Cathedral celebrating Catholic Schools Week

Cathedral School in Crookston is celebrating Catholic Schools Week Jan. 29 through Feb. 4 with a week chock full of activities. Honorary chair couples this year are Tom and Joan Morlan and Marcel and Jean LaJesse, with the theme being “A New Beginning...The Next 100 Years.”
    
Each day focuses on a different theme with events such as service projects, teacher’s appreciation luncheon and various P.A.C.E. activities taking place. Students can also dress according to the theme of the day.
    
The grand finale of the week, Mardi Gras Celebration 2012, will be on Saturday, Feb. 4, beginning at 6 p.m. with a social hour. There will games throughout the evening, with dinner and a live and silent auction set to start at 7 p.m. The celebration will take place in the Cathedral Centrum. Tickets are $40 per person, available at the school office by calling 281-1835.
    
In honor of its centennial, the school asked some of its alumni, parents of alumni, and in one case both, what attending the school meant to them. Following are their responses.

Marie Sandman
Going to Cathedral School meant a lot to me because not only was I able to learn more about my Catholic faith, but also make new friends, get a good education and have a lot of fun. I definitely have great memories from Cathedral - like Catholic Schools Week, the Christmas and Spring musicals, and the sixth grade camping trip. The teachers were all nice and supportive and made learning fun. We also were able to go to church every Wednesday which was really nice because it gave us kids a better understanding of the Mass. Cathedral School is a really friendly and fun learning environment with great people and friends.

Abbie Tosh
Cathedral School was important to me because the classes felt like little families.  I skipped 3rd grade and I remember being so upset with my parents because they were going to be pulling me away from my best friends.  But as soon as I met my new class, everyone was so inviting and kind.  I loved that about the school.  Everyone knew each other!  Even now when I come back to Crookston, when I see the staff, they still know me by name and are genuinely interested in how I’m doing.  (Over a decade later!)

Curtis Regan
To me, Cathedral School meant good friendships. The kids I went to school with at Cathedral are still close friends with me today.

Being a part of Cathedral School helped me and my family be active in the church and stay strong in our faith.

Megan Snyder
Parents want their children to obtain the best education possible, but education goes far beyond learning the basics in order to graduate.  Sometimes it seems like we forget how important it is to instill good morals, faith, and the importance of God to our children.  Growing up in a family where these were all extremely important, Cathedral School helped reinforce them along with a great education.  Cathedral School gave me the opportunity to learn Christian values and morals while obtaining a great education. It gave me the opportunity to be a part of not just a school, but also an extended family. Most importantly, it gave me the opportunity to learn why God is so magnificent in our lives.

The smaller class sizes at Cathedral School enable children to interact with their classmates and teachers more freely, promoting an environment where children feel comfortable to participate and ask questions.  The teachers at Cathedral School are welcoming and encourage parents to participate in their children’s education.  Teachers help strengthen the same Christian values that are taught at home, and in some cases, are the only source of them, reassuring to me the importance of a Christian-based education.  The teachers at Cathedral School understand each child’s uniqueness and abilities and help their students become whom they are meant to.

Young children are dramatically influenced by their friends, peers, and role models.  At Cathedral School I met friends who are still friends and teachers who are still role models.  I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to attend Cathedral School.

Laura Silkey (Schoeneberger)
Growing up, going to school meant seeing friends, smiling faces, studying new things, and learning about God.  Religion was something we discussed every day.  Little did I know the significance of my daily faith walk at Cathedral School until I became a young adult.  The building blocks of my faith were laid at Cathedral School and continued to grow stronger when I attended a Christian college.  My first three years of teaching were at a Catholic school in Alexandria, MN.  It was here I got to see my living faith in action amongst the youth.  It was like looking into a mirror of my elementary years, watching my students learn how God is woven into everything we do.  Lessons studied from the Bible tied into multiple topics throughout our days.  I do not think I would have fully appreciated this, nor understood it, if I had not attended a catholic school myself.  

Cathedral School provided me with a foundation to my faith.  It was there I learned early on to rely on God and his will for my life.  Without God’s will the rest of life does not make sense.  I learned how to listen for God in my heart and in the hearts of those around me.  As well as how Jesus lives in me and you and when we hurt ourselves and others we are really hurting him.  My teachers taught me that God is not just meant to be heard on Sundays alone, but every day of the week.  He is all around us and living through us all the time.  Without my Cathedral School beginnings I do not think my faith would be as strong as it is today.  Thank you to all of those at Cathedral School for playing such a huge role in my faith formation.

