Year-Long Themes Enhance Focus, Purpose at Catholic Schools

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter

Some Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sioux City take on a theme for the school year to give the year added focus and purpose.

Catholic Identity
Via Veritatas “The way of truth” along with the words “Be it known to all who enter here, Christ is the reason for this school,” is the theme for the present school year at Remsen St. Mary’s and Granville Spalding.

“Every year we try to come up with a new theme for the school,” said Mary Arens, spiritual life director and theology teacher at St. Mary’s and Spalding. “We hang that outside of the school as people enter so that they know immediately that we are Catholic and that this is the theme that we are focusing on this year.”

She noted that it was Father Bill McCarthy, pastor at St. Mary’s in Remsen, who came up with the theme. In the past, a few of the themes have been “What so ever you do, do all for the glory of God,” “God’s will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else,” and “Imitators of Christ” – Ephesians 5:1.

“We have had some great themes,” said Arens. “It gives us direction as to what we should be focusing on throughout the year. It is important for faculty, staff and students when we gather at the beginning that we make it very clear that our Catholic identity is what the school is all about and the importance of our Catholicity.”

She added that the theme lets the students know that “we are serious about our faith.” The first day of school the students are greeted by the banners hung outside the school. There are bulletin boards in the school focusing on the theme. The theme is also put on T-shirts for the faculty and staff to wear.

“We kick off the year with a retreat for faculty and staff and it is centered around that theme,” said Arens. “It is a great way to start the year and then to work through that theme. It is a way to bring their faith alive. They are a way to make us check out, ‘Are we really following what we proclaim?’”

Focus For the School Year
At Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools in Sioux City, grades 6-8 faith formation (Holy Cross, Mater Dei and Sacred Heart) has taken on the theme “Dancing with the Dinosaur” this year, centered on the song by Steven Curtis Chapman of that name.

“The song speaks of living a life of conscience, conviction and integrity guided by God to make good decisions in our lives,” said Julie Tebbe, coordinator of BHCS middle school faith formation. “I think this is an important concept, especially for middle school-aged students because they are at that impressionable age where peer pressure plays a huge role. It’s peer pressure that can push them toward making certain choices, good or bad. The challenge is to make choices guided by God.”

She said that having a theme provides a focus for classroom activities, Scripture studies and service projects. The LIF Team members have t-shirts with this logo on the front.

Some of the past themes, all based on songs, have been “Live Out Loud” (’06-‘07), “It’s All About Love” (’07-‘08), “The Great Adventure” (’08-’09) and “Dive In (’09-’10).

“We usually kick off the year with members of the LIF Team (Living Instruments of Faith) choreographing and performing the theme song,” said Tebbe. “At each school, there is a bulletin board with the theme.”

This year the bulletin board has dinosaurs on it and the students made caricatures of themselves dancing with the dinosaurs, she mentioned.

“The caricature project was a sign of their outward commitment to ‘dance with the dinosaur’ this year – to explore the ways God can guide them in their lives to make good decisions,” said Tebbe.

The theme is integrated into the weekly faith formation classes. For example, this semester, she said, they will explore the dance of life God wants for them by setting aside their “busyness” and spend time in class focusing on their relationship with God and what is valuable in their lives.

At some point during the year, retreats will be held with the theme, “Dancing WithThe Dinosaur.”

Gospel Values
This year's Gospel value focus at Gehlen Catholic in Le Mars is "Be Still and Know That I Am ...." from  Psalms 46:10. Each month they are placing the focus on the names of God such as August being “Be Still and Know That I Am GOD.”  In October (Prolife Month) the focus was "Be Still and Know That I Am THE GIVER OF LIFE." In December for the Advent Season "Be Still and Know That I Am IMMANUEL" was the focus.
 
According to Lisa Sitzmann, director of campus ministry at Gehlen, the Gospel value for each year which is chosen by the Spiritual Life Committee at the end of each academic school year for the upcoming school year. 

“This has been a part of Gehlen Catholic for years. We implement a Gospel value into the curriculum no matter the subject taught,” said Sitzmann. “Each teacher is to create a lesson plan that helps infuse the Gospel value.
This method keeps the Catholicism in the heart of the education which promotes our existence as a school and assures the difference we claim from a Catholic education.”

Last year’s focus was “Our God is here.” Lisa Niebuhr, development director at Gehlen, noted that through this they looked at how God be present in daily life.

“Our focus (this year) is to teach us and remind us of the importance of prayer in our life and taking time to be still and hear God’s words,” said Niebuhr.

On Gehlen’s Web site, the monthly newsletter focuses on a different aspect of the theme.

“Every season we talk about how we know God shows himself to us,” said Niebuhr.

The Gospel value is incorporated into several aspects of the school day and year. Each afternoon the prayer focuses on the Gospel value. The liturgies focus on it. The staff T-shirts also have the logo on them. Bulletins boards around the school focus on the Gospel value.

“It is all to drive home the message of the Gospel value for the year,” said Niebuhr. “We are all really busy and we take time everyday to pause in prayer, but it is beneficial for us to have a focus. If we don’t take time, we aren’t hearing God. It is giving us an opportunity to grow together and to make sure that wherever we go in life we don’t forget all those important lessons.”