Additional Catholic Schools Week Events:

Saturday, January 30, 2016
Saint George Church: 2700 Block East Venango Street, Philadelphia, PA 19136
5:00 p.m.
Saint George Catholic Elementary School will kick-off its theme for the week, “It’s a Sacramental Celebration!” with an opening Mass presented by the 8^th grade class and immediately followed by a “wedding reception,” which will be a parish celebration of past and present parishioners, students, faculty and staff and will include food and dancing in the Church Hall.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church: 100 Broad Street, Hilltown, PA 18927
(Bucks County)
9:30 a.m.
Saint Agnes-Sacred Heart Catholic School will hold an opening Mass for Catholic Schools Week at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church and celebrated by the Pastor, Father John Schiele. Students will participate in this Mass with special roles including the 3^rd through 8^th grade members of the school choir, students will deliver the readings, serve as altar servers and a school family will bring up the gifts. Immediately following Mass, Saint Agnes-Sacred Heart School will open its doors to the parish community for an open house and tours offered by members of the student council.

Saints Simon and Jude School: 8 Cavanaugh Court, West Chester, PA 19382
(Chester County)
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Saints Simon and Jude will celebrate its “Parish Appreciation Day” with an Open House and Book Fair. The open house will be led by 8^th grade “ambassadors” and will include active participation from the teachers. The annual book fair will take place through the duration of Catholic Schools Week. The theme this year is: “Feeling Groovy: Peace~Love~Books.” Families will also have the opportunity to preview featured books and shop online at http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/sssimonjudesch. All proceeds from the Book Fair will benefit the school library.

Saint Thomas the Apostle Church: 430 Valleybrook Road, Glen Mills, PA 19342
(Delaware County)
11:30 a.m. A “family Mass” will open Catholic Schools Week at Saint Thomas the Apostle School. During the mass, students from Saint Thomas the Apostle will present the Sunday readings, recite prayers of the faithful, and join the youth choir in song. After Mass, there will be an Open house at St. Thomas School with student leaders providing tours and special performances by the Theater Arts Program who is preparing for their play the Little Mermaid, which will debut during the first week of March. The School Band will also perform a few of their well-rehearsed songs.

Saint Francis de Sales Church: South 47^th Street and Springfield Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143
10:15 a.m. Saint Francis de Sales School will hold its opening Catholic Schools Week Mass in the church followed by a curriculum showcase in the school auditorium. The curriculum showcase will display students’ art, science, financial literacy projects, which have been completed throughout the school year. In addition student orchestra members in grades 5^th through 8^th will perform during the Open House.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Holy Trinity School: 201 North Pennsylvania Avenue, Morrisville, PA 19067
(Bucks County)
10:15 a.m. Holy Trinity will hold a special Catholic Schools Week, opening assembly on the topic, “What are the Special Olympics.” Students will receive a real-world connection to this global sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. The assembly will include guest speakers who have taken part in the Special Olympics program. Keith and April Hallaran and their daughter and Holy Trinity Pre-K student, Sarah Maddie, who herself is a child with Down syndrome will give a presentation to the entire school on the Special Olympics. In addition, throughout the week students will have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets on donated prizes for the school’s “3^rd Annual Carnival of Prizes.” All proceeds from this school-wide fundraiser, sponsored by the faculty and staff of Holy Trinity School, will benefit the “Special Olympics.”

Saint Maximilian Kolbe School: 300 Daly Drive, West Chester, PA 19382
(Chester County)
7:50 a.m. Students at Saint Maximilian will celebrate service in their community through a “Penny Wars” collection competition in support of the “Kolbe Fund.” The Kolbe Fund, named for Saint Maximilian Kolbe, is a charity unaffiliated with the parish or school, founded by a Chester County family, that helps defray the costs of travel and lodging for families whose children need extensive medical care locally or anywhere in the country. Every class has a large penny jar. All the jars are displayed on tables in the cafeteria. Each morning, as children enter the building, they will add pennies to their own class’ jar but put the silver coins in other classes’ jars. When the jars are tallied, the total amount of silver coins is subtracted from the total amount of pennies.

Saint Pius X School: 204 South Lawrence Road, Broomall, PA 19008
(Delaware County)
8:45 a.m. In honor of “Mission Awareness” day at Saint Pius X School students, faculty and staff will spend the day focusing on mercy and its mission by offering prayers for the needy, making monetary donations and holding various service projects including, a collection by the Student Ministry school club for “Mothers’ Home” in Darby. As a residential shelter, “Mothers’ Home” provides a safe haven for vulnerable pregnant women in crisis who choose life as a sacred gift.  The Student Ministry will coordinate the collection of all donation items including, diapers, baby safe laundry detergent, gift cards and monetary donations with each of the grades The week after Catholic Schools Week, we will ask parents to help the children transport the donations to the Mother’s Home.  

