OLM Celebrates Catholic Schools Week With Service, Social and Spiritual Activities
With the theme of “A Community of Faith” at its core, OLM students, faculty, staff and families marked Catholic Schools Week with a variety of activities aimed at encouraging the community to celebrate their commitment to Catholic Education. At each Mass on Sunday, January 26, OLM students shared their favorite parts of an OLM education, which ranged from “excellent teachers”, “weekly Mass”, and “great lunches” to “awesome extracurricular activities” and “opportunities for faith enrichment.” As one student, fifth grader Declan Lynch stated “You’d be crazy not to come to OLM!” The annual Open House, also on Sunday, attracted dozens of prospective families as well as interested parishioners and alums. As one parent stated while walking down the hallway, “It just gets better and better!”
Monday, January 27 was OLM Spirit Day, with students and staff encouraged to wear their favorite OLM gear. “Student Appreciation Day,” always a favorite event, took place on Tuesday as students in Grades PreK-8 were treated to a day of bowling, sponsored by the school’s PTG. On Wednesday, Community Outreach Day, students and staff who brought in new packages of socks to donate to Midnight Moment Outreach were able to wear Crazy Socks for the day. On Thursday, Parent Appreciation Day, teachers guided students in various projects to help them thank their parents for the gift of an OLM education. The week concluded on Friday, January 31 with 9:00 Mass hosted by the seventh grade. Con-celebrating the mass were OLM Pastor Father Bernard Healey and St. Bernard’s Pastor, Father David Gaffney. As a “regional” school, many of OLM’s students come from surrounding parishes, including St. Gregory the Great in Warwick, St. Francis de Sales and St. Bernard’s, both in North Kingstown. In his homily, referring to the gospel’s parable on the mustard seed, Father Healey told the students that when they begin at OLM in Pre-K, they are like little mustard seeds, and throughout their years at OLM, they grow and gain wisdom and become like large mustard plants when they reach 8th grade, sharing their faith with others. In a new spiritual initiative, Father Healey also encouraged all in attendance and all school families to make a “Pledge to Our Lady,” committing to attend weekly Mass and pray daily as a family. In return, families who make the Pledge will be remembered at OLM Parish Masses. Friday also featured a faculty and staff favorite, the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon, hosted annually by the Parent Teacher Group. According to Principal Patrick McNabb, “As OLM School closes the book on this Catholic Schools Week, it appears that its Community of Faith is only growing stronger!”
Catholic Schools’ Week is the annual celebration of Catholic Education in the United States. According to the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Website: “Building on the central goal of Catholic schools to form saints, Catholic schools teach and embrace the whole person, body, mind and spirit. The fact that all members of a Catholic school community share the Christian vision of faith that Christ is the foundation of Catholic education is what unites the school as a faith-filled community.”
With a tradition of excellence in Catholic education since 1951, Our Lady of Mercy School supports its students as they strive to be the saints and scholars that God is calling them to be. Accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the Pre-K through Grade 8, co-educational Catholic school located in East Greenwich, RI offers its students the opportunity to pursue excellence in academics, athletics, and the arts in a nurturing environment built upon the teachings of the Catholic Church.
