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Post date: Mar 13, 2012 4:35:42 PM
Catholic identity is evident in our Federation schools as students, teachers and staff observe Lent in ways that are both traditional and creative.
St. Angela Merici students act out the Stations of the Cross each Friday. They also have a Lenten path throughout the school where a different theme (i.e. giving thanks, forgiving, etc.) is highlighted each week. A new footprint is placed on the path each week to symbolize the kindness students are doing to help undo all unkindness. The school also holds a “penny war” for the missions.
Every Monday morning at Sacred Heart School, students assemble as a school for a prayer service based on their theme "Step up closer to Jesus" by using the three Lenten traditions of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The students are given suggestions for the week of how to make their Lenten practice more meaningful.
The school also has student led Stations of the Cross each week and students do without their hot, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies every Friday.
On the Wednesday of Holy Week, we will have an all school retreat given by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart and on Holy Thursday have a presentation from John Schulte about the Holy Shroud ( he has a replica of it to show the students), the students will act out the Stations of the Cross and end the day with our school play "Godspell" which the Middle School students are presenting for the public the last week of March.
As a school, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (BTC) had an Alleluia burial service. They pray the Stations of the Cross every Friday together. The last Friday of Lent, the 8th grade performs the Living Stations. Of course, there is a fish fry every Friday with the teachers working as the servers on at least one of these Fridays--which the kids really love.
Earlier in lent BTC's 8th grade wrote a Lenten resolution or daily activity (a prayer or good deed, etc) on a piece of purple paper. Each morning during prayer, they pick one and read it. They try to remember and do the activity during the day. Each paper forms a link to a lenten chain they have draped over the prayer table.
BTC's first grade "buried" their own individual Alleluias and we work each day in our Lenten activity book. We will be learning about the Stations of the Cross so that we'll understand them better when we attend on Fridays.
BTC seventh graders are using "Change Our Hearts" as their Lenten theme. On Ash Wednesday they wrote their Lenten resolution on a heart, burned it, and wrapped it in a cocoon. The cocoons are hanging in the classroom (a reminder of their resolutions) and will be butterflies on Easter.
Each morning, we use Totally Lent (a guidebook for Lent) to discuss the day's Gospel message and to think about how we can apply it to our lives that day.
St. Norbert School is having a Mission Carnival to raise money to build a well in Africa. We are also attending Eucharistic Adoration once a week, Stations on Friday, and the Eight Grade will be doing the Living Stations.
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