Catholic Schools Week
February 23, 2023
During week of January 30 — February 5, Catholic Schools around the United States celebrated Catholic Schools Week. Since 1974, this week has celebrated the Catholic education that students receive. Catholic school teachers, staff, and students are recognized for all of their hard work in continuing to develop and grow their faith. Billings Catholic Schools are based on three values: Faith, Family Spirit, and Academic Excellence. These ideals are stressed during Catholic Schools Week at BCS as students learn the importance of their faith. They begin to understand how fortunate they are to attend their school and experience the close bond and family aspect of BCS. They also learn how important it is to excel academically through volunteering, clubs, and school projects.
At Billings Catholic Schools, Catholic Schools Week is very important and is celebrated in a unique way. On Thursday, February 2, the kindergarten through eighth-grade students at St. Francis Catholic School were bussed to Billings Central Catholic High School to celebrate an All-System Mass. This Catholic Schools Week Mass was special because it was the first at which the Coadjutor Bishop of Great Falls-Billings Dioceses, Jeffrey M. Fleming, was the celebrant and for an All-System Mass at Billings Catholic Schools. Billings Catholic Schools staff, students, and families joined together through the Mass to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. At the end of the Mass, awards were given out to volunteers, educators at SFC and BCCHS, community partners, support staff, and alumni.
After the Mass and awards had concluded, Billings Central juniors and seniors and St. Francis 5th-grade students had the opportunity to participate in Kids Connecting Kids (KCK) activities. At Billings Catholic Schools, Kids Connecting Kids is a program where juniors and seniors are paired with a 5th-grade buddy and act as their buddy’s pen pal throughout the school year. Students write many letters to each other and meet up multiple times. For about an hour after Mass, the high schoolers and 5th-grade students talked and caught up with each other, played games together, and got to eat pizza and treats.
Catholic Schools Week expresses the mission at Billings Catholic Schools. Throughout the week at BCCHS and at SFC, students represent the values of Faith, Family Spirit, and Academic Excellence. Students express faith and family values at the system-wide Mass. KCK shows the family aspect and importance of academic excellence at Billings Catholic Schools. Billings Catholic Schools offers a unique opportunity for students which is shown through Catholic Schools Week.
