Names & Numbers: Catholic Schools Week roundup

 

 

Pajamas collected by students at St. Margaret School in Bel Air for Casey Cares, an organization serving families with critically ill children. Casey Baynes, founder of Casey Cares and a St. Margaret alumna, spoke at the school Feb. 2 about her career in philanthropy and the lessons she learned as a student.

The St. Margaret students joined many others in collecting new pairs of pajamas, which go to children in area hospitals as part of the Casey Cares Biggest PJ Party, scheduled for April 18.

 

Students served by St. Joseph School in Fullerton, which received a visit from Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori Feb. 1. The archbishop celebrated Mass as part of the pre-kindergarten to grade 8 school’s Catholic Schools Week activities.

In 2016, St. Joseph was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education. Following the Mass, archdiocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools Barbara McGraw Edmondson addressed the school regarding the award.

 

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Parents attending Parent Visit Day at Maryvale Preparatory School in Lutherville Feb. 1. The guests began the day with prayer in the Community Homeroom, then fanned out to observe classrooms, such as the seventh-grade English class taught by Brian Boston, pictured.

 

Years Sister of St. Francis of Philadelphia Dolora Taylor has served Immaculate Conception School in Towson. Sister Dolora was honored after a Jan. 30 Mass for the school community. She was presented with the Golden Apple Award for outstanding service and received a framed letter from Archbishop William E. Lori. The school yearbook will be dedicated to her. Sister Dolora, 84, also continues to serve The Catholic High School of Baltimore, which is sponsored by her order. A Baltimore native, she was in its class of 1950.

 

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Years Kelly Fick has served on the faculty of St. Joseph School in Cockeysville. A kindergarten teacher who has served on various school committees, Fick was honored by the Knights of Columbus Father O’Neil Council with their Teacher of the Year award following a school Mass Feb. 3. A media release noted that she “was singled out for her passion for teaching combined with her positive attitude and genuine care for the SJS community.”

 

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Religious and clergy who visited Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Towson Feb. 2, visiting individual classrooms and holding a panel discussion. Attending (pictured, from left, with Principal Anders Alicea) are Sister Josita Colbert of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur; Christian Brother Leonard Rhoades, a religion teacher at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson; Sister Marcia Hall of the Oblate Sisters of Providence; Father Michael Carrion, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish; Father Matthew Buening, chaplain of the Newman Center at Towson University; and Deacon Doug Kendzierski of St. Leo the Great Parish in Little Italy.

For the panel discussion, students submitted questions ahead of time, ranging from how the sisters decided to enter religious life to how a priest writes a homily.

 

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Members of St. Frances Academy’s championship team accepting appointments or signing college letters of intent with institutions in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision), the highest competitive level of college football. On Feb. 1, Gary Brightwell made it official that he will attend the University of Arizona; Kinsgley Jonathan committed to Syracuse University; B’Ahmad Miller to the University of Maryland; Jordan Swann to the University of Connecticut; and Sam Thomas to Kent State. Caleb John, meanwhile, will attend the U.S. Military Academy, less formally known as Army West Point. In the accompanying photo, Miller, right, is shown with Gary McDowell, who will play for Bethany College in West Virginia. The Panthers of coach Henry Russell won their first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship last fall.

 

Jobs held down by Justin Berk, a meteorology professor at Stevenson University in Baltimore County. Berk visited St. John School in Westminster Feb. 1 to talk about Wind for Change, an educational program and fundraiser in which students blow into an anemometer, a device for recording wind speed, and try to get the highest speed, learning about science and raising money from pledges in the process. In the accompanying photo, Gracyn McMullen and Jonah Ginski give it a try.

Proceeds benefitted the Cool Kids Campaign Learning Center, which helps children undergoing cancer treatment remain at their grade level while continuing to interact socially with their peers.

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