Good news stories are happening in Catholic schools across the country! Let NCEA know what is happening with your school so that we may share on NCEA Talk, social media and in the pages of Momentum. Visit www.NCEA.org/shareyourstory to submit your good news today!
Although the school year is halfway over, the back-to-school teacher workshop at Presentation of Mary Catholic School, Infants-8, in Maplewood, MN, is worth mentioning.
Two eagles set up shop atop the church steeple. The campus is located on the highest ground in the area. Marketing and communications director, Mary Davini explained, “the eagles have a bird’s-eye view and keep a close watch over students and faculty/staff throughout the school year!”
For several years, the staff and students at St. Mary School, PreK-6 in Edgerton, OH, have been supporting Food for the Poor to help those less fortunate in the Caribbean. With less than 100 students, St. Mary’s efforts have resulted in building homes for two families (2019 and 2022), providing food, medicine and supplies to the most vulnerable people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Students are given the opportunity to donate at a monthly Mass collection, Mission Carnival, Penny War and classroom globe banks. Principal Julie Taylor, remarked, “It is gratifying to watch our students put their faith and virtues into action to care for our neighbors and to make our world a better place.”
Hundreds of thousands of prehistoric Native American rock art panels adorn the cliff faces of the American Southwest. This enigmatic artwork, what First Peoples frequently refer to as “picture writing,” functions as an integral part of each tribe’s spiritual identity. Sadly, many of these panels have been callously vandalized or suffered erosional degradation due to extreme antiquity. But, since the autumn of 2018, the middle schoolers at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School in Sandy, UT, have been documenting and stewarding prehistoric Native American rock art throughout the state. Working under the auspices of their teachers, licensed archaeologist John McHugh and co-teacher Joe Martin, the archaeology club at Blessed Sacrament has teamed up with the Bureau of Land Management and the State Historic Preservation Office to find, record and protect fragile rock art panels that have been carved and painted by prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan peoples. Intriguingly, their descendants now inhabit the modern pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona and the vast majority are devoutly Catholic.
Blessed Sacrament’s archaeology club serves as a pilot program for the Utah Rock Art Research Association, and continues to preserve and protect Indigenous Americans’ artistic legacy. For more information on this important work, contact John McHugh, jmchugh@utbscs.org.
An anonymous donor has helped to bridge the financial gap faced by some Catholic school students seeking to continue their Catholic education into high school. Over the past three years, this generous, yet anonymous, donor has contributed nearly $7.5 million to the St. Pope John Paul Tuition Opportunity Partnership.
In September, Catholic schools in the Dioceses of Greensburg and Pittsburgh announced a joint program called Building a Bridge to connect grade school students in the Alle-Kiski Valley to high schools in their region but in a different diocese.
The program allows students to receive a continuous Catholic school education from Pre-kindergarten through grade 12 at either St. Joseph High School in Natrona Heights, Harrison or Greensburg Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School.
Pinecrest Academy, PreK3-12, has been named to the Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) School Honor Roll, earning Platinum distinction and also was awarded the AP Access Award, recognizing schools that demonstrate a clear and effective commitment to equitable access to advanced coursework.
The AP® School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose AP programs are delivering results for students while broadening access, fostering a collegegoing culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit and maximizing college readiness.
Eighty-seven percent of seniors took at least one AP exam during high school with 78 percent of seniors scoring a three or higher on at least one AP exam, and 74 percent took five or more AP exams. Twenty-two AP courses were offered during the 2022-2023 school year, representing 21 sections taught by 12 high school teachers at the school.
“We are so honored to have received this AP Honor Roll Award, as we strive each year to provide every student with a college preparatory experience, which includes the successful completion of challenging AP courses,” commented Amy Bowman, principal of Pinecrest Academy High School.