BY JOY MARQUARDT
CONTRIBUTOR
Sharing their faith and serving the Merrill community and beyond, students at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School celebrate National Catholic Schools Week Jan. 29 – Feb. 4 with fellowship and fun.
“The main purpose of Catholic Schools Week is to showcase our school and celebrate our Catholic faith,” said Co-Principal Kate Shimmel.
Students at St. Francis have been focusing the school year on showing kindness to others and reaching out to the community through faith and service.
“We are focusing the year on the theme of ‘Faith, Excellence, and Service’ at our school,” Shimmel said. “It’s our school’s tag line. Every student here knows the tag line and can show you a hand motion they have learned for each of the concepts.”
A Mass commemorating Catholic Schools Week kicks off a week of activities at the church and school on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 9:00 a.m., followed by a family breakfast served by the Knights of Columbus and an Open House at the school.
The school week begins Monday, Jan. 30, with an all-school retreat centering on the Eucharist. Students will participate in devotions, watch a video, and learn how to make the host or bread used in Mass. They will also make a special altar cloth or wall hanging for the church using student hand prints.
A day devoted to community service takes place Wednesday, Feb. 1, with students inviting members of the Merrill Police and Fire Departments to the school for cookies and coffee. Classes will travel to Pine Crest Nursing Home and Bell Tower Residence to participate in the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet with the residents.
As a service project for Catholic Schools Week, the entire school will be collecting donations for the Merrill Food Pantry to be delivered by the middle school students.
“Our goal is for the students to learn why they serve others and to realize what they do is affecting others in a positive way,” Shimmel said. “We have been doing a service project each month throughout the school year.”
The annual Mass conducted by Bishop James Powers of the Diocese of Superior takes place Thursday, Feb. 2, at 10:00 a.m., hosted by St. Francis Catholic Church and School. Open to the public, the Mass brings together more than 270 students from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Tomahawk, Nativity of Our Lord Catholic School in Rhinelander, Holy Rosary Catholic School in Medford, and St. Francis Xavier. The Mass is held at each of the four schools on a rotating basis and is the first time the Mass will be attended live since the start of COVID.
“We are hosting the Bishop’s Mass this year with students coming from Rhinelander, Tomahawk, Medford, and Merrill,” Shimmel said. “After Mass, they will stay for lunch and make valentines as a service project for the homebound and nursing homes.”
Other activities during the week will include special dress-up days, bingo, a movie, dance parties, snow painting, and a breakfast for lunch prepared by teachers and staff.
“For me, I like taking time out during Catholic Schools Week to celebrate the fact that we can pray here everyday and we can talk about our faith in every class,” said religion instructor and Director of Faith Formation, Kay Berg.
A faith-based education is incorporated throughout the school day at St. Francis, along with regular religion classes. Each student has the opportunity to attend and lead Mass and to participate in morning, meal time, and end-of-the-day prayer.
“We can bring God into every conversation,” Berg said. “I’ve always liked teaching children about Jesus and the Bible and the Catholic faith, and to do it in a classroom setting is why I think I’m here.”
In her third year at St. Francis, Berg incorporates hands-on activities into her curriculum and will emphasize kindness and service to others for the second semester of the school year. All of her classes will attend weekly Mass at Bell Tower Residence and Pine Crest Nursing Home on a rotating basis, among other activities.
“All of the classes have been making cards and things for the residents, but by going to Mass with them, they are actually seeing the people they are serving,” Berg said. “It’s about building a relationship with the people we are serving.”
Kelli Homan currently teaches fourth and fifth grade at St. Francis and has been with the school for more than four years.
“The main reason for Catholic Schools Week is to try and share our faith with the community,” she said. “We have to help take care of our community; this is where we live. We are here to support everybody and to be helpful.”
Homan’s classes have collected food for the Lincoln County Human Society, sent care packages to veterans at Christmas time, and donated to the Merrill Food Pantry, as well as other service projects.
“As a teacher, we get to plan things and focus on serving people and actually do the service projects,” she said. “The students are very caring. They know that they can touch lives and teach people that every day matters.”
As a parent and aide in the 4K classroom at St. Francis, Joni Such enjoys the family atmosphere at the school.
“It’s definitely a very family-type atmosphere here,” she said. “Being a small school, a lot of families have been here a long time. It has a family-type feel.”
On a day-to-day basis, Such observes her daughter practicing kindness and respect for others in and out of the classroom and learning how it relates to her faith.
“It’s very much a day-to-day thing,” she said. “As a parent, it’s comforting to know our daughter is in a small school where everyone knows everyone else. I’m happy with the choice we made. It has enhanced her knowledge, and it has helped reinforce our faith.”
The annual St. Francis Friday Fish Fries and Cash Raffle, a major fundraiser for the church and school, will return Feb. 17 for dine in, carry outs, and delivery. Bingo nights at the school, including a hot meal and snacks, take place the first Thursday of each month.
St. Francis is currently taking applications for the 2023-2024 school year. For more information, phone 715.536.6083.
