Sacred Heart Celebrates Catholic Schools WeekNational Catholic Schools Week is being celebrated at Sacred Heart Catholic School this week in many different ways.
From an open house and a science fair to an appearance from Ronald McDonald, the Warsaw school is showcasing all the dividends of a Catholic education.
Jim Faroh, Sacred Heart principal, said Catholic Schools Week is one of his favorite weeks of the year. It is an opportunity for the community to celebrate and share the church's gift of Catholic education to the area.The week is made up of celebrations and activities of spiritual, academic, social, physical and entertaining events, he said. Each day has a special theme, event and dress for the students.
This year's Catholic Schools Week theme is "Catholic Schools, Dividends for Life." The theme, according to Faroh, reminds everyone that the dividends of a Catholic School education prepares students in faith, knowledge, morals and discipline that last a lifetime.
"We believe there is no better way to invest in a child's future," Faroh said.
Events kicking off the week Saturday including a student-lead mass. Students did all the parts of the church service, Faroh said. The Sacred Heart Singers also performed. The theme for that day was "We Celebrate Our Parish."
Sunday's theme was "We Celebrate our Parishioners." There were two student-lead masses, and the Sacred Heart Singers performed again. After a Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast in the gym, Sacred Heart held an open house. Science fair projects were displayed in the gym.
Students wore their favorite college sweatshirt or t-shirt Monday for the theme "We Celebrate Learning." Beginning at 1:30 p.m., Ronald McDonald gave his presentation "It's Book Time with Ronald McDonald." The McDonald's clown encouraged students to read.
Today the theme is "We Celebrate our Community." The science fair awards were from 12:30 to 1 p.m.
Valentines were constructed by student family groups for three area nursing homes and assisted living centers, including Miller's Merry Manor, Grace Village and Mason's Health and Rehab. Student family groups include one student from each grade level in a group.
For Tuesday's theme, students were allowed to dress up as a community helper, such as a policeman, firefighter or nurse.
On Wednesday, the theme will be "We Celebrate our Students and Parents." Students may wear nice dress clothes and no jeans are allowed.
"Beauty and the Beast," a marionette show by Stevens Puppets, starts at 9:10 a.m. Students will get free hot dogs. There is a pasta dinner and talent show from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Students may dress as their favorite book character Thursday when the theme will be "We Celebrate our Teachers and Staff." Parents and students are encouraged to write special notes to show their appreciation for teachers and staff. From 10:30 to 11:10 a.m., teachers will swap classrooms.
Sacred Heart's conclusion to National Catholic Schools Week ends Friday with the theme "We Celebrate our Faith." An all-school mass will be at 8 a.m. and all students must wear their school uniform. Bingo and other games will be played at 1:15 p.m.
"Catholic schools welcome everyone and are eager to share this extra special opportunity during this national celebration. People often ask me what makes Sacred Heart so special," said Faroh. "There are many reasons - great families, great students, dedicated staff, a technologically advanced facility, competitive sports program, but above all, and this is the key, Sacred Heart provides a faith-filled education integrated into everything we do."
He said Sacred Heart offers small class sizes, a family atmosphere, a caring and nurturing environment and "sets the path for a lifetime journey with Christ through the church."
At Sacred Heart, Faroh said, they set high expectations, provide a challenging curriculum and produce great results, as demonstrated on the ISTEP+ yearly testing, which has consistently shown high achievement.
