Larger text
Smaller text
39th annual Catholic Schools Week kicks off with carnivals, community service
Daily Photo Galleries
Allegheny Neighborhoods Photo Galleries
By Bill Zlatos
Published: Wednesday, January 30, 2013, 9:00 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, January 30, 2013
About 21,000 students in the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese are celebrating the 39th annual Catholic Schools Week with a combination of prayer, community service and fun.
“A lot of them are doing charity-type things” this week, said Michael Latusek, superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese.
Catholic Schools Week runs nationally from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2. This year's theme is “Catholic Schools Raise the Standards.” Schools in the region generally start the week with a Mass, and some hold carnivals, but community service is a dominant theme. Here are some of the service activities planned:
• Christ the Divine Teacher Academy, Aspinwall, and St. Vitus School, New Castle, are making Valentines for several organizations.
• North American Martyrs School, Monroeville, is making toys for the animals at Animals Friends.
• St. Mary's School, Glenshaw, is raising money for the Lymphoma Society with a basketball shooting event.
• Christ the Divine Teacher began making cards for special occasions a couple of years ago for senior citizens in Meals on Wheels and veterans at the nearby H.J. Heinz campus of the VA Healthcare System in Aspinwall.
“It might sound like a simple little thing, but for some senior citizen living alone, when they get their meal with a bright card and a silly joke, it cheers them up,” said Sister Dorothy Dolak, principal of Christ the Divine Teacher.
• Junior Achievement will teach 3,621 students in 17 Catholic Schools about business and economics, with business leaders teaching the students what it takes to be successful.
As it celebrates its schools, the diocese also recognizes the challenges they face. Enrollment in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in the diocese has fallen from 23,000 students in 2010-11 to 21,000 this year. That's a decrease of 8.7 percent. As a result, 11 schools closed over the past two years.
Latusek said some parishes have formed consortium schools, supported by parishes of the merging schools.
“Rather than two or three (parishes) running schools with fewer students, they merged” to allow variety and larger classrooms, he said. He said it is up to parishes to decide whether to merge.
The diocese this week is beginning the Catholic Schools Network, a marketing platform to promote the 91 parochial schools in Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Lawrence, Greene and Washington counties. The campaign, promoted at www.CatholicSchoolsNetwork.net, allows each parochial school to create its own community-oriented marketing and outreach to promote itself.
The diocese also plans to open Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School in the fall of 2014 in Cranberry. It will replace North Catholic High School in Troy Hill.
Bill Zlatos is a reporter for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7828 or bzlatos@tribweb.com.
Most Popular
Allegheny Neighborhoods
- Main Street improvement projects popping up all over Allegheny
- Work on Tuskegee Airmen tribute in Sewickley finally to begin in June
- Young Achiever: Brittany Cihal
- Code enforcers advise keeping lawns in check
- Appeals cloud Mt. Lebanon taxes
You must be signed in to add comments
To comment, click the Sign in or sign up at the very top of this page.
Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.