Anna Schoeneberger
When I think about my elementary school experience I always smile and laugh a little. I grew attending Cathedral School from 1st -6th grade and was surrounded by the same 12-14 students, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

After working for Minneapolis Public Schools for the past couple of years I have seen a vast array of settings, mixes of students and different classroom dynamics than what I grew up with.  It has made me feel very thankful to have grown up and educated in such a loving and caring environment. We practically had one-on-one attention from our teachers, were in a community that fostered excelled thinking and created a solid base for having a faith.

So although the days of dreading Mrs. Peterson’s mile run, being pumped for Mrs. Carlson’s music class (where I may have been asked to tone it down once or twice…) and counting to 100 before we would leave Jordan at the lockers  are  well behind, they are a part of what has shaped me and an environment I try to create for my own students today.

Michael Schoeneberger
Cathedral School was not the only place I went to school, but it was the BEST place.  I was the place where I grew up.  It was a place where I made connections with God, my classmates, and my teachers that will last my whole life. It was a place where I learned to not only talk with, but also to walk with the Big Guy upstairs.  Lastly, it was one of the best experiences of my life, and it helped shape me in to the man I am today.

Tanner Graham
Cathedral school is a place where kids can learn and grow in their faith through fun activities.  Friendships were formed at Cathedral school that will last a lifetime.  Morning prayer was always a great way to start the day and helped me realize how important it is to start each day with a few minutes with the Lord.

Pete and Ann Graham
We consider Cathedral School a true gift in our lives. What a wonderful opportunity to be able to have your children in an educational environment that enriches the faith and values that you are trying to teach in your own home.  

Cathedral students learn daily life lessons with an added bonus.  Values and faith and the beatitudes are the basis of learning and wonderful first guidelines of living a good life.  

The staff at Cathedral is a beautiful group of faith filled friends that welcome you and strive to reach out to serve others.   They always  have been and continue to be a very supportive team to our family in prayer and encouragement.

Steve and Jana Biermaier
Our 4 boys attended the Cathedral School. The School had and has a warm and friendly atmosphere of caring, teaching, respecting, and including everyone as a family. This school became a very important part of lives.  Friends the boys made and the friends we made, are still very much a part of our everyday lives.  Cathedral School supported us in what we believed to be the important lessons the boys needed to be taught in order to become successful students and even more importantly successful adults.  The academic teaching is top notch with very individualized help as needed and the teachers really care about the students in school and out of school.  The moral teachings of being humble, kind, respectful, knowing what is right and what is wrong, learning to be accepting of people, etc...have been irreplaceable in our lives.  Wrapping it all together with the teachings of our Faith, has given our boys the solid foundation they needed to stay strong in their convictions in life and to become the wonderful, young adults they are proving to be. 

Thank you Cathedral School!!! 

Brad and Laura Brekken
Celebrating 100 years of Catholic Education.

Hearing this phrase brings back many memories as a young school age child walking with my siblings to Cathedral School back when it was located in what is now the Care and Share Center.  

Because of our positive experiences in Catholic Schools,  Brad and I knew we wanted the same gift of a Catholic Education for our own boys.  That was one reason we moved back to Crookston, so they would be able have a firm foundation in their faith, reinforcing the values and passing on the rich traditions that are at the core of our family.

Our boys began their faith education by attending Pre-school at the Sunrise Center which is located in the same building as the Cathedral School; moving down the hall to Kindergarten and progressing through 6th Grade.  Academically they were well prepared for Jr. High and High School, achieving A and B honor rolls and our oldest son graduating as a member of the National Honor Society.  But as parents we knew we wanted more than just being a top student for our children.  

Character, faith, empathy for others were qualities just as important to instill in our children.  Cathedral School addresses all those facets of the student, and works together with the parents and the entire family to help shape your son or daughter.  It is truly a family at Cathedral School!  The teachers care as much about your child as you do and children are able to share their faith with their teachers and fellow students.

Students pray with and for each other, their families and people throughout the world.  Along with sound academics, Catholic schools offer strong character building, faith formation and a safe environment.  What more could you want as a parent for your child?  No wonder Catholic Schools have been around for 100 years!

Congratulations for 100 years of changing the world through Catholic Education!