Valle Catholic recently celebrated the 2018 edition of Catholic Schools Week.
This year’s theme is Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed. The official CSW logo brings the theme to life. The open book made up of multi-colored pages symbolizes how all areas of Catholic schools blend together, with faith — symbolized by the cross — at the forefront.
The week opened with a special Mass at the Church of Ste. Genevieve on Sunday where staff and students filled the liturgical roles. Father Nemeth, pastor of Ste. Genevieve Church and President of Valle Catholic Schools, was the celebrant.
We kicked off Monday with an all school assembly which included prayer (led by Brody Wolk), a game planned by the high school followed by the school song. During Knowledge Day students played board games, Catholic trivia and brain quests in their classrooms.
CATHOLIC Trivia
A highlight of the week was the presentation from John O’Leary and the opportunity to hear his inspiring message about faith and hope in response to tragedy. Valle acknowledges the generosity of Tim Kertz (Class of ’95) for making this presentation possible.
During Teacher Appreciation Day some students took on the role of teacher as they read to classes. The Valle Patrons Club provided lunch for faculty and staff.
The 3rd Annual Talent Show, co-hosted by Mrs. Metzger and Drake Meyer, was held to celebrate our terrific students. Acts included gymnastics, dance performances, several singing numbers, interpretive dance, joke telling, pillow people (aka faculty), and even an appearance by “Chief Touchdown”.
The Talent Show concluded with the 8th Graders dancing with faces attached to themselves representing each teacher.
Students made ‘Thank You’ posters for local businesses on Service and Community Day. Some students made personal deliveries to area business to submit their cards.
Valle also sponsored a personal care/canned food drive for St. Vincent DePaul. A complimentary chili dinner was held as a thank to the Ste. Genevieve community for all their support.
Children’s author, Dan Killeen was invited to speak to the students on Student Appreciation Day. Dan has written Robert and the Robots, Derrick and the Dinosaurs, and the Tillie & Clementine series. He shared with the students his writing process. As a product of Catholic education himself, he told the students how lucky they were to be able to attend Valle.
High school students spent the afternoon playing the always-popular BUNCO and grade school students played another popular game, Valle BINGO.
To celebrate Faith, Family, and Foundation Day, the entire student body attended Mass together. During Mass Father Nemeth blessed candles using the traditional blessing for Candlemas Day.
followed by refreshments in the gym. During the reception we had an opportunity to see two and three generations of Valle families gathered together.
The Early Bird Raffle Drawing was also held with the winner being drawn by Kindergarten student, Avery Schwent.
This year’s Catholic Schools Week ended on Friday night as Valle teams faced each other in basketball at the Valle gym. It was the perfect time to cheer for all our kids on the court. Staff LOUD CROWD represented, and before long the students were joining in. What an awesome way to end CSW!
Catholic Schools Week is always a special time to recognize the treasure we have in our schools. It presents an excellent opportunity to focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation.