This week is Catholic Schools Week in Boise and across the
United States. It is a time to celebrate
and appreciate the opportunity to attend a Catholic school. Catholic schools have a long and interesting
history in our country. Almost
simultaneously Catholic schools originated from Franciscan missionaries in
Florida and Jesuit in the middle colonies.
As the United States progressed from colonies to states, the school’s
needs and objectives evolved.
In the years following the American Revolution, the country,
being predominantly Protestant, structured the schooling and curriculum on the
teachings of the Protestant Church. This
was at times done at the expense of the Catholic children looking for and
education. In response to the threats of
prejudice, Catholic Church leaders decided to start their own schools to ensure
a proper education founded in the beliefs of Catholics.
Between the 1830s and the 1960s, the number of schools and
students increased. By around 1965
Catholic schools in America reached its all time high with more than 12,000
parochial schools. In addition, close to
50% of all Catholic children attended a Catholic School. In 2006, the number of schools is about half
of that and the percentage of Catholic children attending Catholic schools is
closer to 15%. Although this may seem
like a significant drop, about 40% of all Catholic schools have a waiting list
for incoming students and the needs in suburban areas continues to be high.
In Boise, we are truly blessed to have 4 parochial schools
and a Catholic high school. It seems
appropriate this year’s theme for Catholic Schools Week is “Faith, Academics,
Service”. We are lucky to be part of a
school which embraces our faith as we establish high academic standards and
promote a community focused on providing service to others.
What do you think about your Catholic education? What would or do you say to people about St.
Joe’s? What are your favorite things
about the school? What would you like to
see changed or improved on in the future?
Grace- I love having a Catholic education. I think it's really cool to be able to learn about my religion and faith outside of mass. I would tell people about how teachers at St. Joe's really care about there students. Like I mentioned in my CSW essay, they really get to know their students and notice if something is wrong. They are always there to help with academic-related things, but they are also like friends, there to help you with ANYTHING whenever you need it. I really like St. John's Cathedral. It is beautiful. It still amazes me every time I go to mass, and I still look at all of the detail. I remember when I first moved here and the first time I went into that cathedral. It was right before the sunset on a day in late August before school started. All of the colors of the stained-glass windows were reflecting off the walls. I will never forget that sight. Well, I would really like to just have a dress code like BK instead of a uniform, or at least a free dress day once a month like at my old St. Joe's. I could go into a great argument with that topic (just read my persuasive essay from last year) but my post is already really long. There are other things I would change too, but I don't want to go into detail.
ReplyDeleteNate- I think that my Catholic education is a true gift. Having my religion around every day is pretty cool. If I was talking to someone, I would say that St. Joe's is a spectacular school. One of my favorite things about my school is how Catholicism is incorporated into everyday school life. You just don't get that at a public school. In the future, I would like to see more than just four electives. Our options are kind of limited with only four.
ReplyDeletePatrick- Catholic education is probably the best type of education there is for me personally. It has the highest education standards as well as great staff and students. Catholic schools provide a great environment and that really helps. I would say and do say that catholic schools have the best teachers and staff and produce a crazy amount of smart children. I would also say that it is had to be bullied here and since there are suicides happening everyday and we don't have a bullying problem thats just one of the many reasons catholic schools are a great place to go to school. I would like to see more student involvement outside of school like tvcs or clubs like in high school. But all in all i really like the way st. joe's runs things.
ReplyDeleteThomas B.- A Catholic education is great. I probably would not know anything about my faith if I went to a public school and I would not have as good education either. I would say it is extremely challenging but it is also fun at the same time. My favorite thing about St. Joe's is all the great friends you can make. More electives would be nice, school lunches could be a little more appetizing, and I think there should be more than a school basketball team, like maybe a football team.
ReplyDeletekeelie: after the speakers spoke today i felt very lucky. not everybody gets the same opportunities i have. i want to thank the people who help me. like my teachers. they really want to help me become a good student. i like everything about st joes. from the clean windows to the stray pencils on the floor. what i would change is how much some kids act out. but, we are middle schoolers so i guess it's a part of who we are at the time.
