CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Students turning faith into action

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Sunday marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week, an annual celebration that highlights the many accomplishments of schools that strive to provide excellent academics, nurture spiritual, physical and emotional growth, and promote the message of the Gospel. Celebrating the theme “Faith, Academics and Service,” staff and students of the 35 elementary and nine high schools located in the Diocese of Providence will gather to thank God for their many blessings at special Masses, and continue Jesus’ mission to serve those in need by conducting food drives, visiting nursing home patients and performing other service projects.

PROVIDENCE – Every day, Catholic school students throughout the diocese put their faith into action by performing a myriad of service projects to improve society and their communities.

Whether it’s collecting blankets to warm the homeless, making sandwiches to feed the hungry, visiting the lonely in nursing homes or tutoring their peers, these young men and women exemplify the theme of Catholic Schools Week – “Faith, Academics, Service” – and strive to meet high academic standards and lead moral lives.

Aldelis Reyes, a junior at Bishop Keough High School, Pawtucket, said the poverty she witnessed during several visits to the Dominican Republic has taught her to value a Catholic education and to be grateful for God’s many blessings.

Noting that she is always thankful to return to a comfortable home after vacationing in her mother’s homeland, Reyes added that from an early age she has always enjoyed helping others, especially those less fortunate.

In December, the 16 year-old member of St. Bartholomew Parish, Providence, donated several of her own blankets to a school-wide project to benefit the homeless in Rhode Island.

“Hopefully these people can see that there is hope when people reach out to them – hope for them to get back up,” Reyes emphasized.

The busy student, who also volunteers at the Make-a-Wish Foundation, where she translates for Spanish-speaking guests and helps organize children’s activities, described her experience at Bishop Keough as “amazing.

“I completely love this school,” she acknowledged, adding that attending a Catholic school has allowed her to grow spiritually and intellectually.

At St. Luke School in Barrington, members of the St. Luke Sandwich Club, led by sixth- grader Samantha Proulx-Whitcomb and her mother, Dee Proulx, prepare 200 bag lunches one Friday afternoon per month.

The meals are distributed by Mobile Bread and Fishes, an all-volunteer interfaith ministry conducted by four Barrington churches, including St. Luke, that feeds and clothes the homeless and others in need in Providence and Woonsocket.

“I think it helps me realize how fortunate I am,” said Proulx-Whitcomb, adding the service program has taught the St. Luke students that “many people don’t have three meals a day and snacks.”

Her mother added that enlisting students from several grades to make lunches illustrates the importance of teamwork and shows them that everyone’s contribution is valued and important to the success of a project.

Students at St. Thomas School, Providence, put their strong faith into action by conducting several food drives throughout the year to benefit the growing number of families who visit the parish food pantry every week.

During Catholic Schools Week, the students will collect cans of soup and boxes of dried soup mixes during “Souper Bowl,” modeled after a national campaign to feed the hungry that annually coincides with football’s Super Bowl.

“We do it to help people in need,” said eighth grader Giovanni Zarella. “It’s what we do as a Catholic school.”

Zarella, who said community service and the plight of those less fortunate is discussed in religion class, has helped in past food collections, including a pasta drive in which St. Thomas staff and students collected pasta and sauce to benefit the parish food pantry.

School Principal Mary DiMuccio estimates that the soup drive will garner between 300 and 500 cans of soup, a nonperishable and hearty food that many of the food pantry guests often request. The class that brings in the most cans and soup boxes will be treated to ice cream and a dress down day.

“It is our job as a Catholic school to reach out to those who are in greater need than we are,” Di Muccio said. “It’s our mission to do as Jesus did.”

For Alex Rossi, an 18-year-old senior at The Prout School, Wakefield, service is not a school requirement or an obligation but rather a lifestyle. He serves as a lector at Christ the King Parish, Kingston, and at school Masses, and is actively involved in peer ministry at the school.

“I like being able to talk to the younger students and to be a role model for them,” Rossi said, adding that as a peer minister he shares his strong faith, and during student retreats he’s discussed a variety of topics ranging from church etiquette to adjusting to school life.

As a member of Prout’s Recycling Club, Rossi promotes careful stewardship of God’s creation by collecting paper and other materials that can be reprocessed.

“This teaches us that nothing can go to waste, and not just to throw things away,” he said.

In addition to his parish and school activities, Rossi also volunteers several times per year at his alma mater, Msgr. Matthew F. Clarke Catholic Regional School in Wakefield, where he assists in theatrical productions.

“I like helping the students learn the technology such as the soundboard,” Rossi said. “I did that in middle school and it was fun. Helping the students is a way to give back to the community.”