Inside our schools: Catholic schools plan week of celebrations

Sat., Jan. 27, 2007

Treva Lind Correspondent

Catholic schools in Spokane Valley will kick off special events for next week.

Activities and celebrations are planned at St. Mary’s, St. Paschal and St. John Vianney schools beginning this weekend through Friday, part of a nationwide salute to Catholic elementary and secondary education.

With the theme, “Love and Respect One Another,” St. Mary’s Catholic School, a ministry of St. Mary’s Parish, will begin its festivities with Masses at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and 7:30, 9 and 11:15 a.m. Sunday, with student participation, student introduction and a reflection by Principal Lauri Nauditt, and refreshments hosted by the teachers and staff for all parishioners.

The festivities will continue during the school week: a breakfast for the students cooked by the Knights of Columbus and served by the teachers, an assembly honoring Msgr. John Steiner, collection of soup and toilet paper for local community service agencies, thank-you notes written by students to volunteers, an open house for prospective students and an afternoon dessert honoring volunteers.

Day by day, St. Mary’s will focus on its constituents and the wider community, starting with the parish on Sunday, students on Monday, the staff on Tuesday, family and volunteers on Wednesday, community and nation on Thursday, and faculty and pastor on Friday.

At St. John Vianney, eighth-grade students have planned a spirit week. They selected different themes from the Bible, such as a Noah’s ark theme that has students dressing as twins. The school also plans dinner and a gathering at a Valley restaurant for a fun evening of celebration, with teachers and staff serving families.

St. Paschal has set the week aside to recognize the good things Catholic schools do for parishes, families and students. They will recognize their pastor, parents, students and teachers. To honor the Rev. Patrick Hartin, members will gather for a student and parent Mass on Tuesday morning and then offer thanks to the pastor.

The staff of St. Paschal also plans to offer coffee and treats for parents Wednesday in the school’s cafeteria. Teachers will be recognized and given notes of thanks on Thursday at the school’s prayer service. On Friday, students will be treated to a festive day, including a door decorating contest.

Bowdish presents swashbuckling musical

A cast of 22 Bowdish Middle School students will perform a musical comedy, “The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree,” at 7 p.m. Friday. Doors open at 6:30 to this free performance at Bowdish, 2109 S. Skipworth.

The play takes place aboard Captain Jennings’ ship. When his crew jumps ship upon sighting pirates in the distance, the good Captain is left with a makeshift crew of motley prisoners and Fergus, a sailor who can’t swim, to protect his wealthy passengers from the inevitable attack. As the lady pirates take over the defenseless ship, the audience will be treated to a swashbuckling musical comedy with a host of hysterical characters on deck and a number of spectacles in song.

Along with Captain Bree’s hearty crew of mean and nasty mates, a couple of new recruits and the wealthy passengers demanding respect, a ransom note is just the thing to bring the British Navy running. The two captains work together to save their crews from the British.

Students playing lead characters in the play include Mitchell Prothero as Captain Jennings, Holly Kirkman as Captain Bree and Courtney Jacoby as a wealthy passenger. The cast is directed by Bowdish teacher Bridget Hocutt, along with her husband, Chad Hocutt, a teacher at Evergreen Middle School.

Freeman students take top math honors

Freeman Middle School students seized top wins in Math Is Cool competitions. Linda Mega, head coach of the Freeman Middle School Math Team, said that both the seventh- and eighth-grade teams, after placing first in a regional Nov. 17 Math Is Cool match, qualified to compete in the Jan. 13 state competition in Moses Lake. Both teams earned third at state.

The eighth-grade team that competed at regionals included Nic Cherrington, Emily Ditzler, Maja Forsnes, Ben Mega, Trent Neiman, Alex Quinnett, Cappy Spruance, Katie Talbott, Thor Tangvold and Mary Zakheim. The four students who represented Freeman at state were Ditzler, Fornes, Neiman and Quinnett.

The seventh-grade group at regionals included Chris Beaulaurier, Travis Campbell, Cody Dickinson, Ashley Johnson, Ben MacPherson, Greg Ruby, Warren Schuster, Joseph Schweiger, Cody Toner and Ben Zakheim. Representing them at state were Beaulaurier, Campbell, MacPherson and Schweiger.

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