PREPARING FOR JESUS

One of the many blessings of a Catholic education is that our students are allowed the opportunity to celebrate the Advent and Christmas season.

It can be so easy to let Advent fly by without taking much time to stop and reflect on the gradual coming of the Messiah or the enormity of our Savior's humble entrance into our broken world. Thus, to prepare our children's hearts for the coming of the baby Jesus, our Catholic schools make celebrating the season of Advent a priority. Our Catholic schools help our students to understand that the real reason for our expectant joy leading up to Christmas is not hope of the presents under the tree, but rather the hope and gift of Jesus Christ - the light of the world coming to transform us so that we can transform our families, our schools, and our world (Catholic Schools Center of Excellence).

During the month of December, students at Rochester Catholic Schools have celebrated the Advent season through prayer, Mass, music, and by providing service to others in our community. 

Click the button below to view photographs of our students celebrating the preparation of Christmas. 

SEE CHRIST BE CHRIST

Published By:

Mr. Chris Smith, Holy Spirit Catholic School Principal

Holy Spirit Catholic School has officially started a Youth Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. As you may know, an adult Society of St. Vincent de Paul is active in each Catholic parish in Rochester. The Youth Conference will work to support the efforts of the adult conferences, as well as initiating its own projects to serve the needs of the poor. Students in fourth through eighth grade are referred to as Young Vincentians or "Vinnies." Students in kindergarten through third grade will be known as "Mini Vinnies."

Students will meet in multi-age "Spirit Groups" each quarter to engage in a community-building service project to meet the needs of the poor and put Catholic Social Teaching into action. Students will also participate in grade-specific service projects throughout the year to help us "see Christ in others and be Christ for others."

NEW STREAM LAB

AT LOURDES

By: Mr. Mark Miles, Lourdes High School Computer Science Teacher

In order to provide more authentic, inquiry-based, and hands-on learning opportunities, Lourdes High School is converting an art room and the computer resource room into a STREAM (science, technology, religion, engineering, art, and mathematics) Lab.
 
Lourdes is looking forward to integrating exciting project-based learning into current curriculum, as well as providing new opportunities for students to explore during their open mods, challenging them to improve their creative and critical thinking skills that are essential in the 21st Century. 
 
The STREAM lab is being developed in multiple phases by the "STREAM Team", comprised of teachers and school leaders in different departments. Phase 1, October 2017-April 2018, is being implemented this year and includes work space renovation, woodshop and crafting materials, and graphic design tools including a large format printer and vinyl cutter. Phases two and three, which we hope to launch in the 2018-2019 school year, will include programmable devices, 3D printing, electrical engineering equipment, and metalworking tools and supplies. Our community is very excited to be able to provide these challenging and creative opportunities for our students! 
 
This project was made possible because of many generous benefactors who supported the Fund-A-Need the Hearts of Gold 2017. Endeavors such as the STREAM Lab continue to help our students and staff live out our mission to grow in mind body and spirit through action.

DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS
UPDATE

The RCS Board of Trustees is continuing its search for a new Director of Schools. The executive search firm brought four candidates from around the country forward for interviews on December 11th and 12th. From these interviews, we hope to have one or two finalists that would return in January. We will continue to keep you updated as the process continues.

RCS NOW OFFERS

SUMMER CARE!

RCS is pleased to offer Summer Care beginning June 2018! Join us for a fun summer of faith activities, community field trips, convenient access to RCS Summer Camps, and structured enrichment that will keep your child engaged and growing in mind, body, and spirit, all summer long! Registration opens January 3, and space is limited.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
SAVE THE DATE

Save the Date for CSW 2018 - January 28-February 3, 2018!

National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. This year's theme is Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed. During this week, our schools focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, communities, and nation.

SAVE THE DATE
All are invited to join Rochester Catholic Schools on February 2 for our annual Catholic Schools Week Celebration at the Kahler Apache from 4:30 - 7:00 p.m. This annual event inspires our faith community to continue to reinforce the profound difference that Catholic education makes in the lives of our students. Please save this date and plan to join us! Formal invitation to follow. 

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

SYSTEM SERVICE PROJECT

RCS Joins Efforts to Collect Pop Tabs for the Ronald McDonald House for Catholic Schools Week System Service Project

Each year nearly 1,000 families travel to our community and stay at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) while receiving treatment at Mayo Clinic. 

To kick-off our system-wide Catholic Schools Week service project, we too want to join in the efforts to support the Ronald McDonald House. Rochester Catholic Schools will be collecting the tabs you pull to open soda, soup or other aluminum cans. The funds generated from recycling these aluminum pieces will help offset the House's expenses as they work to expand. This is one of two service projects RCS students will be participating in during Catholic Schools Week 2018!

Please click the button below to watch a video and learn how Rochester Catholic Schools is teaming up with a RMH family to give back to our community! 

HEARTS OF GOLD 2018

SAVE THE DATE

Every spring, Rochester Catholic Schools hosts a special event to benefit Lourdes High School. This formal event is a wonderful way to celebrate with friends and family while supporting the school you love.

Save the Date
All are welcome! Alumni, parents of current students and graduates, RCS faculty and staff, and friends of Lourdes!

Saturday, April 28, 2018
Rochester International Event Center

There are many ways to support Lourdes High School through Hearts of Gold, A Purple Tie Affair...

• Attend the event and have a great time!
• Invite your friends and family
• Join the planning team now*
• Sign up to help with event-day set up or event worker*
• Donate to the auction

*Please contact Carrie at (507) 424-1817 or cplumlee@rcsmn.org for more information.

CLOUD CULT CONCERT

TO BENEFIT CLASS OF 2018 SCHOLARSHIP

Cloud Cult will perform in concert at the Lourdes High School Fine Arts Auditorium on Saturday, February 3, 2018. The concert is open to the public with advanced reserved tickets available for $30.00 at https://lhsmn.booktix.com or Day of Show tickets are $32.50 at the door. The show will feature an opening act by Rochester Catholic Schools' musicians at 7:00 p.m., with the feature performance, Unplug by Cloud Cult, beginning at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds from the concert will go towards the Lourdes High School Class of 2018 Senior Scholarship Fund.

Click the read more button to learn more about this amazing band and their story!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Dec. 25 - Jan. 2

Christmas Break


Jan. 3
Summer Care Registration Opens

Jan. 11

8th Grade Visit Day to Lourdes

Jan. 15

No School 

Jan. 23

RCS 5-8 Grade Band Concert 

January 28 - February 3
Catholic Schools Week

Jan. 31

System-wide Mass with Bishop Quinn

Feb. 2

Catholic Schools Week Celebration

Feb. 3
Cloud Cult RCS Senior Scholarship Concert

Feb. 17

Annual Spaghetti Dinner to support the Class of 2018 Sr. Party