Holy Cross School hosts Catholic School Week open house, Mass

Date: 1/26/2009

By Debbie Gardner

PRIME Editor



SPRINGFIELD Holy Cross School invites the public to share in two special events celebrating Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 25 through 30.

The theme of this year's Catholic Schools Week is service.

On Jan. 28, the school, which is located on Eddywood Street directly behind Holy Cross Church, invites parents, grandparents, parishioners and members of the neighborhood and community to stop by and see the good work being done by students and faculty during an open house from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

All classrooms from preschool through grade eight will be open to visitors that day, as will the school's special subject classrooms, which include music, art, computer science and physical education.

The school also offers Spanish language education across the curriculum, but because the subject is taught exclusively on Mondays and Tuesdays, the open house for those classes will take place on Jan. 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"The hope is that people will go around from class to class to see what's happening at every grade, not just their child's classroom," Principal Clair Cote told Reminder Publications."I think its important [for visitors] to get a well-rounded picture of what our children are learning."

Cote said Catholic Schools Week will also kick off a school-wide three-week multicultural studies project, and guests will see a map in the school lobby identifying the countries selected for study.

On Jan. 30, the school again extends and invitation to parents and the community to join students and faculty in a special 9 a.m. Mass at Holy Cross Church celebrating the school's commitment to service. Representatives from each class will participate in the Mass.

"This will be a Mass focusing on the Corporal Works of Mercy . feeding the hungry, clothing the naked," Cote said. "The students are creating posters illustrating each of the Works, and each class will be doing a service project focusing on one of the works between Catholic Schools Week and February vacation."