FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012

Contact: Patricia M. Chivers
Communications Director
(678) 480-6865
pchivers@archatl.com

Spelling Bee, Education Banquet, Service Projects and Mass
all to Celebrate Catholic Schools’ Week, Starting January 29th

Students, educators and parents across the Archdiocese of Atlanta will come together to celebrate Catholic Schools’ Week - January 29 to February 5. A variety of events, under the theme of ‘Faith. Academics. Service.”, will take place in schools throughout the Archdiocese of Atlanta to mark the week. Specifically, Marist High School will host a spelling bee at 11:00am on Tuesday January 31st, and on Wednesday, February 1st, all 8th grade students at Christ the King will celebrate Mass with Archbishop Gregory at 10:00am. In addition, on Thursday, the students of St. Jude the Apostle School will pack up boxes of food for the hungry in partnership with Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger relief organization. All of the Catholic schools will have a student appreciation day, spirit day, and an open house. Each of these activities reflects this year’s theme of service along side faith and academics. Catholics Schools’ Week will end with a special Mass and education banquet beginning at 5:00pm at the Perimeter Marriot to honor an outstanding employee from each school as well as recognize the principal and pre-school director of the year. All proceeds from the banquet are used for student scholarships.

Dr. Diane Starkovich, Superintendent of Schools, states “Catholic Schools’ Week provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the wonderful value of a Catholic education”. Currently, the Archdiocese of Atlanta has eighteen Archdiocesan Catholic Schools and five independent schools of which twelve are designated as Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, an award that recognizes those schools who consistently demonstrate high standards of academic excellence and student achievement. Statistics show that nationwide the graduation rate for Catholic schools is 99.1%. “We take pride in the accomplishments that all of our Catholic schools have made, comments Dr. Starkovich, “and I am truly grateful for the role our teachers and administrators play in educating our children to be students with a commitment to service and who possess strong, moral values”.

For more information, contact Pat Chivers at pchivers@archatl.com or 678-480-6865.

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