On Sunday, January 28th the St. Joseph School community gathered to kick-off Catholic Schools Week. The day began with a Mass celebrating National Migration Week, a tradition that the students look forward to each year. The children and their families represent various cultures and enjoy sharing and recognizing each other’s heritage. Twenty-two countries were represented in the entrance procession: The United States, Armenia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Egypt, France, Ghana, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Scotland, and Uganda. The students carried flags and wore costumes reflecting their heritage. Bishop Robert J. McManus joined the festivities and preached that the diversity in our Church is an example to the country that we can all live together. He said that in Catholic schools “students learn what it means to bring Christ to others.”
Following Mass, St. Joseph School hosted an Open House that highlighted the students’ research projects focusing on various aspects of the Olympics: the history, athletes, individual events, and the Special Olympics. Attendees were given a scavenger hunt and encouraged to find the answers in the students’ work. Attendees also had the opportunity to sample a variety of international foods and experience international entertainment that included: Irish Step dancing by the McInerney School of Irish Dance; soccer foot skills demonstrated by Brazilian soccer players Gabriel Souza and Jadson Leite of Boston City FC; and, the Worcester Youth Nian Dancers from the Southeast Asian Coalition performed a traditional Lion Dance. The dance, which originated in China, is a way to bring love to the new year. It was a great celebration of Catholic education and the Cultural Diversity of St. Joseph School students!
