Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • January 21, 2022 17 C o l l e c t i o n Jan. 22 & 23 A small portion of collection pays for this advertisement. S acred H eart E lementary S chool , H attiesburg ~ P rincipal V icki F lanagan Catholic Schools Week has been an annual celebration since 1974. It was created by the National Catholic Education Association to celebrate the traditions and values of Catholic education in the United States. It begins on the last Sunday of January, during Mass, and continues for one week. During the week, we showcase our Catholic school by deco- rating our doors and hallways with this year’s theme of Faith, Excellence, and Service . Our students come to school each day dressed in different themes all week from “Wacky Tacky Day” to “Red, White and Blue Day” . Each classroom puts together appreciation baskets full of treats, office supplies and thank you cards to send to members of our community that are instrumental in supporting our school, such as the mayor’s office, the fire department and local hospi- tals. In addition, we will be collecting gently used uniforms to be sent to a mission school in Honduras as part of our school-wide community service project. We end the week-long celebration with dance parties for the lower grades and movies with popcorn for the upper grades. The students look forward to this wonderful week all year long. Our parent and teacher commitment is what makes this week extraordinary. It is our way to communicate to our parish, families and our community the benefits that a Catholic School Education provides. Happy Catholic Schools Week! Right, PreK4 class Catholic Schools Week January 30 - February 5 S acred H eart H igh S chool , H attiesburg ~ P rincipal K eith B rackett Sacred Heart Catholic High School in Hattiesburg is excited to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. During the week, we will showcase this year’s theme of Faith, Excellence, and Service through service projects and a school-wide uniform drive benefiting a mission in Honduras. The 2021-22 school year has fostered a faith-based foundation in the lives of our high school students. Sacred Heart High School hired a campus minister to aid in the spiritual lives of its students where we were able to initiate the first Catholic Athletes for Christ chapter in the state. We also created a mentorship program, Crusader Champions, where upperclassmen are paired with junior high students to assist with their transition to high school. The conclusion of this year will see a newly renovated chapel for the high school campus. We have seen excellence in the classroom, through student activities and on the athletic field. Each student received an Acer Travelmate 2 in 1 Laptop for school use while installing fiber optic networking on campus. We have eleven students in the 30+ ACT Club with an average ACT score of 25.7. The class of 2022 has two National Merit Scholarship Award recipients, Christina Danford as a semifinalist and Carolyn Batson as commended. The high school Mock Trial team is gearing up to compete for the tenth consecutive State Mock Trial Championship, and Sacred Heart Catholic School has the most students, 13 students, participating in the Mayor’s Youth Council for the City of Hattiesburg. Crusader Football and Volleyball had record setting seasons winning the Bishop’s Bell in football and South State in volleyball. Jillian Hall was crowned Homecoming Queen on her 18th birthday moments after kicking a field goal while Nick Pipkins was named Pine Belt Sports Football Player of the Year. Even more great news, the class of 2022 had Sacred Heart’s first SEC athletic commitment, Gracie Falla, playing women’s soccer at the University of South Carolina, and a second athletic commit- ment to the Naval Academic Appointment where Christina Danford will play women’s tennis. We will conclude Catholic Schools Week with an open house for both cam- puses on Sunday, February 6 from 1:30-3 p.m. The future is bright at the Heart, and we are excited to continue building students’ faith, academic excellence and com- mitment to service. Faith. Respect. Honor…It is the Sacred Heart Way!