Catholic Schools Week Activities and Ideas for 2010 Theme “Dividends for Life”

Catholic Schools Week Dates: January 31 – February 6, 2010

• Begin and/or end the week with a school Mass. Make Mass extra special by having the students plan the liturgy, using student lectors, acting out the Gospel, dressing the altar, having students pick the songs, inviting families and volunteers and hosting a short reception after Mass.
• Create prayer partners. Pair classes/students and have them pray for one another.
• Create a prayer chain. Have every student write an intention on a piece of paper and make a chain that wraps around the gym.
• Play the game “If God were a…” For example, the teacher asks the students, “If God were a dance move what would He be?” Students should answer the question and explain their answer. For example, “if Jesus were a dance move he would be disco because He is up in heaven and down on earth.”

Knowledge

• Hold an intellectual competition such as a Spelling Bee or Geography Bee. Visit the official websites for more details: http://www.spellingbee.com/ and http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/
• Hold a school wide math minute each day. Chart the total number of problems each class gets correct in a public space for everyone to see. (Don’t use individual student results, this can be embarrassing.)
• Have a homework challenge. See if any class can get perfect homework for the entire week and offer a reward at the end of the week.
• Become pen pals with students at another Catholic school.
• Have students participate in the 2010 Catholic Schools Week Essay Contest from CTN. To find out more, go to http://www.ctnba.org/ and click on the ‘What’s New” section.

Discipline

• Have a behavior challenge. The class with perfect behavior (set guidelines like no detentions, no disruptions, no tardies, etc.) receives a reward.
• Select a daily moral value and have students nominate a classmate each day that exemplifies the moral.
• Read 1 Corinthians 13 and discuss how students can act in a loving way.
• Click on this link for a fantastic lesson on the 10 Commandments from the YIM Catholic.

Morals

• Focus on a virtue each day of the week. (Faith, Hope, Love, Prudence, Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, Chastity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness, and Humility). You could also connect the virtue to a saint that exhibited them or have someone come in from the local community. This could also be a good chance to tie in vocations.
• Select a daily moral value and have students nominate a classmate each day that exemplifies the moral.
• Read fables or other books with a moral theme and have discussions about the morals the stories teach.
• Write persuasive paragraphs about a movie the students could watch on student appreciation day. Have students use moral arguments to persuade you their movie should be the choice.