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| January 2005 |
| Catholic School Week focuses on “faith
in every student” |
Gene Young
Managing Editor |
Educators across the diocese are preparing
for their annual celebration of Catholic education, Catholic
Schools Week.
This year, Catholic schools in the diocese will celebrate and
focus on the benefits of Catholic education January 22-29.
The theme for Catholic Schools Week 2005 is “Faith in
Every Student” and schools will be asked to promote that
idea throughout the week.
Sister Nathalie Meyer, the superintendent of Catholic Schools
for the state of South Dakota, says the week is immensely valuable
in boosting awareness of the value that Catholic education has
for our children, families and communities in the state. “We’re
kicking off the week again with a legislative day in Pierre,”
said Sister Nathalie. “In the past that legislative day
has just been the legislators with the bishops of South Dakota.”
Last year, Catholic educators brought 500 people to Pierre including
students, parents and educators. “It was the first time
we tried that and it was extremely successful,” said Sister
Nathalie. But she knows that is also difficult to duplicate
each year because of costs and logistics. Instead they will
try to duplicate that kind of day every other year.
So this time, the diocese will bring teachers, administrators,
school boards, parents and junior and senior high students on
a smaller scale.
“It will include a liturgy and a reception,” she
said. “It will be more of a different thrust simply because
there will be more opportunity for conversation with lawmakers.
“We will have a much better picture of Catholic education
given to the legislators because they will see it now, not just
from the bishops’ perspective, but they are going to see
the importance and support of Catholic education from kids and
adults.”
Besides the legislative day in Pierre, every Catholic school
in the diocese focuses on the value of the week in promoting
the message that Catholic education is valuable. The schools,
each of the 25 in the diocese, do that through a variety of
events and activities.
There are liturgies, events where students invite parents and
relatives to their school and much more. “The beauty of
it, it does give everyone in the school community some specific
dates, some specific times to reach out to the community at
greater length,” said Sister Nathalie. “There are
all kinds of ways for the schools to reach out to others and
to say ‘thanks’ for providing this opportunity to
have Catholic education available.”
Catholic Schools Week receives plenty of coverage from secular
media in the diocese that does not necessarily always happen
throughout the year.
Enrollment in Catholic schools continues to be another bright
spot for the Catholic education and the diocese. “We have
been inching up,” said Sister Nathalie. “We are
getting a greater percentage of the kids than we have in the
past.”
But student population across the state is declining, providing
an increasing challenge to administrators.
Part of Catholic schools week is to show legislators and the
public, not as competition for public schools but as partners
in educating South Dakota children. “The better job that
we can do educating our young people can be done in partnership
rather than in competition,” said Sister Nathalie. |
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