Students at Christ the King High School pray the rosary to start Catholic Schools Week on Jan. 30. (Provided photo)CHARLOTTE — Catholic Schools Week is underway, featuring the national theme “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.”
Now in its 49th year, the event is organized by the National Catholic Education Association to provide the opportunity to showcase all our Catholic schools have to offer, as well as build community and encourage charitable outreach.
As part of the week’s celebrations, Bishop Peter Jugis shared a recorded video message with the schools that students watched Monday, Jan. 30.
"I am happy to join you today in celebrating Catholic Schools Week and the great work our Catholic schools do every day to provide a quality Catholic education," Bishop Jugis said in his online message.
"We’re growing. The Diocese of Charlotte now has nearly 8,000 students and 800 teachers and staff at 20 Catholic schools. We are united in one mission: to pursue excellence in all that we do, forming students to be disciples of Jesus who exemplify the virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
"Yes, students – we want you to study and do your best in your schoolwork, sports and extracurricular activities. We also want you to get to know Jesus, then go out into the world and transform it by sharing His love with others."
Bishop Jugis thanked parents and supporters of Catholic schools for their commitment to providing children with quality Catholic education.
"You are equipping them to become lifelong learners and disciples of Christ no matter where life takes them," Bishop Jugis said. "More families like yours have discovered the value of a Catholic education, and we are privileged to partner with you."
The bishop also thanked the teachers and staff, and then directed his message to the students.
"I’d like each of you to remember to pray every day – maybe when you wake up, or before you go to sleep. Talk to Jesus. Ask Him to help you with whatever is going on in your life. He loves you very much! You can also put a small crucifix in your room or on your desk, as a reminder of how much Jesus loves you."
Dr. Greg Monroe, superintendent of Catholic schools, and the Catholic Schools Office team requested that the diocese’s 20 schools join in praying the joyful mysteries of the rosary on Monday, Jan. 30, to launch this year’s Catholic Schools Week.
The week’s festivities in the diocese and across the country include community service projects, open houses and other spirit-building activities for students, families and parishioners – reinforcing the positive impact Catholic school students have in their local community.
Watch Bishop Jugis' full message above and see photo galleries of Catholic Schools Week activities below.
St. Mark School hosted Dr. Gregory Monroe
Schools Kick Off Celebrations
Catholic schools across the Charlotte diocese began the week of celebration with prayer, service, song, and some friendly competition.
St. Gabriel School, Charlotte
Students at St. Gabriel School in Charlotte started Catholic Schools Week with crazy sock and hair day on Jan. 30 and dress as what you want to be when you grow up on Jan. 31. See a gallery here.
St. Mark School, Huntersville
St. Mark’s students and staff gathered in the gymnasium like many other schools in the diocese for a special rosary to kick off Catholic School Week. Older students paired up with younger students during the service. Superintendent Monroe closed the ceremony with words of encouragement. Afterwards the superintendent visited a science class studying the spread of germs on everyday items.
St. Matthew School, Charlotte
Students at St. Matthew School wrote letters to the clergy during Catholic Schools Week. See a gallery here.
St. Michael School, Gastonia
On Jan. 30, students from St. Michael School in Gastonia placed in the top three positions in a Glory Bee Trivia contest with Asheville Catholic School and Immaculata School in Hendersonville. The virtual competition employed an online game website called Kahoot. Each student logged onto a device to access the contest, and each classroom joined via Google Meet to see the questions being displayed. Questions were based on the Bible, the Catechism, general faith knowledge and architecture. Ms. Rutherford, Asheville Catholic's religion teacher, created the contest in Kahoot and all the questions. The winners were eighth graders Lydia Ryan, first; Joseph Gomes, second; and Fiona Flemings, third. St. Michael students also enjoyed ice cream after lunch for student appreciation day.
St. Patrick School, Charlotte
For community day at St. Patrick School on Jan. 30, kindergarten and fifth-grade students learned about Wine to Water, a global organization providing clean water to those in need. Afterward, the students packaged Snackwells to be sold during lunch to benefit Cross Catholic Outreach in support of a clean water project. The kindergartners then went to the Dilworth Soup Kitchen while the fifth-grade students went to the Catholic Charities Food Pantry to provide support as needed. On Jan. 31, first and third graders listened to a guest speaker from Charlotte Rescue Mission (CRM), a Christian organization that serves those facing homelessness. The students then made snack bags and notes for the people CRM serves.
Charlotte Catholic High School
Students at Charlotte Catholic High School started a supplies drive for Catholic Charities and prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary with the other diocesan schools. They also kicked off their homeroom basketball games. The winners play in the final game on Friday against faculty members. The festivities continued on Jan. 31 with an all-school Mass, classroom visits from Father Brian Becker and vocational research in theology class.
On Wednesday, Feb. 1 several hundred Charlotte Catholic High School students rallied around 10 student-athletes Wednesday as they signed commitments to play sports at a variety of colleges on National Letter of Intent Day. Flanked by their families and coaches, the athletes were dressed in jerseys and colors of their soon-to-be colleges and smiled for cameras as they put pen to paper. See a gallery here.
