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Catholic schools in the Diocese of Charlotte will celebrate the 38th annual Catholic Schools Week Jan. 29-Feb. 5. This national celebration is co-sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

This year's CSW theme is "Catholic Schools – Faith. Academics. Service" which focuses on three priorities Catholic schools establish to make them stand out from other educational institutions. Children are taught faith – not just the basics of Christianity, but how to have a relationship with God. Academics, which in Catholic schools are held to very high standards, help each child reach his or her potential. Service, the giving of one's time and effort to help others, is taught both as an expression of faith and good citizenship.

Pictured: St. Leo School students pose for an all-school photo. Provided by Donna Birkel.

St. Leo celebrates students 

On Tuesday of Catholic Schools Week, St. Leo celebrated their students.

• They had an out of uniform day where they could wear jeans and the jersey of their favorite sports team.

• Several times throughout the day, music was played over the loud speaker and the children got up and danced to exercise and be healthy

• In the afternoon we had a Quiz Bowl with the Green team and White team. Each comprised of a representative from grades 4-8. Special questions were asked of 1-3 graders as bonus questions. Students sat with their prayer partners and wore green or white beads to support their team.

• The day ended with a Pizza Dinner provided by one of our families, Mario's Pizza; visits to the classrooms to view classwork on display and visit the teachers; Bingo where the BIG prizes were out of uniform days and No Homework Passes.

On Jan. 30, Sr. Larretta Rivera-Willams, coordinator of volunteers at Catholic Social Services of Winston-Salem, came to speak to at St. Leo during Catholic Schools Week. Students collect food each week for their food pantry and offer up a basketful at our school Mass offertory.

Pictured with Sr. Larretta is Principal Georgette Schraeder; Student Council President Chloe Wall; Student Council Vice-President Rebecca Lassiter and Student Council Chaplain Olivia Mangus.

— Provided by Donna Birkel

St. Mark highlights students' service

HUNTERSVILLE– This year's Catholic Schools Week celebration at St. Mark will pay special homage to the service work done by the school students.

St. Mark School third graders donate more than 200 coats for children and adults in the Charlotte area. The coat drive is one of the many service initiatives at the school highlighted during Catholic Schools Week 2012. Provided by Amy BurgerFrom kindergarten through 8th grade, each grade has or will focus on at least one major service project for the year. With multiple service projects taking place, students at all grade levels are constantly donating food, money, time and other items to help those in need. Service projects by grade are:

Kindergarten and 8th Grades: Collected, organized and sold more than 25 boxes of books during the St. Mark Christmas Bazaar. They raised nearly $350 and donated left over books to the Torrence Creek Elementary School technology fundraiser.

1st Grade Angle Tree: First grade classes adopted a family from the St. Mark Catholic Church Angel Tree. First graders earned "Chores for Change" to learn about sharing and to raise money.

2nd Grade Christmas Card Project: Students created and sent cards of encouragement to those in need of support during the Christmas holiday.

3rd Grade Coat Drive: Students collected more than 200 new and gently worn coats for children and adults in the Charlotte area.

4th Grade Corporal Acts of Mercy: Students worked on a huge initiative to collect and distribute food and clothing to area charities.

5th Grade Advent Service Project and Coins for Cameroon: In honor of St. Lucy, students collected new and used eye glasses. They also collected money to donate to the needy in the African nation of Cameroon.

6^th Grade Room at the Inn: Students collected and donated personal care items to give to the residents of Room at the Inn, a shelter for single, homeless pregnant women.

7th Grade Shad's Landing History Project: Students will visit residents of Shad's Landing, a Charlotte senior community center, where they will provide residents with companionship and interview them about their lives. This gives the residents an opportunity to tell their stories and share their memories with the students.

8th Grade 30 Hour Famine: Students will participate in this global initiative to raise money to fight hunger and poverty.

Kids Walk to Cure Diabetes: All-school event to raise money to donate to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Seminarian Collection: All-school collections to create and mail care packages to seminarians from the Diocese of Charlotte who are studying throughout the United States.

Dress Down for $1: On the first Friday of every month, for $1, students can wear regular street clothes rather than the school uniform. All monies collected are donated to a different charity each month.

In addition to learning how to help others, the students will be treated to an action-packed week of events at St. Mark Catholic School. There will be "Wacky Races" for students, a luncheon for faculty, treats served to parents as well as daily fellowship and prayer.

St. Mark students participated in a Faith Appreciation Day celebration for Catholic Schools Week. 

Guest speaker Father Patrick Hoare and school staff members participated in an interactive presentation to the school's middle school students on Faith Appreciation Day of Catholic School's Week.

— Provided by Amy Burger