Immaculate Conception in Morris to celebrate Catholic Schools Week

MORRIS – A Catholic school cannot simply be a duplication of other school systems.

“We have to be different,” Immaculate Conception School Principal Kim DesLauriers said. “We teach the basics, but we have a religious element throughout the curriculum.”

This week, ICS joins Catholic schools across the nation in celebration of Catholic Schools Week.

The purpose of the week is to highlight the uniqueness of Catholic schools.

ICS began its schedule of festivities Saturday evening with an open house and has events planned through Friday.

This year’s theme, as decided by the National Catholic Educational Association, is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.”

But those three keys have been taught at ICS since it opened.

"Faith, knowledge and service have been around since the days of Jesus Christ,"
DesLauriers said.

This year, the school is trying to boost its emphasis on service. DesLauriers said service is as simple as sharing your gifts with someone without expecting something in return.

Teachers, parents and students unite for charitable events and acts throughout the year, but especially this week.

“It’s about making the school and world a better place to live,” he said.

A few yearly efforts include hosting a Thanksgiving lunch for seniors, classrooms “adopting” families and students raising money for food pantries.

Students also are asked to help others on their own outside of school.

ICS students must perform 25 hours of community service in seventh grade and another 15 hours in eighth grade.

This week, Wednesday is designated as "We Care Wednesday," as students are asked to help We Care of Grundy County by contributing to the Souper Bowl of Caring. On Thursday morning, area preschoolers are invited to join teacher Rhonda Johnson for February Story Time. Then, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday at Family Night, ICS student council leaders will raffle a motor scooter.

The various acts of kindness have students excited for Catholic Schools Week. One lesser-known activity is that the oldest students in school spend time with the youngest.

“I’m looking forward to sitting with the youngest students,” eighth-grader Isabelle Hess said. “We don’t get to interact with them much.”

Eighth-grader Macy Rodgers said she is most looking forward to the pep rally because, among other things, the entire student body prays together and competes for loudest battle cry in a test of school spirit.

“And [eighth grade] will be the loudest,” Rodgers said. “Even though we are the smallest class.”

Seventh-grader John Landers and Hess agreed that switching teachers is always a fun activity. Eighth-grader Hattie Monson said her favorite service activities of the year were the Thanksgiving meal and the Hunger Walk in December that raised $3,700 for area food pantries.

Various student work was on display at the open house Saturday and Sunday, including 27 science projects, DesLauriers said. They will be judged and some may go on to regional competition.

But to DesLauriers, the 8:15 a.m. Mass on Friday is the highlight of the week.

“That’s when we come together to worship,” he said. “It’s the best thing we do all week. It’s an important day.”

During Catholic Schools Week, and the rest of the year, ICS works to shape young adults who make the world a better place throughout their lives, DesLauriers said. To him, it doesn’t matter if students go to college, trade school, the military or do something else in order to accomplish that.

"I'm proud of what our kids have done here," DesLauriers said. "And I've been here long enough to know they do great things from here forward."