Knoxville Catholic announces Sedes Sapientiae award-winners

Knoxville Catholic High School recently named Paul Liulevicius and Kate Pettinger as recipients of the Sedes Sapientiae Award, the highest honor the school confers on its graduating seniors.

This award, voted on by the faculty and the administration, is presented to two seniors who best epitomize loyalty, service, scholarship, and authentic Christian leadership.

Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God the Father. He took flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and, seated upon her knee, He grew in wisdom, age, and grace. Mary made a fitting throne for the Lord, and thus she is the Sedes Sapientiae, the Seat of Wisdom.

In naming the school’s highest award for Mary, Seat of Wisdom, Knoxville Catholic seeks both to honor the Mother of God and to encourage students to take her as a model of Christian life. The recipients of the award are students who, in the eyes of the faculty, best demonstrate the supernatural faith, hope, and charity that marked Our Lady’s life on earth and that denote true wisdom. n tration at Knoxville Catholic. I am especially thankful for the relationships I have formed over the past year with the current players and coaches. Knoxville Catholic will always be a special place to me, and I cannot wait to see their continued success in the future.”

Knoxville Catholic athletics director Jason Surlas said, “We wish Coach Smith all the best in his future endeavors, and we are grateful for his efforts with our team this past year. We will be opening our search for our next boys basketball coach immediately. We believe this is a premier job in East Tennessee, and we are eager to find the next leader for our program.” n

Notre Dame STEM students receive grant

Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga is preparing students for opportunities in STEM thanks to a recent grant from the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bicentennial Volunteers Inc. The grant provides resources that will allow science classes to build a pollinator’s garden with a gravity-fed cistern system that will help the local environment.

St. Mary-Oak Ridge students honored at school science fair

St. Mary School in Oak Ridge held its annual science fair recently. Scientists and community members from Oak Ridge and the surrounding labs came to judge the projects completed by sixth- through eighth-grade students. Students presented their experiments to the judges and conversed about their process. The firstplace winner was Celeste Gallo with her H20 filtration project. Second place was awarded to Morgan Snyder. Third place went to Gabriel Hadid McCallum, and fourth place went to Madly Hillman. Honorable mentions were awarded to Izzy Bodle and James Lutz. All six students represented St. Mary School at the Southern Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair. From left above are James Lutz, Izzy Bodle, Madly Hillman, Gabriel Hadid McCallum, Morgan Snyder, Celeste Gallo, science teacher Denise Miller, and St. Mary principal Sister Mary John Slonkosky, OP.

French students at Notre Dame make winning commercial

Several of teacher Emily Whitson’s French students at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga who are in the French Honor Society participated in the American Association of Teachers of French National French Week Media Contest for 2022. Three groups made three different commercials highlighting the diversity of the French language throughout the world. One group placed in the top 20 (No. 16) in the nation for its French commercial. The winners are (from left, front row) Hannah Widerkehr, Meredith Wilson, Riley Share, and Eva Whitson, and (second row) Paul Hoang, Wilson Hagen, Lucas Nguyen, and Alejandro Quintero.

St. Jude students help make Easter baskets for families in need

Members of St. Jude School in Chattanooga, the Ladies of Charity, the St. Jude Rosary Group, and the Council of Catholic Women gathered March 7 to assemble more than 300 Easter baskets that were donated to families in need and used as a fundraiser for the Ladies of Charity. Above, Kyle Verro makes a basket. The Ladies of Charity of Chattanooga works with organizations throughout the city to provide needed assistance for utilities, food, medicine, housing, clothing, and other expenses for marginalized individuals and families. St. Jude students and parishioners collected baskets, toys, stuffed animals, bubbles, coloring books, and many other items. McKee Foods assisted in providing treats for the baskets. Every student in grades pre-K4 through eighth, assisted by the individuals in the groups listed, had the opportunity to make a basket for someone in need. The Reta Rogers Easter Basket Project was founded by Joni Hotchkiss in 2006. What started out as a small idea has grown into one of the Ladies of Charity’s largest fundraisers. The project was named after the late Reta Rogers, an active volunteer who insisted that every basket contain a sweet treat for each child to enjoy. When Mrs. Hotchkiss gave up the project, it was adopted by St. Jude School.