Corpus Christi Catholic School: 920 Sumneytown Pike, Lansdale, PA 19446
(Montgomery County)
9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. For Corpus Christi School’s continuing 50^th Anniversary celebration, students, faculty and staff will spend a day doing outreach work within the community. The day will consist of service projects including: preparing “breakfast bags” for Aid for Friends, a non-profit organization which serves those in need in the 5-county Philadelphia region with home-cooked meals, delivered by volunteers, assembling “baby bundles” for The Baby Bureau organization, which helps to assist new mothers by clothing babies in the Philadelphia region, and writing cards for the retired religious sisters and lay people who devoted their lives to service of the Church at Saint Joseph Villa Nursing Home in Flourtown.

Saint Monica School: 2500 South 16^th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145
10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Saint Monica School in South Philadelphia will celebrate its community through several activities throughout the day including students in grades K through 8^th assembling “breakfast bags” to be donated to Archdiocese of Philadelphia Catholic Social Services agencies, Nutritional Development Services and Saint Monica Center. In addition students in the seventh grade class have also coordinated a school-wide bake sale, from which all proceeds will benefit a local Syrian Refugee family, as well as other refugee families in the community.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Saint Michael the Archangel School: 130 Levittown Parkway, Levittown, PA 19054
(Bucks County)
11:00 a.m. Saint Michael the Archangel (SMA) will hold a “Salute to Our Military” appreciation assembly. Local veterans as well as current servicemen and servicewomen from the Levittown area have been invited to attend. Students will celebrate the dedication of military service members through songs and entertainment. In addition to the assembly, students, faculty and staff will also hold a collection drive. All items collected will support local servicemen and servicewomen and veterans. The 6^th grade students at SMA will then deliver the items as part of their community service hours in preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls: 1000 West Lycoming Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19140
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Students, faculty and staff at Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls will honor and show their appreciation of First Responders in the community including members of the Philadelphia Police, Fire and EMT departments with an informal welcome and reception in the school lobby. Invited guests include alumnae who now serve as first responders. Administrators, teachers, Student Government, National Honor Society and other student leaders who are available will greet, thank and socialize with guests.

Saint Laurentius Catholic School: 1612 East Berks Street, Philadelphia, PA 19125
9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. 11 Graduates of Saint Laurentius Catholic School who are currently attending Archdiocesan high schools including, Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls, John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School, Roman Catholic High School for Boys, Father Judge High School for Boys, and Mercy Vocational High School will spend the day at Saint Laurentius.  The students’ duties vary throughout the day, but include speaking with the upper grades about their various elementary and high school experiences, acting as aides in the classrooms, reading to the children lower grades, and generally interacting with students throughout the day. 

Holy Family Home, Little Sisters of the Poor: 5300 Chester Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143
9:30 a.m. John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School has recently been collecting coffee for Holy Family Home, a residential facility for elderly poor in the City of Philadelphia, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. On Tuesday, a group of students will deliver the coffee and spend time with the residents. The students will also perform a small variety show with dancing and singing for the residents.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Nativity of Our Lord School: 585 West Street Road, Warminster, PA 18974
(Bucks County)
1:25 p.m. Nativity of Our Lord School is dedicating Tuesday’s activities during Catholic Schools Week on showcasing that its students, faculty and staff are a “Community of Service.” All students in grades Pre-K (3 & 4 years old) through 8^th grade will take part in a service project to provide bagged lunches to the men of Saint John’s Hospice, which is a Catholic Social Services shelter for men located in Center City Philadelphia. Prior to assembly and delivery of the lunches, students in grades 1 through 8 will hear from a Mr. Ted Wahl, Nativity of Our Lord parishioner and regular volunteer at Saint John’s Hospice.

Assumption Academy: 135 Fairfield Lane, Strafford, PA 19087
(Chester County)
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Preschool and Kindergarten students at Assumption Academy are holding a week long service project during Catholic Schools Week called “Pennies for Patients.” Each day students, faculty and staff will collect and bring in a different coin denomination. On Wednesday, February 3^rd students and their teachers will collect and sort dimes. All proceeds from the coin collection will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Eastern Pennsylvania.

Saint Aloysius Catholic School: 220 North Hanover Street, Pottstown, PA 19464
(Montgomery County)
1:30 p.m. A special “Living Rosary” assembly will be held at Saint Aloysius School for children in grades 1st through 8th. The students will form the decades of a rosary by holding a lit candle to represent each prayer.

