Help a Catholic School Win $50,000

Piqua Catholic SchoolWith Catholic Schools Week just around the corner, here is your chance to make a huge difference to one Catholic grade school.  Piqua Catholic School in Piqua, Ohio is competing for a $50,000 prize from Pepsi. The school’s gym floor is over fifty years old, and if the school wins the money they plan on installing a new floor as well as initiating a before- and after-school fitness program and providing other equipment to make their school a safer place. To help them, simply text 104632 to 73774. You can vote up to three times per day. The ten schools receiving the most votes by January 31, 2011, each win $50,000. Right now, Piqua is in 5th place and they could use your vote! If you don’t use texting, head on over to their page and vote via the web.

Looks like a great cause. But don’t take my word for it. Let the students themselves tell you their story:

And here’s what Piqua’s local TV station had to say about the contest:

You could also help out by spreading the news to your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Archbishop Gregory on the Transforming Grace of Catholic Education

Catholic Classroom“It would be impossible to imagine our American society today without the transforming grace of Catholic school graduates.” – Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, October 18, 2010

In the following video from last week, Archbishop Gregory explains the mission and value of Catholic schools, and points out three qualities that make them unique:

  • Well defined curriculum
  • Parental involvement and support
  • Teachers, staff members and administrators who witness a sense of calling to assist students’ spiritual, academic, developmental and physical growth

Video Features Detroit Cristo Rey High School

One of the myths of Catholic education is that its schools serve only wealthy, suburban families. The following video profiles Detroit Cristo Rey High School, a college preparatory school serving those who could not typically afford a private education. The high school is co-sponsored by the Congregation of St. Basil and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart Mary.

Follow Detroit Cristo Rey on Twitter @detcristorey, and on Facebook.

Detroit Cristo Rey is not alone. For more on the Cristo Rey educational model, including how to start a school in your area, see the website for the Cristo Rey Network.

Catholic School News for March 13, 2009

Here’s the good word in Catholic schools around the world this week: