Discover Catholic Schools Week to be observed Nov. 12-18 in archdiocese

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

The Department of Catholic Education and Faith Formation (DCEFF) is inviting Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans to conduct special campus activities in observance of “Discover Catholic Schools Week” – seven days in November to share the “Good News” about Catholic education and honor those who make it possible.

“We are in the middle  of open house season now, and a lot of our schools do activities in January during Catholic Schools Week, but why not start to gain some (additional) buzz now?” Amanda Zingone, the DCEFF’s lead academic coordinator, of the weeklong observance sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and running Nov. 12-18.

The DCEFF announced the following daily themes that will help Catholic school leaders come up with their own unique events and social media efforts on each day:

• On Nov. 12, “Discover Your Parish Family” will encourage schools to find special ways to engage and welcome their parish community into school life. Because the week of observance kicks off on a Sunday, school principals could consider asking their pastor if they could offer a brief overview of their school at the end of Mass and invite parishioners in the pews to tour their school. Other suggestions include inviting students and families to come to a specific Mass the weekend of Nov. 11-12.

“The school could also ask the pastor to come to school to do a special blessing that week,” Zingone said.

Nov. 13-15 will focus, respectively, on three important groups on the giving and receiving ends of Catholic education:

• “Discover Catholic School Students” will be celebrated Nov. 13.

• “Discover Catholic School Parents” will get the spotlight on Nov. 14.

• “Discover Catholic School Educators” will be the focus of school-based events on Nov. 15.

During these days, schools are being asked to articulate how these three groups make a difference at their respective schools. For example, on “Discover Catholic School Students” day, students could be interviewed on what makes their school unique and have their written or filmed reflections posted on social media. On the days highlighting the contributions of Catholic school parents and educators, students could write notes thanking them for the prayers, talents and dedication they bring to Catholic education, or serve them a special snack.

“We want this to be a big social media push,” Zingone said. “Ask your students, your parents and your teachers why they love your school, what makes your school community special, and share that via a video or a post,” Zingone said. “Over the course of those three days, we want schools to tag their posts with the hashtag #DiscoverCatholicSchoolsWeek, so I can reshare them!”

• On Nov. 16, schools will turn their attention to “Discover Catholic School Alumni.” Activity suggestions for the day include telling the student body about successful graduates of their school during prayer time or at the morning assembly. Conversely, testimonials could be gathered from alumni on how their Catholic education – and their alma mater in particular – shaped them both academically and spiritually. Schools whose alumni live out of town or who are unavailable during the busy week leading up to Thanksgiving are encouraged to reach out to their alumni to arrange campus visits later in the school year, Zingone said.

• Nov. 17’s “Discover Faith-Based Communities will celebrate and foster the interactions between Catholic schools and those of different faiths or Christian denominations. Activity suggestions include asking students to write letters to those of other faith traditions, inviting them to visit campus and asking teachers to incorporate age-appropriate lessons on the commonalities and differences between Catholicism and other faiths.

• The week will culminate on Nov. 18 when “Discover Catholic School Donors” is observed. Activity options include asking principals, teachers and/or students to write thank-you notes to those who support Catholic education through their generous donations of time, treasure and talent.

“We also suggested inviting donors to come to campus for a special tour to see what their contributions are doing,” Zingone said.

“Because this is our first year doing this, we’re just making suggestions (for the school-based activities); we’re not requiring anything,” Zingone said. “School leaders will probably have better ideas. They may do all of it, or they may do a little.”

For more information on Discover Catholic Schools Week or to alert the Department of Catholic Education and Faith Formation on your school’s plans for the week, email Amanda Zingone at [email protected].

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