As the summer winds down after its whirlwind of sports, camps, vacations and activities, we begin to look forward to the routine that the new school year brings us. Here at St. Jude, we are blessed to have an active young school at our parish. As a parish, it is very important that we are active in the ministry that is our school. Principal Beth Meece is excited to share some of the things that the staff and faculty are really looking forward to about this new school year.
“We are really going to put a lot of focus on the Eucharistic Revival,” Mrs. Meece says. “We are putting together school and parish-wide goals to work towards as we embrace this
nation-wide theme. The Eucharist is the ‘source and summit’ of our faith. If we want to renew our belief in and devotion to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, it is important that we teach that belief from our youngest members. We will be praying common prayers such as the Anima Christi and working on some activities that link the school and parish together in this effort.”
The school has also been making an effort to stay on top of maintenance and upkeep instead of waiting for things to break. The main entrance is getting a facelift and progress is being made on the new playground.
“We are so blessed to have such involved parents, parishioners, and alumni,” Mrs. Meece says. “We have had great success with our Raising Raiders fundraiser. The main goal of this fundraiser is to support our teachers and do our best to provide a competitive salary.”
One important part of having the support of the parish within the school is the community.
“We have such a vibrant community and that is so crucial to our school,” Mrs. Meece says. “We have been attracting more non-Catholic students and it is a wonderful opportunity for evangelization. We have had several of our non-Catholic students in the last few year choose to be confirmed. Being involved in our vibrant community is an important part of helping our students stay life-long Catholics. They see the benefit of the community as a whole and they continue to put effort into that community as they grow.”
One great way for the parishioners to be active in the school is to volunteer. Throughout the school year, there are many events where assistance is needed to help things run smoothly for the staff and students.
“Many of our young parents are very busy and we have some areas where we have a hard time getting volunteers,” Mrs. Meece says. “We happily welcome grandparents, retirees or other parishioners that want to get involved. We have fun events like Cultural Day, Catholic Schools Week, or Field Day, but we also welcome those who want to help with recess duty or maybe a parishioner who wants to share about their faith journey.”
The relationship between the school and the parish is an important one and we look forward to seeing what great things are in store for the staff and students this year.
To find out more information about serving at the school, contact the school office at 317-784-6828.