Each year Catholic schools all over the nation come together under one banner to recognize the importance of Catholic education. Catholic Schools Week includes special events and activities for students at local schools to celebrate their Catholic faith, service and learning.
The week kicks off Jan. 30 and wraps up on Feb. 3, with a lot to do in between, including spelling bee’s and science fairs. This year’s theme is “Faith. Academics. Service.” The entire week will be dedicated to striving for excellence in and out of the classroom.
Superintendent Marcia Stevens said that the theme had many meanings.
“We really want to put an emphasis on service and recognizing all the work that our students do throughout the school year. We want all of our students to know how easy and rewarding it is to participate in serving their community,” Stevens said.
Over the course of the last year students from Catholic schools have donated their time to several local organizations such as the Some Other Place and the Southeast Texas Food Bank.
One special event of the week will be the annual Rainbow Mass at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, Beaumont, in which students, faculty and priests of many parishes attend to celebrate faith in education.
“The Rainbow Mass is a great opportunity to gather students and faculty from all the schools along with members of the community who have worked with them in their service projects and recognize just what our students have done,” Stevens said.
The Mass this year is Feb. 1, and will be celebrated by Bishop Curtis J. Guillory, SVD. Representative classes and faculty from each of the Catholic schools will be in attendance.
The Catholic schools in the Diocese of Beaumont are Msgr. Kelly Catholic High School, St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica School, St. Anne Catholic School, Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School in Beaumont; St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School, Port Arthur; and St. Mary Catholic School in Orange.
