with the phrase "Catholic Schools Make Every Mission Possible." Each student in the entire school made one to hang and then added his/her self portrait. The students love looking for their project among the huge group!We asked for each FAMILY to provide a 4x6 family picture to create a one of a kind family appreciation bulletin board. I could barely get the pictures up and kids were already enthralled by this!!
A small token of appreciation the students do for our parishioners is thank you notes/letters on the CSW logo. We print two per page and make enough in our homerooms for our 1,000 bulletins!
Throughout the week we complete various writing projects. We include thank you letters to our families and staff, as well as some that focus on our school and all the things that make it amazing! Click either one of these pictures for a FREE set of Catholic Schools Week activities!
Also, check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store to access these FREE Catholic Schools Week writing templates! It includes a variety of sheets that can be folded into cards, given to parents, handed out to staff members, or even kept as keepsakes!
Our entire school participated in a service project to say thank-you to the unsung heroes in our community. These treat bags (over 250!!) were given to various civic organizations that work endlessly for the less fortunate and those who are struggling emotionally, financially, and physically.
Our volunteers received these adorable key chains and pens! Both of these items were purchased off of Oriental Trading. Teachers were also celebrated this week and enjoyed a morning drink stop from Sonic that was anonymously donated. The PTO also sponsored a special meal for the teachers too! Even our PSR program leader jumped in to help us celebrate teachers with a yummy drink and treat for each of us!
The students had a fun week spending time interacting with each other, their families, and doing fun activities focused on Catholic education. The students participated in Orange You Glad to be at a Catholic School? by wearing their orange gear! The students also got a day to dress as their future careers after hearing from school alumni and their current careers!
One of the favorite ways to really make this week special is an invite to the families to attend a "Family Picnic" with their child! We assigned two grade levels each day at their regular lunch time. We made sure the grade levels had some time between their lunches to allow for an easy flow of family members in and out of the building. This requires basically no prep from teachers except sending home an invitation to families!
