Catholic school students grow in faith, excel in academics, serve others

By Barbara Stevens

It is with great anticipation that we approach Catholic Schools Week 2023!

This week is a special time for us as we celebrate the many accomplishments of our students, despite the challenges of the past few years. We enthusiastically celebrate the mission of our schools: to form Disciples of Christ in a Catholic atmosphere where children can grow in faith, excel in academics and serve others. Throughout the week we recognize with gratitude the various stakeholders in our school communities who contribute to the education of the whole child.

Our students have reaped the benefits of consistent, rigorous, in person ristic Adoration and participate in Holy Mass and Reconciliation. Students learn about saints, holy men and women, whose lives were dedicated to serving God. The saints serve as role models for our students as they learn and grow in virtue. We are especially grateful for the strong relationships that are built with the parents and guardians of our students. Recognizing that parents are the primary educators of their children, we seek to support families and work with them for the benefit of the children. Strong Home School Associations exist within our schools, and we applaud the commitment of so many parents as they work in conjunction with teachers and administrators. Family engagement is of primary importance to the successful op

Project-Based Learning, where students have the opportunity to look at problem solving in a global context. Important communication and collaboration skills are developed as students present creative solutions to global problems, such as world-wide hunger and climate change. The themes of our Catholic Social Teachings are integrated throughout the projects as our students learn the responsibilities of putting our faith into action.

The past few years have proven challenging and educators have seen a great need to support the social and emotional needs of children. We are so blessed in our Catholic schools to provide this support in the classrooms as we affirm our identity as sons and daughters of God.

Checchio states in his pastoral letter, “Catholic education should educate our young people to be truly free, intellectually honest and dynamically prepared to engage the wider culture with confidence. As we continue to provide Catholic education and faith formation, we not only are evangelizing; we are forming the next generation of evangelizers.”

I invite you to come visit our schools as we celebrate Catholic Schools Week January 29 – February 3. Many of our schools host Open Houses on January 29th as well as other days during that week; check school websites for further details. Come and learn more about the Catholic school experience!

Stevens is superintendent, diocesan Office of Schools

Hunterdon County

Immaculate Conception Annandale icsannandale.org 908-735-6334

Middlesex County

St. Joseph, Carteret sjps.net 732-541-7111

St. John Vianney, Colonia school.sjvianney.com 732-388-1662

St. Bartholomew East Brunswick school.stbartseb.com 732-254-7105

St. Helena, Edison sthelenaedison.org 732-549-6234

St. Matthew, Edison school.stmatthewtheapostle.com 732-985-6633

St. Augustine of Canterbury Kendall Park school.staugustinenj.org 732-297-6042

St. Francis Cathedral Metuchen stfranciscathedralschool.org 732-548-3107

St. Ambrose, Old Bridge stambroseschool.net 732-679-4700

St. Thomas the Apostle Old Bridge sttaob.com 732-251-4812

Assumption Catholic Perth Amboy assumptioncatholicschool.net 732-826-8721

Perth Amboy Catholic pacatholicschool.org 732-826-1598

St. Stanislaus Kostka, Sayreville sskschool.org 732-254-5819

Holy Savior Academy South Plainfield holysavioracademy.com 908-822-5890

Immaculate Conception Spotswood icsspotswood.org 732-251-3090

St. James, Woodbridge sj-school.org 732-634-2090

Somerset County

Saint James, Basking Ridge sjsbr.org 908-766-4774

School of St. Elizabeth Bernardsville steschool.org 908-766-0244

St. Ann, Raritan stannclassical.org 908-725-7787

St. Matthias, Somerset stmatthias.info 732-828-1402

Immaculate Conception Somerville icsschool.org 908-725-6516

Warren County

Saints Philip and James Phillipsburg sspjnj.org 908-859-1244

High Schools

St. Thomas Aquinas, Edison stahs.net 732-549-1108

Immaculata, Somerville immaculatahighschool.org 908-722-0200

Mount Saint Mary Academy Watchung mountsaintmary.org 908-757-0108

Saint Joseph, Metuchen stjoes.org 732-549-7600

To find a Catholic school visit: diometuchen.org/ schoolfinder

T h e C a t h o l i c c l a s s i c a l a p p r o a c h w e a r e i m p l e m e n t i n g v i e w s t h e p u r p o s e o f e d u c a t i o n a n d o f t h e h u m a n p e r s o n d i f f e r e n t l y t h a n t h e “ m o d e r n ” a p p r o a c h O u r c u r r i c u l u m a n d s t y l e o f t e a c h i n g i s g e a r e d t o w a r d s a f f i r m i n g t h e d i v i n e a t t r i b u t e s t h a t u n i t e a l l s u b j e c t s o f l e a r n i n g W e p r o m o t e t h e p u r s u i t o f t h e T r u e , G o o d a n d t h e B e a u t i f u l t h r o u g h a p r o c e s s o f d i s c o v e r y a n d r e a s o n e d t h i n k i n g , t h e r e b y d r a w i n g s t u d e n t s i n t o d e e p e r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e l i f e o f G o d

T h r o u g h a v i b r a n t a n d d i s t i n c t C a t h o l i c c l a s s i c a l e d u c a t i o n a t S t A n n C l a s s i c a l A c a d e m y i n R a r i t a n , y o u r c h i l d w i l l g r o w i n p e r s o n a l a n d a c a d e m i c c o n f i d e n c e , k n o w t h e y a r e u n i q u e l y l o v e d a n d c o m e t o r e c o g n i z e t h e d i g n i t y o f t h e h u m a n p e r s o n a s g i f t f r o m G o d .