Christ the King High School
Three former Christ the King High School students returned today to discuss their calling to attend seminary. John Harrison, Connor White and Mathew Stanley took questions the process and the life changing experience. See a gallery here.
Immaculate Heart of Mary School, High Point
On Jan. 30, Immaculate Heart of Mary students celebrated our nation. They started the morning with a patriotic song performance for veterans and each student placed a flag outside and prayed for Catholic schools across the U.S., our military, our veterans and our leaders.
Our Lady of Grace School, Greensboro
Students at Our Lady of Grace served at the 9 a.m. Mass on Jan. 29 and at a donut celebration afterward. They also celebrated our nation on Jan. 30. In a morning assembly, the first-grade class performed "You're a Grand Old Flag," and the school choir, led by Jason Barrios, sang the national anthem. Students also wore patriotic accessories and prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary with the other schools in the diocese.
Sacred Heart School, Salisbury
Mayor Karen Alexander visited Sacred Heart Jan. 30 to help kick off Catholic Schools Week. The students celebrated our community, which was the perfect day for the mayor to come and declare the start of Catholic Schools Week. Student Body President Maya Villalobos accepted Mayor Alexander's signed declaration on behalf of the school. A member of the School Leadership Council, Denise Hallet, who is the mother of two Sacred Heart alumni, led a decade of the rosary at the morning assembly. Each day of Catholic Schools Week, someone different within the school community will lead the school in a decade of the rosary to start the day.
Bishop McGuinness High School, Kernersville
The Bishop McGuinness Family Association provided donuts to students on arrival Jan. 30 before gathering to pray the rosary and watch the video message from Bishop Jugis. On Jan. 31, the students participated in an all-school Mass. Students will hear a vocation talk from pro-life obstetrician Dr. Lewis Lipscomb on Feb. 1. Excitement was also starting to build for the student-faculty basketball game on Feb. 3.
Our Lady of Mercy, Winston-Salem
On Jan. 31, Our Lady of Mercy recognized Scouts and their service to the community as well as all who serve their community, especially police officers, fire fighters, and EMTs. The third-grade class sang “My Country ’Tis of Thee” as part of a special day honoring our nation during Catholic Schools Week.
Immaculata School, Hendersonville
On Jan. 30, Immaculata School’s third- and fifth-grade students delivered gifts to the nurses at Pardee Hospital. The following day, Immaculata students participated in a flag-raising ceremony as part of a day celebration our nation.
Sudent-faculty matchups
Charlotte Catholic High School held their faculty-student basketball game Feb. 3, and Christ the King High School in Huntersville is hosting a faculty-student volleyball game. Other games will be hosted at various Catholic elementary and middle schools.
Basketball is especially competitive at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville, and Catholic Schools Week has a special way of bringing out the fun for the entire school.
Faculty members and students sign up to play against each other in a 30-minute game with a running clock. Members of the school’s basketball teams are barred from playing in the faculty-student game and instead serve as referees and coaches.
The game was an exciting finale to the fun-filled week, with students and faculty packed into the gym on Friday, Feb. 3, the last day of Catholic Schools Week.
Bishop McGuinness Senior Class President Tate Chappell said she looked forward to seeing athletic trainer Brittany Price, play in their faculty-student basketball game.
“I know how much she loved it in high school,” Chappell explained. “As a basketball player for Bishop McGuinness, I love watching students and teachers playing the game I love, while most importantly having fun with it.”
Organized by Student Council Moderator and history teacher, Lee Coble, the game is highly anticipated among students as they are not allowed to play until their senior year. The student roster is capped at 15 due to overwhelming interest in facing their teachers on the court.
The faculty members are slightly less enthused.
“We usually have a pretty good turnout faculty-wise with somewhere between six and 10,” Coble said. “A lot of people will say they’ll only play in emergency situations.”
The game typically features a half-time performance from the cheerleaders and the crowd doing the “roller coaster” in the stands. Coble said there are usually some “shenanigans with scoring” and a lot of humor from students commenting during the game with the mics.
Throughout the week leading up to the game, a fair amount of “trash talk” between the students and teachers circulated through the halls – all in good fun, of course.
Before the big game, Ryan Porter, a senior, said he was looking forward to “dunking on my history teacher.” He added, “I am so blessed to be in an environment where we can have this fun event.”
There’s also a bit of a myth about Coble scoring 50 points in one of the past games.
“I enjoy watching the teachers try to hoop. I am looking forward to dropping 50 on Mr. Coble’s head,” Senior Riggs Handy said with a good-natured laugh. “Mr. Coble can’t guard me.”
Sofia Wolff, Student Council executive treasurer and a cross country and track athlete added, “I love when the superintendent [Dr. Gregory Monroe] plays in the game because he’s a great basketball player, and the students are always surprised. I look forward to seeing what hidden skills the teachers have when they’re playing basketball. It’s always shocking.”
— Catholic News Herald staff. Photos by Troy Hull, SueAnn Howell and submitted.