ReplyDeleteReed- The speakers where amazing today and they made me feel like i am so gifted and lucky to have a good school and amazing teachers. After the speakers speeches i wanted to walk up and hug Mr. Grant considering how nice he is compared to the nuns. Thank God i was born in this time so i don't have to go threw what Mr. Shalz, Mr Muccury, and Mr. Grant had to go threw. I am sad that i have to leave St. Joes but i get to go to a great high school and i will have great teachers.
ReplyDeleteTodd- I think it is great and is a great way to get closer to God and learn at the same time. I like that it is a very small school, so we all get to know each other. This is really the best and nicest school I have ever been to. The teacher’s really care about us students and want to make sure we all succeed. I have made many good friends; the students seem to care about one another more than a public school. We should get grass fields somehow and play dodge ball every day.
ReplyDeleteNatalie- I feel blessed to go to St. Joes. I came from a public school a year ago, and the difference was phenomenal! I especially love the Religion aspect and the fact that I am challenged to do my best every single day. The students are much more respectful and the teachers take a special interest in your education and create a great learning environment. I would tell other kids that St. Joes is a challenging, yet fun, school. As for improvements, I guess maybe having more than four elective choices.
ReplyDeleteAdriana: I am blessed to got to St Joes and to have such a wonderful education! Cause some kids don't even go to school so I should be happy about waking up every morning to go to school. when I talk to people about St. Joes I tell the how nice the people are and how much the teachers care about you and how well the academics are and things like that. my favorite things about the school would have to be the sports. cause they have challenged me so much to play my hardest and to get in shape and the are also very fun! Like Natalie said I thing that we should have more than four electives. so like we could have P.E be an elective or like baking or things like that.
ReplyDeleteNikita- I love my education and think a school teaching religion is awesome. When some one asks about St. Joe's, I say it is a wonderful school. I love this school because the teachers are great and it teaches a good curriculum. What I would like to see is a 9th grade added to the school, then maybe not so many people would go to North and they would stay at St. Joe's longer. I don't know, something like that. All in all, though, I love St. Joe's and it is a wonderful and caring school.
ReplyDeleteTomas-I think that the education that i am getting at stjoes will be helpful and useful in the future. I am glad that i have the opportunity to learn something while others cant afford it. I say that St joes is the catholic school that all catholics should go to. I know that the teachers are preparing me for high school. In my opinion though, I would like the food to be improved. But the school is doing a great job right now so i dont really think that this school needs much improving.
ReplyDeleteLily- I couldn't imagine going to a differant school, I am truly blessed to go to such an amazing school. The catholic education helps me in all aspects through out my life. Sometimes I take for granted how lucky I am, because some kids don't have any amazing teachers or a great school to go to. When people ask about St. Joes I always tell them how great it is, and how many great teachers we have that push us to be our very best. Many kids have already said this but things we could change in the future is having more electives. There are many more we could do like P.E or a differant language that some one could teach.
ReplyDeleteRyan- I think that a Catholic education is a great thing. My school before wasn't very academic so St. Joe's was a big change. I love it here, I look forward to school every day. I would say a massive thank you to everyone who helps or works there. There isn't anything I would change about St. Joe's it the best school I've ever been to
ReplyDeleteLuke-Catholic Schools are pretty much the best thing ever. From the education to the relationships it holds with Christ, I could not ask anything more of these wonderful schools. I would tell them that St. Joe's is the best school of all time. My favorite thing about St. Joe's is the teachers. There is nothing that i can think of about our catholic schools that isn't fantastic already.
ReplyDeleteJustin-I think it is great to have a catholic education. I would tell them that st. joes is a really good school. My favorite thing about st. Joes is the amount of attention that the students get from the teachers. I wish that we could have P.E. three days of the week at st. joes.
ReplyDeleteSydney- I love having a Catholic education, there is no school I would rather be at.I would say to people that St. Joe's has a very safe school environment with a lot of people wanting to step up and take action. It has the best education challenging us every day. It is a very great school. It not only educates you very well in all the normal subjects, it teaches you about Jesus, our Savior. My favorite thing about this school is all my friends and the teachers. The teachers that have taught me here are the nicest teachers I have ever had.What I would like to see changed in the future is having more electives like Home ec and more. I love St. Joe's!
