What is Catholic Schools Week?
Every year, the school participates in the nation-wide event of Catholic Schools Week (CSW). According to the NCEA, this week is an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. The purpose of CSW is to help schools connect with future families, donors, educators, and the community.
Associate Director of Student Activities, Jeanette Costa, sees CSW as a way to bring awareness to the importance and value of a catholic school education.
“…in this time, a lot of Catholic Schools are dying out,” Costa said. “It’s just a time to raise awareness that we’re a valid source in the education community.”
This year the celebration will be held from Monday, Jan. 27 through Friday, Jan. 31. Each day of the week is dedicated to different groups around campus that keep our school community running smoothly. Each group will be served a special lunch on the day of their appreciation.
The first day, Jan. 27, the students will not have school due to a MD Holiday. On Jan. 28 the school will celebrate the efforts of the facilities and security teams.
“We ask all students to just kinda say ”Hi” and “Thank you” as they see any of these members,” Costa said.
Jan. 29 is SODEXO appreciation day, which is dedicated to the school’s food service team. On this day students and staff will gather in the MAC to acknowledge this week of celebration and awareness with mass. During this time Director of Campus Ministry, Helen Steves, will bring in an alumni to speak about the impact a catholic school education had on them and how it still flows into their life today.
Jan. 30, will be spent by sending appreciation to the school’s faculty and staff – the staff, facilities, and administration.
Jan.31, is when the parent council (PLC) celebrates the students. The PLC will thank and recognize the student body by passing out ice cream sundaes during both upper and lower lunch that day.
“Each day is a chance to recognize some important group on our campus who has helped build this to be, not only a great high school, but a great Catholic High School,” Costa said.
Alec Sixta, a 9th and 10th grade religion teacher, says the purpose of Catholic Schools Week is a way to celebrate our mission and freedom of being in a Catholic school. As a teacher and/or student, he believes that it is a way to reflect our Catholic identity.
“Any day where we celebrate who we are, I think that’s really important,” Sixta said. “This kind of celebration helps and reminds us of who we are and our purpose in that.”
For each group being appreciated, the ASB and class officers have made videos that will be shown on Monarch Television. They also made posters that will be put up around the school to remind the students of the event we are celebrating. Currently, the ASB team is working on the catholic school mass and how to best incorporate all the groups. “Mater Dei has a lot of helping hands, but I don’t think we always realize how much people do for us as students, and as we do for each other. I think it’s important to recognize our service towards each other and what makes our institution so great,” ASB President, senior Kody Rymer said.
Rymer’s favorite part of Catholic School Week is “how it brings all schools from the diocese together and how we all share a common activity.”
“I like how it brings our school community together because we are each celebrating a different branch of our school and I think that’s really important to show appreciation for everybody on campus,” Rymer said.
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![CHEERING TIME: Current Monarchs share excitement and school spirit in the student section at the Santa Ana Bowl during the game between Mater Dei and St. Frances Academy on Sept. 20. Sophomore Carson Schwartze enjoys going to games and supporting the team. “[The crowds are] really social,” Schwartze said. “[And] you can kind of see what players are [planning] in real-time.”](https://thescarletscroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IMG_1446-600x400.jpeg)
![MONARCHS IN PINK Freshmen Brooklyn Almasi, Rachel Koch, and Jeanette Schulz smile into the camera before the big game at the Freshman Tailgate. The annual Freshman Tailgate, hosted on Friday, Sept. 20, at the top of the parking structure at Santa Ana Stadium, was a big hit. The Freshman Commissioners and Freshman Officers organized the event with fun games, various raffles, and catered Chick-fil-A. Not only did the freshmen have a great time, but the organizers felt fulfilled with their efforts. “The best part [is when] we get to [organize] rallies or plan events,” Freshman President Sophia McKay said. Photo courtesy of Abby Abad.](https://thescarletscroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_1938-600x400.png)
Ryder Rhoads • Jan 30, 2020 at 12:22 pm
Thank you for the article, I didn’t not understand Catholic schools week. I appreciate the article as well as the information.
Andrea Nguyen • Jan 29, 2020 at 8:51 pm
I really like this article because through this, I can understand what a catholic schools week is. This week, our school will say thank you to all the faculty and staff around the school for their hard work throughout the year, to the security guards that keep us safe, to the facilities team that keeps our school clean and to the SODEXO staff for the food that they provide us every lunchtime. Through the article, I have learned that we should be grateful to those people that beside us, helping, supporting and protect us anywhere and anytime.
Charlie Pawsat • Jan 29, 2020 at 7:17 pm
This was interesting to read because I have always been a part of Catholic Schools Week because I’ve gone to Catholic school all my life. I’ve never really understood the purpose of it though because at my old school, it was something where all the student and staff went through the motions rather than realizing why we celebrate it. Thanks to this article, I got to learn more about it.
Alina Lucas • Jan 29, 2020 at 2:26 pm
This was a very good article. Catholic schools week is a great way to show our appreciation for everyone involved with the school.
Logan • Jan 28, 2020 at 8:16 pm
I agree with the points Mr. Sixta made. Any day where we, student athletes, or just Mater Dei itself, gets a day to reflect on themselves is important. It helps us grow and look back at our mistakes.