Each year Catholic schools across the country take one week to celebrate all of the wonderful things that make our schools special. This year Catholic Schools Week runs from January 31st through February 7th. The week is filled with service, games, community, and a whole lot of fun. It also marks the time where we kick off the enrollment period for the next school year. We start the week by getting the word out about our schools by participating in masses at several parishes that support our school and end the week with an Open House for prospective families. The week is always something that our students, faculty, and families look forward to and talk about for months and even years after. My husband often fondly recalls great memories from Catholic Schools Weeks from his own Catholic school experience. If you attended a Catholic school, you know what I am talking about.
We celebrate a weekly mass together as a school community every Friday at 9am. Even though Covid has made it challenging for the whole school to be together in the same room, mass has continued with one class physically in the church leading the mass and the other classes watching the live stream in their classrooms. Last year we were fortunate enough to be together in church and we ended our Catholic Schools Week with a special all school mass. During the mass then 8th grader, Mia Flaherty (BTA’s Class of 2020), reflected on her experience in Catholic school. Below is what she read during the mass which expresses how a Catholic school education has benefited her.
What Catholic Schools Mean to Me
By, Mia Flaherty
Catholic schools have almost always been a part of my life: Most of my relatives went to a Catholic school at one point in their lives, my grandmother was a teacher’s aid at one, and I have been enrolled in a Catholic school since preschool. Catholic schools are different from other schools, and not just for the obvious basis in religion. One of the goals for Catholic Schools’ Week was to serve, and I think that Catholic schools accomplish that better than any other school. Just look at what we have accomplished in the last week. We raised four hundred and fifty-five dollars for Project Bundle-Up, we collected over a thousand dollars, wearing crazy socks and hats for sock it to cancer, we made three hundred sandwiches for the Red Door Project, we hosted breakfast to say thank you to safety personnel, and we collected eight hundred food items for the North Hills Community Outreach. Catholic Schools always embody the motto for Catholic Schools Week. We learn, we serve, we lead, and most importantly, we succeed.
Anyone who went to the eighth grade graduation last year would know of the mass of awards and scholarships that were handed out. What I think is most important about going to a Catholic school is knowing that there is a bright future ahead of you. When you graduate you are confident that your teachers have filled you with all the right knowledge, taught you how to work independently and how to collaborate, and filled you with a new and deeper appreciation for your faith. In the words of a great writer, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
Blessed Trinity Academy is hosting an Open House on February 7 from 12-2pm. If you are interested in seeing what a Catholic school education could offer your family, you can register at https://tinyurl.com/BTAOpenHouse2021. Space is limited.
Mrs. Meredith Kandravy, Director of Admissions, Blessed Trinity Academy
Excerpt By Mia Flaherty, Blessed Trinity Academy Class of 2020, currently a freshman at Oakland Catholic High School.
Catholic School Classrooms at Work 