Catholic Schools Week

A few years ago at a staff meeting, one of the teachers at our school had a pretty brilliant idea- what if the 8th grade class did all the planning for the assemblies and activities of Catholic Schools Week? It would be a great leadership opportunity for them and would also take a huge burden off the other teachers during a crazy time of year. All of these things are true, but anyone who works with 13 and 14 year olds can tell you- supervision is still required. And so it fell to me, the 8th grade religion teacher, to oversee the planning , prep and execution of all the Catholic Schools Week activities for our school.

So for the past six or seven years, (I will admit, I’ve lost count) I’ve been the teacher in charge of Catholic Schools Week. While it is certainly a lot of work, it’s also been a lot of fun. Each year the students surprise and amaze me with their creativity and passion for the project. Even some of the most reserved students have been willing to get up in front of the whole school and sing or dance or yell, or whatever the job may require that year. I also think it’s made our celebrations of the week better and more fun.

So throughout the next few weeks I will be sharing some ideas of ways to celebrate the awesome gift of Catholic Schools at your school and Parish during Catholic Schools Week, which this year will run from January 27 to February 2nd. If you’re a complete newbie to CSW, don’t worry- I’ve got you covered. You can also ready more about it on the (National Catholic Educational Association) NCEA website.

Also, during Catholic Schools Week, check in for some posts from guest bloggers about why they choose to teach at a Catholic School.