ReplyDeleteAndoni-I think that my time time spent at this school was worthwhile, and i hope that the years to come will be be just as great. I think that catholic education is something that all people should cherish.The major difference from any other school is the teaching of religion.I would like to say thank you to all the people that have made my catholic education possible.I like that we get the chance to talk openly about our faith. I enjoy the fact that the school and staff is a very close-knit community.I would much rather have PE more often than health. I would also like to see more options in the electives arena. All in all i like the way things are.
ReplyDeleteMegan- I am very thankful for my education at St. Joe's. I makes me feel like I have an edge of society. I tell people that St. Joe's is a great school that provides both a spiritual and academic journey that prepares you for life. It's my second home. My favorite aspect of this place is the amazing friends that you make here. We all are really open to new people and are very friendly. If I could change one thing, it would be the uniforms. I mean, I understand why we have them, but I don't exactly enjoy wearing the same thing every day.
ReplyDeleteLiam~~~ I definetly treasure my Catholic education. I think that this school will definetly prepare more High School and eventually the world, and I can say the same to other kids. My favorite thing about St. Joes is that everyone, generally speaking, gets along just fine. I mean if you compare it to the schools of the ghetto, then St. Joes is heaven and I think that it is hard to see that some kids dont see that. One thing that I would like to see improved at St. Joes is the music department. I think that we should have a more broad choice than just band, choir, and bell choir. I think that it would be nice to add a jazz band.
ReplyDeleteHayley: I am thankful for my catholic education. We also get to learn in fun ways. We get to compete in fun academic competitions. (wow that sounded really nerdy) What I like must is how we get to also learn about our faith. I think it is very important that we learn about why we do certain things in our church. Most people think that our school is still taught by nuns with ruler and paddles. Another thing that people are wrong is they think that we go to mass like every day. They think it's weird how we wear uniforms. What I like about our school is how we have fun opportunities to try different things. We have TVCS, quiz bowl, Hallissey, and many more. You also have the opportunity to run for student council. I think it would be cool if our school got some grass. I also think that they should have an opportunity to make Science Olympiad open for 6th graders. Other than that I think St. Joe's is pretty much perfect.
ReplyDeleteWes- I always cherish my catholic education because of how many people that don't have education and having a catholic education where you can freely celebrate your religion is great. I say how great it is having a catholic school like St. Joes with all the activities I can join in. I personally love the Science Olympiad and because you get to see what other people have done and make new friends. Personally I would like to see the middle school get a better area for a playground.
ReplyDeleteNathaniel- I highly value my Catholic education given that many children aren't even GIVEN an education. I tell my friends (not going here)that it's really fun, and interesting. We do many cool activities here such as Quizbowl, TVCS, Science Olympiad, and much more. I really like Science Olympiad in our school, and also think the technology we currently have is AMAZING. Another thing that is really nice about St. Joe's, is that the teachers will give up their time to help you no matter what you need. I think that it would be interesting if their were more languages that we could learn (nothing against Spanish at all). I also wish we had more days of P.E. I think St. Joe's is really nice despite these small things.
ReplyDeletelauryn-I think catholic education is great because the teachers are allowed to explore more areas when they are teaching. I would tell people that St. Joes is a great school if they are looking for an amazing education. For example they are allowed to talk about Jesus. I love the environment in St. Joes. Everyone is very welcome and nice. Including the teachers. I would like to see the uniforms change in the future but that probably won’t happen. I would also like to see there be a third story.
ReplyDeleteAubrie-I think that St .Joe’s a real blessing to be able to go to this School. I wish that ever kid could receive a catholic education…but I know that that is not going to happen in today’s society because of our diverse religions and beliefs. If I could say only one thing about the people at S. Joe’s is that they are always willing to help. There a lot of things that I like about St. Joe’s but a few of the things that I like most about St. Joe’s is going to mass every week and learning about our faith at school with a lot of other kids that are my same age. A few other things that I like a lot about all of the contests that St. Joe’s students participate in every year. For example, Science Olympiad, Quiz bowl, The Hallisey Basketball tournament and many more. One thing that I would like St. Joe’s improve or succeed in is going to nationals in Science Olympiad this year or soon years to come. So all in all I think St .Joe’s is a great school to go to.
