Schools plan activities for Catholic Schools Week
National Catholic Schools Week begins Sunday and continues through Feb. 4 and many area schools have activities to mark the week.
The annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States is entering 49th year, andhas traditionally been held the last week in January.
The annual JFK Penny War is held every year during Catholic Schools Week at John F. Kennedy Catholic School in Washington. Students bring in their pennies and place them in their classroom jar.
Students then have the opportunity to “bomb” other classes by placing silver change in their class jars. This means a student can put a quarter in another classroom’s jar and 25 pennies are removed from that jar.
“The kids love it,” said Kimberly Stevenson, JFK principal. “They’re so strategic. It’s just a lot of fun.”
The class that has the most pennies at the end of the week wins a Popsicle party. All proceeds go to Chimbote, a city in northern Peru where support is provided for abandoned and neglected children. The penny war has raised as much as $3,000 in past years.
Madonna Catholic Regional School in Monongahela kicked off its activities Friday with a pep rally and “minute-to-win-it” games featuring teachers against students. One eighth-grade student took on Principal Kathy Miller. The student won.
“It was so adorable,” Miller said. “Our cheerleaders cheered. I did not win. You would think sucking in a Fruit Roll-up would be easy. It is not.”
Other events planned include a talent show, living rosary and a family outing to Seven Springs Mountain Resort.
“This is to celebrate all of the different aspects of what we offer our students,” Miller said. “We try to teach our children to think about what they do before they do it. One of the reasons our school is so important is we get to focus on Jesus, we get to focus on the gospel and spreading the good news. It’s a well-rounded education.”
Schools in the Diocese of Greensburg have a number of events scheduled throughout the week.
St. John the Evangelist Regional Catholic School in Uniontown will hold a carnival along with a Care & Share Day, in which older students share with the younger children. A family bingo also is planned as well as arts and crafts.
Conn-Area Catholic School in Connellsville will have a number of events, including a Hoodie Dress Down for faculty and staff, a science fair, Pajama Day, a performing arts review, board game activities and gifts presented to nursing homes.