Faith Excellence&Service
HOW CT SCHOOLS ARE CELEBRATING CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK THIS YEAR
now that Christmas break has come and gone, local Catholic schools are gearing up for another week full of faith and fun. From Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, Catholic schools across Connecticut will participate in Catholic Schools Week. The annual initiative is observed by Catholic schools nationwide, and invites these institutions to celebrate the impact of their education model through a variety of activities and events.
“Catholic Schools Week provides us the chance to affirm our commitment to our mission, community service, and Catholic education with our students, families, faculty and staff, and neighboring community,” Mercy High School President Alissa K. DeJonge said. “We begin with discussion and reflection in our theology classes and end with activities to share our message of gratitude and giving back.”
Greenwich Catholic School has observed Catholic Schools Week since it opened its doors back in 1970. For more than 50 years, the school’s community has come together during this time to celebrate “everything it means to be a Catholic school,” according to Head of School Rebecca Steck.
“Our Catholic schools are the heart of the community, so it makes sense to celebrate all we have done, what we are currently doing, and our impact on the future,” she said.
During Catholic Schools Week at Fairfield Prep, students, faculty, and staff celebrate the institution’s heritage as a Jesuit Catholic school of excellence, Dean of Mission & Ministry Elliott Gualtiere said.
“This week allows us to celebrate what makes our school community unique in what we offer our students in regard to a faith-based education,” he added. “We realize that our great school is part of a bigger enterprise, (and Catholic Schools Week) connects our school to the larger church.”
Each school organizes different activities in observance of Catholic Schools Week.
In 2021, Mercy High provided face masks and care packages to frontline workers and wrote cards to COVID-19 patients. In 2022, the school community shared notes of appreciation with first responders and sponsored “coffee breaks” so they could enjoy a cup of joe on the job.
This year at Greenwich Catholic, students will participate >>
in class challenges, the Kids Heart Challenge, and a school-wide mass. The sixth- and eighthgrade classes will hold a special STEM Fair, and newcomers can attend an open house on Sunday, Jan. 29. For more information, visit www.
gcsct.org.
Daily prayer at Fairfield Prep will reflect the 2023 theme of Catholic Schools Week: faith, excellence, and service.
“We will also be offering our weekly Friday morning mass for this occasion and hold a weekly opportunity for confessions and Eucharistic adoration on Wednesdays after school,” Gualtiere said.
Upperclassmen will attend a Kairos Retreat from Jan. 24-27 to explore their relationships with themselves, others, and God in a communal, reflective setting. Shortly after Catholic Schools Week, select students will attend a weeklong service immersion in Jamaica with Mustard Seed Communities. The nonprofit provides residential care to children and adults with a range of developmental and physical disabilities.
Ultimately, the activities and events hosted during Catholic Schools Week help students become “stewards of their faith,” Steck said.
“We know that they’re making a positive societal impact while attending our schools and for their entire lives,” she added. “We are so proud of the saints and scholars we are forming!”
For more information about Catholic Schools Week, visit