ReplyDeleteRaquel- Well I want to say thank you to my parents for giving me this education because with out them I wouldn't have this amazing opportunity. I say that St.Joe's is very different from all the other schools and you are set up to succeed and do well in our studies. The things that make me love St. Joe's is probably that our teachers actually offer the time to help us with anything one on one. To tell you the truth you don't get this opportunity as much as you do at St. Joe's. I guess if something were to change at St. Joe's I think that we should have late starts on Fridays so that the teachers can have staff meetings and that we get even more opportunities to get to know other kids from the other catholic schools than just from doing sports. So that we have this big Catholic family/community.:)
ReplyDeleteBailie- I love our Catholic education because you can learn about God unlike in public schools. My favorite thing is how we are in an environment with people who care about each other. I would tell people that St. Joes has a great teachers, great students, and a great education. I don't think there is anything that I would change about our school because it has everything a school should have.
ReplyDeleteRylie: I love Catholic School education because you learn so much about God and our the path we must take to reach Her. I would tell people that St. Joe's is a wonderful school to build friendships and learn about our faith. My favorite thing about school is Art, because I love art and i'm very good at it. In St. Joesph's i don't think I would change anything because St. Joe's is the best school ever.
ReplyDeleteRylie: I love Catholic School education because you learn so much about God and our the path we must take to reach Her. I would tell people that St. Joe's is a wonderful school to build friendships and learn about our faith. My favorite thing about school is Art, because I love art and i'm very good at it. In St. Joesph's i don't think I would change anything because St. Joe's is the best school ever.
ReplyDeletePetie-I think that Catholic education is one of the best starter for a great life. It makes us better people, throughout our whole life. It is one of the most basic things for a great and successful future. I wish I could say thank you to each and everyone of the people that have made my education possible. I already do thank all those, but wish I could do it more often. If I could say something else, it would be that I owe my success to you. My favorite things about this school is its education, religion, and community. The education is outstanding, on of the best in Idaho. The religion is what really stands us out from other schools. We have a separate class for religion, we go to mass every tuesday, and each and everyone of us lives our religion in a way that is outstanding. The community is awesome, filled with faith, kindness, and most of all, hope. We are encouraged to do our best, to succeed, to do something more than just live. Jeez, what could we have improved on? We should stop making other schools so jealous, and be average. But as we all know that is impossible. We would have to throw everything we know and believe in out the window. It's amazing what a Catholic School can do for an individuals future.
ReplyDeleteIsabel- Coming from a small comuinity and small school, I think that having a quality education,more sports opprtunities and the chance to grow in my faith as a catholic, is a great privilige and blessing. Since the firt day I got here I could tell this school and community was differant than any other place I had been before. If asked about my school I would say I have felt really welcomed and I've enjoyed the short time Ive been here. If I could change something about the school I would add an orchestra to the elective. I play the viola and I think it would be cool to have a different music option.
ReplyDeleteJohn-I think geting a catholic education is awesome because not only do you get a great education,but you also get to learn a lot about religion. I say it is a great school that has great teachers and ect.,but I think sometimes we get a little to much homework(no i am just kidding). One thing i think should improve at St.Joes is that we shouldn't have to wear PE uniforms. We should be able to bring out own basketball shorts and our own t shirt.
ReplyDeleteNekane-I love my catholic education im so thankflll that i am blessed with this type of education. I will tell them that it is a catholic school and that its really fun there are nice teachers and really nice people there and we are like on big happy family. We;; i dont really like the uniform. i would rather have free dress but i guess if you wanted still a little type of uniform like we always have had on the free dress days.
ReplyDeleteLiza- I think that a Catholic education is so important to all of us. We get to learn about God and talk about Him without being reprimanded because your the only Catholic in the room. I think that it is so important that we realize that it's not about the education, it's about the spirituality that you get to learn about. I like how the people behave like they are Catholic. The maturity level is a ton higher than those at a public school. Our bar is set higher and more is expected of us. If i could change one thing that would be the uniforms. I think it is nice that we all look the same and that we can't be bullied because of our clothes, but I think we should have free dress with some regulation.
ReplyDeleteClaire-I love catholic education and it is important because we get to learn about God and our faith. I am always telling my freinds that dont go to st.joes how awsome it is.Personaly I think that peole that go to catholic schools are nicer plus I think st.joes teaches higher level education wich is better for later in life.My fraeinds that dont go to st.joes told me she would go want to go to st.joes because of the uniforms but I dont realy care about the uniforms I am just glad that I am able to go to st.joes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
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