Saint Hilary of Poitiers School: 920 Susquehanna Road, Rydal, PA 19046

(Montgomery County)

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Saint Hilary of Poitiers School has been chosen to be a part of the “Google Expedition Pioneer Program.” “Expeditions is a new product that allows teachers to take their classes on virtual field trips, immersing students in experiences that bring abstract concepts to life and giving students a deeper understanding of the world beyond the classroom.” The “Google Expedition Car” will be parked in the school parking lot for the duration of the school day at Saint Hilary. Students in grades 2^nd through 8^th will have the opportunity to take part in this program.

Saint Mary Interparochial: Fifth and Locust Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19106
1:00 p.m. Students in grades K through 8^th will work together in small “prayer family” groups to complete a service project for the Veterans Multi-Services Center (VMC), a comprehensive resource center available to all Veterans in need, in Philadelphia. The students will create “snack bags,” for the VMC to distribute to the veterans it serves.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Archbishop Ryan High School: 11201 Academy Road, Philadelphia, PA 19154
10:00 a.m. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. will join senior leadership from Faith in the Future and the Office of Catholic Educations (OCE), as well as students, faculty and staff of Archbishop Ryan High School for a special public announcement related to the contract with Faith in the Future, who oversees operation of the 17 high schools and four schools of special education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  

Friday, February 5, 2016

Cardinal O’Hara High School: 1701 South Sproul Road, Springfield, PA 19064
(Delaware County)
2:30 p.m. Cardinal O’Hara High School will close out its collection drive in support of the “Souper Bowl of Caring,” which is a national collection drive that uses the excitement surrounding the NFL’s Super Bowl to mobilize youth in a united effort to care for people in their local communities who are hungry and in need. The cans collected throughout the week from students, faculty and staff will be weighed and the results will decide who the winner of this year’s “Delco Cup,” between Cardinal O’Hara and Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, will be. Results will be announced on Monday, February 8th. Cardinal O’Hara’s collection will be donated to the “Hibernian’s Hunger Project” in Philadelphia, which is sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), the oldest Irish-Catholic lay organization in America. Its hunger project aids worthy projects on a state, county, and local basis. Last year, Cardinal O’Hara and Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast collected a combined 2200 cans.

Saint Francis of Assisi Church: 136 Saxer Avenue, Springfield, PA 19064
(Delaware County)
9:30 a.m. At the closing Mass for Catholic Schools Week and the Saint Francis of Assisi School’s “Week of Mercy,” students, faculty and staff will bring in a can of food to the church and fill boxes in the sanctuary to fulfill the work of mercy, “feed the hungry.” These cans will then become a part of the “Souper Bowl of Caring,” a food drive taking place in parishes and schools throughout Delaware County. Saint Francis’ collection will go to the Bernadine Center in Chester (Delaware County), which provides a helping hand to low-income Chester area residents by distributing emergency and supplemental food and supplies. Throughout the week students were asked to bring in donations and perform community service to carry out the theme of mercy.

Our Lady of Mercy Regional School: 29 Conwell Drive, Maple Glen, PA 19002
(Montgomery County)
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. The fifth grade students from Our Lady of Mercy will sponsor the school’s 4^th annual THON. Modeled after Penn State University’s annual dance marathon, this “mini-thon” is a student led, fun-filled event that will raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund, which assists families battling pediatric cancer at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. During the mini-thon the Phillie Phanatic will visit students and there will be a faculty vs. 8th grade volleyball game.

Saint Matthew Church: 3000 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19149
9:30 a.m. Throughout Catholic Schools Week Saint Matthew School students will collect donations for Mother of Mercy House in Philadelphia, one of the newest ministries in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which serves the poor and marginalized. During a prayer service being held at the conclusion of the week, students will present Father Joseph Devlin, Co-Coordinator and Sister Ann Raymond, IHM, of Mother of Mercy House, with their donations. Father Devlin and Sister Ann will then speak to students, faculty and staff about the work of Mother of Mercy House.

Visitation B.V.M. School: 300 East Lehigh Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125
12:15 p.m. In honor of Catholic Schools Week, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Nutritional Development Services (NDS) will celebrate School Meals Manager, Ms. Rose Siegle at Visitation BVM School in the cafeteria during the lunch period. Ms. Siegle is a dedicated manager and has been serving the children of Visitation School for 23 years. A presentation and token of appreciation will be made to Ms. Siegle by NDS administrators. For forty years, NDS’ mission has been to serve children and those in need with food and food-related resources.

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 Editor’s Note: For information about Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit www.catholicschools-phl.org. For more information on Faith in the Future please visit: http://faithinthefuture.com/