National  Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration that starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week.

Every school celebrates this week differently. Some have special assemblies to amuse the students, others have student teacher volleyball games. All in all this week is supposed to be special week for the students.

Elder does its part to ensure the students have memorable experiences. Every year, the young men of Elder start out the week with the traditional grade school colors day. The boys dig deep in their closets and search for that old grade school shirt.

“Grade School Colors day is one of the best days of the year,” said senior Michael Palmisano. “I love rocking my vintage Black Hawks’ jersey and sporting my St. Dominic pride.

Wearing my grade school colors made me look back at what I did for Catholic Schools Week back in the day. Looking back, I felt this week was much more meaningful in grade school.

I contacted my old gym teacher, now St. Teresa’s Intervention Specialist, Ms. Lauren Hope, to see how the boys and girls of St. Teresa celebrate this week.

Ms. Hope informed me that the students of St. Teresa started the week off with an Open House on Sunday. Preparation for open house started weeks before, building the anticipation for Catholic Schools Week.

Once the week has commenced, the grade school students received numerous perks throughout the week. On Monday, the students thank local firefighters and police officers for their service. On Wednesday, it was “Students Day.” All grade levels 4-8 got to face off with the faculty in a volleyball game, with no homework given throughout the school. Thursday and Friday both ended on a pretty chill note, either a movie, or a full school bingo game ended the day.

Personally, I feel Elder does not too enough to celebrate this meaningful week. Sure we have out of uniform days, but that is really it. I mean we are out of uniform almost every other day so it doesn’t really add anything to the week.

The teachers, here at Elder receive more than the students do, in my opinion. On Monday, the teachers received a breakfast, and on Wednesday, the faculty received a complimentary lunch thanks to the Mom Club, while all the students got was to go to a foreign language Mass.

Friday, to some sort is the best day for the students. At the end of the day, the upper classman, juniors and seniors, were taken to the Field House for a Career Fair. The fair was composed of Elder Alum who wanted to come back and share his experience with their fellow Panthers.

“The career fair is dope,” said senior Eric Mazza. “It’s great to get to talk to people in a career I am interested in. It gives a vital insight you can’t get anywhere else.”

While the upper classmen were learning about their plans for the future, the freshman and sophomores were giving a presentation from the Cincinnati Swat unit.

But no matter what one does during Catholic Schools Week, it is undeniable that this week helps us celebrate our Catholic Education.