By Jessica Able, Record Staff Writer
This week schools in the Archdiocese of Louisville are joining with thousands of Catholic schools across the nation to celebrate Catholic Schools Week.
Students, staff and volunteer representatives of schools in the archdiocese gathered at St. Edward Church Jan. 28 to launch the celebration with the annual Catholic Schools Week Mass.
The theme of this year’s Catholic Schools Week — celebrated in the Archdiocese of Louisville Jan. 26 to Feb. 1 — is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.”
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, who presided at the Mass, noted that Jan. 28 was the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas and that Aquinas’ teacher was St. Albert the Great.
“A lot of people throughout the world don’t know who St. Albert the Great is but they know who St. Thomas Aquinas is,” he said. “But a great teacher will say ‘that is super because I want my student to exceed me.’ ”
Archbishop Kurtz thanked all the educators present and said a teacher needs “to be selfless in love, talented in teaching and humble in spiritual attitude.”
Addressing the students, the archbishop said a good student is not one who is simply knowledgeable but one who is also wise.
He said that the qualities of a good student include a curious nature, an active imagination and self-discipline.
Several individuals were honored at the annual liturgy for their dedication to Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Louisville. This year’s honorees are:
- Jack Richards, principal of Holy Trinity School, who was awarded the Distinguished Elementary Principal Award.
- Brenda Rickert, a parishioner of St. Michael Church, was recognized with the Religious Educational Excellence Award.
- The Outstanding School Volunteer Award was given to Mary Jo Burke of St. Mary Academy.
- In addition, the Father Joseph McGee Award for Outstanding Catholic Educator was given to Martha Lies, a first-grade teacher at St. Agnes School. (There will be a separate story on Lies in an upcoming issue of The Record.) The Father McGee award is presented each year at the Salute to Catholic School Alumni dinner, set for March 18 this year.
Three elementary students also were recognized for winning the Catholic Education Foundation’s poster contest. Students were asked to create a poster based on the theme of this year’s Catholic Shools Week.
Emma Dedomenico, a first-grade student at St. Raphael School, was the winner in the kindergarten to second-grade category. Grace Hood, a fifth-grade student at St. Michael School, placed first in the grade three to grade five category. And, Catie Callahan, an eighth-grade student at Holy Family School, won the sixth- to eighth-grade division.
Michael Shultz, a student at DeSales High School, was the winner of the Catholic Schools Week essay contest. His essay will appear in a future issue of The Record.
The 47 Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Louisville participated or will participate in many activities throughout the week.
St. Raphael School, 2131 Lancashire Avenue, will hold a special assembly, tomorrow, Jan. 31, on science and personal safety. The “Science Matters in America” assembly will feature information about safety and allow students to win t-shirts for correctly answering questions, a news release from the Chancery said.
Trinity High School, 4011 Shelbyville Road, held a fundraiser Jan. 29 to aid Catholic Relief Services. Students, staff and faculty were permitted to wear casual dress in exchange for a donation of $1 or a written prayer.
St. Nicholas Academy, 5501 New Cut Road, celebrated Kentucky’s musical heritage with a performance by the Dulcimer Society on Jan. 27. The Kentucky Bluegrass Music Society also performed at the school Jan. 28.
John Paul II Academy, 3525 Goldsmith Lane, held a scavenger hunt and trivia game Jan. 28. Both of these events were based upon material involving the school’s namesake and the Catholic faith in general, the news release said.
St. Gregory School in Cox’s Creek, Ky., collected items for the Nelson County Humane Society.
St. Joseph School students in Bardstown, Ky., attended a skating party at the Whispering Wheels Roller Rink Jan. 27. The students also attended a Mass Jan. 30. A volleyball game between the eighth-grade students and school faculty is scheduled for tomorrow, Jan. 31.
St. Stephen Martyr School, 2931 Pindell Avenue, recognized Ribbon Week. Each grade level was assigned a ribbon color which brings awareness to a particular illness or cause.
Students researched their categories and made posters, a news release from the school said.
St. Andrew Academy, 7724 Columbine Drive, will hold a Mass Jan. 31 with women and men religious in honor of World Day for Consecrated Life.
